CookiesontheBBCwebsite

Weusecookiestoensurethatwegiveyouthebestexperienceonourwebsite.Ifyoucontinuewithoutchangingyour
settings,we'llassumethatyouarehappytoreceiveallcookiesontheBBCwebsite.However,ifyouwouldliketo,you
canchangeyourcookiesettingsatanytime.
Continue
Findoutmore

Thispagehasbeenarchivedandisnolongerupdated.
Findoutmoreaboutpagearchiving.

Ethics:ageneralintroduction
Ethicsareasystemofmoralprinciplesandabranchofphilosophywhichdefineswhatisgoodforindividualsandsociety.

Whatisethics?
Atitssimplest,ethicsisasystemofmoralprinciples.Theyaffecthowpeoplemakedecisionsandleadtheirlives.
Ethicsisconcernedwithwhatisgoodforindividualsandsocietyandisalsodescribedasmoralphilosophy.
ThetermisderivedfromtheGreekwordethoswhichcanmeancustom,habit,characterordisposition.
Ethicscoversthefollowingdilemmas:
howtoliveagoodlife
ourrightsandresponsibilities
thelanguageofrightandwrong
moraldecisionswhatisgoodandbad?
Ourconceptsofethicshavebeenderivedfromreligions,philosophiesandcultures.Theyinfusedebatesontopicslike
abortion,humanrightsandprofessionalconduct.

Approachestoethics
Philosophersnowadaystendtodivideethicaltheoriesintothreeareas:metaethics,normativeethicsandappliedethics.
Metaethicsdealswiththenatureofmoraljudgement.Itlooksattheoriginsandmeaningofethicalprinciples.
Normativeethicsisconcernedwiththecontentofmoraljudgementsandthecriteriaforwhatisrightorwrong.
Appliedethicslooksatcontroversialtopicslikewar,animalrightsandcapitalpunishment

Whatuseisethics?
Ifethicaltheoriesaretobe
usefulinpractice,theyneed
toaffectthewayhuman
beingsbehave.
Somephilosophersthink
thatethicsdoesdothis.
Theyarguethatifaperson

Ethicsneedstoprovideanswers.Photo:GeoffreyHolman
realisesthatitwouldbe
morallygoodtodosomethingthenitwouldbeirrationalforthatpersonnottodoit.

Buthumanbeingsoftenbehaveirrationallytheyfollowtheir'gutinstinct'evenwhentheirheadsuggestsadifferent
courseofaction.
However,ethicsdoesprovidegoodtoolsforthinkingaboutmoralissues.

Ethicscanprovideamoralmap
Mostmoralissuesgetusprettyworkedupthinkofabortionandeuthanasiaforstarters.Becausethesearesuch
emotionalissuesweoftenletourheartsdothearguingwhileourbrainsjustgowiththeflow.
Butthere'sanotherwayoftacklingtheseissues,andthat'swherephilosopherscancomeintheyofferusethicalrules
andprinciplesthatenableustotakeacoolerviewofmoralproblems.
Soethicsprovidesuswithamoralmap,aframeworkthatwecanusetofindourwaythroughdifficultissues.

Ethicscanpinpointadisagreement
Usingtheframeworkofethics,twopeoplewhoarearguingamoralissuecanoftenfindthatwhattheydisagreeaboutis
justoneparticularpartoftheissue,andthattheybroadlyagreeoneverythingelse.
Thatcantakealotofheatoutoftheargument,andsometimesevenhintatawayforthemtoresolvetheirproblem.
Butsometimesethicsdoesn'tprovidepeoplewiththesortofhelpthattheyreallywant.

Ethicsdoesn'tgiverightanswers
Ethicsdoesn'talwaysshowtherightanswertomoralproblems.
Indeedmoreandmorepeoplethinkthatformanyethicalissuesthereisn'tasinglerightanswerjustasetofprinciples
thatcanbeappliedtoparticularcasestogivethoseinvolvedsomeclearchoices.
Somephilosophersgofurtherandsaythatallethicscandoiseliminateconfusionandclarifytheissues.Afterthatit'sup
toeachindividualtocometotheirownconclusions.

Ethicscangiveseveralanswers
Manypeoplewanttheretobeasinglerightanswertoethicalquestions.Theyfindmoralambiguityhardtolivewith
becausetheygenuinelywanttodothe'right'thing,andeveniftheycan'tworkoutwhatthatrightthingis,theylikethe
ideathat'somewhere'thereisonerightanswer.
Butoftenthereisn'tonerightanswertheremaybeseveralrightanswers,orjustsomeleastworstanswersandthe
individualmustchoosebetweenthem.
Forothersmoralambiguityisdifficultbecauseitforcesthemtotakeresponsibilityfortheirownchoicesandactions,
ratherthanfallingbackonconvenientrulesandcustoms.

