What role do ethics have in conflict?

Long before predecessors of man came together to form social units conflict was a major mode of
solving problems and promoting individual units at the cost of others. Ethics probably entered the scene
later on when man started weaving a philosophical fabric in order to give some coherence to the social
units. Seeds of ethical thoughts have existed for quite some time. To give an example our eye is one of the
most delicate organs placed in a very vulnerable position. How many of us are blind? Two things operate in
this example one: the physiological organization of the person gives priority to protection of eyes, two: we
certainly do not go about plucking out each others eyes. More internally within the individual we don’t
normally bite our tongue while chewing or talking. Nature has physiologically created such mechanism that
the integrity of the organism is not destroyed.
What is a conflict in social sense? Various social institutions and units are at odds with each other
for various reasons. Each social institution has its own value system and ideal with which its members try
to identify. The value system is the rationale for the very existence of the unit. All its ethical rules are
constructed in a fashion so as not to question the value system of the unit. Any family, school, company,
town, city, province, nation, or our world which we currently identify with earth and extraterrestrial
colonies has its own value system to set it apart from other units. It gives its members a base on which they
construct their behavioral responses. In a way it gives them a secure feeling.
That which gives us secure feeling has to be protected and promoted (for future security) at the
cost of others. This brings us into conflict with other institutions.
However human beings at any moment are not restricted as a member to any one social unit.
He/she is a member of a family, may study in a school, or belong to a company, has some religious
affiliation, belongs to a certain caste or corporate hierarchy, and is a citizen of a nation and last but most
importantly is a human being. It is important that for quite some time people have gone beyond humanity
and identified themselves with all living and later even non living things. Many more such institutional
membership of modern man can be enumerated.
In normal course of things a human being resorts to the ethical guidelines of these institutions only
to the extent that it doesn’t go counter to his own value system such that it may not harm his/her own
integrity.
The vast majority of the population follows this rule. However some of them who may have some
genetic predilection or environmental influence become more inclined to a certain set of value systems.
These value systems define their ethical profile. Promotion of this value system at the cost of others
becomes their moral duty. This sense of moral duty is repeatedly reinforced by the Organization (social
unit) to whose value system the individual is attached. Promotion of this organization becomes his moral
duty. The extent to which the individual identifies himself with the organization’s value system defines his
place on the scale of fanaticism. However it doesn’t mean that his fanaticism will make him the leader of
the organization. The leader of the organization shall uphold his value system (career). For him the survival
of organization contributes to his career. To a fanatic the value system of the organization is more
important.
Each value system generates its own ethical policy.
So now what do we have? Numerous individuals with their own value system (career), various
business organizations, educational institutions, Religious institutions, families and clans, Provinces,
nations, Associations of nations etc, each with its own value system as a base on which is generated an
ethical policy. Each of these or all of these may be in conflict. Close identification with any value system
creates a fear of destruction on undermining of that value system. On the other hand those who are less
identified with a system can always shift to another value system at the risk of being called opportunists. It
avoids conflicts.
Some examples of individual value systems reinforced by immediate social milieu reaching
fanatic proportions are, hara-kiri (suicide on moral grounds) in Japanese Defense personnel, Honor killing
among various tribal communities of India, catching media attention in Britain among Punjabi families, or
suicide bombings by members of various terrorist groups around the world.
Example of institutional value systems in conflict is the Middle East, Pakistan and India. Middle
East and Pakistan have been in turmoil due to conflicting value systems of the tribes, Islam, and Army.
Each consists of members who closely identify with the value system of the organization. The Oil beneath
has generated interest of organization that have value system based on money and power. Mostly such
organizations are based in USA, Europe, India and China. Excepting China others have a democratic value
system. But they are fanatic about exploiting the resources of nature which is counter to the value system of
people identifying with the whole planet e.g. Greenpeace and Gaia and many others. Exploitation of nature
with only money and power as value systems is very counterproductive. I make my personal inclination
clear here.
Another example: The controversy over the under sea bridge like land mass between Southern tip
of India and Srilanka. It is called Rama Setu Samudram. Discovered by NASA satellites very close to the
region where the ancient God-King Rama is supposed to have built a bridge for his army to crossover the
Palk Strait between India and Srilanka to conquer Ravan the evil king. Hinduism over thousand of years
has developed a way (value system) of merging all religious sects in main stream so that conflicts may be
minimized. Instead political opportunism and fear of Islam has created a Fanatic force which is jettisoning
the old value system of Sarv Dharm sambhava- that means all religions are equal. The Christian and
Islamic concept of only one god goes counter to this. Local politicians are capitalizing on local political
inclination to garner maximum support for destruction of the structure, where as Non local politicians are
generating religious fervor among the career oriented population to usurp political power.
Conflicts at various levels can have different intensity and kinds of impact. Various methods may
be adopted to resolve conflicts: e.g. Debate, physical coercion, monetary methods, War etc. Each method
adopted reflects upon the initial basic value system of the organization along with the established ethical
policies and their adaptive response to the stress of the conflict. Ethical policies become more fluid as
directed by the leadership. Responses are also based on their personal value system. In case the personal
value system is closely identified with that of the organization i.e. the leader is a fanatic the ethical policies
can become extremely narrow, a do or die response. Also if an individual’s personal value system is too
closely identified with his/her ego or self esteem then again we have a formula for disastrous consequences.
Either we have a Dictator or a Suicide case. People with career oriented value system can also have the last
kind of response.
From the primordial responses of attraction and repulsion of unicellular organisms the interaction
between animals has, over the billions of years developed into complex decision making processes in
human beings. The decision making processes then (billions of years ago) were however for the betterment
of complete community of organisms. The process now too is for the betterment of society as a whole, only
it operates through the philosophical fabric subtly enveloping the society through the value system and
ethical policy.
Human beings are still limited by their physical endowments with regard to understanding their
environment. For understanding the environment we have developed various Areas of Knowledge (AOK)
and ways of knowledge (WOK). Some people are more specialized genetically in particular AOK and
WOK and thus have that kind of perspective of the world. The whole society can be divided into such
categories with their own value system and ethical policies. Their mutual interactions can take the form of
conflicts and the ethical policies are the tools for resolving such situations. This also results in the evolution
of society.