Texto 1 - Ethics an Overview

8/16/2019 Texto 1 - Ethics an Overview

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C H A P T E R 1

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The ultima te purpose in studytng ethics is not as tt is in other inquiries,

the attainment 1 theoretical knowledge; we are not conducting this

inquiry in order ú know what virtue 1S but in order to become good,

else there would be no advantage in studying it.-AR1STOTLE, Nícomachean Ethícs, Bk. 2, Ch. 2

It's the beginning of a new semester. Tomorrow morning is your first ethicsclass. You signed up for the class only because it was required ."What a waste oftime," you grumble as you climb into bed. "What's the point in studying ethics?It doesn't have anything to do with real life. wish there was no such thing asethics or morality."

The next morning you wake up and wearily grope your way to the bath-room. As you open the door, you find to your dismay that your roommate hasleft the bathroom in a total mess. Dirty clothes-your roommate's clothes-aresoaking in cold slimy water in the sink and bathtub, and the toilet is caked withgrime. Annoyed, you return to your room and shake your roommate's shoulder:"Come on, get up. You promised to clean the bathroom yesterday."

So what?" your roommate replies. 1 don't have to keep rny promises ifdorl't feel like Ít. And ,with that, your roommate rolls over and, looking quitepeaceful, goes back to sleep.

You are now feeling very annoyed, but you manage to get ready for class,although not in time to have breakfasL You arrive at class right on time; how-ever, the teacherhasn't turned up. You take a seat next to another student wholives ~ your dormitory. But instead of returning your greeting, he. grabs yourbook bag and heads toward the door. "Stop!" you protes.L "That's mine. Youcan't take that."

He looks at you like you're nuts. "Why not?""Because it doesn't belong to you," you reply indignantly. "It's stealing!"At which he laughs, "You're not making any sense." '

You have no right , you add.The thief roUs his eyes: "Didn't you hear the latest news? Ethics, morality

they no longer exiSL Isn't that great news! Now we can do whatever we like!And' no one can pass judgment on anything we do, including you!"

3


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4 S E TI ON 1 The Study oJ Ethics

ff H\f ~ d Hob~ i & l

CA LVIN ND HOBBES © Watterson. Dístributed by Universal Press Syndicate, Inc. Reprinted

with permissíon. AH rights reserved.

You wait another twenty minutes for the teacher to show up; then youdecide to head over to the cafeteria to get sorne breakfast. However, thestaff didn t bother to repon to work eitheL The back door has been smashedopen, and trays of donuts and fruit have been taken out onto quad, wherea group of administrators and faculty members, including your ethics teacher,are squabbl ing over the booty. You step up onto a chair that has tossed outon the curb, to get a better look, when someone comes rushing up from behindand knock s you down.

As you fa11, you hear a sickening snap and feel a stabbing pain in yourknee. You cry out in agony. Then you recognize the person who knocked youoveL the dean of your college. You plead for her to caH for help. But she onlypushes you out of her way and hurries on toward the skirmish on the quad.Off in the distance, you hear another cry for help as two men drag a terrifiedwoman into the bushes. No one tries to stop them. A few people stop and peerat you out of curiosity before moving on. Most just stare blankly at you as theywalk pasL No one offers to help. And why should they? Sympathy and compas-sion no longer exist. The duty not to cause harm to others or to help those inneed no longer exists. No one has any rights that we have to respect anymore.

No more stupid obligations, such as sharing with others or keeping our com-mitments, to prevent us from doing what we enjoyo

As you begin ro lose consciousness, you star t second thoughts aboutthe importance of ethics and morality in your life. At that moment, your alarm


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C H A P T E R 1 Ethics S

dock goes off. You get out of bed and wearily grope your way to the bathroom.As you open the door, you realize that your roommate has left the bathroornin a total mess. Annoyed, you retum to your room and shake your roornmate'sshoulder: "Come on, get up. You promised to clean the bathroom yesterday."

"Oh, no," your roommate groans. '' 'm sorry, 1 forgot all about iL After ashort pause, your roommate rolls out of bed, complaining under her breath, "Ican't thlnk of anything else I'd less rather do." You breathe a sigh of relief and

go to the kitchenette to make yourself some breakfast while your roommatebegrudgingly cleans the bathroom.

What 15 Ethics?

Ethics ís lor like air: t is pretty much invisible. In fact, for many centuries, peo-'pIe di d not realíze that such a substance as air even existed. So too we often faílto recognize the existence of ethics or morality unt il someone faíls to heed ir.

The terrn ethics has several meanings. It is often used to refer to a set ofstandards of right and wrong established by a particular group and imposedon members of that group as a means of regulating and setting limits on theirbehavíor. This use of the word ethics reflects its etymology, which goes backto the Greek word ethos, meaning "cultural custom or habit." The word moralis derived from the Latín word moralis, which also means "custom." Althoughsome' philosophers distinguish between the terms ethical and moral, others,including the author of this text, use the two terms interchangeably.

The identificatíon of ethícs and mora lit y with cultural norms or customsreflects the faet that most adults tend to identify morality with cultural eustoms.Philosophical ethics, also known as moral philosophy, goes beyond this limitedconcepi of right and wrOng. Ethics, as a philosophical discipline, includes thestudy of the values.imd guidelines by which we live and the justific tion for these

values and guidelines. Rather than simply aeeepting the customs or guidelinesused by one parti cular group or culture, philosophical ethics analyzes and eval

.uates these guidelines in líght of aecepted universal principIes and coneerns.More important , ethics is a way of life. In this sense, ethies involves active

engagement in the pwsuit of the good l i fe-a life consistent with a coherent setof moral values.· According' to Aristotle, one of the leading Western moral philosophers, the pursuit of the good life is our most important actívity as humans,Indeed, s tudies have found thar even. criminals believe morality is importantat least for others. Although criminals may noi alwáys act on their moral beliefs,they still expect others to do so. Almost all criminals, when asked, state thatthey do not want their children to engage in immoral behavior and would getangry if one of their children committed a c:rime.l

Aristotle believed that "the moral activities are human par excel1ence. zBecause morality is the mostfundamental expression of our human nature,'it is through being moral that we are the happiest. According to Aristotle, it

: . ~ .- is through the repeated performance of good actions that we become moral(and happier) people. He referred to the repeated practice of moral aetions as


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6 SECTION 1 TheStudy ofEthícs

habituation The ideathat practicing good actíons ismore important for eth-ics educationthan merely studying theory is also foundin other philosophies,such as BuddhÍsm.

[A] man becomesjust by the performance of thejust . . actions;nor is therethe

smallest likelihood of a man s becoming goodby any other course of conducr.t is

not, however, apopular line to take, mostmen preferringtheory O practiceunder

the impressionthat arguing about morals proves themto be philosophers,and thatinthis way they willturn out to be fine characters

-ARISTOTLE Nicómachean Erhics, Bk. 2 Ch. 4

At the g ~ of seventeen, Arístotle became a student at Plato s AcadernyinAthens, where he rernained until Plato s death twenty years lareL The Acad-erny was founded by Platoin 388 B CE and lasted over ninehundred years;ir is repured tobe Europe s first university.3 Plato s farnous Acaderny was notlike universities today,with organized classes, degrees,and specialized faculty.lnstead,it was more of a fellowship of intellectuals interestedin ~ h e n i a ncul-ture and the opportunity to listen to and exchange ideaswith the great philoso-pher Plato.

