QUESTION 5
GS4
10 marks
Law and ethics are considered two tools for controlling human conduct to make it conducive to civilized social existence.(a) Discuss how they achieve this objective.(b) Giving examples, show how they differ in their approaches.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain how law and ethics regulate conduct and show with examples how their approaches differ.
Discuss... showAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1(a) How: law through external sanctions, rules, courts; ethics through conscience, social approval, internalised values≈30 words
- 2(b) Differences: law is codified and enforceable, ethics is broader and voluntary; law sets the minimum, ethics the ideal≈30 words
- 3Examples: legal but unethical (tax avoidance), ethical but illegal (civil disobedience), changes (adultery decriminalised)≈30 words
- 4Complementarity≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
(a) mechanisms of each(b) differences with examplesComplementarityConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Covering differences but not how each controls conduct: sanctions vs conscience
- Examples without contrast
Draw this
- Venn diagram: law, ethics and overlap with examples
Value addition
- ThinkerLord Moulton described ethics as 'obedience to the unenforceable'.Moulton, 1924
- CaseJoseph Shine v Union of India (2018) decriminalised adultery, leaving it a moral, not legal, wrong.Supreme Court, 2018
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Vidushi Singh · AIR 13 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 7 ↗Same syllabus reference
- G Sanjana · AIR 55 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
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