An Introduction to Philosophy
Lecture 06: Moral Philosophy
James Mooney
Open Studies
The University of Edinburgh
j.mooney@ed.ac.uk
www.filmandphilosophy.com
@film_philosophy
An Introduction to Philosophy
Lecture 06: Moral Philosophy
James Mooney
Open Studies
The University of Edinburgh
j.mooney@ed.ac.uk
www.filmandphilosophy.com
@film_philosophy
In this work, we try to find answers, in clear and simple language that agree with the common sense of most people, to questions such as: What are the basic aspirations of human being? What are goods and values? Can we aspire to find truth, beauty, goodness, love and happiness? Is there a commonly accepted concept of good and evil? What are the motivations that move human beings to do good? Are there universal moral laws? Is man good by nature? Does the problem of moral and social evils have a solution? What is conscience? Can ethics offer a solution to current human problems?
Visit www.RMPSuccess.com
Kantian ethics is, arguably, the most beautiful Philosophy written. It is grand, intimidating, and at times quixotic; however, it has been an integral component of the Higher and Intermediate curriculum and thus required the proper intention. When a student is faced with Kant’s lofty descriptions of ‘duty’ and ‘good’ one can’t help but feel for them. I must assure you, whilst bearing in mind everything I have said, for the studious mind it is also one of the most engaging pieces of philosophy and one in which you will be able to write about hopefully with interest.
Who are we? If we are not a thing, what are we? Who is talking when I say “I”.
Is there any present-day approach to the self which takes into account the naturalistic claim without losing the self, its existence and its durability?
Is there any contemporary account of the self which let us defend the narrative and cultural production of the self without converting the self into a fake, into something strictly decided by others either culturally or evolutionarily.
A response to these challenges can be found by mixing a phenomenological and an hermeneutical approach.
In this work, we try to find answers, in clear and simple language that agree with the common sense of most people, to questions such as: What are the basic aspirations of human being? What are goods and values? Can we aspire to find truth, beauty, goodness, love and happiness? Is there a commonly accepted concept of good and evil? What are the motivations that move human beings to do good? Are there universal moral laws? Is man good by nature? Does the problem of moral and social evils have a solution? What is conscience? Can ethics offer a solution to current human problems?
Visit www.RMPSuccess.com
Kantian ethics is, arguably, the most beautiful Philosophy written. It is grand, intimidating, and at times quixotic; however, it has been an integral component of the Higher and Intermediate curriculum and thus required the proper intention. When a student is faced with Kant’s lofty descriptions of ‘duty’ and ‘good’ one can’t help but feel for them. I must assure you, whilst bearing in mind everything I have said, for the studious mind it is also one of the most engaging pieces of philosophy and one in which you will be able to write about hopefully with interest.
Who are we? If we are not a thing, what are we? Who is talking when I say “I”.
Is there any present-day approach to the self which takes into account the naturalistic claim without losing the self, its existence and its durability?
Is there any contemporary account of the self which let us defend the narrative and cultural production of the self without converting the self into a fake, into something strictly decided by others either culturally or evolutionarily.
A response to these challenges can be found by mixing a phenomenological and an hermeneutical approach.
1 Aristotle Virtue Ethics Aristotle and .docxmercysuttle
1
Aristotle
Virtue Ethics
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης, Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC)[1] was a Greek philosopher
and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.
His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic,
rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato's teacher), Aristotle is one of the most important
founding figures in Western philosophy.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Aristotle's writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy,
encompassing morality, aesthetics, logic, science, politics, and metaphysics.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics
The Nicomachean Ethics /nɪˌkɒmæˈkiːən/ is the name normally given to Aristotle's best
known work on ethics.
The work, which plays a pre-eminent role in defining Aristotelian ethics, consists of ten
books, originally separate scrolls, and is understood to be based on notes from his
lectures at the Lyceum, which were either edited by or dedicated to Aristotle's son,
Nicomachus.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
The theme of the work is the Socratic question which had previously been explored in Plato's
works, of how men should best live. In his Metaphysics, Aristotle described how Socrates turned
philosophy to human questions, whereas Pre-Socratic philosophy had only been theoretical.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Ethics, as now separated out for discussion by Aristotle, is practical rather than theoretical, in
the original Aristotelian senses of these terms. In other words it is not only a contemplation
about good living, but also aims to create good living.
Link to an electronic version of Nicomachean Ethics
2
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Aristotle begins the work by positing that there exists some ultimate good toward which, in the
final analysis, all human actions ultimately aim. The necessary characteristics of the ultimate
good are that it is complete, final, self-sufficient and continuous.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
This good toward which all human actions implicitly or explicitly aim is happiness ‹ in Greek,
"eudaimonia," which can also be translated as blessedness or living well, and which is not a
static state of being but a type of activity.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Ethical virtue "is a habit disposed toward action by deliberate choice, being at the mean relative
to us, and defined by reason as a prudent man would define it." Each of the elements of this
definition is important.
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
Virtue is not simply an isolated action but a habit of acting well. For an action to be virtuous a
person must do it deliberately, kn ...
