Classical Ethical Philosophies: An Introduction

Ethics

Ethics - the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group

We use the term accounting ethics when referring to the code that guides the
professional conduct of accountants. A second—and for us more important—meaning of
ethics according to the dictionary is this: "the study of morality." Just as chemists use the
term chemistry to refer to the study of the properties of chemical substances, ethicists
use the term ethics to refer primarily to the study of morality.

Philosophy

philia, which means love, and sophia, which means wisdom. It is the "study of the
fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence"

Three branches of philosophy:

1. Metaphysics —"What is the nature of reality?"

2. Epistemology —"What is the nature of knowledge?"

3. Axiology —‘’What is the nature of values?"

Metaphysics
 is concerned with reality and existence. It is the philosophy of being.

Epistemology

 raises questions about the nature of knowledge. Logic is a key dimension to

epistemology.
Axiology

 explores the nature of values.

Strands of Philosophy
 Idealism. This is considered the oldest philosophy of Western culture. It refers to the
world of mind and ideas, where reason is primary. Leading proponents of idealism are:
Socrates, Plato c. Augustine, René Descartes, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm
Friedrich Hegel.

 Realism. This can be considered the antithesis of idealism, whereby "the Universe exists
whether mind perceives it or not." Leading proponents of Realism are: Aristotle, Francis
Bacon, John Locke,Comenius, Rousseau, and Pestalozzi

 Neo-theism. This would date to the time of Thomas Aquinas (1225—1274), and is also
known as theistic realism, whereby "God exists and can be known through faith and
reason."

Strands of Philosophy
 Contemporary philosophies

 a. Pragmatism — also known as experimentalism (experience of things that work).

Leading proponents were: Auguste Comte; Charles Darwin; and the Americans: Charles
Peirce, William James, and John Dewey.

 b. Existentialism — appeared as a revolt against the mathematical, scientific

philosophies that preceded it. Leading proponents were: Soren Kierkegaard; Martin
Buber; Edmund Husserl; Martin Heidegger; and Jean-Paul Sartre.

 c. Analytic philosophy - it sought out to clarify and define philosophies. studied the
alienation between philosophy and science
Lesson 6: Major Ethical Philosophers

The Classical Philosophers and Their Philosophies

Plato
At one time in the history of Western philosophy, theories of higher reality were
commonplace. The most influential of these was offered by the ancient Greek philosopher
Plato (428-348 BC), student of the equally great philosopher Socrates. By almost any standard,
Plato ranks among the greatest philosophers of the world, and many scholars view him as the
most important philosopher of Western civilization. We find in Plato a drive for absolute truth
that goes beyond the merely popular opinions of the multitudes. We also find in Plato a
conviction that the physical world around us is merely a pale copy of the true reality of things
that exist on a higher objective plane (Fieser, 2003).
Having been inspired by the field of mathematics, Plato held that moral values are
objective in the sense that they exist in a spirit-like realm beyond subjective human
conventions. He held that they are absolute, or eternal, in that they never change, and also that
they are universal insofar as they apply to all rational creatures around the world and
throughout time. When we look at numbers and mathematical relations, such as 1 + 1 = 2, they
seem to be timeless concepts that never change, and apply everywhere in the universe.
Humans do not invent numbers and humans cannot alter them. Plato explained the eternal
Character of mathematics by stating that they are abstract entities that exist in a spirit-like
realm He noted that moral values are also absolute truths and thus are also abstract, spirit like
entities. In this sense, for Plato, moral values are spiritual objects. Plato largely shares the
teaching of his master, Socrates, to make all virtue intellectual, a doctrine expressed in the
formula, virtue is knowledge; which is tantamount to this other, vice is ignorance, or erroneous
view, Whence the conclusion is inevitable: No evil deed is willfully done; and therefore, No man
is to blame for being wicked (Coppens,1895).

