History of ethics
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Rationalist Society of Australia President Dr Meredith Doig on the History of Ethics
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History of ethics
- 1. History of Ethics Dr Meredith Doig President Rationalist Society of Australia Inc.
- 3. The usual path … The ancients – Plato, Aristotle – Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius The religionists and medievals – The gospels, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli The moderns – Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Bentham/JS Mill, Kant
- 4. Main schools of ethics Utilitarianism • The moral good = the greatest good for the greatest number • Focus on the outcome of decisions Deontology • The moral good = abiding by universal fundamental principles • Focus on the process of decisions Virtue ethics • The moral good = doing your best in your role • Focus on human character
- 5. The path less travelled … From BCE to BE … and from CE to AE Before the Enlightenment • ethics = observance of vertical hierarchy After the Enlightenment • ethics = respect for horizontal equality
- 6. Ethics = vertical hierarchy Transcendent being Angels or lesser gods Contemplative reason Practical reason Productive reason Emotions Appetites Growth Material elements
- 7. Ethics = vertical hierarchy God Angels Humans Animals Plants Stones
- 8. Ethics = vertical hierarchy Adult men Adult women Children Domestic animals
- 9. Ethics = horizontal equality Equality of humans with one another - leads to human rights movement Equal capacity to feel pleasure and pain - leads to animal rights movement Humans create their own ethics - many ways to lead a good life compatible with a just life - leads to emphasis on individual freedom - and social contract ideas in politics: rule of law under a freely chosen government
- 10. Modern study of ethics Do we really have the freedom to choose our responses to ethical challenges? The Trolley Problem
- 11. Modern study of ethics Hume was right. We are a “slave to our passions”!
- 12. Progressives Conservatives Care / harm Universal care Care for one’s tribe Fairness / reciprocity Concern for social justice Concern with free riders Loyalty … value independence To own tribe Hierarchy … question authority Respect authority Sanctity … moralise about food Moralise about sex Modern study of ethics Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind – Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
Editor's Notes
- To understand the world, one must understand its place in a natural or metaphysical hierarchy Knowledge is morally better than ignorance; reason higher than emotion and appetite; reflective thinking better than practical doing The purpose of each part is to contribute to the whole; the purpose of each level is to serve the higher level
- The higher levels also have a responsibility to serve the whole; therefore there is a special responsibility of higher ranked entities to develop the good character and intelligence to serve the whole properly Which means the lower ranked entities benefit from the special activities of the higher ranked entities And it is contrary to the ethics of this vertical hierarchy for the higher ranked entities to exploit the lower ranked entities. A morally bad person is still metaphysically higher than the (nonhuman) animals and a saintly person is still metaphysically lower than the angels.
- The higher levels also have a responsibility to serve the whole; therefore there is a special responsibility of higher ranked entities to develop the good character and intelligence to serve the whole properly Which means the lower ranked entities benefit from the special activities of the higher ranked entities And it is contrary to the ethics of this vertical hierarchy for the higher ranked entities to exploit the lower ranked entities. The happiest life is one in which human beings engage make use of their highest capacities.
- With a turn away from theological ethics, turn to an ethics based on what we share with non-human animals-a capacity for pleasure and pain, which leads to Utilitarianism And to moral worth as coming from within the individual person Person is a key concept, replacing ‘human nature’. Human nature was understood as body + soul; and Soul = reason + emotions + appetites “Persons” have capacity for practical reasoning, and rational choice Rational choice the basis of morality (leads to Kantian deontology) Distinction between the Good (‘the good life’) and the Right (justice) Accepts that there are a variety of ways to lead a good life compatible with Justice And leads to emphasis on individual freedom And contractual thinking between free individuals becomes important – leading to social contract theories of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Rawls