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An Introduction to Ethics

Jim Sutherland, PhD

What is right and wrong?


A 12-year-old girl was taken in marriage in the
village of Lohutok, S. Sudan. Is that good or
bad? Why?
Should the death penalty apply for a man or
woman engaged in consensual homosexual
acts?
Is it good for a husband to donate his sperm
to his infertile wife, so that she can be
artificially inseminated and perhaps bear their
child?
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Religion
Founded upon
revelation
Concerned with morals
Morals are absolute.
Have to do with personto-God

Concerned with
supranature
Miracles are a part
Goal is to find God

Arthur A. Custance, Noahs Three


Sons, p. 29.

Philosophy
Founded upon reason
Concerned with ethics
Ethics are relative.
(School of Morals?)
Are person-to-person

Not concerned with


nature, but with
metanature (science
concerned with nature)
Miracles are irrelevant
Goal is to find truth
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Ethics (Moral Philosophy) Defined


It concerns the nature of the right
[deontology] and the nature of the good
[utility].
Theories of the good are of two basic types:
Theistic ( based upon the assumption of a God)
Philosophical/anthropological (based upon
reason)

Theistic ethics
Monotheistic (believing in one god) religions,
such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam,
believe that one God exists, can be
accessed, and is in control of earthly events.
Their holy books provide detailed guidance as to
what God considers to be right and good.
This guidance is taken as absolute, and may be
in the form of commands.

Absolute and Relative Theistic Ethics


Some theists believe in moral absolutes
that certain acts, thoughts and failures to act
are always wrong. Absolutes are contained
in books believed to have been transmitted
from God.
Other theists consider absolutes more as
guidelines and would consider absolutists as
presumptuous or even arrogant.

Indo-European Origins of Philosophy


Indo-European tribes conquered India from
the northwest from about 1800-1500 BC.
They produced the Vedas (knowledge)
which are the oldest of Hindu sacred books.
(Noss & Noss, p. 73-74).

The Greeks are another branch of these tribes.


(Noss, p. 73).

Only Indo-Europeans have continually returned


to the fundamental problems of metaphysics, the
Aryans in India (giving rise to Hindu Philosophy),
the Greeks in Greece. Arthur A. Custance, Noahs Three Sons,
Zondervan, 1975, p. 31.

Hindu/Buddhist philosophy
The gods of the early Indo-Europeans were
gods of light, but this light was not moral light
but rather the illumination of the mind or
understanding.
Philosophy can be defined as strictly
rational speculation, concerned with the
ultimate nature and meaning of reality, apart
from revelation, to satisfy a purely intellectual
need Custance, p. 30.
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3 Stages in the History of Ethics


First stage: moral authority shifted from above
humans (the divine), to humans.
Second stage: extending the belief that humans
are responsible only to humans
Rise of nihilism and relativism

Third stage: focus shifting from individual to


public ethicstoward utilitarianism.
Applied ethics is popular
Virtue ethics is gaining ground
From J. B. Schneewind, Modern moral philosophy, ch. 12
in A Companion to Ethics, Peter Singer, ed. ISBN:
9
0631187855

Philosophical ethics--Assumptions
Assumes that humans are basically good,
and can be more ethical.
Reason is a sufficient basis for developing
ethics.
Humans are accountable only to other
humans.

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Philosophical ethics--Assumptions
Carl F.H. Henry noted these assumptions:
(1 nature is the ultimate reality
(2 Humans are essentially animals.
(3 truth and right are intrinsically timebound and changing
Carl F. H. Henry, Christian Personal Ethics, 1957, p. 23

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Locating Ethics Within Philosophy


Meta-ethics
What is goodness?
(philosophical
How are good and bad
questions)
determined?
Normative ethics
What should we do?
(moral questions) Deontology
Ethical theory Utility, Virtue,
(Teleological=+goals)
Applied ethics What is right and
wrong in specific
situations

Adapted from Metaethics


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetaEthics accessed 3/3/10

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Theological/philosophical worldviews
Monotheistic Philosophical/ Animistic
Anthropological/
Utopian
Kingdom

God
Power

Goal
People

Divine
Kingdom is
coming
Is sovereign

Political, social

Balancing
between
human & spirits
We are the gods God is gone

Is Gods &
delegated

Is ours, by
reason, majority,
force
Please God
Please people or
self
Sinful (Islam-- Basically good-less so)
optimistic

Accountable To God

To people

Belongs to the
spirits
Please spirits
Basically good
To spirits

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Moral Facts [Truth]


Ethicial philosophers can be classified in one
of two ways:
(1 those who believe that moral facts exist, and
(2 those who either deny that moral facts exist,
or, if they exist, deny that they can be known.

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Schools of Those Who Accept Moral


Truth
A further division--for those who have come
so far as to believe that moral good exists--is
among those who emphasize
what is right (deontologists)
what is good (utilitarians or consequentialists)
virtue or character as the basis for ethics.

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Theories of Moral Truth

Ethical
Moral Truth Exists:
Theories:

Moral Truth Doesnt Exist:

Cognitivism (moral facts can be

Non-cognitivism (Moral facts are just

discovered by reason

expressions of desire.)

Descriptivism (Moral judgments can

Non-descriptivism (Moral judgments are

be true or false.)

neither true or false.)

Sources in , A
Companion to
Ethics, Peter
Singer, Ed.

Intuitionism (We know right and

Projectivism (We project our values upon a

wrong innatelymoral sense theory.)

world that has none.)

Relativism by
David Wong, pp.
442-450

Naturalism (Moral facts are found in

Nihilism (Moral facts dont exist and morality

nature and are scientific or social


scientific.)

is false.)

