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Ethics and Human Nature ETHICS: A MATTER OF CHOICE? Three Questions What is human nature? Are humans free? Are humans inclined to be ethical or not? Human Nature and Ethics Human nature tells us what is possible for us to do or to become Ethics tells us what we ought to do or become If it is impossible for us to do or to become something, we cannot have an ethical obligation to do or become that For example, a human cannot be held ethically responsible for breathing underwater without some aiding device Can We Do What We Ought? Different theories of ethics argue that we should do different things to become ethical All theories urge us to become ethical In general the various approaches call us to be unselfish and to care about others Are we as humans inclined to be ethical? Are we instead inclined to be unethical? Are we by nature neutral toward ethical life? Does Choice Require Freedom? Hard determinists say we have no free will, therefore there can be no ethical behavior There are many types of determinists and all say what happens is inevitable What do you think the beliefs of these types of determinists might be: Psychological, theological, causal, genetic? Freedom? Compatibilism Compatibilists believe in determinism Yet they say we are still free Human nature includes the ability to deliberate When we act from deliberation we are acting freely This is true even though the action was determined A Case Freedom? Libertarianism Humans are unlike all the rest of creation in that we are free to make choices This is a denial of the truth of determinism Rene Descartes says : Our actions are free when they emerge from the mind (reasoning or deliberation). Our minds can manage our body’s actions. The mind or will is exempt from the laws of physics making choice and ethics possible Human Nature:Inclined? Does my nature incline me to good? Away from good? Neither? Inclines us to good: Mencius and the Taoists Away from good: Xunzi and Hobbes Neither: Dong Shongshu, Yang Xiong and the Existentialists Humans Innately Good Mencius’ story of natural sympathy We are called to develop our natural inclination to the good. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Taoists: Before humans lived in society, they were in harmony with nature We are called to unlearn the rules of society and return to our natural goodness Humans Innately Bad Xunzi believed that human nature is naturally selfish, but can become good through deliberate, conscious effort, especially in social roles shaped by ritual education. Thus develop a second nature or morally virtuous core. Hobbes was a rational egoist. He believed that joining society leads us to make the most of longer-term interests rather than immediate gratification. He was pessimistic about humans and called for authoritarian rulers. Human Nature: Neutral Yang Xiong: Human nature is a pull toward both good and bad. We develop good or bad habits Dong Zhongshu the yang was good and the yin was bad Both Yang and Dong: We feel the pull toward good, but are also tempted to wrong We have the power to embrace the good Human Nature has no ethics Existentialists: We have no tendencies to good or bad because human nature is not ethical There is no moral direction to be pulled toward or away from Sartre: Human condition is one of radical freedom; we must choose our own directions; there is no outside standard.