The philosopherPlato (e 427-347 B L E with hís discíple Aristotle

384-322BLE. al

the Academyin Athens, by Renaíssance paín[c)Raphad. Founded Plato in388BCE. the Academy ís reputedto be Elirope sfirst universíty.


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7H A P T E R 1 Ethics

Aristotle later opened his own school, the Lyceum, in Atherts. The Lyceumcontained a garden known as the walk, where Aristotle supposedly had thehabít of walkíng whíle teaching his students. In 323 E.CE. Aristotle was accusedof impiety for teaching his studen ts, in their quest for the good lHe, to continually question the accepted ideas and norms of the time. Several years earlier,in 399 E.C.E., the Athenians had sentenced Plato's teacher, Socrates, to deathon similar charges. Aristotle fled to Euboea rather than t ~a chance that the

Atheníans should sin a second time against philosophy. He díed in Babylon ayear lateL

Exercises

1. What do you mean (what criteria do you use) when you say that somethingis morally ríght or morally wrong? Do aH actions have a moral dirnension? lnat, why do sorne actions involve moral judgments while Others are morallyneutral?

2. One way to define what we mean by moral is ro look at the líves of thosewhom we regard to be good people. These people-be they parents, friends,sports figures, political leaders, reformers, or even ficrional beings-serve asour role models and heroes. Heroes used to be important in most people'slives, but a recent survey found that 70 percent of Arnericans nowadays haveno one they consider a hero. 4 Sorne people would say that this is a reflection ofthe moral malaise of our times. Do you agree? Do you have a hero? I f so, whois your hero? Explain why.

3. According to the American Freshrnan survey, there has been a trend over thepast fifteen years toward more cornmunity service, with 82 percent of 2004college freshrnen reporting that they engaged in cornrnunity service, up from

66 percent in 1990. On the other hand, there has been a decline in social activ-ism over the same period. 5 Why do you think this is happening? Discuss youranswer in light of your own college experience.

4. Do you agree with Aristotle that practicing moral virtues and behavior is moreimportant for ethics ed1:lcation than the study of moral theory? Howmight hisapproach be integrated into a college ethics course?

. Normative and Theoretical Ethics

a complete moral philosophy would tell us how and why ve should act and feel towardothers in relationships of shifting and varying power asymmetry and ~ h i t i n gand varyingintímaey

A N N E T T E BA1ER,.Ethics (1986), p. 252

Ihere are two traditional subdivisions of ethics: (1) normative ethics and.(2) theoretical ethics. heoretical ethics is concerned with apptaisíng the logi-

cal foundations and internal consistencies of ethical systems. Theoretical ethics


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8 S ECTl ON 1 The5tudy oJEthics

is also known as metaethics; the prefix meta comes from the Greek word meaning "about" or "above." Normative ethics, on the other hand gives us guidelines Dr norms, such as "donot líe"or "do no harm," regarding which actionsare right and which are wrong. In other words, theoretical ethics, or metaethics,studies why we should act and feela certain way; norm


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10 SECTION 1 TheStudyoJ thics

'Ethical subjectivism, cultural relativism, and divinecommand theory aremutually exclusive. theories.When theories are mutually exclusive, a personcannot consistently hold morethan one of the theorieslO be true at the sametime. For example, either morality5 created by theindividual and the opinionof the individual always takes precedence over that of the collective, or elsemorality is relativelO one's culture and the moral rule of the culture alwaystakes precedence óver that of the individual.

UniversalistTheories Uníversalist theories the second group of cognitive the-ories, maintain that there are universal moral values that applylO aH humans

and, in sorne cases, extend beyond thehuman community. Mórality isdiscov-ered rather than created, by humans. In other words, the basicstandards ofright and wrong are derived from principIesthatexist independently of anindividual's or a society's opinion.

til nor do10 others as you wouldnot wish

done lo yourself.C O N F U C I U S (philosopher)

Act only onlhat rnaxim rhroughwhich you

can al the sarne time will thatir should be

a universallaw.I M M A N U H KANT (philosopher)

Unlike relativist theories, most universalíst theories include allhuman s intheir moral community ratherthan only those livingin their society, as oftenhappens in cultural relativist theories. Themoral community is composed ofall those beings that have moral worth or value in themselves. Because mem-bers of the moral community have moral value, they deserve the protection ofthe community, and they deserve to be treated with respectand dignity. Becausethe basic moral principIes are universal, unÍversalist theories can be representedby one circle that includes individuals from all cultures.

Universalist ethics, alsoknown as moral objectivism is not the same asmoral absolutismo Absolutísts believe that there are moral norms or principIesthat should always be obeyed. Sorne ethical relativists are absolutists whenitcomes to obeying certain cultural norms. Along the same lines, sornepeople-though notmost who subscribeto universalist moral theories may be abso-

lutists whenit comes to certain moral principIes.There is a great deal of overlap between the different universalist theories.Instead of being mutually exclusive, like ethical subjectivism and cultural rela-tivism, uníversalist theories,for the most part, emphasize one particular aspect


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I

C H A P T E R 1 Ethics 11.

of morality rather than providinga comprehensive picture. Almost all ethicistsinclude aspects of more than one of these theories in their moral philosophy.

Ethics, as a branch of philosophy, however, begins in wonder not theory.Theories, by their very nature, oversimplífy. A theory is merely a convenientto01 for expressing an idea. Sorne theories are better than others for explain-ing certain phenomena and providing solutions to both old ¡¡¡nd new problems.

When studying the different moral philosophers, we mustbe carefu1 not topigeonh01e their ideas into rigid theoretical boundaries.

Theories are like telescopes. They zoom in on certain key points ratherthan elucida te the total extent of thinking about ethics. Because morality cov-ers such a broad scope of íssues, different philosophers tend to focus on dif-ferent aspects of morality. Problems arise when they claim that theír insightis the complete picture that morality is merely consequences or merely dutyor merely having good intentions. Morality is not a simple concept that can becaptured in a nice tidy theory; i t S a multífaceted phenomenon.

Exercises

*1. Choose a moral issue from your tife as a college student. Discuss how thisissue affects decisions in your life in terms of the norms you adopt to guídeyour behavior. l you are doing community service, relate your answer to yourservice learning.

2. Discuss which of the ethical theories you would most likely use in judging themorality of the different people including the messy roommate, the thievingclassmate, the tardy professor, and the uncaring dean in this chapter's open-ing scenario. To what l110ra1 theories, universalist or relativist, did the subjectof the scenario appeal?

Philosophy and the Search for WisdomTo do philosophy is t x p l o r ~one s own temperament, ndyet at the same time to attempt to

discover the truth.

1 R I S MURDOCH

In most Nonh American and Western European universities, ethics S taughtas a course in a philosophy department. Although sorne aspects of the study ofethics extend beyond the purview of philosophy, philosophical inquiry is at theheart of the ethical enterprise.

The word p ilosop y comes from the Greek words philos, meaning lover,and sophos, meaning wisdom. 'To be a lover philos) entails not on ly having a

*An asterisk indica es that the exercíse is appropriate for students who are doing cornrnunityservice leaming as pan or the course.


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12 SE T I O N 1 The Study oJEthics

positive attitude toward the object of our affection (wisdom, in this case) butalso taking c ~ i o nand actively pursuing that object. This interp1ay of attitudeand action is reflected in the study of ethics. Ethics education a so goesbeyondtheory by challenging us to live consistently with our moral values.

