Moral Agency

noun phrase

/ˈmɒr.əl ˈeɪ.dʒən.si/

The capacity of an individual to make moral judgements and to act on those judgements based on a sense of right and wrong; an entity with moral agency is responsible for its choices and can be held morally accountable — central to public administration ethics where officials must exercise independent moral judgment rather than mechanically executing orders

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Hannah Arendt's 'banality of evil' argued that the suspension of individual moral agency by officials in hierarchical systems enables systemic atrocities — a warning directly relevant to civil service ethics and the duty to refuse manifestly unlawful orders.

Synonyms

moral responsibilityethical autonomyfree will (moral dimension)accountable selfhood

Antonyms

moral passivityblind obedienceamoralitymoral abdication

🌱 Word Family

moral agency (n phrase), moral agent (n), agency (n), agent (n), agentive (adj)

🔡 Root

Latin moralis = concerning character (mos/moris = custom/character) + Latin agentia = action (agere = to act/do)

📜 Etymology

The concept traces to Aristotle's notion of moral choice (prohairesis) and Kant's rational autonomous agent; the post-Holocaust Nuremberg tribunal rejected the 'I was following orders' defence precisely because it denied the moral agency of individual officials; this principle underlies Indian AIS (conduct) Rules on not obeying illegal orders

🧠 Memory Hook

MORAL AGENT: you are the AGENT — you ACT based on moral choice; a MORAL AGENT takes responsibility, doesn't just 'follow orders'

🧭 Ethics & Integrity 📖 Seen in: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude — Complet...

Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation