UPSC Mains 2016 GS4 Q5 — Law vs Ethics
Law and ethics are considered to be the two tools for controlling human conduct so as to make it conducive to civilized social existence. (a) Discuss how they achieve this objective. (b) Giving examples, show how the two differ in their approaches. (150 words) 10
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Discussshow
- Scope keywords
- controlling human conductconducive to civilized social existenceachieve this objectivediffer in their approaches
- Implicit sub-parts
- What are the common objectives shared by law and ethics in the context of social harmony?
- What is the mechanism of enforcement for law (external/punitive) versus ethics (internal/conscience)?
- Under what specific circumstances do law and ethics diverge or come into conflict?
- How do these tools evolve together to maintain a civilized society?
- Common pitfalls
- Defining Law and Ethics separately without linking them to the 'civilized social existence' objective mentioned in the prompt.
- Providing generic examples of laws (e.g., traffic rules) without explaining the 'approach' or 'mechanism' of control behind them.
- Failing to mention the limitations of law (it cannot reach the private sphere) versus the reach of ethics.
- Treating law and ethics as mutually exclusive rather than overlapping circles (the Venn diagram approach).
- Dimensions required
- Regulatory/LegalisticMoral/PhilosophicalSociological (Social Order)Psychological (Internal motivation vs External fear)
- Marks allocation hint
Spend approximately 60 words on part (a) by explaining the common goal of order and predictability. Use the remaining 90 words for part (b) to provide a comparative table or bulleted contrast with concrete examples like the legality of the slave trade (historically legal but unethical) or whistleblower dilemmas.
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