A Philosophical Crash Course

 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’.

Ethicsmorals

Ethicsmorals

Ethics Morals

 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.

 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…

 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’t- impose-your- values-on-other- people 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.

 Can we ever be truly altruistic?  If we are all always selfish, does selfish even keep its definition?

 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.

 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…

 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.

 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?

 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?

 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

 Encompasses interplay of ◦ politics ◦ society ◦ Economics ◦ psychology  between the individual and the group.

 “Society” defined as larger and generic (too confined by parsimony)  “Group” universal and of more immediate importance to the individual’s well being

 “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 ;)

 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."