Balance and Control

Balance and Control: On Personal and Professional Morality and Ethics was taken, in large measure, from the Parent Book, Balance and Control: A Guide to Managing Human Beings by Understanding Human Nature and Human Interactions. Here, the author walks the reader through many of the challenges we have to confront daily in our day-to-day lives as we try to do what we know to be "right". The author has taken the position that as a species; we are aspirational and are always struggling to reach a higher level of human existence and to move closer to our Ideal Image (a product of the Super Ego). He provides a number of examples to show how we live in a society made up of rules, laws, and norms that go unchallenged and unexamined but are just accepted by the masses. And, because we tend to live within the laws, norms, and rules for the better part of our lives, we seldom have to decide good over evil or right and wrong on our own. But when the decision is ours, and we find ourselves either morally or ethically opposed to social dictates and norms, we put ourselves at risk. The author provides familiar examples where the decision is yours to make and demonstrates how internal forces (greed and vengeance) and external forces (fear and intimidation, as well as social expectations (Group Think)) colors your reasoning process. He makes no attempt to provide moral or ethical guidance but describes the environment and the forces at work; decisions are left to you. And because your perceptions of what it means to be moral and what it means to be ethical are constantly evolving - as you mature - you will inevitably find yourself at odds with others in society, and when you do, and in far too many cases, you will subject yourself to the sanctions in that hierarchy. But regardless of how you decide these matters, there will always be sanctions; either from society or the psychological sanctions from your own conscious mind. The contents of this book should go a long way in helping you find your own path forward when deciding moral and ethical issues.