Aristotle
Aristotle was born in 384/3 BC at Stageira in Thrace, and was the son of Nicomachus, a
physician of the Macedonian king, Amyntas ll. When he was about seventeen years old Aristotle
went to Athens for purposes of study and became a member of the Academy in 368/7 BC,
where for over twenty years he was in constant dialogue with Plato until the latter's death in
348/7 BC. He thus entered the Academy at the time when Plato's later dialectic was being
developed and the religious tendency was gaining ground in the great philosopher's mind.
The ethics of Aristotle are teleological (from the Greek telos, which means "end"): he is
concerned with action, not as being right in itself irrespective of any other consideration, but
with action as conducive to man's good. What conduces to the attainment of his good or end
will be a "right" action on man's part; the action that is opposed to the attainment of his true
good will be a "wrong" action." Every art and every inquiry, every action and choice, seems to
aim at some good; whence, the good has rightly been defined as that at which all things aim."
Aristotle sets himself to discover what this good is and what the science corresponding to it is
(Coplestont 1993).

Aristotle argued that virtues are good habits that we acquire, which regulate our
emotions. For example, in response to a natural feeling of fear, one should develop the virtue
of courage, which allows a person to be firm when facing danger or fear. Analyzing 1 1 specific
virtues (namely: courage, temperance, liberality, magnificence, honor, good temper,
friendliness, truthfulness, wit, friendship, and justice), Aristotle argued that most virtues fall at
a mean between more extreme character traits. With courage, for example, if one does not
have enough courage, he/she will develop the disposition of cowardice, which is a vice. If one
has too much courage, he/she will develop the disposition of rashness, which is also a vice.
According to Aristotle, it is not an easy task to find the perfect mean between extreme
character traits. In fact, everyone needs assistance from reason to do this (Fieser, 2003).

Immanuel Kant
Kant was born at Königsberg on April 22, 1724, and a son of a saddler. Both as a child at
home and at the Collegium Fridericianum, where he studied from 1732 until 1740, he was
brought up in the spirit of the pietist movement. He continued to appreciate the good qualities
of sincere pietists throughout his life, but it is evident that he reacted rather sharply against the
religious observances to which he had to conform at the college. In March 1 770, he was
appointed "ordinary" professor of logic and metaphysics at Königsberg. During this period, he
moved from rejecting the Leibniz-Wolffian system of philosophy to beginning to work out his
own philosophical system. It was in 1781 that his famous Critique of Pure Reason appeared;
during the intervening eleven years, Kant was thinking out his philosophy. Once the first edition
of Critique of Pure Reason had appeared in 1781, Kant's other famous writing 5 followed in
quick succession. Among others, the Critique of Practical Reason came out in 1788, and the
Critique of Judgment in 1790 (Coplestont 1960).

Kantian ethics emphasizes a single principle of duty. Influenced by Pufendorf, Kant

