Chapter One: Why Be Ethical? Taylor Smith Miki Romanovschi Asfa Shaikh Wardah Malik

In Search of the Good  The device depicted on the cover of the textbook, In Search of the Good: A Catholic Understanding of Moral Living is a sextant  The device is used by sailor to aid navigation  Why is this an appropriate image for this specific course?

Ethics  Stems from the Greek word “ethiko”, which means a “Focus on Good Character”  Ethics can be defined as the “should”; what we feel is the good and the just thing to do  Ethics is about searching for the good in all things, such as day to day actions, and responsibilities. This good is infinite.  Catholic Ethics- relates to the Ten commandments, which state how people are meant to act.  Ethics leads to morality

Morality  From the Latin word: “Moralitas”  Putting our ethics (search for good) into actions through our works and words (our conduct)  Focuses on our actions shaping life, and how they lead us to attain the good

Catholic Morality  An objective right (values, virtues, patterns of life) and wrong ( sins, vice, faults)  Not all moral issues are clear cut, but good over evil should be the main focus  Our conscience is something we do  Morality is learned from others, and taught to others through our actions

Four Types of Ethical Experiences There is a spontaneous decision to help it is not a decision that you make There is an AUTOMATIC RESPONSE which urges you to you not to think but to ACT You are aware of your RESPONSIBILITY to the “other” The Scream The Experience of Personal Response

Four Types of Ethical Experiences The Beggar The Experience of Other A LL FACE TO FACE I NTERACTIONS ARE ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OTHERS. T HE OTHER PERSON TAKES YOU HOSTAGE AS THEY ELICITS A RESPONSE FROM YOU (it can be guilt) and make you responsible The face stays with you even after you decide what to do he or she is inside you while you are busy defending your decision to give or not to give.

Four Types of Ethical Experiences Obligation The Experience of Duty (Change of Ethical Framework) This experience of feeling obliged to obey a rule or law has everything to do with your ethical side. Y OU ARE FORCED TO RESPOND. You feel an intrinsic duty to oblige (i.e. To follow parent’s rules). T HE “ RIGHT THING TO DO.” If you choose to ignore the ethical response, the unrest stays with you.

Four Types of Ethical Experiences Intolerable The Experience of Contrast This experience occurs when you feel outraged by something unfair happening to yourself or to others. I N CONTRAST TO WHAT WE EXPECT OF FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS. When you feel overwhelmed by the unjust suffering of others, the indignation you feel is an experience of contrast with what the world should look like.

Four Types of Ethical Experiences  These experiences lead us to thoughts of “This is intolerable!”  H OW WE BELIEVE THINGS NOT “ OUGHT TO BE ”.

Aristotle ( BCE) Happiness lies within community Pleasure is simply moment’s response to stimuli, while happiness is long lasting, and is when humans are most human. Humans always try to do good

Aristotle  The highest capacity of humans is to be rational  the highest form of happiness is rational behaviour  Central issue was question of character or personality  What does it take for an individual human to be a good person?  Since good is finite, there must be a highest good at which all human activity ultimately aims. This end could be called happiness.

Aristotle  Good in human beings must involve the entire proper function of human life as a whole, and this must be an activity of the soul that expresses genuine virtue or excellence.  To act ethically is to engage our capacity to reason as we develop good character  A person who is truly happy exhibits a personality between reason and desire with moderation characterizing it all.  True happiness can only be attained through cultivation of virtues that make human life complete.

Aristotle  T HE M EAN  “ virtuous habit lies between the vices of excess and deficiency”. Basically, life must be balanced between too good and not good enough.  H APPINESS  the condition of a good person who succeeds in living and acting well.  Virtue of character is the habits of behaving in a certain way.

Aristotle  Good conduct arises from habits arising from repetition and correction.  A person is not responsible for their actions if:  Produced by some external force or against the person’s will  Actions are performed under ignorance  Voluntary decisions involve careful thought about the choice and alternative actions.  Moral actions are in our power to perform or avoid

Immanuel Kant ( ) Theoretical reason- examines what people actually do How humans come to learn things, as a result of the laws of nature and the laws of cause and effect Practical reason-how to evaluate moral choices Beyond scientific knowledge, focus on moral directions guiding behaviour

Kant’s Ethics  Cannot be quantified like math, and therefore cannot be proven rationally  Ethics is based off of practical certainty based of 3 areas: 1.G OD  Humans cannot achieve supreme good by the selves, so God is needed to control the uncontrollable circumstances 2.F REEDOM  Humans are free, so therefore to achieve supreme good we have a duty to do something if we are able to do it 3.I MMORTALITY  Achieving supreme good is impossible to do in one life, so there is a life beyond so we can achieve the supreme good

Kant’s Ethics  Good will  The will to do our duty for no other reason than it is our duty  This is the only thing unconditionally good, it is an independent and internal factor  Deontological  A human action is morally good when it is done for the sake of duty  Therefore moral worth is not measured by the results of actions, but by the motive behind

Kant’s Ethics  Moral Maxims  Duty is determined by principles/maxims  An ethical action must have an ethical principle and apply to everyone  So an ethical maxim would be how rational beings act they were solely using reason  Ends, not a means  Treats people as a means for productions sake, but also combine this with treating a person as a an end never just as a means  M EANS : Providing benefit, providing a service/ purpose, to be used  E NDS : take into consideration the life and dignity of the person providing the means

Emmanuel Levinas ( )  According to Levinas his philosophy as a whole is ethical  For Levinas the good is the central of all philosophy  Levinas went in search of the Good which he said goes beyond the Being  For Levinas the concept of Being is dangerous, because it takes away from the reality  Levinas calls these unique things and persons traces of the Good or God  We do not encounter God anywhere, but only a trace of God

Emmanuel Levinas: The Face as Witness of the Good  The experience of a face to face encounter is significant in our lives  The other has power over us  God has the responsibility to do good for us, so we also have to do good for the other  Ethics is found when people have face to face contact

Emmanuel Levinas: The Face as Ethical  The face of the stranger demands that you recognize it and provide it hospitality  The face reveals you as someone concerned mostly about yourself and this is the face that makes us responsible  The face suggests that there is another order of existence  -the order of an incredible good calling us to be responsible for the beggar with bent head and a mumbling voice  The face is the trace of God, who has already passed by

Emmanuel Levinas: Made responsible by the face  For Levinas the face makes us responsible and this responsibility is our human vocation

Scenario  A young African American man was shot outside of his apartment by a random pedestrian. Witness claim that it that the victim was breaking and entering and the shooting occurred in order to stop a felony. The victim was found innocent of all charges and the random pedestrian is still under inspection by authorities. How would Aristotle, Kant and Levinas approach this action from a moral standpoint?

Chapter One Discussion  Is it important to study ethics and morality?  How does one succeed at living the “good” life?  Definition of “good” is universal or subjective to each individual?

Vocabulary  Teleology  Empiricism  Subjective  Objective  Ethics  Morality  Obligation  Responsibility  Revelation  Autonomy  Deontological Ethics  Desire  Good  Passions  Universal Law  Amoral  Infinite  Duty  Beautiful