Acting responsibly makes good sense
Print Edition
Dear editor,
I refer to the article penned by Wang Yong, “Chance encounter prompts musings about conscientious ways to act for a better world,” on February 6.
He mentioned that Wang Yangming’s (1472-1529) intention was “that you should know your good conscience (to serve others) and then wholeheartedly act upon it.” That ethical proper conduct has been debated throughout the centuries.
More than 2,000 years ago, Socrates posed this question, “How should one live?” and Aristotle observed that ethical conduct is simply “acting out” correct behavior. In the Analects, on altruism or the principle of reciprocity, it stated: “A man of humanity, wishing to establish his own character, also establishes the character of others, and wishing to be prominent himself, also helps others to be prominent.”
In my article “Nursing moms share milk of human kindness” (SHD 22 May 2008) I wrote of a “29-year-old Chinese policewoman, a lactating mother, was breastfeeding three babies whose mothers were too traumatized by the Sichuan earthquake to nurse.” This action, according to social psychologists, would be termed emotion-altruism.
Further in the same article, I wrote of my late father, whose mother died upon his birth and he was provided milk by the villagers’ lactating mothers. This tendency, according to evolutionary psychologists, is the notion of kin selection.
In one study, it was reported that people would more likely help genetic relatives than non-relatives in life-and-death situations. One 1994 research found that Americans and Japanese acted in the same way.
In another instance, I wrote of a Tibetan doctor venturing into a burning building to save a man and a 6-year-old child.
On a wider perspective, can this rule of reciprocity be carried out by companies and organizations? We are constantly provided with news of unwholesome corporate behavior ranging from adulterated foodstuffs to unsafe vehicle airbags.
With increasing Internet connectivity, negative news spreads far and wide, and increasingly corporations have to adopt the tenets embodied in corporate social responsibility. It is about aligning their business development with universally accepted values and principles, for its survival and sustainability.
Tan Thian Seng, Singapore.
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