Everything about Integrity totally explained
Integrity is the basing of one's actions on an internally
consistent framework of
principles. Depth of principles and adherence of each level to the next are key factors. One is said to have integrity to the extent that everything one does is derived from the same core set of
values. While those values may change, it's their consistency with each other and with the person's
actions that determine one's degree of integrity.
Integrity can be viewed as personal
honesty, acting according to one's beliefs and values at all times. It can emphasize the "
wholeness" or "
intactness" of a moral stance or attitude. Relevant views of wholeness may also emphasize
commitment and
authenticity.
Integrity can be seen as a
virtue in that
accountability and
moral responsibility are often indicated as necessary tools for maintaining consistency between one's actions and one's principles, methods and measures, especially when an expected result is incongruent with observed outcome.
Evaluating/measuring integrity
Popular discussions of integrity often see the concept as an all-or-nothing affair: one describes an approved person as "having integrity" (as an absolute), but condemns an enemy or a collective enemy organization as "completely lacking in integrity".
English-speakers may measure integrity in non-enumerated units called "scraps", speaking of preserving one's "last scraps of integrity". One deduces that integrity in such situations can appear brittle or fragile — and apt to tarnish or decay. There is nothing of structural integrity.
Science
The integrity of
science (as a process and as a
body of knowledge) relies on a set of testing known as the
scientific method. To the extent that a
proof follows the requirements of the method, one can consider it scientific. The
Popperian scientific method includes measures to ensure unbiased testing and the requirement that the
hypotheses have
falsifiability.
(Tests of) professional integrity
Integrity (honesty) tests aim towards identifying which persons may hide negative or derogatory events from their past (such as doing
prison time, getting
psychiatric treatment,
alcohol problems, etc.) or which persons may cause trouble for an
employer. These tests make certain assumptions, namely that such persons report more dishonest behavior, they try to find reasons in order to justify such behavior, they think others more likely to commit crimes (like theft, for example), they exhibit
impulsive behavior and tend to think that society should severely punish deviant behavior.
The pretension of such tests to detect fake answers plays a crucial role in this respect, because the naive really believe such outright lies and behave accordingly, reporting their past deviance because they fear that otherwise their answers will reveal it. The more
Pollyannaish the answers, the higher the integrity score (cf. loc. cit.). But, try to avoid being 100%
Pollyannaish, otherwise recruiters may think you've a low IQ (this only applies to the jobs wherein a high IQ is required).
Other integrities
Disciplines and fields with an interest in integrity include
philosophy of action, philosophy of
medicine, the
mind,
cognition,
consciousness, and
politics.
Mathematics
The
philosophy of mathematics bases integrity on consistency of
mathematical proof, which one can test weakly or strongly, as part of the process of differentiating it from
folk mathematics. Mathematical integrity becomes strengthened through definition as the result of a
tautology and where it demonstrably forms a part of a larger and consistent body of mathematics.
See also
Further Information
Get more info on 'Integrity'.
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