Philosophy, unlike most academic disciplines, involves the expansion andsystematic nurturing of a basic human activity rathe r than simply the accumulatíon o f knowledge. Philosophy arises out of a natural sense of wonder and whatmany philosophers regard as a basic human need to find hígher meaning andvalue in our lives. As small children, we wondered and asked countless questions about the world around uso Indeed, child psychologists note that curiosityand ethical concerns about justice and sharing emerge spontaneously in children sometime between the ages of eíghteen and thirty-six months, regardlessof their cu lture and without prompting from adults. 6'

Wísdom begins in self-knowledge. According to British philosopherPhilíppa Foot (b. 1920), wisdom, unlike ordinary knowledge or cleverness, presupposes good ends and the search for values. \Ve all share a common human-ity, but how we proceed in our quest for wisdom and the good life will varyto sorne extent from person lO person and from culture to culture because wea have different personalities and different experiences. Thís do es not imply,however, that wisdom is relative, Rather, t suggests that there are several paths

to wisdom, just as there can be several paths to the top of a mountain.

ecoming utonomousIn seeking answers lO questions about the meaning of life and the nature ofmoral goodness, the philosopher goes beyond conventional answers. Ratherthan relying on public opinion or what others say, t is up to each of us, as philosophers, to critícally examine and analyze our reasons for holding particular views. In this way, the study of philosophy encourages us lO become moreautonomous.

The word autonomous comes Trom the Greek wOrds auto ( self ) and nomos( law )' In other words, an autonomous moral agent is an independent, selfgoverning thinker. A heteronomous moral agent in contrast, is a person whouncritically accepts answers and laws imposed by others. The prefix hetero-means other.

Because philosophy encourages people to be independent thinkers and toquestion the deeply held beliefs of their society, most people, as Socrates discovered, resist philosophy. Sócrates, who is known as the Father of WesternPhilosophy, was born in Athens, Greece, in 469 BLE. At that time, Athens wasa flourishing city-state and a democracy. Socrates never wrote any books orpapers on philosophy. What we know of him comes primarily from the writ

ings of his famous student, Plato. Like most of the early philosophers, Socrateswas not a career philosopher; he most likely made his living as a slOnemasonhis father's profession) or anisan. His real love was philosophy, however. As

Socrates got older, he began hanging out more at the market and other places


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C H P T ER thics 3

The Death of Socrates, by jacques-Louis David. Socrates (469-399B.C.E.) was put to death by thestate for blasphemy and conupting the youth of Athens. Pictured here surrounded by his disciplesas he drinks the poison hemlock, Socrates remained true 1 his principIes right up lo the moment ofhís death.

where people congregated, taIking to the populace and questioning conventional answers to issues regarding justice and virtue.

According to Socrates, wisdom is important for achieving happiness andinner harmony as well as the intellectual and moral improvement of COrririlU -nity. His approach to philosophy, known as the Socratic method, consists of a

didactic dialogue using questions and answers. The Socratic method is one ofthe most popular and productive methods used in philosophy.

The road to wisdom, Socrates believed, begins with the realizaríon thatwe are ignorant. In his search for wisdom, Socrates would stop peopIe on thestreet lO ask them questions about things they thought they aIready knew. Indoing this, he hoped to show people that there was a difference between truthand what they felt to be true (rheir opiníons). By exposíng the ignorance ofthose who considered themselves wise, Socrates taught people lO look at thesocial cuslOms and Iaws in a new way. He taught them nót to simply accept theprevailing views but to question their own views and those of their society in a .rtever-ending search for truth and wisdom.

Not everyone appreciated having their views chal engeCl by Socrates. PeopIe in positions of power were especial1y threa tened and outraged by Socrates shabit of asking people lO question existing laws and cuslOms and encouragingthem lO think in new ways. At the age of seventy, Socrates was arrested andcharged with blasphemy and corrupting the yauth of Athens. He was faundguilty and was sentenced lO death and díed by drinking poison hemlock.


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14 S E e TI o N 1 T te Study oJ Ethics

Even as Socrates faced death, he did not cease being a philosopher. Athis trial, Socrates is reputed to l:ave said the following in a speech in his ownddense before the 501 rnernbers of the jury: 7

1 shall never stop practicing philosophy and exhorting you and elucidating thetruth for everyone that 1 meeL 1 shall go on saying Are you not ashamed thatyou give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarlywith reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?

And ir any of you disputes this 1 shall question him and examine him andtest him 1 shall do this to everyone that 1 meeL

Self ReaIízation

Sorne of the most important philosophical questions are those regarding the meaning and goals of our lives. What kind of person do 1want to be? How do 1 achievethat goal? Many philosophers define this goal in terms of self-realization-alsoknown as self actualizatíon and enlightenment. Self-realízation is closely linkedto the idea of moral virtue. According te psychologist AbrahamMaslow, selfactualized people are autonomous: They do not depend on the opinions 6f others when deciding what to do and what to believe. Phílosophers such as Socratesand Buddha exemplified what Maslow meant by a self-realízed person. 8

Self-realízation is an ongoing process or way of life. People who are selfactualized devote their lives to the search for ultimate values. They are constantly searching for answers te questions like those we have raised in earliersections of this chapter. People who are not honest w1th themselves will havea difficult time making good lífe choices. Being honest involves the courageto be different and te work hard at being the best one can be at whatever onedoes. People who are lacking in authenticity or sinceríty blame others for theirown unhappíness, giving in to what French philosopher Simone de Beauvoír0908-1986 called the temptations of the easy way. 9

The man who is aware ofhimse1f is henceforward independent; and he is never bored,

and life ís only too short, and he is steeped through and through with a profound yet

t e m p e r t ~happiness. He a1so lives, while peopIe, slaves of ceremony, let fe slip past

them in a kind of dream. Once conform, once do what other peopIe do because they

do it and a lethargy steals over a [he finer nerves and facuIties of the soul.

- V I R G I N I A WOOLF Ihe Common Reader (first series) (1929)

People who are self-actualized. in contrast, are flexible and even weIcomehaving their víews challenged. Like true philosophers, they are open to new


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C H P T E R 1 EthíC5 5

. ,ways of lookíng at the world.· They are will íng ro analyze and, if necessary,change their views-even if this rneans taking an unpopular stand. This process involves actively working to recognize and overcorne the barriers to newways of thinking; chief among these is cultural conditioning.

Skepticism

Philosophers try ro approach the world with an open rnind. Rley question theír

own beliefs and those of other people, no matter how obviously true.a particular belief may seem. Rather than accepting established belid systems uncritícally, philosophers first reflect on and· analyze them. By refusing ro acceptbeliefs until they can be justified, philosophers adopt an attítude of skepticism,or doubt, as their starting poinL

Skepticism, unlike cynicism, is grounded in wonder. The skeptic is alwayscurious and open-minded, with an eye ro the truth. Cynicisrn sometimesmasquerades as philosophy; however, it is very different. Cynicism is closedminded and mocks the possibility of truth; i t begins and ends in doubt. Cynicisrn denies rather than analyzes. In this sense, cynicism is a means of resisting

philosophical thought becausei t

hinders analysis.