agreed that we have moral duties to oneself and others, such as developing one's talents and
keeping our promises to others. However, Kant argued that there is a more foundational
principle of duty that encompasses our particular duties. It is a single, self-evident principle of
reason that he calls the "categorical imperative." A categorical imperative, he argued, is
fundamentally different from hypothetical imperatives that hinge on some personal desire that
we have, for example, "If you want to get a good job, then you ought to go to college." By
contrast, a categorical imperative simply mandates an action, irrespective of one's personal
desires, such as "You ought to do X!' Kant gives at least four versions of the categorical
imperative, but one is especially direct: Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an
end. That is, we should always treat people with dignity, and never use them as mere
instruments. For Kant, we treat people as an end whenever our actions toward someone reflect
the inherent value of that person. Donating to charity, for example, is morally correct since this
acknowledges the inherent value of the recipient. By contrast, we treat someone as a means to
an end whenever we treat that person as a tool to achieve something else. It is wrong, for
example, to steal a neighbor's car since that would be treating him/her as a means to one's own
happiness. The categorical imperative also regulates the morality of actions that affect us
individually. Suicide, for example, would be wrong since I would be treating my life as a means
to the alleviation of my misery. Kant believes that the morality of all actions can be determined
by appealing to this single principle of duty (Fieser, 2003).
Utilitarianism as an Example of a Consequentialist Theory
Consequentialist theories became popular in the 18th century by philosophers who
wanted a quick way to morally assess an action by appealing to experience, rather than by
appealing to gut intuitions or long lists of questionable duties. Jeremy Bentham presented one
of the earliest fully developed systems of utilitarianism. Two features of his theory are
noteworthy. First, Bentham proposed that we tally the consequences of each action we
perform and thereby determine on a case to case basis whether an action is morally right or
wrong. This aspect of Bentham's theory is known as act-utilitiarianism. Second, Bentham also
proposed that we tally the pleasure and pain which result from our actions. For Bentham,
pleasure and pain are the only consequences that matter in determining whether Our conduct
is moral. This aspect of Bentham's theory is known as hedonistic utilitarianism. Critics point out
limitations in both of these aspects.
First, according to act-utilitarianism, it would be morally wrong to waste time on leisure
activities such as watching television, since our time could be spent in ways that produced a
greater social benefit, such as charity work. But prohibiting leisure activities does not seem
reasonable. More significantly, according to act-utilitarianism, specific acts of torture or slavery
would be morally permissible if the social benefit of these actions outweighed the dis-benefit. A
revised version of utilitarianism called rule-utilitarianism addresses these Problems. According
to rule-utilitarianism, a behavioral code or rule is morally right if the Consequences of adopting
that rule are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. Unlike act-utilitarianism, which
weighs the consequences of each particular action, rule-utilitarianism offers a litmus test only
for the morality of moral rules, such as "stealing is wrong." Adopting a rule against theft clearly
has more favorable consequences than Unfavorable consequences for everyone. The same is
true for moral rules against lying or murdering. Rule-utilitarianism, then, offers a three-tiered
method for judging conduct. A Particular action, such as stealing my neighbor's car, is judged
wrong since it violates a moral rule against theft. In turn, the rule against theft is morally
binding because adopting this rule produces favorable consequences for everyone. John Stuart
Mill's version of utilitarianism is rule-oriented. Second, according to hedonistic utilitarianism,
pleasurable consequences are the only factors that matter, morally speaking. This, though,
seems too restrictive since it ignores other morally significant consequences that are not
necessarily pleasing or painful. For example, acts which foster loyalty and friendship are valued,
yet they are not always pleasing. In response to this problem, G.E. Moore proposed ideal
utilitarianism, which involves tallying any consequence that we intuitively recognize as good or
bad (and not simply as pleasurable or painful). Also, R.M. Hare proposed preference
utilitarianism, which involves tallying any consequence that fulfills our preferences (Fieser,
2003).

Augustine
Born at Tagaste in the Province of Numidia (today's Algeria), North Africa on November 13th,
354 AD, Augustine came from a pagan father, Patricius, and a Christian mother, St. Monica. His
mother brought up her child as a Christian, but Augustine's baptism was deferred, in
accordance with a common, if undesirable, custom at that time. The child learnt the rudiments
of Latin and arithmetic from a schoolmaster of Tagaste, but play, at which he wished always to
be the winner, was more attractive to him than study, and Greek, which he began after a time,
he hated, though he was attracted by the Homeric poems considered as a story. In about 365
AD, Augustine went to the town of Madaura, where he laid the foundation of his knowledge of
Latin literature and grammar. Madaura was still largely a pagan place, and the effect of the
general atmosphere and of his study of the Latin classics was evidently to detach the boy from
the faith of his mother, a detachment which his year of idleness at Tagaste (369-370 AD) did
nothing to mitigate. In 370, the year in which his father died after becoming a Catholic,
Augustine began the study of rhetoric at Carthage, the largest city he had yet seen. The
licentious ways of the great port and centre of government, the sight of the obscene rites
connected with cults imported from the East, combined with the fact that Augustine, the
southerner, was already a man, with passions alive and vehement, led to his practical break
with the moral ideals of Christianity. It was soon after reading the Hortensius of Cicero, which
turned the youth's mind to the search for truth, that Augustine accepted the teaching of the
Manichaeans, which seemed to offer him a rational presentation of truth. If Christians
maintained that God created the whole world and that God is good, how then, could they
explain the existence of evil and suffering? The Manichaeans maintained a dualistic theory,
according to which there are two ultimate principles, a good principle, that of light, God or
Ormuzd, and an evil principle, that of darkness, Ahriman.These principles are both eternal and
their strife is eternal, a strife reflected in the world which is the production of the two principles
in mutual conflict (Copleston, 1993).
At a certain point, his faith in Manichaeism became shaken, at which time he set out for
Rome. In the end, he sought for and obtained a position at Milan as municipal professor of
rhetoric in 384; but he did not leave Rome without having lost most of his belief in
Manichaeanism. At Milan, Augustine came to think a little better of Christianity owing to the
sermons on the scriptures delivered by St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. At this point, too, he read
certain Platonic treatises in the Latin translation of Victorinus. The function of neoPlatonism at
this period was to render it possible for Augustine to see the reasonableness of Christianity, and
he began to read the New Testament again, particularly the writings of St. Paul. If Neoplatonism
suggested to him the idea of the contemplation of spiritual things, of wisdom in the intellectual
sense, the New Testament showed him that it was also necessary to lead a life in accordance
with wisdom. On Holy Saturday of 387 Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose. In the year
395—396 Augustine was consecrated auxiliary Bishop of Hippo (Copleston, 1993).
St. Augustine's ethic has this in common with what one might call the typical Greek ethic; that
is, eudaemonistic in character, which proposes an end for human conduct, namely happiness;
but this happiness is to be found only in God. The ethic of Augustine is primarily an ethic of
love: it is by the will that man reaches out toward God and finally takes possession of and
enjoys Him. Augustine was an extreme intentionalist in ethics. In De Sermone Domini in Monte

