ETHICS
5. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers
from India and world.
Quote - Every individual is an end in itself and no individual should be treated as means to an end -
Emmanuel Kant
In the past
Slave and master relationship
Kant was reflecting on the slavery of his time
he is trying to being dignity of the individual
contemporary
child labour
clinical trials
women exploitation
surrogate mother - acting as a mean
theory of human rights in current times is inspired by this
3 things most modern state do that are against libertarianism
- Paternalist Legislation (Seat Belt law, Helmet laws)
- Moral legislation. Moral values of society as a whole. (laws that prevent sexual intimacy between gays
and lesbian)
- Any taxation that redistribute income from rich to poor. It is a kind of coercion according to lib.
Moral relatvisim
Subjecitve - Morality lies in the eyes of beholder. It seems to suggest that there is nothing
unethical
there are no objective or universal principles and for all moral judgements are simply a matter of
human opinion
moral objectivism
there are universal moral prnciples
Deontological:
Judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.
It is sometimes described as "duty-" or "obligation-" or "rule-" based ethics, because rules "bind you to
your duty
Absolutism. No matter what the circumstance right is right.
For example: Bribe giving is bad.
Action is valuable intrinsically. It has inherent value. Action is an end in itself.
, Right is prior to Good. As good result may not have just one interpretation. One may view result in terms
of pleasure while others view happiness and public welfare as good result.
Determinism:
Our behaviour is determined by certain forces both within the individual and outside the individual.
Environmental determinism - Rewards and punishment and salary.
Teleological: Circumstantial, depends on consequences. Good is prior to Right. Action is not an end, result is
an end. Utilatarianism is one form of Teleological approach.
Bribe paid to minister for a bridge which otherwise would not have been paid. It was done with good
intention and has led to hassle free travel and has served public good.
Terrorist firing bullets and on one hand security guards firing bullets. The act is the same but intentions
are different. Therefore motive is more important than action.
Socrates argument in favour of state
State is like a parent - always holds more importance than individual
Being a member of state, one is under the agreement to obey the law
Meta Ethics: -
Meta ethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and
scope of moral values, properties, and words.
Meta Ethics or “analytical ethics” deals with the origin of the ethical concepts themselves.
It is the most abstract area of moral philosophy. Thereby instead of asking what actions are
good or bad, it asks more basic question of what is ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’.
Meta ethics deals with the nature of goodness and badness.
Meta ethics is concerned with the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes and
judgment.
They are purely descriptive and do not assign any particular action or values.
Normative Ethics
Normative Ethics deals with “norms” or set of considerations how one should act. Thus, it’s a
study of “ethical action” and sets out the rightness or wrongness of the actions.
It is also called prescriptive ethics because it rests on the principles which determine
whether an action is right or wrong.
The Golden rule of normative ethics is “doing to other as we want them to do to us“.
For example- Since we don’t want our neighbours to throw stones through our glass window,
then it will not be wise to first throw stone through a neighbour’s window.
, Based on this reasoning, anything such as harassing, victimising, abusing or assaulting
someone is wrong.
Normative ethics also provides justification for punishing a person who disturbs social and
moral.
Q) Discuss Epicurus views on happiness and justice. (200 Words)
Introduction :- Epicurus is considered a major figure in the history of science as well as philosophy. In ethics he is
famous for propounding the theory of hedonism, which holds that pleasure is the only intrinsic value. As we shall
see, however, his view of pleasure is far from the stereotypical one. For Epicurus, the most pleasant life is one
where we abstain from unnecessary desires and achieve an inner tranquility (ataraxia) by being content with
simple things, and by choosing the pleasure of philosophical conversation with friends over the pursuit of physical
pleasures like food, drink, and sex
THOUGHT ON HAPPINESS :-
Pleasure is our first and kindred good. It is the starting point of every choice and of every aversion, and to it we
always come back, in as much as we make feeling the rule by which to judge of every good thing.”
His basic ideas are very clearly outlined in his justly famous Letter to Menoeceus. He begins with a claim familiar
from Plato and Aristotle: that we all desire happiness as an end in itself, and all other things are desired as a means
for producing happiness.
Epicurus notes further that we need wisdom to see which pleasures are really pleasurable, and which pains are
necessary to produce pleasure. Some pleasures lead to greater pain, like imbibing copious amounts of alcohol, and
so the wise person will shun them. On the other hand, certain pains, like sadness, can lead to an appreciation for life
or compassion, which are highly pleasurable states. We should not therefore get rid of all negative emotions but
only those that lead to unnecessary pains.
THOUGHT ON JUSTICE :-
Epicurus is one of the first philosophers to give a well-developed contractarian theory of justice. Epicurus says that
justice is an agreement “neither to harm nor be harmed,”and that we have a preconception of justice as “what is
useful in mutual associations.” People enter into communities in order to gain protection from the dangers of the
wild, and agreements concerning the behaviour of the members of the community are needed in order for these
communities to function, e.g., prohibitions of murder, regulations concerning the killing and eating of animals, and
so on. Justice exists only where there are such agreements.
5. Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers
from India and world.
Quote - Every individual is an end in itself and no individual should be treated as means to an end -
Emmanuel Kant
In the past
Slave and master relationship
Kant was reflecting on the slavery of his time
he is trying to being dignity of the individual
contemporary
child labour
clinical trials
women exploitation
surrogate mother - acting as a mean
theory of human rights in current times is inspired by this
3 things most modern state do that are against libertarianism
- Paternalist Legislation (Seat Belt law, Helmet laws)
- Moral legislation. Moral values of society as a whole. (laws that prevent sexual intimacy between gays
and lesbian)
- Any taxation that redistribute income from rich to poor. It is a kind of coercion according to lib.
Moral relatvisim
Subjecitve - Morality lies in the eyes of beholder. It seems to suggest that there is nothing
unethical
there are no objective or universal principles and for all moral judgements are simply a matter of
human opinion
moral objectivism
there are universal moral prnciples
Deontological:
Judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.
It is sometimes described as "duty-" or "obligation-" or "rule-" based ethics, because rules "bind you to
your duty
Absolutism. No matter what the circumstance right is right.
For example: Bribe giving is bad.
Action is valuable intrinsically. It has inherent value. Action is an end in itself.
, Right is prior to Good. As good result may not have just one interpretation. One may view result in terms
of pleasure while others view happiness and public welfare as good result.
Determinism:
Our behaviour is determined by certain forces both within the individual and outside the individual.
Environmental determinism - Rewards and punishment and salary.
Teleological: Circumstantial, depends on consequences. Good is prior to Right. Action is not an end, result is
an end. Utilatarianism is one form of Teleological approach.
Bribe paid to minister for a bridge which otherwise would not have been paid. It was done with good
intention and has led to hassle free travel and has served public good.
Terrorist firing bullets and on one hand security guards firing bullets. The act is the same but intentions
are different. Therefore motive is more important than action.
Socrates argument in favour of state
State is like a parent - always holds more importance than individual
Being a member of state, one is under the agreement to obey the law
Meta Ethics: -
Meta ethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and
scope of moral values, properties, and words.
Meta Ethics or “analytical ethics” deals with the origin of the ethical concepts themselves.
It is the most abstract area of moral philosophy. Thereby instead of asking what actions are
good or bad, it asks more basic question of what is ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’.
Meta ethics deals with the nature of goodness and badness.
Meta ethics is concerned with the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes and
judgment.
They are purely descriptive and do not assign any particular action or values.
Normative Ethics
Normative Ethics deals with “norms” or set of considerations how one should act. Thus, it’s a
study of “ethical action” and sets out the rightness or wrongness of the actions.
It is also called prescriptive ethics because it rests on the principles which determine
whether an action is right or wrong.
The Golden rule of normative ethics is “doing to other as we want them to do to us“.
For example- Since we don’t want our neighbours to throw stones through our glass window,
then it will not be wise to first throw stone through a neighbour’s window.
, Based on this reasoning, anything such as harassing, victimising, abusing or assaulting
someone is wrong.
Normative ethics also provides justification for punishing a person who disturbs social and
moral.
Q) Discuss Epicurus views on happiness and justice. (200 Words)
Introduction :- Epicurus is considered a major figure in the history of science as well as philosophy. In ethics he is
famous for propounding the theory of hedonism, which holds that pleasure is the only intrinsic value. As we shall
see, however, his view of pleasure is far from the stereotypical one. For Epicurus, the most pleasant life is one
where we abstain from unnecessary desires and achieve an inner tranquility (ataraxia) by being content with
simple things, and by choosing the pleasure of philosophical conversation with friends over the pursuit of physical
pleasures like food, drink, and sex
THOUGHT ON HAPPINESS :-
Pleasure is our first and kindred good. It is the starting point of every choice and of every aversion, and to it we
always come back, in as much as we make feeling the rule by which to judge of every good thing.”
His basic ideas are very clearly outlined in his justly famous Letter to Menoeceus. He begins with a claim familiar
from Plato and Aristotle: that we all desire happiness as an end in itself, and all other things are desired as a means
for producing happiness.
Epicurus notes further that we need wisdom to see which pleasures are really pleasurable, and which pains are
necessary to produce pleasure. Some pleasures lead to greater pain, like imbibing copious amounts of alcohol, and
so the wise person will shun them. On the other hand, certain pains, like sadness, can lead to an appreciation for life
or compassion, which are highly pleasurable states. We should not therefore get rid of all negative emotions but
only those that lead to unnecessary pains.
THOUGHT ON JUSTICE :-
Epicurus is one of the first philosophers to give a well-developed contractarian theory of justice. Epicurus says that
justice is an agreement “neither to harm nor be harmed,”and that we have a preconception of justice as “what is
useful in mutual associations.” People enter into communities in order to gain protection from the dangers of the
wild, and agreements concerning the behaviour of the members of the community are needed in order for these
communities to function, e.g., prohibitions of murder, regulations concerning the killing and eating of animals, and
so on. Justice exists only where there are such agreements.