Ihe first [rule for seeking truth] was to accept nothing as tme whích 1 díd not c1early

recogníze to be so: that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitatíon and prejudíce in

judgments and to accept in them nothing more than what was presented to my

mind so c1early and distinctIy that 1 couId have no occasion to doubt ir

R E N É DESCARTES, Discourse on the Melhod 01 Rightly ConduCling lhé Reason

and Seeking Trulh in lhe Sciences (1637)

Plato's Allegory 01 the CavePlato's "Allegory of the Cave" has been used to il1ustrate r he nature of philosophical thought. In the reading from his Republic, Plato compared us to prisoners who have been chained and ldt n a cave since childhood. Our heads areheld fast in place, so we face the back wall. When peopIe and anirnals pass bythe entrance of the cave, we see them only as shadows-on the back walL Wehear the sounds of the outside world only as echoes.

Now, suppose that one of the prisoners has been unchained and turns toface the entrance of the cave. At first the prisoner ís frightened and blinded bythe light. At this point, most people will try to return to the comfon of the cave.But if óur prisoner is forced or cajoled out of the cave into the light, his eyes

.- will begin ro adjusL Once the prisoner is out in the light and freed of the shack" les of everyday opinion, he begins to see and learn about wonderful truths that

he never befare imagined.


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6 SE e T ON I The Study oJ Ethies

After a period of study, he feels the urge to retum to his fel10w prisoners andshare his knowledge with them. Each step back into the cave, however, is painfuI. He is ridiculed for his beliefs. At this point, the budding philosopher hasthree options: 1) He can leave the cave again and return to the light. In this case,his newfound wisdom will become irrelevant to the world ofhuman experience.(2) He can give up the wisdom he has acquired and retum to his old beliefs.By doing so, he gives in to public opinion rather than risk being unpopular. Or3) he can remain in the cave and persist in his quest to share his wisdom with

others. This last option, aeeording to Plato, is the path of the true philosopher.Plato believed that truth was embodied in changeless universal forms that

could be discemed by the use of reason. Plato's student Aristotle disagreedwith Plato's analysis. In his Nicomaehean Ethies r i ~ l o t l eargued that even if theForm of Good did exist, it would be too abstraet lo guide us in making everyday moral decisions. Other philosophers see truth, rather than being static andabsolute, as dynamic and as constantly revealing itself to uso Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus Ce 535-475 BLE. taught that an essential feature of realityis that it is ceaselessly changing, like a flowing river. Just as you cannot stepinto the same ríver twice, permanenee is an illusíon. Everything in flux. AndZen J3uddhists speak of truth as being found in the eontinued or repeatedimfolding of the one big mind.

A l l e 9 o r ~ o f t h e a - u E

Plato

[C)ompare the effect of educatíon and ofthe lack of r on our nature to an experiencelike this: Imagine human beings living inan underground, cavelike dwelling, with anentrance a long way up, which ís both opento the lightand as wide as the eave itself.They've been there sinee childhood, fixedin the same place, wíth their neeks and legs

Plato, The Republie Book VII, 514a-517c, translated byG. M. A. Grube, revised by C. D. C. Reeve (lndianapolis: Hackett Publi shing lnc., 1992), pp. 186-189.Copyright © 1992 by tIackett Publishing Company,lne. Reprinted by permíssion of Hackett PublishíngCo. All ríghts reserved (To read the complete text ofPlato's Allegory of the Cave, go to http://classics.mit .edu/Plato/Republic.html)

fettered, able to see only in front of them,because their bonds prevent them from tuming their heads around. Light is provided bya fire buming far above and behind them.Also behind them, but on higher ground,there is a path stretehing between them andthe fire. Imagine that along this path a lowwall has been built, like the screen in frontof puppeteers above which they show theírpuppets

Do you suppose, first of aH that theseprisoners see anything of themselves andone another besides the shadows that the

fire easts on the wall in front of them 7And what if their prison a1so had an

echo from the wall facing them? Don't you

http://classics.mit/http://classics.mit/


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think they d belí evethat the shádows passing in front of them were talking wheneverone of the carriers passing along the wallwas doing so?

Then the prisoners would in every waybelieve that the tmth is nothing other thanthe shadows of those art ifacts .. .

Consider, then, what be ing released fromtheir bonds and cured of their ignorancewould naturally be like. When one of themwas freed and suddenly compelled to stand

~ ; up, turn his head, walk, and look up towardthe light, he d be pained and dazzled andunable to see the things whose shadows he dseen before. What do you think he d s ay, ifwe told h im that what he d seen before wasinconsequential, bu( that now-because he

,. is a bit closer to the things that are and isturned towards thíngs that are more-hesees more correctly? [D]on t you thinkhe d be at a 10ss and that he d believe thatthe things he saw earlier were truer than theones he was now being shownL

And someone dragged him away fromthere by force, up the rough, steep path, anddidn t let him go unti1 he had dragged himinto the sunlíght, wouldn t he be paíned and

e HA P TER 1 thícs 7

irrítated at being treated that way? And whenhe carne into the light, wíth the sun fillinghis eyes, wouIdn t he be unable to see a single one of the things now said to be true?

1 suppose, then that he d need time toget· adjusted before he could see things inthe world aboye

The visible realm should be likened totheprison dwelling, and the light of the tireinside it to the power of the sun. And if youinterpret the upward journey and the studyof thíngs aboye as the upward journey of thesoul to the intelligíble realm, you ll graspwhat 1 hope to convey, sínce that is whatyou wanted lO hear abour. ¡V hether it s tmeor not, only the god knows.But this is how1 see ir: In the knowable realm, the form ofthe good is the last thing to be seen, and itis reached only with difticulty. Once one hasseen ir, however, one must conclude that itis the cause of all that ís correct and beautifuI in anything, that it produces both lightand its source in the visible rea1m, and thatin the intelligible realm it control s and provides tmth and understanding, so that anyone who ís to act sensíbly in private or publicmust see ít , :

Sorne people believe that mora it y demands a son of rigid, absolutist attitude;in other words, a person should stick to his or her principIes no matter whaLHowever, if we believe that truth is constantly revealing itself to us-whetherthrough reason; experierice, or intui t íon-in our quest for moral wisdom wemust always be open to dialogue with each other and with the world at large.l we think at sorne point that we have found truth and, therefore, close ourminds, we have then ceased to think like a tme philosopher. We will lose oursense of wonder and become rigid and self-righteous.

For a philosopher to stop seeking tmth is like a dancer freezing in oneposítion because he thinks he has found the ultimate dance step or an artiststopping painting because she thinks she has created the perlen work of art.Similarly, to cease being open-minded and wondering is lO cease thinking likea philosopher. Totease thinking like a philosopher is to give up the quest forthe good life.


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18 S E e TI o N 1 The: tudy 01 Ethics

Exercises

1. What is the difference, H any, between wisdom and knowledge? Which areyou acquiring at college? How does one actively seek wisdom or live wisely?What is the connection between wisdom and morality? Between knowledgeand mora lit y?

2. According to Socrates, the first step on the path to wisdom is to "know thyself." Discuss the following questions in light of this mandate.

a. What is my goal or plan of life?b. What sor t of person do 1 want to be?c. How close am 1 to my goal?

*d. For those who are doing communi ty service, how does your servicefit nwith or assist you in clarifying and achievingyour life goals?

