Philosophy, ontology and ethics are inextricably linked. However, the latter seeks to resolve issues of human morality. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that defines such concepts as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. She is often synonymous with moral philosophy. As a field of intellectual research, moral philosophy is also associated with the fields of psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory. Dialogues on philosophy and ethics are one of the favorite entertainments of students of philosophical faculties and people interested in this humanitarian discipline.
Etymology
The English word "ethics" comes from the ancient Greek word ēthikós (ἠθικός), which means "referring to one’s character," which in turn comes from the root word êthos (ἦθος), meaning "character, moral." The word then went into Latin as etica, and then into French and through it into all other European languages.
Definition
Rushworth Kidder argues that standard definitions of ethics usually include phrases such as “the science of the ideal human character” or “the science of moral duty.” Richard William Paul and Linda Elder define ethics as “a set of concepts and principles that enable us to determine what behavior helps or harms sentient beings.” The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy states that the word “ethics” is usually used as a synonym for the word “morality,” and is sometimes used more narrowly to denote the moral principles of a particular tradition, group, or individual. Some believe that most people confuse ethics with behavior in accordance with social norms, religious beliefs and the law, and do not consider it an independent concept.
The word "ethics" in both Russian and English refers to several things. It can refer to ethics in philosophy or moral philosophy - a science that tries to use the mind to answer various moral questions. As the English philosopher Bernard Williams writes, trying to explain moral philosophy: "What makes a study philosophical is a reflective community and style of argument, seeking rational persuasiveness." Williams sees ethics as a discipline that explores a very broad question: “How to live?”
And here is what bioethic Larry Churchill wrote about her: "Ethics, understood as the ability to critically interpret moral values and guide our actions in terms of such values, is a universal quality." Ethics can be used to describe the personality of a particular person, as well as their own characteristics or habits. Thanks to the influence of philosophy and science, ethics has become one of the most discussed issues in society.
Meta-ethics
This is a kind of ethics in philosophy, exploring the question of what exactly we understand, know and mean when we talk about what is right and what is wrong. An ethical question related to a specific practical situation, for example, “Should I eat this piece of chocolate cake?” Cannot be a metaethical question (rather, it is an applied ethical question). The metaethical question is abstract and relates to a wide range of more specific practical issues. For example, the question “Is it possible to have reliable knowledge about what is right and what is wrong?” is metaethical.
Aristotle suggested that in ethics less accurate knowledge is possible than in other areas of research, therefore he considered ethical knowledge as dependent on habit and acculturation in such a way as to differ from other types of knowledge.
Cognitive and non-cognitive theories
Research into what we know about ethics is divided into cognitive and non-cognitive. The latter theory means the view that when we judge something morally right or wrong, it is neither true nor false. We can, for example, only express our emotional feelings about these things. Cognitivism can be seen as a statement that when we talk about right and wrong, we are talking about facts. Philosophy, logic, ethics are inextricable concepts, from the point of view of cognitive scientists.
Ontology of ethics refers to values or properties, that is, to objects referenced by ethical provisions. Non-cognitive scientists believe that ethics does not need a specific ontology, since ethical provisions do not apply to it. This is called an anti-realistic position. Realists, on the other hand, must explain which entities, properties, or positions are relevant to ethics.
Regulatory ethics
Normative ethics is the study of ethical actions. It is this branch of ethics in philosophy that explores the many questions that arise when considering how to act from a moral point of view. Normative ethics differs from metaethics in that it examines the standards of correctness and incorrectness of actions without touching the logical structure and metaphysics of moral factors. Normative ethics also differs from descriptive ethics, since the latter is an empirical study of people's moral beliefs. In other words, descriptive ethics would be connected with determining what proportion of people think that killing is always evil, while normative ethics only concerns whether it is right to adhere to such a belief. Consequently, normative ethics is sometimes called prescriptive rather than descriptive. However, in some versions of the metaetic point of view, for example, in moral realism, moral facts are simultaneously descriptive and prescriptive.
Traditionally, normative ethics (also known as moral theory) has been to study what makes actions right and wrong. These theories offered a comprehensive moral principle that could be addressed in solving complex moral dilemmas.
At the turn of the 20th century, moral theories became more complex and no longer concerned only with truthfulness and incorrectness, but were interested in many different forms of morality. In the middle of the century, the study of normative ethics declined, as meta-ethics became more relevant. This emphasis on meta-ethics was partially triggered by the intense linguistic focus in analytical philosophy and the popularity of logical positivism.
Socrates and the question of virtue
Throughout the history of philosophy, ethics has been at the forefront of this first of all sciences. However, a truly intense interest in her supposedly began only with Socrates.
Virtuous ethics describes the character of a moral person as the driving force of ethical behavior. Socrates (469-399 BC) was one of the first Greek philosophers to encourage both learned men and ordinary citizens to switch their attention from the outside world to the moral state of mankind. From this point of view, knowledge related to human life was the most valuable, and all other knowledge was secondary. Self-knowledge was considered necessary for success and was inherently an important good. A self-knowing person will act completely within his abilities, while an ignorant person will set unattainable goals for himself, ignore his own mistakes and will face great difficulties.
