Integrity is the consistent application of one's ethical principles to all of one's actions. The word "integrity," etymologically related to "integration" and "integer," conveys a sense of wholeness, indivisibility, and soundness of character. A person with integrity does not abandon his or her principles for the sake of short-term convenience. Of course, as we have already observed (pp. 3.4:4-5), determining how one's principles apply to a new context may require careful thought. Typically, principles are not mechanically applied rules, but general truths that reflect the whole of one's knowledge—truths that can neither be ignored nor implemented without thought.

What does a person who acts on principles do when that person's context of knowledge grows in such a way as to change his or her understanding of a previously integrated principle? In rare cases, for principles of more specific application, it may be necessary to jettison that particular principle entirely. More commonly, however, the original principle is broadened or understood in a more sophisticated way.     

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