3. Do yo,,! agree thát self-actualization is linked to virtue and to happiness?Explain why. To what extent are you a self-actualized or enlightened person?15 becoming self-actualized one of your goals in life? What barriers are holding

you back from achievingself-actualization? What can you do to remove sorneof those barrie ts?

4: German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche asked us to imagine what sort of lHewe would create for ourselves i f we knew that it would be repeated over andover again for the rest of eternity. This S known as the theory of eterna1 recur-rence Nietzsche described i t as follows: .

"What if sorne day or night a demon were to steal after you into yourloneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live i t and have livedit, yoú will have to Uve once more and innumerable times more; and therewill be nothing new in ít, but every pain and every joy and every thought andsign and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to returnto you, all in the same succession and sequence even this spider and thismoonlight between the trees, and even this moment and 1 myself. The eternal

hourglass af existence is turned upside down again and again, and you withit

speck of dustt''"Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the

demon who spoke thus? _ Or how well disposed would you have to becometo yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervemly than this ultimate eternal confirmation and sea!?" 10

How would you answer Nietzsche's questions? Are you satisfied with thelife you are now creating for yourself? If so, why? l f not, what could you do tomake i t a bel:fer life, one that you would want to be repeated over and over adinfinítum? Explain.

S. Discuss sorne of the other assumptions that underlie Western philosophy,or your own philosophy of life, that usually go unquestíoned. How do theseassumptions affect the way you or others treat other human and nonhumanbeíngs? How do they affect your perception of your place in society and in theworld?


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I

e H P T ER 1 Ethícs 19

6. Discuss your own lífe in terms of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." Where are younow in your journey? Are you still chained up in the cave? Have you had aglimpse of the light 7 How did you respond 7 Did you try sharing your insightswith others? How did they respond?

Metaphysics and the Study of Human Nature

In every writer on philosophy there is a conf;ealed metaphysic usually unconscious; even ihis subject is metaphysics he is almost certain ro have an uncriticaHy believed system which

underlies hís specific arguments.B E RT R A N D RUSSELL The Philosophy oflohn ewey

Ethical theories do not stand on theír own but are grounded in other phílo-sophical presumptions about such matters as the role of humans in the universe, the existence of free will, and the nature of knowledge. Metaphysics

.:is the branch of philosophy concerned with the study of the nature of reality,.including what it means to be human.

Our concept of human nature has a profound inflw;nce on our conceptof how we ought to live. Are humans basically selfish? Or are we basicallyaltruistic? What ís the relationship between humans and the rest of nature?Do humans have a sou ? Or are we purely physical beings governed by ourinstincts ~ n urges? Do we have free will? Or is all of our behavior subject tocausallaws?

Metaphysícal assumptions about the nature of reality are not símply abstracttheories; they can have a profound effect on both ethical theory and normatíveethiés.Metaphysical assumptions playa pivotal role, for bener or for worse, instructuring relations among humans and betweeri humans and the rest of theworld.

MetaphysicaI DualismAccording to metaphysical 'dualists, realíty is made up of two distinct and·separate substances: the material or physical body and the nonmaterial mínd:which also referred to as the soul or spirit. The bódy, being material, is subject.


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20 SE CTI ON 1 The Study of thíés

Ecofeminist Karen Warren (b. 1947) argues that the domination of womenand the domination of nature tha t typify Western dualism are inexorably connect edY Both, she claims, are based on a híerarehical and dualistíc metaphysicsand a logíc of domination that as sumes that certain beings (whether humanor nonhuman) are morally superior and that those who are superior have aright to dominate those who are subordinate.

For living is apparent1y shared with p1ants, but what we are looking for is the special

function of a human being: hence we should set asid e the life of nutri tion and

growth. The lífe next in arder is sorne sort of fe of sensé-perception; but this too is

apparently shared, with horses, oxen and every animaL The remaining possibility,

then, is sorne sort of life of action on the part of the soul that has reason

. . . the human function is the sou1's activity that expresses reason the human

functíon to be a cenain .kind of 11fe, and we take this lífe to be the soul's activity and

actions that express reason. The excellent man's functíon 1S lO do this finely and

we1l. Each function is completed well when its comp1etion expresses the proper

virtue. Therefore, the human good tu rns out to be the soul's proper function.

-ARlSTOTLE, Nicomacnean Etnics Bk. 1, Ch. 1

Hindu metaethics, like Western dualism, at one time supported a hierarchical view of reality.12 In Hindu philosophy, this hierarchy manífested itselfprimarily within the caste system that was believed to reflect the natural

order of the universe. In India, the Hindu caste system and the hierarchicalmetaphysics upon which t was based were challenged by Hindu statesmanphilosopher Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948). He denounced the caste system asevil and an ineffaceable bIot that Hinduism today cardes with iL 13 Gandhi's

demand for change was strongIy influenced by the teachings of another Indianphilosopher, Siddhartha Guatama (563 BLE. -C . 483 BLE. , better known asBuddha or the Enlightened One.

Of created beings the most excellent are said to be those which are animated; of the

animated, those which subsist by íntelligence; of the intelligent, mankind; and of

men, the Brahmans.

- T h e Hindu Laws ofManu

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C H P T E R Ethícs 2

Oile of the main problems wíth dualism is comíng Up with an explanationof how two apparemly completely different substances-mind and body-areable ro interact with each other, especially on a causal leveL Because of themind-body problem, many philosophers have rejeeted duahsm. 14

Metaphysical Materialísm

There are many va,riatíons of nondualistie or one-substance theories. One ofthe more popular one-substanee theories is metaphysical materialism. In this .worldview, physicar matter is the only substance. Therefore, materialists do nothave ro de al with the mind-body problem. On the other hand materialists havea diffieult time expláining the phenomenon of eonsciousness. Because metaphysical materialists reject, or consider irrelevant, abstraet eoncepts su eh asmind or soul, morality must be explained in terms of physical matter.

Sociobiology is based on the assumption of metaphysieal materialism.As a braneh of biology, sociobiology applíes evolutionary theory to the socialsciences-including questions of moral behavior. Soeiobiologist Edward OWilson claims that moralíty is based on biological requirements and drives,15

Mohandas Gandhi 1869-1948), also known as Mah atma C great soul ), nationalist leader oIndia, 1931 (right; talking to Jawaharlal Nehru). Gandhi's use o nonviolent resistance as a strategyfor political and social r ~ o r mhas han a tremendous influence on late r civil rights movements,induding the 1960s civil rights movement in the United S ta tes.

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22 S E e T ION l· . The Study oJ Ethics

Human behavior is governed by the same innate epigenetic rules as otheranimals.

According to sociobiologists, human social behavior, líke that of othersocial animals, is primarily oriented toward the propagatíon of the species.This goal is achieved through inborn cooperative behavior that sociobíologistscall biolog ical altruismo Biological altruism accounts for the great sacrifices weare willing to make to help those who share our genes however, sociobiologistsdo not equate natural with moraL Wilson writes that we as humans must consciously choose among the alternative emotional guides we have inherited. 16Wewill be looking more at the concept of biological altruism in Chapter 7 on

ethical egoism.One of the problems with basing ethics on I?etaphysical materialism is

that it gives us no guidance in a situation where twó epigenetic rules, such asegoism and altruism, are in conflict. For this and other reasons, the majority ofphilosophers, without denying that biology is important, reject biology as thebasis for morality. .

