The importance of Ethics on Things "EoT" An unpostponable need

The concept we want to introduce is "Ethics on Things", or its acronym "EoT".

Introduction

Since the creation of our world, we find three groups that encompass what we find in it, which in language classes were labeled within nouns: People, Animals, and Things. This allows us to clearly identify these three groups.

There have been during the development of the sciences a series of classifications and groups to detail from these three major groupings, other subgroups to facilitate the study, interrelationships, and implications in our world. In this article, we will discuss only the three major groups: People, Animals, and Things, framed within the field of Integral Security, and more specifically we will focus on the "things".

Just as in 1999, when the term "Internet of Things" (Kevin Ashton, (1)), "IoT", began to be used, about the potential of the Internet of Things, being able to place an IPv6 address to each atom on the surface of the earth, we could have a number of addresses to identify more than a hundred times that amount (Steve Leibson, 2008,(2)), the possibility of being able to interact with large amounts of information emanating from interfaces in people themselves, in animals and in things and debates have arisen on how to manage that a large amount of information (Big Data, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence), we want to place something very important in each of the "things", generated in the human mind.

Focusing on these "things", which are generated in human thought, within the field of Integral Security, at this time where the facts of corruption, fraud, cyber-attacks, false news, false information, media manipulation, and even within the critical scenario for humanity as is the Pandemic of COVID-19, indicate that we are living a stage in the world where the crisis of Values and Principles has become the trend in different events of politics, governments, companies, business, religion, entertainment, sports, and arts, among other activities.

The concept we want to introduce is "Ethics on Things", or its acronym "EoT".

That said, we will take the actions of human beings in each of their spheres of action and influence, and place them within the Group of Things, in order to show our vision in this article. That is to say that every action of the human being, whether it is material or an idea gestated in the center of thought within our brain, we will frame it within the category of THINGS.

Ethics as a rule of life

In recent days on my usual walking route, at a bus stop I saw an advertisement that said "The World is upside down", it referred to the attack that health workers were unfairly receiving, despite their sacrificial attitude in order to give life to others during the present pandemic of COVID-19. This reminded me of what someone said more than 2700 years ago: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil..." (5), today it is very common to make it seem that what is done wrong is right and what is done right is wrong.

On the other hand, we have reached a point where the famous phrase "The end justifies the means", is the motto of people who conveniently consider that their own values and principles are not those that govern the law, or moral standards, or laws and correct behavior (Good), but an adaptation of their procedures (Evil), to obtain benefits over any person, institution, country and the most elementary natural principle of doing things in the right way. A phrase that the mother of a notorious drug lord told him comes to mind: "If you are going to do something evil, do it right". Ethics on Things should be part of the essence of what we think and do, and it should be inside and outside of our actions. (3).

Here, we come to a first conclusion: The Ethics of some people will be inclined towards their own principles and values that are favorable to them and will not respond to the true principles and values adjusted to truth and objective justice.

Examples of this conclusion are reflected, for example, in cases such as ENRON (October 2001), WORLDCOM - MCI (June 2002), TYCO (June 2002), WIKILEAKS (December 2006), VATICAN VATI-LEAKS (January 2012), PANAMA PAPERS (April 2016), PANDORA PAPERS (October 2021), where we see situations of corruption at all levels, which have generated new Laws, Policies, Standards, and Procedures, focused to avoid its occurrence and recurrence, in private and public activities.

We are in a stage of a Culture of "Ethical Convenience", in which the ethics of some is different from that of others, which is transferred to justice and equity before the law we are not all equal, and justice responds to the interests of those who manage it. This attitude has become generalized and is becoming part of everyday actions and what is worrying is that it has become accepted in all aspects of 21st-century society. (4)

With no intention of entering into philosophical discussions on ethics and morality, framing Ethics as the best conceptualization of human actions, and if we focus on ethics within the world of Security, all actions (THINGS), which are generated in human thought, should be directed to prevention, protection, to avoid damage to other people and their property or assets, to protect society and the sense of coexistence under schemes of peace, freedom, welfare, human rights, and free-thinking, and from that right thinking, materialize it in doing the right thing, attached to the norms and religious laws, and the true spirit of secular laws, and even to the ethical principles and law innate in people. We will call this concept of Ethics the REAL ETHICS.

Under this premise, we reach the second conclusion, "Ethics on Things", would come to be the attitude, from its origin in thought to its materialization in actions (THINGS), through which people relate, within a correct moral framework, correct values, and principles, with other people and their actions or THINGS, in other words, the actions (THINGS) that we would consider good in a great way, and we will leave for another dissertation, debates on concepts of good or bad, right and wrong actions. In other words, right will always be right, and wrong will always be wrong.

The absence of REAL ETHICS in the things we do, whether words or deeds, is the true origin of inadequate intentions, illegal, anti-principles, and anti-values, and that lead to cause damage to other people, regardless of the dimension of the damage caused, we see it for example in the actions against people as having been the genocides, under excuses of doing the right thing; the extinction of animals, of which we have led some species to extinction and others in the process of becoming extinct; and to the planet where we have caused damage that has had an impact on the environment, climate and atmosphere, in other words, the character of the human race has been corrupted and this has impacted the entire environment. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was right when he said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Greed and lies are the basis of ethics contrary to REAL ETHICS.

