Integrity
Integrity is a multifaceted concept that embodies the alignment between a person's actions, thoughts, and moral convictions regarding right and wrong. It reflects an individual's commitment to a personal code of conduct, which is shaped by various influences such as upbringing, cultural background, and philosophical beliefs. Historically, integrity has been linked to ideas of completeness and wholeness, as the term originates from the Latin word *integer*, meaning "whole."
The manifestation of integrity is most evident in one's deeds rather than mere words or thoughts. It encompasses personal integrity, which relates to an individual's moral compass in personal relationships, as well as professional integrity, which may be challenged by workplace pressures and ethical dilemmas. In academic settings, intellectual integrity is crucial, as it involves acknowledging the contributions of others and maintaining honesty in the pursuit of knowledge.
Within democratic and capitalist societies, integrity is considered essential in both business and politics, where leaders are expected to uphold principles of honesty and fairness. However, there is a growing concern about the erosion of trust in these arenas, as the demands of success can tempt individuals to compromise their integrity. Ultimately, integrity remains a deeply personal and subjective quality, often tested in complex moral situations.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Integrity
Integrity refers to the relationship between a person’s actions (and thoughts) and their deeply held convictions about right and wrong. The concept of integrity involves the choice to do what is right or what is good. If a person’s actions are consistent with such a code of honor, of moral and ethical standards, that person is said to possess integrity. Integrity assumes that a person’s actions are essentially predictable; given the person’s code of honor, certain actions are permitted and others are not.
Integrity emerges from a variety of influences, including a person’s upbringing, their professional context, their family situation, their economic status, their religious background, and their philosophical outlook. Concepts of integrity date back to antiquity, when philosophers would pose difficult questions about moral behavior in an effort to ascertain whether a person had an inherent code of conduct, a sense of what is right and what is wrong. Integrity speaks primarily to the relationship a person maintains with their own conscience and is manifested primarily not in thoughts or words but in deeds.
Background
Much as philosophers disagree over the origin of a person’s concept of integrity, there is no consistent definition of integrity itself. At the same time, it is clear that integrity cannot be taught or imposed on a person. For some, integrity involves protecting the self from the influences of corruption in those around them, or maintaining moral behavior despite temptation; for others, it involves taking a clear stand for or against some issue within a community, advocating without hypocrisy or deception. In any case, integrity is said to have a moral foundation that cannot be quantitatively determined.
For ancient philosophers, a person without integrity was incomplete; the word itself comes from the Latin word integer, meaning "complete" or "whole." A person with integrity appreciates the magnitude of any complex moral dilemma, as well as the pull of alternatives, but resists the idea that somehow individual situations can create justification for relative morality. Whether in personal affairs, professional endeavors, or social engagements, a person with integrity functions consistently with moral character. However, moral or ethical dilemmas can often lead to a feeling that the concepts of right and wrong are more ambiguous; in that case, a person with integrity adheres to their internal code and, after adequate moral reflection, acts in a way that satisfies their convictions.
Overview
Discussions of integrity inevitably involve context. An individual may have personal integrity, or a code of behavior based in areas of family and relationships, social commitments, and the relationships maintained with friends and neighbors. However, personal integrity may or may not influence a person’s professional integrity. In the workplace, an individual may engage in a variety of behaviors that seem to damage their reputation of integrity because they may be pressured into morally ambiguous behavior to ultimately produce clear financial benefits or meet business goals. Some scholars of the subject argue that sacrificing integrity for the sake of ambition in the workplace, while possibly helping one achieve immediate success, is typically deleterious in the long term. Intellectual integrity, on the other hand, typically involves whether an individual can acknowledge the influence of others on their ideas and work and can share credit fairly. This sort of integrity is often associated with academia, where students and instructors alike face an enormous range of information available through Internet resources and are compelled, therefore, to maintain their integrity by acknowledging any borrowing of, influence by, or debt to others’ ideas. Scandals regularly rock universities when otherwise morally centered students, or even their professors, are caught plagiarizing others’ work, stealing others’ researched data, or cheating by copying others’ answers on tests. Defenders of this behavior often perceive such actions as morally relative and thus separate from issues of integrity.
Within the American tradition, integrity especially factors into two arenas that are fundamental to a democratic, capitalist culture: the business world and the political world. Business executives frequently act ruthlessly and sacrifice integrity in order to respond to volatile and competitive market conditions. Politicians are expected to maintain a code of beliefs and a consistent personality across time to justify the faith the electorate accords them. They direct and control policy, they direct and control the quality of life for the elected, and so they are expected to maintain integrity and resist succumbing to moral relativism, acting for personal gain, or manipulating the system itself to improve their life. Politicians are expected to behave as role models and display honesty, compassion, and fairness, all traits representative of a sense of integrity. However, polls often reveal that the public has consistently lost trust in politicians, as political leaders striving to win offices have increasingly vacillated on issues in attempts to win over populations with diverse needs and views.
Bibliography
Anderson, Amy Rees. "Success Will Come and Go, but Integrity Is Forever." Forbes. Forbes Media, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Duska, Ronald. "Integrity and Moral Courage." Journal of Financial Service Professionals 67.1 (2013): 20–22. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Halfon, Mark S. Integrity: A Philosophical Inquiry. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1989. Print.
Killinger, Barbara. Integrity: Doing the Right Thing for the Right Reason. 2nd ed. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s UP, 2010. Print.
Krogh, Egil, and Matthew D. Krogh. Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White House. New York: Public Affairs, 2007. Print.
Lewis, Charles. 935 Lies: The Future of Truth and the Decline of America’s Moral Integrity. New York: Public Affairs, 2014. Print.
Palanski, Michael, et al. "Virtuous Leadership: Exploring the Effects of Leader Courage and Behavioral Integrity on Leader Performance and Image." Journal of Business Ethics 132.2 (2015): 297–310. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Schroeder, Franziska. "Bringing Practice Closer to Research: Seeking Integrity, Sincerity and Authenticity." International Journal of Education through Art 11.3 (2015): 343–54. Education Source. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.