Buddhism and the Unity I All Reality

Buddha, like Socrates, did not leave behind any writirrgs.What we know of hisphilosophy comes from the writings of his disciples. Leading a moral or right

lifestyle is central to Buddha's philosophy. Buddha rejected metaphysical dual-ism, emphasizing the unity of aU reality rather than differences.

According to Buddha, the natural order is not rigidly híerarchical; rather,it is a dynamic web of interat tions that condition or influence, instead of determining, our actions. Mind and body are not separate substances but are a man-ifestation ó one substance that is referred to in most Buddhist philosophies asthe One. Because all reality is interconnected, Buddhism opposes the takingof life and encourages a simple lifestyle in harmony with and respectful of otherhumans and of nature in generaL

Like most Buddhists, the Lele, a Bantu-speaking tribe living in the Demo-

cratic Republicof Congo, also believe that the world is a single system ofinter-relationships among humans, animals, and spirits. Avoiding behavior such assorcery that disrupts this delicate balance of interrelationships is key to themorallifeY Sorne Native American philosophies also stress the interrelatednessof all beings; they do not divide the world into animate and inanimate objectsbut rather see everything, including the earth itself, as having a self-consciouslife. 8 This metaphysical view of reality is reflected in a moral philosophy basedon respect for al peings and on not taking more than one needs.

Determinism Versus Free Wil

Another question raised by metaphysics is whether humans have free will orwhether all our behavior is causally determined. The theory of determinismstates that all events are governed by causallaws: There is no free wilL Humans


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HA P T E R 1 thics 23

are governed by causal laws just as all other physical objects and beings are.According to stríct determinism, if we had complete knowledge, we couldpredict future events with 100 percent certainty. The emphasis on the scientific method as the source of truth has contributed lo the trend in the West todescribe human behavior in pure ly scientific terms. 19

Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) claimed that humans aregoverned by powerful unconscious forces and that eveu our most noble

accomplishments are the result of prior events and instincts. Behavioristssuch as JohnWatson (1878-1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) also believedthat human behavior is determined by past events in our lives. They arguedthat, rather than the unconscious controlling our actions, so-called mental states are reallya function of the physícal body. Rather than being free,autonomous agents, we are the products of past conditioning, elaborately programmed c o m p u t e r s ~ c c o r d i n gto Watson, an assembled organic machineready to runo

Existentialist philosophers go to the opposite extreme. According to them,we are defined only by our freedom. ExistentialistJean-Paul Sartre 1905-1980)argued that there °is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it.Man [therefore] is condemned to be free."20 He argued that, as radically freebeings, we each have the responsibility to create our own essence, includingchoosing the moral principIes upon whích we act. Because we are free and notrestricted by a fixed essence, when we make a moral choice, we can be heldcompletely accountable for our actions and choices.

1 do no t at allbeHeve in human freedom in the philosophical sénse. Everybody

acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner

necessity.

A L B E RT EINSTEIN

Buddhist philosophers also disagree with determinism, although theyacknowledge that :Ve are influenced by o u t s i ~circumstances beyond our controL 21 This is reflected in the concept of karma in Eastern phílosophy. Karma is.sometimes misinterpreted as determinismo However, karma is an ethical prinéiple or universal force that holds each of us responsible for our actions andthe consequences of our actions, not only in this lifetime but in subsequentlifetimes. Rather t :tan our being predetermined by our past karma, karrna provides guidance toward liberation from our past harmful actions and illusionsand toward m o r a ~ p e r f e c t i o n .In Chapters 10 and 11, we willlearn aboUl theinfluence of this metaphysical view on Buddhis t ethics.·

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24 S E e TI o N 1 The Study of thics

Key Concepts n MetaphysicsMetaphysics The study of the nature of reality,

Anthropocentrism The beBef that humans are the most important realityin the universe.Metaphysical Dualism The theory that reality is made up of two distinctsubstance's-mind and matter.

Metap'hysical Materialism The theory that reality 1S made up of onesubstance-matter. . .

DeterminismThe

theory thatall

events are governed by causallaws; thereis no free wilL

Determinísm and xcuses

The determinism versus free will debate has important implications for ethics. In particular, it raises serious questions about to what éxtent we can holdpeople morally responsible for their actions, Making excuses for our actions is

. as old as humankind: Adam excused his behavior by blaming Eve for the appleincident. Eve in tum blamed the serpent.

The scientific trend lOward seeing forces outsíde our control as responsible for our actions has recently been extended lO relabeling behavior such asalcoholism and pedophilia as i11nesses or disabílities rather than moral weaknesses. The belief that human behavior is detei-mined has also influenced howwe treat people who commit crimes. lIihís book The Abuse Excuse criminaldefense anomey Alan Dershowitz examined dozens of excuses that lawyershave used successfully in coun lO enable people lO "get away with murder."22More and more people, he writes, are saying 1 couldn't help myself" lO avoidtaking responsibility for their actions. Excuses such as "battered woman syndrome," "Super Bowl Sunday syndrome," "adopted chíld syndrome," "black ragesyndrome," "the Twinkies defense," and "'pornography made me do it syn

drome" have all been used in coun cases.So, when, if ever, are we responsible for our actions? At one extreme, the

existentialists claim that we are completely responsible and that there are noexcuses. At the othe r extreme are those, such as the behavíorists, who say thatfree will is an illusiori. Most philosophers accept a positíon somewhere in themiddle, arguing that a1though we are the products of our biology and our culture, we are also creators of our culture and our destiny.

Exercises*1. Discuss how your concept of reality and human nature influences the way

you think aboDt morality.For examp1e, are humans made of two distinct substances mind and body? l f so, should one's degree of ratíonality


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e H A P TER 1 Ethics 25

correspond to one's moral wonh? Or are we made of the same substanceasthe rest of reality as metaphysical materialists and Buddhists daim? f so, doall beings have equal moral value? f you are doing community service work,relate your answer to your servíce.

2. Do you agree with Karen Warren's theory that sexism and naturalism arelinked? What is the relatíonship of sexism and naturalism to an anthropocentric metaphysícs? How does this affect how you define your.moral communíty?

How rriight ArislOtle have respondedl

Warren's theory?. 3. vVarren talks aQQut the ímportance of using the first-person narrative to raise

philosophícal questions that more abstract methods of philosophy mightoverlook.

a. Find a comtórtable spot outside or by a window. Rave a pad and pencilready. Putting on the mantle of a metaphysical dualíst, look at others, inc luding humans ora different ethnic background or gender, nonhuman animals,plants, and inanimate objects. After five minutes, or however long you need,wríte down your thoughts and feelings regarding the different beíngs yousee and their moral worth.

b. Repeat this qercise putting on the mantle of a nondualist , such as BuddhaorWarren.

c. Again, repeat the exercise, now looking at the world through the eyes of ametaphysical materialist such as B. F Skinner.

When you have finished the exercis'e, compare and contrastyour experíences. Discuss how adopting the different metaphysical viewpoints affectshow you see others and how you víew your place in the world.

4. In Alan Dershowitz's book he Abuse Excuse he argues that the current vogueof making excuses for violent actions threatens the democratíc' ideal of indi

. vídual freedom. Do you agree wi th him? Or do you believe that we are theproducts of our envíronment and, as such, unablé to. overcome our past? f

we are merely products of our environment, should terrorists, such as thosethat blew up the World Trade e ~ t e rin 2001, be held morally responsible fortheir actions? Discuss your answer in light of [he determin ism versus free will

. '. debate as well as your own personal experience.