(Commentary on the Lord's Sermon on the Mount 1.12.34), he identifies three

necessary and sufficient conditions for committing a sin: receiving an evil suggestion, taking
pleasure in the thought of performing the act suggested, and consenting to perform the act.
Thus in Augustine's view, whether one commits a sin is in no way dependent on whether the
contemplated action is actually carried out. Even when the action is carried out, it is the
intention (understood as suggestion, pleasure, and consent), rather than the action itself, or its
consequences, that is sinful (Copleston, 1993; Matthew, 1998).

Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas (1225—1274), an Italian philosopher, theologian, and priest, is sometimes
called the Prince of Scholastics. He wrote Summa Theologiae and Summa Contra Gentiles,
among many other works, and developed a systematic Christian theology in response to the
Problem of the dichotomy of faith and reason during the medieval period. He was invited by
Pope Gregory X to attend a General Council in Rome in 1274 but died on the way to the
Vatican. He died at the young age of 49 years old. 49 years later, he was canonized, and later
Proclaimed the Angelic Doctor of the Church (Roa, 2011).

The moral philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas involves a merger of at least two apparently
disparate traditions: Aristotelian eudaimonism and Christian theology. On the One hand,
Aquinas follows Aristotle in thinking that an act is good or bad depending on Whether it
contributes to or deters us from our proper human end—the telos or final goal at which all
human actions aim. That telos is eudaimonia, or happiness, where "happiness" is Understood in
terms of completion, perfection, or well-being. Achieving happiness, however, requires a range
of intellectual and moral virtues that enable us to understand the nature of happiness and
motivate us to seek it in a reliable and consistent way.

On the Other hand, St. Thomas's moral theory is seen to move on a different plane from
that of Aristotle. Aristotle may have said that the good of man consists in the consideration of
the speculative sciences, but he was speaking of imperfect happiness, such as is attainable in
this life. According to Aquinas, perfect happiness, the ultimate end, is not to be found in any
created thing, but only in God, who is Himself the supreme and infinite Good. God is the
universal good in the concrete, and though He is the end of all things, of both rational and
irrational Creatures, it is only rational creatures who can attain this final good by way of
knowledge and love: it is only rational creatures who can attain the vision of God in which alone
perfect happiness lies. Aquinas was in some respects a better Aristotelian than Aristode, that
not only was he an excellent interpreter of Aristotle's texts, but that he had been able to extend
and deepen both Aristotle's metaphysical inquiries and his moral enquiries (Copleston, 1993;
Macintyre, 1984).