Philosophy, ontology and ethics are inextricably linked with each other. 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. It is often synonymous with moral philosophy. As a field of intellectual inquiry, moral philosophy is also related to the fields of psychology, descriptive ethics, and the theory of value. Dialogues about philosophy and ethics are one of the favorite entertainments of philosophy students and people interested in this humanitarian discipline.
Etymology
The English word "ethics" comes from the ancient Greek word ēthikós (ἠθικός), which means "relating to one's character", which in turn comes from the root word êthos (ἦθος), meaning "character, moral". The word then passed 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 rational beings." The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy states that the word "ethics" is usually used as a synonym for "morality" and is sometimes used more narrowly to refer to 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 see it as a concept in its own right.
The word "ethics" in both Russian and English refers to several things. It may refer to ethics in philosophy or moral philosophy, the science that attempts to use reason to answer various moral questions. As the English philosopher Bernard Williams writes in an attempt to explain moral philosophy: "What makes an inquiry philosophical is a reflective generality and a style of argument that achieves rational persuasiveness." Williams views ethics as a discipline that examines a very broad question: "How to live?"
And here is what bioethicist Larry Churchill wrote about it: “Ethics, understood as the ability to critically comprehend moral values and direct our actions in terms of such values, isuniversal quality. Ethics can be used to describe the personality of a particular person, as well as their own characteristics or habits. Through the influence of philosophy and science, ethics has become one of the most discussed issues in society.
Metaethics
This is a kind of ethics in philosophy that examines 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, such as "Should I eat this piece of chocolate cake?" cannot be a meta-ethical question (rather, it is an applied ethical question). The meta-ethical question is abstract and refers to a wide range of more specific practical questions. For example, the question "Is it possible to have reliable knowledge of what is right and what is wrong?" is meta-ethical.
Aristotle assumed that less precise knowledge is possible in ethics than in other areas of study, therefore he considered ethical knowledge as dependent on habit and acculturation in such a way as to be different from other types of knowledge.
Cognitive and non-cognitive theories
Studies of what we know about ethics are divided into cognitivism and non-cognitivism. The latter theory means the view that when we judge something as 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 the assertion that when we talk about right and wrong, we are talking about facts. Philosophy, logic, ethics are inseparable concepts, from the point of view of cognitivists.
The ontology of ethics refers to the values or properties, that is, to the things that ethical statements refer to. Noncognitivists believe that ethics does not need a specific ontology, since ethical provisions do not apply to it. This is called the anti-realist position. Realists, on the other hand, must explain what entities, properties, or positions are relevant to ethics.
Normative ethics
Normative ethics is the study of ethical action. It is this branch of ethics in philosophy that explores the many questions that arise when considering how one should act from a moral point of view. Normative ethics differs from metaethics in that it explores the standards of rightness and wrongness of actions without touching the logical structure and metaphysics of moral factors. Normative ethics also differ from descriptive ethics, since the latter is an empirical study of people's moral beliefs. In other words, descriptive ethics would be concerned with determining what proportion of people believe that killing is always evil, while normative ethics would be concerned only with whether it is right to hold such a belief at all. Hence, normative ethics is sometimes called prescriptive rather than descriptive. However, in some versions of the metaethical perspective, such as moral realism, moral facts are both descriptive and prescriptive.
Traditionally normativeethics (also known as moral theory) was the study of what makes actions right and wrong. These theories offered an overarching moral principle that could be invoked in resolving complex moral dilemmas.
At the turn of the 20th century, moral theories became more complex and no longer concerned only with truth and wrongness, but were concerned with many different forms of morality. In the middle of the century, the study of normative ethics declined as metaethics became more relevant. This emphasis on meta-ethics was driven in part by the intense linguistic focus in analytic philosophy and the popularity of logical positivism.
Socrates and the Question of Virtue
Throughout the history of philosophy, ethics occupies one of the central places in this first science. However, the really intense interest in her supposedly began only with Socrates.
Virtuous ethics describes the character of a moral person as the driving force behind ethical behavior. Socrates (469-399 BC) was one of the first Greek philosophers to call on both pundits and ordinary citizens to shift 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-aware person will act completely within his capabilities, while an ignorant person will putimagine unattainable goals, ignore your own mistakes and face great difficulties.