The Ring of Gyges” byPlatoRelief of PlatoThoemmes Press.docxlillie234567
“The Ring of Gyges” by
Plato
Relief of PlatoThoemmes Press
About the author. . . . Other than anecdotal accounts, not much is known
about Plato’s early life. The association with his friend and mentor Socrates
was undoubtedly a major influence. Plato’s founding of the Academy, a
school formed for scientific and mathematical investigation, not only es-
tablished the systematic beginning of Western science but also influenced
the structure of higher education from medieval to modern times. Plutarch
once wrote, “Plato is philosophy, and philosophy is Plato.”
About the work. . . . Glaucon, the main speaker of this reading from Plato’s
Republic,1 expresses a widely and deeply-held ethical point of view known
as egoism—a view taught by a Antiphon, a sophistic contemporary of
Socrates. Egoistic theories are founded on the belief that everyone acts
only from the motive of self-interest. For example, the egoist accounts for
the fact that people help people on the basis of what the helpers might get
in return from those helped or others like them. This view, neither rep-
resentative of Plato’s nor of Socrates’s philosophy, is presented here by
Glaucon as a stalking horse for the development of a more thoroughly
developed ethical theory. Although Socrates held that everyone attempts
to act from the motive of “self-interest,” his interpretation of that motive
is quite different from the view elaborated by Glaucon because Glaucon
1. Plato.The Republic. Trans. by Benjamin Jowlett, Book II, 358d—361d.
1
“The Ring of Gyges” by Plato
seems unaware of the attendant formative effects on the soul by actions
for short-term pleasure.
From the reading. . .
“. . . those who practice justice do so involuntarily and because they
have not the power to be unjust. . . ”
Ideas of Interest from “The Ring of
Gyges”
1. According to the Glaucon’s brief, why do most persons act justly?
Explain whether you think Glaucon’s explanation is psychologically
correct.
2. If a person could be certain not only that an action resulting in per-
sonal benefit would not be discovered but also that if this action were
discovered, no punishing consequences would follow, then would there
any reason for that person to act morally?
3. Is it true that sometimes our self-interest is served bynotacting in our
self-interest? Fyodor Dostoevsky writes:
Advantage! What is advantage? And will you take it upon yourself to
define with perfect accuracy in what the advantage of a man consists?
And what if it so happens that a man’s advantage,sometimes, not only
may, but even must, consist in his desiring in certain cases what is harm-
ful to himself and not advantageous.2
Construct an example illustrating this view, and attempt to resolve the
paradoxical expression of the question.
2. Fyodor Dostoevsky.Notes from Underground. Trans. Constance Garnett. 1864.
2 Reading For Philosophical Inquiry: A Brief Introduction
“The Ring of Gyges” by Plato
4. Quite often people are pleased when the.
Exploring the Mindfulness Understanding Its Benefits.pptxMartaLoveguard
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Slide 2: Introduction to Mindfulness
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Practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, improving overall quality of life.
Mindfulness increases awareness of our emotions and teaches us to manage them better, leading to improved mood.
Regular mindfulness practice can improve our ability to concentrate and focus our attention on the present moment.
Slide 4: Benefits of Mindfulness for Physical Health
Research has shown that practicing mindfulness can contribute to lowering blood pressure, which is beneficial for heart health.
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Mindfulness may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity by reducing stress and improving overall lifestyle habits.
Slide 5: Impact of Mindfulness on Relationships
Mindfulness can help us better understand others and improve communication, leading to healthier relationships.
By focusing on the present moment and being fully attentive, mindfulness helps build stronger and more authentic connections with others.
Mindfulness teaches us how to be present for others in difficult times, leading to increased compassion and understanding.
Slide 6: Mindfulness Techniques and Practices
Focusing on the breath and mindful breathing can be a simple way to enter a state of mindfulness.
Body scan meditation involves focusing on different parts of the body, paying attention to any sensations and feelings.
Practicing mindful walking and eating involves consciously focusing on each step or bite, with full attention to sensory experiences.
Slide 7: Incorporating Mindfulness into Daily Life
You can practice mindfulness in everyday activities such as washing dishes or taking a walk in the park.
Adding mindfulness practice to daily routines can help increase awareness and presence.
Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our needs and better manage our time, leading to balance and harmony in life.
Slide 8: Summary: Embracing Mindfulness for Full Living
Mindfulness can bring numerous benefits for physical and mental health.
Regular mindfulness practice can help achieve a fuller and more satisfying life.
Mindfulness has the power to change our perspective and way of perceiving the world, leading to deeper se
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The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
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2. What is Ethics?
• Meta-Ethics
– Addresses questions about the nature of ethics itself.
What is morality? Is morality objective or subjective?
• Normative Ethics
– Focuses on the ethical standards (norms) on which
moral conduct is based. Is the rightness and
wrongness of an act determined its consequences?
Should I always act in accordance with my duty?
• Applied Ethics
– Applies philosophical theory to practical issues. Is
abortion permissible? Is there a distinction between
killing and letting die? How ought we to act in war?
