Integrity

Integrity is a certain consistency, wholeness, and truthfulness in one's actions. Honesty is an important part of integrity, but integrity is a broader concept, as it encompasses the whole of a person's actions. In order for a person to act with integrity, that person must act consistently with the values and beliefs that they openly profess to hold. A failure to act with integrity can be called hypocrisy.

I like to think about two types of integrity: personal integrity and public integrity. Personal integrity is the integrity of an individual, whereas public integrity is the integrity of a society or culture as a whole.

Building personal integrity:

In our society, people are quick to judge or assess the integrity of others, but there is little talk about how to build one's own integrity. This is a shame, as it is much easier to influence your own actions than it is to influence the actions of others, and in creating a society and culture with greater public integrity, it is easiest to start with yourself.

My personal experience has been that the following techniques and practices are helpful to build integrity:

• Maintain clear thinking. A lack of consistency in beliefs often leads to or facilitates a lack of integrity. If you consistently use sound reasoning in your thinking, you will find it easier to live with integrity.
• Have a strong core belief system. I personally have found the principle of respecting all human beings as innately valuable to be one of the key aspects of a value system that promotes integrity.
• Question your values and beliefs. It is the process of questioning that leads people to uncover inconsistencies and come to more consistent belief systems.
• Reflect on the purpose of your actions, and the impacts your actions have on others. You will only be able to tell if you are acting or living with integrity if you examine the choices you make in your daily life and check whether they are consistent with your core beliefs.

Building public integrity:

Public integrity is a tougher problem than personal integrity. However, I believe that there are several ways in which we can promote public integrity:

• Transparency - A more transparent government and greater transparency in businesses and other public or semi-public institutions.
• Personal integrity - When more people live with personal integrity, the institutions and society and culture in which they participate will have greater public integrity.
• Leadership and integrity among influential people - In terms of maintaining public integrity, it is important that public leaders, as well as influential behind-the-scenes individuals are acting with integrity. When these people live with personal integrity, it will have a greater influence on the integrity of society as a whole.

Further Reading:

• Integrity | Wikipedia
• Integrity | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - An extensive, philosophical article on the topic of integrity.
• The Center for Public Integrity - An organization engaging in investigative journalism, seeking to promote integrity in the public sphere.

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