The Meaning of Integrity - Essay Example

“The Meaning of Integrity” Integrity is a word that most people want to be associated with it.The word is highly regarded and valued by the society. By virtue term, integrity is a word, which refers to the quality and value of a person’s personality or character. In some cases, integrity has been used to refer to the work of art, a defense system, or a computerized database. When used on objects, integrity refers to the purity, intactness, and wholeness of a thing. Many different facets of integrity help people understand its different meaning. Various aspects and facets of a person’s life are attributed to integrity. In most cases, people speak of attributes such as artistic, intellectual, and professional integrity. Although the term has different facets that explore on its meaning, the most philosophical aspect of it is that it relates to the general character. Specifically, philosophers have attempted to understand what it is for an individual to demonstrate integrity throughout life. Many have tried to answer the question of what it is to be a person of integrity. In summary, the philosophers’ discourse about integrity revolves around two fundamental elements. The first element is the formal relation that an individual has to oneself and secondly, the aspect of acting morally, no matter what the environment is. A person of integrity is one that does what is right despite the pressures or challenges he finds himself into. Such an individual is not moved by emotions, but by a strong character that stands for moral purpose. One of the integration outlooks of integrity is the act of keeping self uncorrupted and self-intact. It is important to note that an individual is subject to many conflicting desires. If an individual acts towards the conflict desires, then he or she acts without integrity. Integrity requires one to destroy the sinful nature that is to fulfill human desires such as greed, corruption, and immorality just to name a few. Integrity requires one to make a sober decision between doing what is right and what is wrong. For example, one may endorse the desire to outlay and study, a desire to party or go to church, and a desire to be unfaithful or faithful. The decisions that human beings make depend so much on integrity that one possesses. A person of integrity is one that is not determined by the environment he is in, but chooses to do what is right in spite of the cost or challenge. Fully integrated people do not fall into victims of immorality, corruption, or greed. Rather, they try to do the best they can to live an appealing life. A person of integrity bases judgment on positive desires and commitments. Personal integrity demands one to stand for something. This explains why an individual chooses to do the right thing regardless of being in the midst of something or an environment that would push one to make the wrong choice. As philosophers view it, integrity is having regard on one’s role and respect over what is worth and valuable doing. It means doing the right thing at all circumstances and times regardless of whether someone is watching or not. It takes the courage for an individual to do the right thing at the right time, independently on the consequences. For years, many people have believed that it takes years to build integrity, but it only takes seconds to ruin and lose it. With this, it is important for one to safeguard his personal life to preserve integrity, which is costly to have. Every individual should strive to attain the reputation of integrity. At all cost, one should avoid people that ruin one’s reputation. A person should be conscious of his or her action as there are consequences that follow. Success may come and go, but integrity remains forever. Thus, as people work hard to be successful in life, they should also strive hard to attain integrity that helps one to achieve his intended goals. In workplace, integrity is a word that reflects on an employee’s character or personality. In other words, it is the reflection of what an employee is doing. Integrity is based more on what an individual knows is right. An employee who behaves well and work effectively regardless of whether the boss is watching or not, can be termed as a person of integrity. Integrity in the work place creates an environment where employees understand that they must work hard and strive for excellence regardless of whether there is a supervisor or not. It fuels an individual to make the right decisions, which positively impact the personal and business at whole. A person of integrity is ready at all times to bear the consequences of her actions, even in cases when this is complex. An individual who has a strong crave of fulfilling his own pleasure is not a person of integrity because there are no conflicting desires between the fulfilling principles and pleasures. Personal integrity should be defined in terms of moral purpose. When a person has integrity, he has the advantage of capturing success, because one understands how to live a life that is morally upright and pleasing in the society. Integrity aligns with other characters such as discipline, which helps one to have moral integrity. From the ongoing discussion, it is obvious that integrity is a key element to success. Successful people are those who understand what should be done at a particular time and place. Such people understand the importance of self-control, discipline, and having a pleasing character that moulds people’s behaviour. With this, they become more advantage in the society in that they embrace every opportunity that comes their way. They are motivated by what happens around them despite the circumstances they maintain their integrity with. Integrity involves the characteristics of honesty. In essence, honesty plays a crucial role in keeping and moulding the virtue of integrity. For an individual to have personal integrity, he or she should embrace the virtue of honesty. This virtue guides an individual to be truthful in life at all times regardless of the circumstances or environment. It is important to note that integrity involves service. It is any act or service given with adherence and honesty to establish principles of integrity. The virtue of integrity involves character, which can be part of the organization, company, group, or personal. Just as an individual’s character is crucial, it can also have a big impact to an organization or company. If an individual develops a reputation of good character, he becomes someone people want to be associated with. As a result, such an individual is cautious of his conducts as he or she believes they are many people watching and look upon him. When he messes up in life, he affects other people who may be looking for him for mentorship and guidance. However, a person of good character understands the importance of being morally upright despite the challenges and obstacles that the environment may be having. To sum up, integrity is a virtue that the society cannot live without. The nature of integrity allows an individual to be disciplined in all the circumstances or the environment. As discussed in this essay, integrity is a virtue that human beings should crave for and desire to have. This is because it lays a strong ground for one to understand the importance of being focused, honest and truthful in all actions. Still, it creates a platform for one to comprehend the importance of embracing the challenges that come the way. Thus far, one would argue that integrity is a crucial virtue that human beings need to succeed. The virtue is important because it builds character, personality and habits that are pleasing and enhance a fulfilling lifestyle. Integrity helps a nation, an individual, company, or an organization to achieve their goals and objectives. It lays a strong ground for one to understand what to do, when, why, and at what time. Therefore, integrity is a virtue that human beings should embrace in their day to day duties and responsibilities. Read More