Ethics Theory, GS 4, TLP-UPSC Mains Answer Writing
1. “Aptitude without Attitude is Blind; Attitude without Aptitude is Lame.” Comment. (10 Marks)
“अभिक्षमता के बिना अभिवृत्ति अंधा है अभिवृत्ति के बिना अभिक्षमता मूर्खतापूर्ण है।” टिप्पणी कीजिए।
Approach-
Candidates need to write about attitude and aptitude with simple comparison highlight the importance of both in persons life with giving examples from daily life.
Introduction
Attitude and Aptitude are important characteristics of the human personality, which influence one’s learning, performance and behaviour as well as the way one adapts to his or her environment.
Body
- Aptitude: An aptitude is a component of a competence to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Aptitude is inborn potential to do certain kinds of work whether developed or undeveloped.
- Attitude: A predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation.
- While attitude is associated with character or virtues; it is a reflection of one’s personality, aptitude is associated with competence; it determines if the person can develop desired skills to do a task.
- Aptitude is the ‘ability to learn’ and attitude is the ‘desire to learn’, i.e., aptitude basically tells about the potential ability to learn or acquire a skill while, attitude tells about a person’s desire to perform or learn.
- For e.g. an aptitude for mathematics and reasoning is essential for success in engineering field. Similarly, civil service requires a certain specific aptitude for success.
- Attitude is a psychological phenomenon which can be positive, negative or neutral. On the other hand, aptitude can be mental (general mental ability) or physical. Both attitude and aptitude can be nurtured.
Requirement of both in today’s generation:
- In a constantly changing work environment, aptitude is crucial if one wants to succeed. If you have the potential to learn new skills and develop them over a time, success will not be far.
- But attitude often takes precedence because the right attitude helps influence other aspects like emotional intelligence, leadership, team spirit, fraternity, empathy, compassion, which are very vital for a civil servant.
- For example, the ability to fit in with the culture and values of the company or organization is crucial which demands a positive and right attitude more than just having high skill and apt aptitude. Many opportunities are lost, withheld, and forfeited because of negative or wrong attitude than from any other cause.
- For instance, a person having an aptitude in scientific field in new emerging technologies but lacking the desire to hone his/her skill will not make him/her a good scientists no matter how greatly he might be gifted.
Conclusion
Both the right skills (aptitude) and the disposition (attitude) are equally important to excel in a particular field. In a diverse country like India, it is the right blend of the two inherited and acquired qualities respectively that go hand in hand in determining the gains and losses in a person’s life and help shaping the progress of one’s life.