According to Socrates, a person must be aware of every fact (and its context) relevant to his existence if he is to succeed in the path of self-knowledge. He believed that people, following their nature, will do what is good if they are sure that it is really good. Bad or harmful actions are the result of ignorance. If the criminal really knew about the intellectual and spiritual consequences of his actions, he would not commit them and would not even consider the very possibility of committing them. According to Socrates, anyone who knows what is really right will automatically do just that. That is, according to Socratic philosophy, knowledge, morality, and ethics are inextricably linked concepts. Dialogues about philosophy and ethics abound in the work 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 while remaining pleased with himself. Unhappiness and disappointment are caused by wrong, dishonest behavior, so people need to act in accordance with virtue in order to be content. Aristotle considered happiness to be the ultimate goal of human life. All other things, such as social success or we alth, were considered important to him only to the extent that they were used in the practice of virtues,considered the surest way to happiness according to Aristotle. The problems of the philosophy of ethics, however, were often ignored by this great ancient Greek thinker.
Aristotle argued that the human soul has three natures: body (physical needs/metabolism), animal (emotions/lust) and rational (mental/conceptual). The physical nature can be soothed through exercise and care, the emotional nature through the realization of instincts and urges, and the mental nature through intellectual pursuits and self-development. Rational development was considered the most important, necessary for the development of a person's philosophical self-awareness. Man, according to Aristotle, should not simply exist. He must live according to virtue. Aristotle's views somewhat intersect with Orcse's Dialogue on Philosophy and Ethics.
Stoic Opinion
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus believed that the greatest good is contentment and serenity. Peace of mind (or apathy) is the highest value. Control of your desires and emotions leads to the spiritual world. The "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, he should not be upset, as in the case of the death of a loved one, who consists of flesh and blood and is initially doomed to death. Stoic philosophy asserts that by accepting life as something that cannot bechange, a person is truly elevated.
The era of modernity and Christianity
The modern virtue ethic was popularized in the late 20th century. Anscombe argued that indirect and deontological ethics in philosophy is possible only as a universal theory based on divine law. Being a deeply religious Christian, Anscom suggested that those who did not hold ethical trust in notions of divine law should engage in a virtue ethic that does not require universal laws. Alasdair MacIntyre, who wrote After Virtue, was a key creator and proponent of modern virtue ethics, although some argue that MacIntyre holds a relativistic view based on cultural norms rather than objective standards.
Hedonism
Hedonism claims that the core ethic is to maximize pleasure and minimize 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 advocate individual ethical judgment independent of others to those who claim that moral behavior itself maximizes pleasure and happiness for most people.
Cyrenaica, founded by Aristippus of Cyrene, proclaimed the immediate satisfaction of all desires and unlimited pleasure. They were guided by the principle: "Eat, drink and be merry, becausetomorrow 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. Cyrenean hedonism encouraged the desire for pleasure, believing that pleasure is virtuous in itself.
Epicurean ethics is a hedonistic form of virtuous ethics. Epicurus believed that rightly understood pleasure would coincide with virtue. He rejected the extremism of the Cyrenaics, believing that some pleasures still harm people.
Cosventism
State cosventism is an ethical theory that evaluates the moral value of actions based on how they meet the basic needs of the state. Unlike classical utilitarianism, which considers pleasure as a moral good, cosventists consider order, material well-being, and population growth to be the main goods.
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 one that produces a good result or consequence. This view is often expressed in the form of the aphorism “the ends justify the means.”
The term "cosventism" was coined by G. E. M. Ansk in his essay "Modern Moral Philosophy" in 1958 to describe what he considered to be the central flaw in some moral theories, such as those proposed by Mill and Sidgwick. Since then thisthe term has become generic in English ethical theory.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that states that the right course of action is the one that maximizes positive effects such as happiness, well-being, or the ability to live according to one's personal preferences. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are influential proponents of this philosophical school. Because of this philosophy, ethics as a science has long been largely utilitarian.
Pragmatism
Pragmatic ethics, associated with pragmatic philosophers such as Charles Sanders Peirce, 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.