Ethicsandpeople
Ethicsisaboutthe'other'
Attheheartofethicsisaconcernaboutsomethingor
someoneotherthanourselvesandourowndesiresand
selfinterest.
Ethicsisconcernedwithotherpeople'sinterests,with
theinterestsofsociety,withGod'sinterests,with
"ultimategoods",andsoon.

Ethicsisconcernedwithotherpeople

Ethicsassourceofgroupstrength

Sowhenaperson'thinksethically'theyaregivingat
leastsomethoughttosomethingbeyondthemselves.

Ethicsassourceofgroupstrength

Oneproblemwithethicsisthewayit'softenusedasaweapon.
Ifagroupbelievesthataparticularactivityis"wrong"itcanthenusemoralityasthejustificationforattackingthosewho
practicethatactivity.
Whenpeopledothis,theyoftenseethosewhotheyregardasimmoralasinsomewaylesshumanordeservingof
respectthanthemselvessometimeswithtragicconsequences.

Goodpeopleaswellasgoodactions
Ethicsisnotonlyaboutthemoralityofparticularcoursesofaction,butit'salsoaboutthegoodnessofindividualsand
whatitmeanstoliveagoodlife.
VirtueEthicsisparticularlyconcernedwiththemoralcharacterofhumanbeings.

Searchingforthesourceofrightandwrong
Attimesinthepastsomepeoplethoughtthatethicalproblemscouldbesolvedinoneoftwoways:
bydiscoveringwhatGodwantedpeopletodo
bythinkingrigorouslyaboutmoralprinciplesandproblems
Ifapersondidthisproperlytheywouldbeledtotherightconclusion.
Butnowevenphilosophersarelesssurethatit'spossibletodeviseasatisfactoryandcompletetheoryofethicsatleast
notonethatleadstoconclusions.
Modernthinkersoftenteachthatethicsleadspeoplenottoconclusionsbutto'decisions'.
Inthisview,theroleofethicsislimitedtoclarifying'what'satstake'inparticularethicalproblems.
Philosophycanhelpidentifytherangeofethicalmethods,conversationsandvaluesystemsthatcanbeappliedtoa
particularproblem.Butafterthesethingshavebeenmadeclear,eachpersonmustmaketheirownindividualdecisionas
towhattodo,andthenreactappropriatelytotheconsequences.

Areethicalstatementsobjectivelytrue?
Doethicalstatementsprovideinformationaboutanythingotherthanhumanopinionsandattitudes?
Ethicalrealiststhinkthathumanbeingsdiscoverethicaltruthsthatalreadyhaveanindependentexistence.
Ethicalnonrealiststhinkthathumanbeingsinventethicaltruths.
Theproblemforethicalrealistsisthatpeoplefollowmanydifferentethicalcodesandmoralbeliefs.Soiftherearereal
ethicaltruthsoutthere(wherever!)thenhumanbeingsdon'tseemtobeverygoodatdiscoveringthem.
Oneformofethicalrealismteachesthatethicalpropertiesexistindependentlyofhumanbeings,andthatethical
statementsgiveknowledgeabouttheobjectiveworld.
Toputitanotherwaytheethicalpropertiesoftheworldandthethingsinitexistandremainthesame,regardlessof
whatpeoplethinkorfeelorwhetherpeoplethinkorfeelaboutthematall.
Onthefaceofit,it[ethicalrealism]meanstheviewthatmoralqualitiessuchaswrongness,andlikewisemoralfacts
suchasthefactthatanactwaswrong,existinrerumnatura,sothat,ifonesaysthatacertainactwaswrong,oneis
sayingthatthereexisted,somehow,somewhere,thisqualityofwrongness,andthatithadtoexistthereifthatactwere
tobewrong.
R.MHare,EssaysinEthicalTheory,1989

Fourethical'isms'

Whenapersonsays"murderisbad"whataretheydoing?
That'sthesortofquestionthatonlyaphilosopherwouldask,butit'sactuallyaveryusefulwayofgettingaclearideaof
what'sgoingonwhenpeopletalkaboutmoralissues.
Thedifferent'isms'regardthepersonutteringthestatementasdoingdifferentthings.
WecanshowsomeofthedifferentthingsImightbedoingwhenIsay'murderisbad'byrewritingthatstatementto
showwhatIreallymean:
Imightbemakingastatementaboutanethicalfact
"Itiswrongtomurder"
Thisismoralrealism
Imightbemakingastatementaboutmyownfeelings
"Idisapproveofmurder"
Thisissubjectivism
Imightbeexpressingmyfeelings
"Downwithmurder"
Thisisemotivism
Imightbegivinganinstructionoraprohibition
"Don'tmurderpeople"
Thisisprescriptivism

Moralrealism
Moralrealismisbasedontheideathattherearerealobjectivemoralfactsortruthsintheuniverse.Moralstatements
providefactualinformationaboutthosetruths.

