Download Ethics

A Philosophical Crash Course
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Ethics – plural noun
◦ 1 the moral principles governing or
influencing conduct.
◦ 2 the branch of knowledge
concerned with moral principles.
Both ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’ are
derived from words that originally
meant ‘custom’.
Ethics
morals
Ethics
morals
Ethics
Morals
Morals
Morals
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extreme unwillingness to spend money or use
resources
In ethical philosophy, one uses parsimony to
avoid the complications of dealing with the
individual and case studies.
Extreme parsimony even excludes groups
within society.
 Implies
there
are definite
rights and
wrongs that
apply all over
the world and
for all people
 Implies
that all
people should
be judged by a
“higher uniting
ethical code”

Implies if people do not live up to the code
they should be punished

Implies all people
around the world
should be judged
and coerced into
living by the
standard—and
only then will they
live an ethically
correct life
 There
is no real
wrong or right
answer
 Ethics
are
created by
cultures in
which the
ethics apply.
One culture cannot judge what is right
or wrong in another culture…
…because they cannot understand
the other culture well enough.
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It is impossible for one culture to
justify imposing its ethical standards
upon another culture.
Cultural and ethical imperialism only
leads to misunderstanding, agitation,
and oftentimes, open hostility.

When one culture imposes its values on other
cultures…
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Imagine we meet a
new civilization…
let’s call them the
One-Eyed Thugs.
The One-Eyed
Thugs impose their
values on other
cultures.

“In our culture it is
OK to impose our
values on other
people, and you
have no right to
impose your value
that you-shouldn’timpose-yourvalues-on-otherpeople on us!”

What the One-Eyed
Thugs are saying
is…
while tolerance may
be a value in your
culture, it is not a
value in their
culture.
A relativist has to accept the One-Eyed Thug’s
culture and values… even if they do not align
with the value of tolerance in the relativist’s
culture.
Ergo… universal tolerance is not consistent
with moral relativism.
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Can we ever be truly altruistic?
If we are all always selfish, does selfish even
keep its definition?
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The Leviathan (lev-eye-eth-en)
Human nature and the need for a strong
government to curb man’s inherently selfish
nature.

Just as a sea monster lurks beneath the tranquil
surface of the water, so does something also
equally as dangerous and terrible lurk beneath
the seemingly calm surface of makind’s
civilization.
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The sea monster metaphor applies both to
the individual and the society.
Consider where we see the potential for
human selfishness within individuals…
Consider where we see the potential for
human selfishness within societies…

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If humans are be nature selfish, why have we
not destroyed ourselves?
Hobbes suggests that humans recognize that
to reach our long-term goals, we must make
short-term sacrifices.
◦ E.g. We will not rob our neighbor to attain
immediate wealth because if this were acceptable
behavior, we would continuously be afraid the
neighbor would come steal our money.

Therefore we enter a social contract.
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Has the rise in capitalism and
industrialization made us more selfish? And
therefore further ethical constraints are
necessary?
To what extent can this be true if empathy
and selfishness are considered to be equal in
terms of biological inheritance?
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If we capitulate to the ethics of our society,
are we rewarded?
Is the reward enough to stimulate and
mediate ethical behavior in a society?

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Is it merely the fear of punishment that keeps
us in line and prevents “wrong” doing?
Consider the changes in people’s actions
when they know they can or cannot be
caught.
A Philosopher

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Encompasses interplay of
◦ politics
◦ society
◦ Economics
◦ psychology
between the individual and the group.
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“Society” defined as larger and generic
(too confined by parsimony)
“Group” universal and of more
immediate importance to the
individual’s well being
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“The struggle between the individual and the
group.”
Remember that the group is a smaller, more
immediate section of society.
This could be family … this could be a farm ;)
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The individual's relationship to the particular
group in which he or she lives and functions,
and, in turn, the group's attitude toward the
individual will ultimately determine the
individual's autonomy, that is, his freedom to
be himself; to be.
align with
existentialism?

"If you hate violence and don't believe in
politics, the only major remedy remaining is
education. Perhaps society is past praying for,
but there is always hope for the individual
human being."