Integrity

While often considered a mere synonym for honesty, integrity can be associated with the more complex notion of a moral wholeness or unity of the self. In this context, the unified moral self consists of a set of core values by which individuals identify their very essence in such a way that the performance of any action contrary to these values threatens their unified identity. More simply, integrity means acting in a manner that is consistent with who we are, i.e., according to one’s conscience, or core value system. Professional integrity, then, means acting in accordance with the core values of one’s profession, such as the value of healing in medicine. Similarly, institutional integrity is constituted by the core values by which an institution, considered as a moral community, recognizes itself as having a particular character that distinguishes it from other similar moral communities and which guides the behavior and actions of the institution as a whole. (Distinguish from the Principle of Integrity and Totality.)

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