Subjectivism
Subjectivismteachesthatmoraljudgmentsarenothingmorethanstatementsofaperson'sfeelingsorattitudes,and
thatethicalstatementsdonotcontainfactualtruthsaboutgoodnessorbadness.
Inmoredetail:subjectivistssaythatmoralstatementsarestatementsaboutthefeelings,attitudesandemotionsthat
thatparticularpersonorgrouphasaboutaparticularissue.
Ifapersonsayssomethingisgoodorbadtheyaretellingusaboutthepositiveornegativefeelingsthattheyhaveabout
thatsomething.
Soifsomeonesays'murderiswrong'theyaretellingusthattheydisapproveofmurder.
Thesestatementsaretrueifthepersondoesholdtheappropriateattitudeorhavetheappropriatefeelings.Theyare
falseifthepersondoesn't.

Emotivism
Emotivismistheviewthatmoralclaimsarenomorethanexpressionsofapprovalordisapproval.
Thissoundslikesubjectivism,butinemotivismamoralstatementdoesn'tprovideinformationaboutthespeaker's
feelingsaboutthetopicbutexpressesthosefeelings.
Whenanemotivistsays"murderiswrong"it'slikesaying"downwithmurder"or"murder,yecch!"orjustsaying
"murder"whilepullingahorrifiedface,ormakingathumbsdowngestureatthesametimeassaying"murderiswrong".

Sowhensomeonemakesamoraljudgementtheyshowtheirfeelingsaboutsomething.Sometheoristsalsosuggestthat
inexpressingafeelingthepersongivesaninstructiontoothersabouthowtoacttowardsthesubjectmatter.

Prescriptivism
Prescriptiviststhinkthatethicalstatementsareinstructionsorrecommendations.
SoifIsaysomethingisgood,I'mrecommendingyoutodoit,andifIsaysomethingisbad,I'mtellingyounottodoit.
Thereisalmostalwaysaprescriptiveelementinanyrealworldethicalstatement:anyethicalstatementcanbereworked
(withabitofeffort)intoastatementwithan'ought'init.Forexample:"lyingiswrong"canberewrittenas"people
oughtnottotelllies".

Wheredoesethicscomefrom?
Philosophershaveseveralanswerstothisquestion:
Godandreligion
Humanconscienceandintuition
arationalmoralcostbenefitanalysisofactionsandtheireffects
theexampleofgoodhumanbeings
adesireforthebestforpeopleineachuniquesituation
politicalpower

Godbasedethicssupernaturalism
Supernaturalismmakesethicsinseparablefromreligion.ItteachesthattheonlysourceofmoralrulesisGod.
So,somethingisgoodbecauseGodsaysitis,andthewaytoleadagoodlifeistodowhatGodwants.

Intuitionism
Intuitioniststhinkthatgoodandbadarerealobjectivepropertiesthatcan'tbebrokendownintocomponentparts.
Somethingisgoodbecauseit'sgooditsgoodnessdoesn'tneedjustifyingorproving.
Intuitioniststhinkthatgoodnessorbadnesscanbedetectedbyadultstheysaythathumanbeingshaveanintuitive
moralsensethatenablesthemtodetectrealmoraltruths.
Theythinkthatbasicmoraltruthsofwhatisgoodandbadareselfevidenttoapersonwhodirectstheirmindtowards
moralissues.
Sogoodthingsarethethingsthatasensiblepersonrealisesaregoodiftheyspendsometimeponderingthesubject.
Don'tgetconfused.Fortheintuitionist:
moraltruthsarenotdiscoveredbyrationalargument
moraltruthsarenotdiscoveredbyhavingahunch
moraltruthsarenotdiscoveredbyhavingafeeling
It'smoreasortofmoral'aha'momentarealisationofthetruth.

Consequentialism
Thisistheethicaltheorythatmostnonreligiouspeoplethinktheyuseeveryday.Itbasesmoralityontheconsequences
ofhumanactionsandnotontheactionsthemselves.
Consequentialismteachesthatpeopleshoulddowhateverproducesthegreatestamountofgoodconsequences.

Onefamouswayofputtingthisis'thegreatestgoodforthegreatestnumberofpeople'.
Themostcommonformsofconsequentialismarethevariousversionsofutilitarianism,whichfavouractionsthatproduce
thegreatestamountofhappiness.
Despiteitsobviouscommonsenseappeal,consequentialismturnsouttobeacomplicatedtheory,anddoesn'tprovidea
completesolutiontoallethicalproblems.
Twoproblemswithconsequentialismare:
itcanleadtotheconclusionthatsomequitedreadfulactsaregood
predictingandevaluatingtheconsequencesofactionsisoftenverydifficult

Nonconsequentialismordeontologicalethics
Nonconsequentialismisconcernedwiththeactionsthemselvesandnotwiththeconsequences.It'sthetheorythat
peopleareusingwhentheyreferto"theprincipleofthething".
Itteachesthatsomeactsarerightorwronginthemselves,whatevertheconsequences,andpeopleshouldact
accordingly.