What is the proper form of punishment?
3. Outlining the basic positions
• Objectivism (realism)
– The view that values and properties (goodness, beauty) exist independently of
human apprehension of them.
• Subjectivism (anti-realism)
– The view that values such as goodness and beauty are not a feature of external
reality but a product of human beliefs and responses to it.
• Absolutism
– The view that certain actions are right or wrong under any circumstances.
• Relativism
– In terms of ethics, the view that notions of rightness and wrongness are wholly
determined by, and relative to, particular cultures.
• Deontology
– The view that rightness or wrongness of an action is determined solely in terms
of duty or intension, irrespective of consequences.
• Consequentialism
– The view that the rightness or wrongness of an action should be solely
determined by its consequences.
4. “Is the pious loved by the gods because it
is pious, or is it pious because it is loved
by the gods?”
Plato, Euthyphro (c.375BCE))
Divine
Command
Theory
5. Moral “When Darius was king of Persia, he
Relativism summoned the Greeks who happened
to be present at his court, and asked
them what they would take to eat the
dead bodies of their fathers. They
replied that they would not do it for
any money in the world. Later, in the
presence of the Greeks and through an
interpreter (so they could understand
what was said) he asked some Indian,
of the tribe Callatiae, who do in fact
eat their parents’ dead bodies, what
they would take to burn them [as was
the Greek custom]. They uttered a cry
of horror and forbade him to mention
such a dreadful thing. One can see by
this what custom can do, and Pindar, in
my opinion was right when he called it
‘king of all’.”
Herodotus, Histories (c.440BCE)
6. Emotivism
“Take any action allow’d to be vicious: Wilful murder, for instance.
Examine it in all lights, and see if you can find the matter of fact, or
real existence, which you call vice… You can never find it, till you
turn your reflection into your own breast, and find a sentiment of
disapprobation, which arises in you, toward this action. Here is a
matter of fact; but ‘tis the object of feeling, not reason.”
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, 1740
Boo! Hurrah!
8. Utilitarianism
‘The greatest
happiness of the
greatest number’
“Nature has placed mankind
under the governance of two
sovereign masters, pain and
pleasure. It is for them alone to
point out what we ought to do.”
Introduction to the Principles of Morals
and Legislation (1789)
Jeremy Bentham
1748-1832
9. Higher and
Lower Pleasures
“It is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied;
better to be Socrates dissatisfied
than a fool satisfied. And if the
fool, or the pig, are of a
different opinion, it is because
they only know their own side
of the question.”
“Prejudice apart… the game of
John Stuart Mill push-pin is of equal value with the arts
and sciences of music and poetry”
(Bentham)
1806-1873
10. The Experience Machine
“Suppose there were an experience machine that
would give you any experience you desired.
Superduper neuropsychologists could stimulate your
brain so that you would think that you were writing a
great novel, or making a friend, or reading an
interesting book. All the time you would be floating
in a tank, with electrodes attached to your brain.
Should you plug into this machine for life,
preprogramming your life’s desires? … Of course,
while in the tank you won’t know that you’re there;
you’ll think it’s all actually happening … Would you
plug in? What else can matter to us, other than how
our lives feel from the inside?”
Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State,and Utopia, 1974
12. Kantianism
‘The categorical
imperative’
“Act only in accordance with that maxim
through which you can at the same time will
that it become a universal law.”
Immanuel
“Act in such a way that you treat humanity,
whether in your own person or in the person of
another, always at the same time as an end and Kant
never simply as a means.”
Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (1785) 1724-1804
15. A return to virtue?
• Virtue Ethics
– Competitor to Utilitarianism and Kantianism
– Asks ‘What sort of person should I be?’ as
opposed to ‘What should I do?’
– Emphasis on character, not on individual action.
The goodness of an action derives from the person
that performs it, not vice versa.
– Inspiration for contemporary virtue ethics comes
from Aristotle.
16. Aristotle’s Ethics
• Aristotle believes that everything has a purpose or function (ergon) which it must perfect
in order to flourish.
• The ergon for humans is to live according to reason.
• This involves developing the excellences of character which he identifies as the virtues.
• A good upbringing is important to becoming a virtuous person.
• Living according to the virtues is known as eudaimonia.
• Aristotle proposes twelve moral virtues:
– Courage, temperance, liberality, magnificence, magnanimity, proper ambition, patience,
truthfulness, wittiness, friendliness, modesty, righteous indignation.
• The ‘doctrine of the mean’
– Aristotle states that the virtuous person must avoid the vices of excess or deficiency and act
according to the mean.
– E.g. One must be courageous rather than cowardly; but not to the extent of being foolhardy.
• The ‘unity of the virtues’
– In addition, in order to have any one virtue, one must possess them all. This enables you to
choose the mean between them.
– E,g. One must be able to identify at what stage truthfulness should give way to
loyalty.
17. “The Good of man is the active exercise of his
soul’s faculties in accordance with excellence or
virtue… Moreover, this activity must occupy a complete
lifetime; for one swallow does not make spring,
nor does one fine day.”
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, c.350BCE