Final Definition Essay on Integrity

Everyone at a point in their life walks out of a store without paying because they have forgotten. The question is whether you ever go back to pay. Do you inform the cashier when you receive excess change? Some of these situations are related to the term in a topic about integrity. Integrity is nowadays commonly designated as a moral trait and often associated with honesty. Understanding the various meaning and concepts about integrity is crucial in understanding and embracing the core values of life.

Integrity is the quality of being honest or fair (Baxter et al., 2012). The Latin definition of integrity, on the other hand, is “soundness” or wholeness. This brings us to understand the term in question is more than just being honest or morally upright. From the Latin description, a person developing a high sense of integrity can pull things together, make everything happen despite the challenges that are present. Therefore, a person demonstrating integrity can make things complete by making it all work. Saying having integrity means being honest is misinterpreted because people with integrity are not honest all the time. Integrity can be understood in three common aspects; integrity as self-integration, integrity as identity preservation, and integrity as a virtue.

Integrity as self-integration is the assessment of integrity as a factor that brings together all the innumerable elements of an individual personality into a whole quality. This perception of integrity endorses the completeness of an individual character. The perception of integrity is almost similar to the one demonstrated by the Latin understanding. In this view, Harry Frankfurt’s theory comes into play through his stature on desires and wishes, consequently contributing to the achievement of self-integration. The presence of some of these desires and wishes contribute to the abolition of the non-integrated self. This illustrates the consistency of the words and actions that form a person’s character.

The approach of integrity relates to an individual truthfulness to their obligations that are primary aspects of their identity. For instance, if people recognize themselves as daily errand achievers, and yet they fail to honor their identifications, questions are raised about their identities. Consequently, integrity in the approach of identity is ‘behaving in a way that shows your identity as a person.

Integrity, as a virtue, is the most frequently used and understood the viewpoint of the word. Integrity as a virtue involves being you or acting from self-motivation (Cox and Levine, 2001). This is so evident when you have to act right when no one is paying attention. Integrity as a virtue can, therefore, be described as doing what an individual believes is the right thing. This makes it so obvious to suppose that a person’s beliefs are an essential aspect of the practice of integrity.

In assumption, the typical meaning of integrity is still not clear. Most of the canvassers that authored about integrity have been subjective on the matter. Therefore, the true meaning of the term underlies an individual’s scrutiny. However, based on concepts explained in this essay, integrity is a way of acting ethically and relating to oneself.

References

Baxter, J., Dempsey, J., Megone, C., & Lee, J. (2012). What is Integrity?. Real Integrity (pp. 11-15). London: Chartered Accountants Worldwide

Cox, D., Caze, M. L., & Levine, M. (2001, April 9). Integrity. Stanford University. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/integrity/