Virtueethics
Virtueethicslooksatvirtueormoralcharacter,ratherthanatethicaldutiesandrules,ortheconsequencesofactions
indeedsomephilosophersofthisschooldenythattherecanbesuchthingsasuniversalethicalrules.
Virtueethicsisparticularlyconcernedwiththewayindividualslivetheirlives,andlessconcernedinassessingparticular
actions.
Itdevelopstheideaofgoodactionsbylookingatthewayvirtuouspeopleexpresstheirinnergoodnessinthethingsthat
theydo.
Toputitverysimply,virtueethicsteachesthatanactionisrightifandonlyifitisanactionthatavirtuouspersonwould
dointhesamecircumstances,andthatavirtuouspersonissomeonewhohasaparticularlygoodcharacter.

Situationethics
Situationethicsrejectsprescriptiverulesandarguesthatindividualethicaldecisionsshouldbemadeaccordingtothe
uniquesituation.
Ratherthanfollowingrulesthedecisionmakershouldfollowadesiretoseekthebestforthepeopleinvolved.Thereare
nomoralrulesorrightseachcaseisuniqueanddeservesauniquesolution.

Ethicsandideology
Somephilosophersteachthatethicsisthecodificationofpoliticalideology,andthatthefunctionofethicsistostate,
enforceandpreserveparticularpoliticalbeliefs.
Theyusuallygoontosaythatethicsisusedbythedominantpoliticaleliteasatooltocontroleveryoneelse.
Morecynicalwriterssuggestthatpowerelitesenforceanethicalcodeonotherpeoplethathelpsthemcontrolthose
people,butdonotapplythiscodetotheirownbehaviour.

Arethereuniversalmoralrules?
Oneofthebigquestionsinmoralphilosophyiswhetherornotthereareunchangingmoralrulesthatapplyinallcultures
andatalltimes.

Moralabsolutism
Somepeoplethinktherearesuchuniversalrulesthatapplytoeveryone.Thissortofthinkingiscalledmoralabsolutism.

Moralabsolutismarguesthattherearesomemoralrulesthatarealwaystrue,thattheserulescanbediscoveredand
thattheserulesapplytoeveryone.
Immoralactsactsthatbreakthesemoralrulesarewronginthemselves,regardlessofthecircumstancesorthe
consequencesofthoseacts.
Absolutismtakesauniversalviewofhumanitythereisonesetofrulesforeveryonewhichenablesthedraftingof
universalrulessuchastheDeclarationofHumanRights.
Religiousviewsofethicstendtobeabsolutist.
Whypeopledisagreewithmoralabsolutism:
Manyofusfeelthattheconsequencesofanactorthecircumstancessurroundingitarerelevanttowhetherthatact
isgoodorbad
Absolutismdoesn'tfitwithrespectfordiversityandtradition

Differentcultureshavehaddifferentattitudestoissueslikewar

Moralrelativism
Moralrelativistssaythatifyoulookatdifferentculturesordifferentperiodsinhistoryyou'llfindthattheyhavedifferent
moralrules.
Thereforeitmakessensetosaythat"good"referstothethingsthataparticulargroupofpeopleapproveof.
Moralrelativiststhinkthatthat'sjustfine,anddisputetheideathattherearesomeobjectiveanddiscoverable'super
rules'thatallculturesoughttoobey.Theybelievethatrelativismrespectsthediversityofhumansocietiesandresponds
tothedifferentcircumstancessurroundinghumanacts.
Whypeopledisagreewithmoralrelativism:
Manyofusfeelthatmoralruleshavemoretothemthanthegeneralagreementofagroupofpeoplethatmoralityis
morethanasuperchargedformofetiquette
Manyofusthinkwecanbegoodwithoutconformingtoalltherulesofsociety
Moralrelativismhasaproblemwitharguingagainstthemajorityview:ifmostpeopleinasocietyagreewith
particularrules,that'stheendofthematter.Manyoftheimprovementsintheworldhavecomeaboutbecause
peopleopposedtheprevailingethicalviewmoralrelativistsareforcedtoregardsuchpeopleasbehaving"badly"
Anychoiceofsocialgroupingasthefoundationofethicsisboundtobearbitrary
Moralrelativismdoesn'tprovideanywaytodealwithmoraldifferencesbetweensocieties

Moralsomewhereinbetweenism
Mostnonphilosophersthinkthatbothoftheabovetheorieshavesomegoodpointsandthinkthat
thereareafewabsoluteethicalrules

butalotofethicalrulesdependontheculture