Lesson 3. Ethical reasoning and character development

PART 2 · PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Lesson 3. Ethical reasoning and character development

Reading time ≈ 18 min   ·   Based on Chapter 3 of the book

Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words.

Keep your words positive, because your words become your behaviour…

Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny.

— Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After this lesson you will be able to:

•     Draw three principles of ethical training from the example of Hồ Chí Minh and apply them to project work.

•     Reason ethically using 8 elements of thought and test the reasoning against 10 universal intellectual standards.

•     Describe the five-step path of cultivation: mind, words, conduct, habits, values.

•     Plan to replace one bad habit with a good one.

 

Knowing the four ethical values is only the first step. This lesson answers the next question: how does ethics become a capability, visible in every decision and every daily habit?

An example and three training principles

President Hồ Chí Minh asked officials to be “truly industrious, thrifty, honest and upright, wholly devoted to the public good”, and wrote: “Heaven has four seasons… People have four virtues: industry, thrift, integrity and uprightness. Lacking one virtue, one is not a complete person.” From his thought we can draw three principles that fit project work closely:

PRINCIPLE 1

Lifelong self-cultivation

“Jade shines brighter the more it is polished; gold grows purer the more it is refined.” Individualism is like a weed and must be washed away daily, like washing one’s face.

 PRINCIPLE 2

Lead by example; match words with deeds

“A living example is worth more than a hundred propaganda speeches.”

 PRINCIPLE 3

Build new ethics, resist the unethical

“First defeat the evil within yourself.” Practise self-criticism and criticism that is practical yet kind, from top down and bottom up.

 

Ethical reasoning

The philosopher Krishnamurti warned that we train the mind to be ever more clever and subtle, yet less sincere and less able to face the truth. Ethical reasoning guards against this. Its foundation is a clear grasp of ethical concepts and the principles attached to them, such as the universal principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: all people are equal in dignity and before the law, have the right to work under fair conditions and to an adequate standard of living.

The 8 elements of thought (Richard Paul & Linda Elder)

Element Question to ask in a project situation
Purpose What ethical goal do I need to achieve?
Question at issue Exactly what question must be answered?
Information What data, events and experience am I relying on? Are they reliable?
Interpretation What do I infer from that information? Is there another reading?
Concepts Which ethical concepts and principles guide my thinking?
Assumptions What am I taking for granted?
Implications If I act this way, what follows for each stakeholder?
Point of view From what angle am I looking? How do others see it?

 

Sound reasoning must meet the 10 universal intellectual standards: clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, significance, fairness and completeness.

Kālāmas, do not believe because of reports, legends or tradition… do not believe because it agrees with your prejudices, or because it comes from someone in authority… When you yourselves know that these things are unwholesome and lead to harm and suffering, abandon them.

— Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Kālāma Sutta (from the Vietnamese translation by Venerable Thích Minh Châu)

This teaching is a lesson in critical thinking: do not accept a claim simply because it comes from a report, a tradition or a person in authority; test it yourself.

Five steps of ethical cultivation

Gandhi’s words at the top of this lesson describe a chain of cause and effect. Each link is a place to practise:

  • Keep the mind good: See things as they are, without letting prejudice intrude.
  • Keep words good: Calm, listening, measured, to the point.
  • Keep conduct good: Kind, honest, upright; set an example.
  • Keep habits good: Drop bad habits; practise good ones with discipline.
  • Keep values good: Good habits become personal character and organisational identity.

 

Keep the mind good

The mind is where both wholesome and unwholesome things begin: ideals of service or selfish ambition, impartiality or discrimination. Cultivating the mind means nurturing wholesome seeds and recognising and blocking unwholesome ones. With a clear mind we see project matters honestly and objectively, and gain the clarity to resolve them.

Keep words good

Communicating with stakeholders inevitably involves heated debate. With a clear mind we stay calm and listen closely to understand our counterpart; our words become measured and go to the heart of the matter, so we can find win-win solutions together.

Keep conduct good

The documentary A Story of Kindness (Chuyện tử tế) by director Trần Văn Thủy reminds us that without kindness we are no longer truly human. Treating all stakeholders with sincerity and kindness builds trust, mutual respect and cooperation.

Keep habits good

Bad habits are hard to break; good habits need regular practice. The method:

  1. Use the four values of responsibility, fairness, respect and integrity to find the motivation to change.
  2. Define a specific replacement behaviour and practise it regularly.
  3. Keep up the discipline of practice, and help teammates do the same.

 

Keep values good

When good habits become the shared way of life on a project, they form the values and cultural identity of the project organisation. The ancients said: “A bright mirror holds no dust; where dust settles, it is no longer bright.”

Laozi advises in the Tao Te Ching that we treat both the good and the not-good with goodness, and both the trustworthy and the untrustworthy with good faith.

Apply it to your project

A 30-DAY PLAN TO CHANGE ONE HABIT

☐  I have named one specific habit to drop (for example, interrupting others in meetings).

☐  I have linked it to a value (for example, respect) as motivation.

☐  I have chosen a replacement behaviour (for example, noting my point and waiting until the other person finishes).

☐  I have asked a colleague to remind me and give regular feedback.

☐  After 30 days, I will review myself and share the lesson with the team.

 

Reflection questions

FOR INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION OR GROUP DISCUSSION

1.    Take a recent difficult decision and analyse it again with the 8 elements of thought. Is there an assumption you never questioned?

2.    Which of your habits (arriving late to meetings, terse emails, delaying decisions) affects the project culture?

3.    What does the teaching to the Kālāmas suggest about how you receive “instructions” or word-of-mouth “experience” in your organisation?

 

Quick check

Question 1. Which is NOT one of Paul & Elder’s 8 elements of thought?

  1. Assumptions
  2. Implications
  3. Power
  4. Point of view

Question 2. In the cultivation chain, what do good habits form when they become shared practice?

  1. ISO procedures
  2. The organisation’s values and cultural identity
  3. Employment contracts
  4. The project plan

Question 3. What does the teaching to the Kālāmas advise?

  1. Believe those in authority
  2. Believe long-standing tradition
  3. Verify for yourself before accepting or rejecting
  4. Believe nothing at all

Question 4. “A living example is worth more than a hundred speeches” relates to which training principle?

  1. Lifelong self-cultivation
  2. Lead by example, match words with deeds
  3. Build new ethics
  4. Self-criticism and criticism

Answers and explanations

Question 1: C. The 8 elements are purpose, point of view, assumptions, implications, information, interpretation, concepts and question at issue.

Question 2: B. Good habits crystallise into personal character; as shared practice they create organisational values and identity.

Question 3: C. Do not believe merely because of reports, tradition or authority; know for yourself what is wholesome and unwholesome.

Question 4: B. This is the principle of leading by ethical example.

Key points

THE ESSENTIALS OF THIS LESSON

•     Knowing ethical qualities is not enough; we must reason to tell right from wrong and train continually, from thought to behaviour.

•     Three training principles: lifelong self-cultivation; leading by example, matching words with deeds; building new ethics and resisting unethical conduct.

•     Ethical reasoning has 8 elements (purpose, point of view, assumptions, implications, information, interpretation, concepts, question at issue) and must meet 10 intellectual standards.

•     Cultivation follows the chain mind → words → conduct → habits → values; when good habits become shared practice, they form the organisation’s cultural identity.

 

This lesson is adapted from Chapter 3 of Quản lý dự án: Hiểu đúng & Làm thật (“Project Management: True Understanding, Genuine Action”) by Truong Van Thien (Construction Publishing House, Hanoi, 2025). The content has been condensed and reorganised for learning; full data, quotations and references are in the book.