Ethics unit 2

Unit 2: ETHICAL THEORIES

2.1. Ethics and moral (I)• Morality is about how

individuals and their actions should be.

• Morality are the norms and values that society accepts and which may form a code of conduct or moral code.

2.1. Ethics and moral (II)

• It deals with acts that we do so voluntarily, with full freedom and conscience. They are called “human acts”.

• We are also responsible for those acts made out of ignorance.

2.1. Ethics and moral (III)

• Human acts can be:– MORAL ACTS: conform

to the moral code. E.g. to pay taxes.

– INMORAL ACTS: do not fit the moral code. E.g. driving with excessive speed.

– AMORAL ACTS: not related to morality. E.g. to take a nap.

2.1. Ethics and moral (IV)

• Ethics is a branch of philosophy concerned to judge whether the rules and moral codes we currently have are valid or not.

• Ethics reflections on the freedom and responsibility of human beings acts.

2.2. Heteronomy and Autonomy• People not only develop

physically and intellectually but also morally; the moral maturity does not come automatically with age.

• When we grow up, there is an increase of the person’s capacity to judge moral, that is, to judge whether something is good or bad morally.

2.2. Heteronomous Stage

• At first, the children act out of impulses or instincts.

• Soon, children internalized values and norms from family, school, friends, media… Their own emotional experience is also very important.

2.2. Autonomous Stage

• From adolescence, teenagers begin to rethink the values acquired during childhood.

• From now on they want to be responsible with the standards set by him. Now they are able to reason and argue the reasons why they have behave in a certain way.

• It should not be forgotten that the laws are decided by society and must be fulfilled even if one disagrees with them.

2.3. ETHICAL THEORIES1. CLASSICAL GREEK ETHICS– SOPHISTS. They believed

that rules and customs were human inventions and depended on the point of view of each society and individual.

– “Man is the measure of all things” (Protagoras)

2.3. ETHICAL THEORIES

– SOCRATES, PLATO AND ARISTOTLE. They argued that moral norms are universal, valid for all the world. They could be known rationally and aren’t dependent on the opinions of each individual.

• “If you know the Goodness, you will act well.” (Moral intellectualism)

2.3. ETHICAL THEORIES– STOICISM. (Zeno)

thought that the individual has to adapt himself to the laws of the universe (accept fate). Happiness is achieved being austere, impassive and imperturbable.

• EPICUREANISM (Epicurus) said that the most important thing is pleasure (Hedonism). It should be a calculation between pleasure and pain that can push you to a certain action.

2.3. ETHICAL THEORIES

2. CHRISTIAN ETHICS.• Jesus preached love to the neighbor. His teaching

has had a decisive influence on Western culture.• Christian religión is different from the others

because they believe that all men and women are brothers, since they are all children of God.

• Happiness is reached by getting closer to God and practicing love even to the enemy.

2.3. ETHICAL THEORIES3. ETHICS IN MODERN AGE.• Renaissance: Humanism

appears. The human being is the center of the universo and the subject of ethics.

• Enlightenment: The utilitarian philosophy arises. What matters here is what is useful to the society. (John Stuart Mill)

2.3. ETHICAL THEORIES• Marxist.