The origins of Ethics
Ethics versus morality
Unlike morality, Ethics is not universal: not all societies do ethics although they all have a moral. Morality is essential for the organization of a society. It is necessary that the majority of the members of a society share a sense of what is right and what is valuable. On the contrary, you can have a great time without never doing Ethics.
What is Ethics? Ethics is the rational reflection on morality. That is to say, Ethics studies moral norms.
Among the questions that Ethics tries to answer are the following:
What kind of values and norms are moral values and norms? Can we define them unambiguously?
Given that there are many moral norms, can we "reduce" or "derive" moral norms from a small number of basic moral norms?
Since there are many good things, can we define goodness in general? Is there something common to all good things?
Can we justify morality? Why should I obey the moral norms that have taught me? Why are some actions good and others bad?
Since there are many different morals (each society theirs, and each person also makes their own decisions) Are there some morals better than others? Can we prefer one moral to others or are they all the same?
Can we reason about morals? Is it possible to convince others about moral questions? Is it possible that others convince you about moral questions?
All these questions (and some more) are raised by some people and not by others . Those who raise them, reason about the moral they have and seek answers. This search may not be successful, or the answers they find may not convince others, but they nevertheless try to find reasons for our moral rules.
Do we need Ethics?
Those who do not ask questions about their moral, follow the moral they have but without asking why. They follow the moral they have by relying on other reasons :
Religious justification: I obey because I believe (I have faith)
Legal justification: I obey because the law sends it to me
Justification in the habit: I obey because it has always been like this
Social justification: I obey because many others do it this way
The same moral norm can be justified from any of these four points of view (and from some more).
Although Ethics is interested in what religion says, the laws and customs about morality, its defining characteristic is rational justification . The Ethics does not accept , or at least it is not enough with:
faith
law
custom
society
Ethics asks for reasons to accept a certain moral:
to obey some rules and not others
to try to achieve certain goals and not others
to consider certain things and actions valuable and not others
to treat others in a certain way.
When and where did Ethics begin?
Although we can not really know, we can say that, at least in the Western tradition, that moment was the 5th century BCE in Ancient Greece , with thinkers such as Socrates and Protagoras. The investigation initiated by them has continued since then.
Why did Ethics arise in Ancient Greece? Because in order for us to start thinking about our morality, we need certain conditions that were there:
Curiosity for knowing the answer to the questions we have mentioned before.
Ability to question the received moral, own convictions and look for reasons.
Tolerance of society to accept without rejection those who think differently from the majority.
Freedom of thought and speach in order to be able to think and communicate our ideas.
Dialogue between those who do not think the same and exchange arguments.
These conditions do not always apply. Often the contrary are given:
Conformism Acceptance of a moral without asking anything.
Fanaticism Inability to question one's beliefs.
Intolerance with those who do not think the same as the rest.
Censorship and prohibition to spread new or different ideas.
Isolation among those who think differently.
Greece in the fith century BCE
Political organization
Greek cities are independent of each other, each city has its own government.
Athens: "democratic" government, all citizens intervene in the government of the city.
"Democratic" institutions: the Assembly, gathered in the agora with all citizens.
Citizens: males, adults (who participate in the defense of the city) and free.
Rich and well-educated citizens were more likely to influence the Assembly.
Ethics is a part of Philosophy, and Philosophy flourished in Greek cities.
Greek religion: polytheists, gods with human traits and emotions. Easily criticized.
Athenian democracy
Socrates
Life and death of Socrates:
How did Socrates die?
Why did Socrates die?
What did they accuse him of?
How have these details influenced our vision of Socrates?
The death of Socrates. A famous painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis David. In the painting, David recreates what is known about the final moments of Socrates as described by Plato and other followers.
The ideas of Socrates
Protagoras
Protagoras was a contemporary of Socrates, and his views were very different from his.
Protagoras argued that morality is:
Conventional : based on agreements (conventions) between men
Changing : the same society can change its moral standards
Particular : each society has its moral, there is no universal moral, valid for all men.
These ideas are summarized in his sentence: "Man is the measure of all things"
Against these ideas of Protagoras:
Socrates distinguishes between moral action and legal action: the law can change but morality can not.
Morality is not based on convention (agreement) but on knowledge.
This knowledge is universal and does not change; therefore the moral based on him will be universal and immutable.
Famous sentences said by Socrates:
I only know that I know nothing
Know yourself
An unexamined life does not deserve to be lived
Relativism versus Absolutism
Theories such as that of Protagoras are called relativists , because they maintain that morality is always relative to a specific place and time.
Theories such as Socrates are called absolutists , because they argue that there is an absolute point of view from which to study morality.