Realism,
Michael Smith, p
399-410

Absolutism (Bible,
Prescriptivist) (There is one truth--

Relativism (Morality is a function of culture

Intuitionism by
Jonathan Dancy,
pp. 411-419

Moral Realism (moral facts validated

Universal
Prescriptivism,
by R.M. Hare,
pp. 451-463

Consequentialism (Try to find the

Error theory (denies that moral sentences

most good for the most people.)

express propositions) Wikipedia Ethical

and historyit isnt absolute.)

two sides cant be right.)

Irrealism (There are no moral facts.)

by the consensus of behavior and


bycircumstances

Naturalism

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Moral
Deontological
Consequential
that right
exists
theories:Theories
(of the Right)
(of the Good)

Virtue,
Character

Basis:

Absolutes

Consequence

Character

Activity:

Obeying

Weighing

Being

Example:

Universal
prescriptivism Utilitarianism
(Kant)
Natural law

Greek (Plato)
Aquinas

Egoism Humanistic
Franklin
Hedonism
Naturalism

Biblical
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Arguments against absolutes:


Diversity

Because moral standards differ so much among


cultures, morality derives from local ethics, not
from innate moral absolutes
But diversity can say nothing about what is right
and wrong, only about what is.
Diversity does not rule out absolutes. One
system can still be right.
An overall pattern or morality is there, despite
differences in details. Generally, stealing and
murder within the in-group and adultery are
wrong, while penalties differ. (Ethics: Approaching moral
decisions. Arthur F. Holmes. 2nd ed., 2007, ISBN: 978-0-8308-2803-6, p. 136)
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Arguments against absolutes:


Diversity

Local moral standards have been transformed by


Christian teaching, reducing diversity. Examples
are slavery and cannibalism. (Holmes, citing William Frankena,
p. 20)

Other examples are killing twins and albinos in Africa,


and burning widows (sutee).

"[T]he relativist cannot consistently reject all


intolerance. In tolerating other moralities than his
own, he must tolerate their intolerance....Further,
at least one virtue, tolerance, is then not entirely
relative; and at least one moral belief, the belief
that we ought to be tolerant, is taken to be true."
(Holmes, p. 23)
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Argument against absolutes:


Dependency (determinism)
Humans are socialized into accepting
moral/ethical practices, which they must
accept.
People cannot believe otherwisebeliefs are
determined by environment.
If so, how do non-conformists, reformers and
prophets arise?
Determinism is not a view that can be chosen,
since those who believe it have no choice but to
believe it. If so, the determinist cannot say that
this view is independently better than another.
(Holmes, p. 139)

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Argument against absolutes:


Dependency (determinism)
The Holy Spirit, by the power and grace of
God, can overcome any environmental
upbringing and social norms, as well as
ethics generated by sin.

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Lack of consensus among philosophers


Moral philosophers tend to pull down one
another's theories, while confidently
highlighting their own. You find that few
agree as to what moral facts there may be,
and some cannot even agree that moral
facts are possible. Even if such facts could
somehow be discovered by reason alone,
ethicists would probably not rally around
them. They have been trying for at least
2500 years, but have reached no consensus.
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Human value in Hinduism


Hinduism: everything is one (monism), so
humans have no special value.
One creation account reads: In the beginning this
[universe] was the Self alonein the likeness of a
man. He was afraid, and lonely, so he created a
woman. Self split into man and woman and then
had intercourse, creating human beings. Further
relations produced the animals. He knew that he
was [the whole of] creation, for he had brought it all
forth. Hence he became [all] creation. Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad I, iv:1-5
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Human value in Buddhism


The first step on the Eightfold Path is
anattathere is no self or atman.
The corollary is that all is an illusion--maya.
Individuality is ignorance. Bentley-Taylor, p. 172-173

However, since Buddha claimed no special


revelation, he went on to propose an
extremely difficult ethic, based upon his
reasoning. E.A. Burtt, p. 27
How can one follow step two, renouncing lust
and ill-will, if the self is illusory?
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Human value in Islam


Individual value seems to be based upon
performance and obedience to Allah.
Allah loves those who do right, but does not love
the transgressor or prodigals (Surah 2:195, 222;
5:87). Human worth is conditional, not based
upon Gods grace.

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Evolutionary ethics
If the material universe is the product of
nothing, plus time, plus chance, or if matter
itself is eternal, there is no necessary value to
that universe, or anything in it.
Ethics becomes a matter of personal choice, plus
culture, plus a point on the time spectrum.
Right and wrong are defined by the majority and
enforced by sanctions.

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Valentine (March 2010)


He is a physics student in a European university.
He accepts no absolutes, not wanting anyone to tell him
what to do. Religion is used to control people, he believes.
He repeated several times that he didnt know the difference
between right and wrong, and used those terms as if they
had definable content. I suggested that he would not want
me to steal his wallet or to abduct his sister, with whom he
was traveling. He thought that in some circumstances taking
his money would be justified [situation ethics], but did not
respond to the abduction statement.
Individuals had value because they formed communities. He
seemed to be concerned for minorities. A weakness of
utilitarian ethics is that minorities are not protected, if good is
defined by doing the most good for the greatest number.27

Valentine
He claimed that the UN hurt developing peoples by
providing free commodities, hurting businesses
providing these items, revealing concerned for small
business people.
He advocates going to a tribe or people to help them to
clarify their own values, for each individual to
determine what is right and wrong.
How each person formulating his own ethical system would
foster community he did not say. This seems instead to be
the worst possible foundation for community.
The person has no intrinsic worth.

So is the terrible task of defining good and evil for


ones self, with its inevitable inconsistencies.

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