UPSC Mains 2017 GS4 Q5 — Ethical Thinkers
(a) "Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them." - Napoleon Bonaparte. Stating examples mention the rulers (i) who have harmed society and country, (ii) who worked for the development of society and country. (150 words) (b) "If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher." - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Analyse. (150 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Stating examples mentionAnalyse
- Scope keywords
- Great ambitionprinciples which direct themharmed society and countrydevelopment of society and countrycorruption freenation of beautiful mindsfather, the mother and the teacher
- Implicit sub-parts
- The ethical distinction between 'Ambition' and 'Principles' in leadership.
- Mechanisms through which high ambition without ethical grounding leads to destructive acts.
- The role of primary socialization in internalizing integrity and honesty.
- Comparative impact of early-life influencers versus formal institutional anti-corruption measures.
- Common pitfalls
- Writing a biography of Napoleon instead of analyzing the role of 'principles' as a steering mechanism for ambition.
- Choosing rulers based on personal bias rather than their objective impact on society and development.
- Failing to explain *how* parents and teachers prevent corruption, focusing instead only on their importance in general.
- Treating part (b) as a quote about education generally rather than specifically about the eradication of corruption.
- Dimensions required
- Deontological vs. Teleological EthicsPsychology of LeadershipSociological SocializationPublic MoralityValue-based Pedagogy
- Marks allocation hint
For part (a), spend 40 words on the link between ambition and ethics, and 110 words on contrasting historical examples. For part (b), allocate 30 words to the 'beautiful minds' concept and 120 words to the distinct roles of the father (authority/integrity), mother (empathy/nurture), and teacher (rationality/public ethics).
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 150 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →