(a) Attitude is an important component that goes as input in the development of human being. How to build a suitable attitude needed for a public servant? (b) In case of crisis of conscience does emotional intelligence help to overcome the same without compromising the ethical or moral stand that you are likely to follow? Critically examine.
Subtopic: Emotional Intelligence · attitude formation and crisis of conscience
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222 words · target 150 words · 20 min
(a) Building a suitable attitude for a public servant
Attitude is a learned predisposition — cognitive, affective and behavioural — that shapes how an official responds to citizens and duty. A public-service attitude is one of empathy, impartiality, integrity and citizen-centricity. It can be built through: exposure and value education during training (LBSNAA foundation course); role models and ethical leadership; reflective practice and feedback; field immersion that breeds compassion; and institutional incentives that reward probity over pliancy. Persuasion, cognitive dissonance resolution and habit formation gradually convert values into a stable disposition.
(b) Crisis of conscience and emotional intelligence
A crisis of conscience arises when an officer's inner moral voice conflicts with an external demand — an unlawful order, a tempting bribe, or pressure to compromise. Emotional intelligence helps: self-awareness identifies the discomfort as a moral signal; self-regulation prevents impulsive surrender to fear or greed; empathy weighs the impact on victims; and social skill helps negotiate a principled way out without needless confrontation.
However, EI is an enabler, not a substitute for moral courage. It can manage the emotional turbulence of a dilemma but cannot by itself supply the ethical standard; that comes from conscience, values and law. An emotionally intelligent but unprincipled officer may only rationalise wrongdoing more smoothly. Thus EI helps one hold an ethical stand calmly — provided the stand is already anchored in sound values.
What an examiner expects to see
- Attitude = learned cognitive-affective-behavioural predisposition; public-service attitude is empathetic, impartial, integrity-driven.
- Attitude built via value education, role models, field immersion, reflective feedback and probity-rewarding institutions.
- Crisis of conscience = clash between inner moral voice and external pressure (illegal order, temptation).
- EI aids resolution: self-awareness flags the dilemma, self-regulation resists fear/greed, empathy centres victims.
- EI is an enabler, not the source of the ethical standard — conscience and values supply that.
- Without moral integrity, high EI can merely rationalise unethical choices.
- Best outcome: EI lets an officer defend a values-anchored stand calmly and without collateral damage.
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- LBSNAA foundation course and Bharat Darshan build empathy and a service orientation in trainees.
- Whistle-blowers like Satyendra Dubey and Ashok Khemka held their stand under intense pressure.
- Nolan Committee's Seven Principles of Public Life codify the attitude expected of officials.