According to Socrates, a person must be aware of every fact (and its context) related to his existence if he wants to achieve success on the path of self-knowledge. He believed that people, following their nature, would do what was good if they were confident that it was really good. Bad or evil actions are the result of ignorance. If the criminal really knew about the intellectual and spiritual consequences of his actions, he would not have committed them and would not even have considered the very possibility of their commission. According to Socrates, anyone who knows what really is right will automatically do just that. That is, according to Socratic philosophy, knowledge, morality, and ethics are concepts inextricably linked with each other. Dialogues about philosophy and ethics abound in the works of Plato - the main student of Socrates.
Aristotle's Views
Aristotle (384-323 BC) created an ethical system that can be called "virtuous." According to Aristotle, when a person acts in accordance with virtue, he will do good deeds, remaining satisfied with himself. Unhappiness and disappointment are caused by improper, dishonest behavior, so people need to act in accordance with virtue in order to be satisfied. Aristotle considered happiness the ultimate goal of human life. All other things, such as social success or wealth, were considered important to them only to the extent that they were used in the practice of virtues, which is considered the surest path to happiness according to Aristotle. The problems of ethical philosophy, however, were often ignored by this great ancient Greek thinker.
Aristotle argued that the human soul has three natures: the body (physical needs / metabolism), the animal (emotions / lust) and the rational (mental / conceptual). The physical nature can be reassured with the help of physical exercises and care, the emotional nature through the realization of instincts and impulses, and the mental nature through intellectual pursuits and self-development. Rational development was considered the most important, necessary for the development of philosophical self-awareness of man. Man, according to Aristotle, should not just exist. He must live guided by virtue. Aristotle's views somewhat overlap with Orksay's “Dialogue on Philosophy and Ethics”.
The opinion of the Stoics
The stoic philosopher Epictetus believed that satisfaction and tranquility were the greatest good. Peace of mind (or apathy) is the highest value. Controlling one’s desires and emotions leads to the spiritual world. “Invincible will” is central to this philosophy. The will of the individual must be independent and inviolable. Also, according to the Stoics, a person needs freedom from material attachments. If a thing breaks, it should not be upset, as in the case of the death of a loved one, which consists of flesh and blood and is initially doomed to death. Stoic philosophy argues that by accepting life as something that cannot be changed, a person is truly exalted.
The era of modernity and Christianity
Modern virtuous ethics was popularized at the end of the 20th century. Anskom argued that indirect and deontological ethics in philosophy is possible only as a universal theory based on divine law. As a deeply religious Christian, Anskiy suggested that those who did not adhere to the ethical trust in the concepts of divine law should engage in an ethics of virtue that does not require universal laws. Alasdeir MacIntyre, who wrote The After Virtue, was a key creator and proponent of modern ethics of virtue, although some argue that MacIntyre adheres to a relativistic point of view based on cultural norms rather than objective standards.
Hedonism
Hedonism argues that the main ethics is maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. There are several hedonistic schools, ranging from those who advocate submission to even short-term desires, to those who teach the pursuit of spiritual bliss. When considering the consequences of human actions, they range from those who favor an individual ethical assessment independent of others to those who claim that moral behavior in itself maximizes pleasure and happiness for most people.
The Cyrenaics, founded by Aristippus of Cyrena, proclaimed the immediate satisfaction of all lust and unlimited pleasure. They were guided by the principle: "Eat, drink and have fun, because tomorrow we will die." Even fleeting desires must be satisfied, because there is a danger that the opportunity to satisfy them at any moment may be lost. Cyrene hedonism encouraged the pursuit of pleasure, believing that pleasure is virtuous in itself.
Epicurean ethics is a hedonistic form of virtuous ethics. Epicurus believed that properly understood pleasure would coincide with virtue. He rejected the extremism of the Cyrenaics, believing that some pleasures still harm people.
Cosventism
State indirectism is an ethical theory that evaluates the moral value of actions based on how they meet the basic needs of the state. In contrast to classical utilitarianism, which considers pleasure as a moral good, indirectists consider order, material well-being, and population growth as the main benefits.
Cosventism, or consequentialism, refers to moral theories that emphasize the importance of the consequences of a particular action. Thus, from an indirect point of view, a morally correct action is an action that gives a good result or consequence. This point of view is often expressed in the form of the aphorism “means justify the end”.
The term “indirectism” was coined by G. .. M. Anskom in his essay “Modern Moral Philosophy” in 1958 to describe what he considered to be the central error of some moral theories, such as those proposed by Mill and Sidgwick. Since then, this term has become common in English ethical theory.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that argues that the right course of action is one that maximizes the positive effect, such as happiness, wealth, or the ability to live according to personal preferences. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are influential supporters of this philosophical school. Thanks to this philosophy, ethics as a science has long been largely utilitarian.
Pragmatism
Pragmatic ethics associated with pragmatic philosophers such as Charles Sanders Pearce, William James, and especially John Dewey, believe that moral correctness evolves similarly to scientific knowledge. Thus, moral concepts, according to pragmatists, need to be reformed from time to time. The modern ethics of social philosophy is largely based on the views of pragmatists.