5. Víctor Salva, director of the 1995 Disney movie Powder was sentenced to jailin 1987 for having oral'sex with a twelve-year-old boy who was an actor in arriovie he was directing. Salva served fifteen months in prison for his crime. Risvíctim, Nathan.,Winter, was outraged that Salva went back t o directing moviesand urged p o p l ~to boycon his films. "Re should not be allowed to live his lifeas if nothing háppened," Winter told a joutnalist. Others who object to Salvapoint out that, according to a 1988]usticeDepartment study, sexual abusers of

children are rarely "cured." About one-half of those released are later arrested .forthe same crime.

Salva, on dIe other hand claíms that he now regrets his past actions andhas "paid for [11is] mistakes dearly." Roger Bimbaum of Caravan Pictures,whích made the film Powder for Disney, supports S!llva, arguing that "whathapp ened eighf"years ago has nothing lO do with this movie."


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6 SECTION 1 Ihe Study ofEthics.

To what extent can people overcome their past? To what extent is theirpresent behavior determined by theír past? How can we really know, in a casesuch as Salva's, i f the person haschanged?

6. Because medical resources are limited for such thíngs as organ transplants andexpensive cancer treatments, we must decide how they should be allocated. f aperson knowingly engages in behavior that could jeopardize his or her health,should this be taken into- consideration when allocating scarce resources? ForexampIe, baseball superstar Mickey Mantle received a liver transplant, eventhough the- damage to his liver was mainly the result oL his years of heavydrinking. Mantle died shortly after receíving the transplant. Was it right to

give him the liver? Or should someone who needed a new liver because ofan inherited liver disease havebeen given priority over Mantle? How doesyourposition in the determinismversus free will debate influence your answers tothese questions?

*7. Discuss how our current government policies toward vulnerable populationssuch as the homeless, children, prisoners, and families living in poverty areinfluenced by a philosophical view of human behavior as free or determíned. fyou are doing community service work, illustrate your answer using examplesfrom your service.

Moral Knowledge: Can Moral Beliefs True?

Opinion S thatexerciseof thehuman will which helps usCo make_a decisionwíthoutinformation_

J O H N ERSKINE, Ihe CompleteLife 1943)

In the movie Terminator 2, the "terminator," an android pIayed by actor ArnoldSchwarzenegger, is about to kill two unarmed men who are harassing his friendJohn Connor. Connor jumps in, just in the nick of time, and pushes the terminator's gun aside:

Connor You were going to kíll that guyTermÍnator Of course. l 'm a terminator.

Connor Listen to me very carefully. You're not a terminator anymore. Youjust can't go around killing people.

Terminator: Why7

Connor What do you mean "why" ? 'Cause you can'tTerminptor: \\i'hy?

Connor Because you just can't.

In this passage, John Connor is makíng two important points. First, morality transcends our nature. We cannot use the excuse "but my nature" tojustífy our hurtful actions. Morality, including the principIe of nonmalefi-cence, or "do no harm," is binding on everyone. The terminator is by nature


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C H A P T E R 1 . Ethics 7.

a killer, but thís does not mean that he ought to kilI. Morality creates in usobligatíons to carry out or refraín from carryíng out certain actions in a way thatour nature or natural tendendes do not. Second, basic moral knowledge,according to Connor, is self-evídenL We may need to justífy our behavior, butwe do not have to justify the general moral principIes that inform our moraldecisions,

Of course, not everyone would agree with John Connar that the princi

pIe of nonmaleficence entails that t S always morally wrong to kill unarmedpeople. Disagreement or uncertainty, however, does not negate the existence .of moral knowledge>We also disagree about empírical facts, such as the age ofour planet, the caus'é of Alzheimer's disease, whether people in comas can feelpain, and whether i[ ;·is going to rain on the weekend. When we disagree aboutan important moral'issue, we don't generally shrug off the disagreement as amatter of personal opinion. lnstead, we try to come up with good reasons foracceptíng a particula'r position or course of action. We also expect others to beable to back up theír positions or explain their actions. In other words, mostpeople believe that;moral knowledge is possible and that t can help us in makíng decisíons about rnoral íssues.

Even the m o s i ~ g o i s t i cpeople generally accept a sort of moral minímal-ism. That is, they believe that there are certain mínimal morality requirementsthat include, for example, refraining from torturing and murderíng innocent,helpless people. The one extep tion ro this ís psychopaths, whom we'll be examiníng in Chapter 6 on moral development.

pistemology and Sources oJ KnowledgeThe branch of phílosophy concerned wüh the study of knowledge includingmoral knowledge is known as epístemology. Epistemology deals with ques

tions about the nature and limits of knowledge and how knowledge can bevalidated. There are many ways of knowing: Intuition, reason, feeling, and

. experíence are a potentía l sources of knowledge. .Many Western philosophers belíeve that reason. is the p rima ry source of

moral knowledge. Reason can be defined ,as the power of understanding theconnection between the general and the particular. 23 Ratíonalism is the epistemological theory that most human knowledge comes through reason ratherthan through the physical senses. ,

Other Weste rn philosophers, such as Bentham, Ross, and Humé, and manynon-Western p h i l o ~ b p h e r s ,including Confucius and Buddha, have challengedthe dependence on reason that characterizes much ofWestern philosophy. Theysuggest that we discover moral truths primarily through irítuition rather than .reason. Intuition isJmmedia te or self-evident knowledge, as opposed to knowl.:..edge inferred from'other truths. Intuitive truths do not need any proof. Utilitarians, for examplé, claím that we intuitívely know that pain S a moral eviLConfucians maintain that we intuitively know tha t benevolence is good. Rightsethicists claim that we intuitively know tha t all people are created equaL


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28 s E e TI o N 1 The Study 1 Ethícs

Cognitive-developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg believes thatcertain morally relevant concepts, such as altruism and cooperation, are builtinto us COI at least almost all of us). According to Kohlberg, these intuitivenotions are part of humans' fundamental structure for interpreting the socialworld, and as such, they may not be fully artículated. 24 In other words, we maynnow what is right but not be abIe to explain why ir S right.

The difficulty with using intuition as a source of moral knowledge S thatthese so-called intuitive truths are not self-evident to everyone. Whíte supremacists, fO example, do not agree that all people are created equal. On the otherhand, the facr that spme people do nor accepr tertaín moral intuítions does notmake these moral intuitions false or nonexistent any more than the deafness ofsorne people means that Beethoven's syi:nphoníes


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C H A P T E R ; t Ethícs 9

viduals' emotions; this is known as emotivism. Because statements of moraljudgment don't seem to convey any information about the physical world, theyare meaningless. Emotivists such as Alfred J Ayer (1910-1989) concludedthat these moral judgments are merely subjective expressions of feelíng or commands to arouse feelings and stimulate action and, as such, are devoid of anytruth value.

ErnotivisJ• : -·

Alfred] Ayer

[Ilt is our business to gíve an account of"judgements of a l í : . l É~ which is both satisfactory in itself and cdnsistent with our generalempiricíst principlf5. We shall set ourselveslO show that in so fir as statements of valueare significant, they are ordinary "scientific" statements; and that in so far as theyare not scientific, they are not in the literalsense significant, but are simply expressionsof emotion which can be neither true norfalseo

We begiri by admitting that the fundamental ethical concepts are unanalysable,

inasmuch as there is no criterion by whichone can test the validity of the judgements inwhich they occur We say that the reason why they are unanalysable is that theyare mere pseudo-concepts. The presenceof an ethical symbol in a 'proposition addsnoth ing to its factual conten!. Thus if 1 say to

. someone, "You acted wrongly in stealing thatmoney," 1 am not stating anything more thanif 1 had simply safa; "You stole that money."In adding that this action is wrong 1 am not

From A. J Ayer, Language Truth and Logic (New York:Dover Publicatíons, lnc., 1952), pp. 31, 102-103, 107-109. Copyright © 1946 A. J Ayer.

making any funher statement about it. 1 amsimply evincing my moral disapproval of iLl t is as if 1 had said, "Yo u stole that money,"in a peculiar tone of horror, or written i t withthe addition of sorne special exclamationmarks. The tone, or the exclamatíon marks,adds nothing to the literal meaning of the

. sentence. It merely serves to show that theexpression of it is attended by certain feelings in the speaker.

t is wonh mentioning that ethical termsdo not serve only to express feeling. Theyare ca1culated also to arouse f e e l i n g - ~ a n dso

to stimulate action. lndeed sorne of them areused in such a way as to giv.e the sentencesin which they occur the effect of commands.

h u ~the sentence "It is your duty to teH thetruth" may be regarded both as the expression of a certain son of ethical feeling abouttruthfulness and as the expres5ion of thecommand "Tell the truth."

We' can now see why i t i5 imp05sibleto find a criterion far determining the validity of ethical judgements. It i5 not becausethey have an"absolute" validity which ismysteriously independem of ordinary senseexperience, but because they have no objective validity whatsoever.

J/

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30 S EC TION 1 The tudy 1 Ethics

The statement "torturing children is wrong," in the context of emotivism,is neither true nor false. l t is nothing more than the expression of a negativeemotion ar feeling toward torturing ehildren-mueh like saying "yuek" whentasting a food that disagrees with one's palate. Someone's preferenee for tortur-ing young ehildren and another person's preferenee for a particular flavor of iceeream are both morally neutraL

Thís allíanee between ethics and scienee (as interpreted by the posítivists)proved fatal to ethics. I f science is the only souree of valid knowledge, thenmoral statements sueh as "killing unarmed people ís wrong" and torturingchildren is wrong" are meaningless beeause they do not appear to correspondto anything in the physical world, as do statements such as "tigers have strip es"or ir was sunny at the beach yesterday."

Emotívism was never widely aeeepted as a moral theory. The horrors ofthe suffering wrought by the Holoeaust foreed sorne emotivists to reevaluatetheir moral theory and to eommit themselves to the position that sorne aetionsáre immoral: Genocide, like torturing ehildren, is wrong-regardless' of howone feels about it.

Philosopher Sandra Harding (b. 1935) also maintains that experience is•án important component of knowledge; however, she disagrees with the emo-tivists that moral knowledge is impossible. Moral knowledge, she claims, is

radieal1y interdependent with our interests, our cultural institutions, our rela-tionships, and our lHe experienees such as those based on gender and socialstatus. 25 To rely solely on abstract reasoning, she argues, ignores other waysof experiencing the world and moral values within the world. Instead, knowing eannot be separated from our position in society and from other practicalpursuit s súch as working toward greater justice and equality. Moral knowledgeand moral decision making líe within the tension between the universal and theparticular in our individual experiences. By emphasizing the imponanee ofexperience, feminist epistemology reminds us that we must listen to everyone'svoice before forming an adequate moral theory-not just the voice of those,such as "privileged White males."26 This coneern with experience has led to anincreased emphasis on multiculturali sm in contemporary college education.

Exercises1. Philosophers who believe that moral knowledge is intuitive argue that every-

one (or almost everyone) would agree that causíng pain to an infant for one'sown amusement ís morally wrong. How would yau respond to someone whothinks that torturing infants is either morally right or, in the case of the posi-tivísts, morally neutral?

2. Discuss Alfred Ayer s claim, in the selection from his essay "Emotivism," thatmoral judgments are nothing more than expressians of feeling and have novalidity. l f morality is simply an expression of feeling, is there any such thíng

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as moral responsibílity? Doesit matter anymore what we do or don'tdo? AreGandhi and Hitler morally equívalent?Why or why not?

3. Sandra Harding suggests that there may be dífferent ways of knowing moraltruths for differeÍ1t groups. Do you agreewith her? For example, are therespedal female, Caucasian, Arab, Asian American, crime victim, or Holocaustsurvivor ways of knowing?I f there are, does this necessarily imply that moraltruth is relative or simply a matter of propaganda? Are there.cenain basic moraltruths that transcendour panicular experiences?

Summary1. Ethicsis concerned with the study of rigntand wrong and how to live the good

life.2. The two main suodivisions bf ethics are theoretical and normative ethícs. The

oretical ethics,of:metaethics ís concernedwíth appraising the logical foundations of ethicál'systems.Normative ethicsgives us practical guidelinesfordedding which 3..óions are rightor wrong.

3. There are twotyp"es ofethical theories.Nancagnitive theories,such as emotivism,claím that moral statements are neither truenor falseo Cognitivetheoriesclaimthat moral statements canbe true or falseo Cognitive theories can befunhersubdivided into relativist theories and uníversalist theoríes.Relatívist theoriesmaintain that rightand wrong are creationsof either individuals or groups ofhumans UniversalisttheorÍesclaim that ihere are universal moral values thatapplyro all hurñans.

4. Philosophyis, lite rally, the loveof wisdom.5. The 50cratic methad ínvolves a dialogue in which a teacher questions people

about things they thought they already knew.6. Wisdom begir:tsin self-knowledge, which inturn leads lO self-realization or self

actualization.7. True philosophersapproach the worldwith an ofien mind. They begin the

process f inquiryby adopting an initial positíon ofskepticism or doubt.8. Plato's Allegory pt,lhe Cave defines the task of the philosopher: movíng out of

our conventional;.mode ofthinkíng (the darkness of the cave) into the light oftruth This e x p e ¡ j ~ n eof truth shouldin turn:be sharedwith others~ oarestilllíving in darkness.

'9. Metaphysics ís thephilosophical study of thenature of realíty, íncludinghumannature.

10. Metaphysical dualism claims that reality is madeup of two distinct substances:physical matter and nonmaterial mind.Metaphysical materialism in éontrast,claims that physical matter is the only substance.

11. Buddhist metaphysícs maintains that realíty isauní ty and manifestatÍonofone substance.


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12. Sociobíologists claim that morality is genetically programmed into humans andother animals. Behaviorísts, on the other hand, claim that mora lit y is shaped byour environment.

13. Determinism claims that all events, including human actions, are caused byprevious events (predetermined) and that free w ll is an illusion. f there is nofree will, then of course there is no such thing as moral responsibility.

14. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. Most traditional Western philosophiesemphasize reason as the primary source of moral knowledge; most non-Western and feminist philosophies emphasize intuition or sentiment.

Emotívism is the theory that moral statements are meaningless because they donot correspond to anything in the physicaI world. Emotivism arose from anattempt by the positivists to scientifically legit imate the study of philosophy.

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Texto 1 - Ethics an Overview