What should we do?

The primary basis of REAL ETHICS, is the attitude that must be configured so that we achieve ETHICS ON THINGS, this implies two actions: review the principles and values that govern the thought-materialization process that people carry out and confront them with the innate considerations. We have an example, around 1,450 years B.C., at the base of Mount Sinai, Our Lord the Creator God of people, animals, and all things, told and gave to more than 3 million people, a guide so that not only the Israelites but the whole humanity, knew the best way to do things, understanding how to carry in the best way the relationships with that Our Lord the Creator God, and with other people, that guide we know it as the ten commandments, Its content is still valid for any human being, and they are known and although many think that it was given only to the Israelites, they are valid for all humanity, its principles of ethics are immersed in other religions, and secular laws, and the most incredible thing, the tribes that did not know the ten commandments, had rules that kept in order the behavior among the members of these tribes or civilizations. It is a guide, a Moral Law (Ten Commandments), to develop and have REAL ETHICS (5).

I propose that the change of attitude from Ethics of Convenience to REAL ETHICS, which I call "ETHICS ON THINGS": "EoT", we do it in the following way:

1. Review our attitude and vision about our ethical actions about the things we do. Let's start this path in the way we think about our actions towards ourselves, third parties, and everything around us.

?2. If we have wrong concepts of what is right within the principles and values of our ethics, let us return to the true attitude of applying REAL ETHICS to the things we do, that is, figuratively put a stamp on the things we do indicate that we are doing the right thing, in other words, put into practice the concept of "EoT".

3. Frame within the "EoT" attitude, all the things we do start from the following actions:

a)?????If we have strayed from the right path, let us return to the path where "EoT" rules the principles and values.

?b)?????Avoid the misrepresentation and convenient adaptation of truths; the generation and dissemination of information with mixtures of truths and falsehoods;

?c)?????To review the processes of teaching from childhood to old age, taking up again correct principles and values, seeking to associate ourselves with people with firm attitudes, attached to rectitude, honesty, which would hinder the deviations in the way of doing things;

?d)????To carry out our work of generating things, within the terms of the contracts, looking for excellence and not looking for our own undue, illegal or unworthy enrichments, deviating from the Policies, Norms, and Procedures, established in the families, societies, companies, and the way of doing THINGS, framed in "EoT".

?e)?????Train and educate people, within the companies, in the culture of honesty, avoid illegal actions guided by third parties outside the company, the construction of structures within the company away from the corporate principles of compliance, manifested in the Values, Mission and Vision. The things generated must be guided, evaluated, and improved corporately, and not guided by individual, obscure interests, and definitely against the integrity of other companies, people, their assets, and the things generated, emphasizing the environmental stability of the environments where we develop as a society.

?f)??????Project these actions from the individual, to the social, to the labor, to the economic, to the micro and macro economy, to politics, to the products we generate and commercialize, whether they are services or goods.

Conclusion:

If these proposals are taken into consideration, I personally foresee that in the medium term we may have two groups in the world, those who responsibly apply REAL ETHICS or "EoT", and those who apply the ethics of convenience, which would be the opposite of REAL ETHICS, i.e. the antithesis of "EoT". Unfortunately, I also foresee that the first group will grow very slowly, while the second will continue to grow, until the first group, based on the things it does, sets an example of the right way of doing them, combining the generation of things aligned with the way of speaking, in other words, the practical demonstration of good conduct and the right way of living.

The great task is to promote the "EoT" attitude within families, schools, communities, and professional groups that share the "EoT" attitude, and above all projecting it to the Centers of Corporate Governments and Nations.

I invite you to be part of this way of doing things, we are all competent to develop this attitude: Attitude "EoT", it′s an unpostponable need.

Comments, observations and contributions are welcome:

[email protected]

REFERENCE NOTES:

(1)??The internet of things, IoT: taken from:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_de_las_cosas.

(2) Internet of Things. How the next evolution of the Internet changes everything. Author Dave Evans, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), April 2011. Page 2. Retrieved from: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/global/es_mx/solutions/executive/assets/pdf/internet-of-things-iot-ibsg.pdf

(3) Introduction to Ethics course. Taken from: (https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=aE0C3fUb8uc), Professor Miguel Giusti, Professor of Philosophy. YouTube Channel El talón de Aquiles. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtqSpelKZbeZtN2OSGb4OSA (August - September 2018)

(4) The Ethics of Responsibility and Ethics of Convenience. John Magdaleno, Political Scientist. Taken from: Interview in the program Hoja de Ruta with Jorge Botti, Mundo Unión Radio https://mundour.com / Link to the interview https://youtu.be/ruXw1Klv-4I.

(5) The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, 1976, Books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah (5:20).

?About Gonzalo J. Guzman-de la Guardia G.:

Management Consultant and Security Director, with more than 40 years of experience in Integral Security and Safety Management, Operational, Labor, Environmental; Information; Supply Chain, Contingency Plans, Continuity, and Resilience; Risk, Projects: and Corporate Investigations, in industrial sectors, oil, and gas, generation, transmission and distribution of energy, food and beverages, banking, finance, and insurance. With studies in electronics, economics, statistics, and criminology.