Ethics

Ethics (from the Ancient Greek "ethikos", meaning "arising from habit") is one of the major branches of philosophy, one that covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right, wrong, good, evil, andresponsibility. It is divided into three primary areas: meta-ethics (the study of what ethicality is), normative ethics (the study of what ethical truths there are and how they are known), andapplied ethics (the study of the use of ethical knowledge).

Meta-ethics is the investigation into the nature of ethical concepts and propositions. It involves such questions as: are ethical claims truth-apt (i.e. capable of being true or false), or are they expressions of emotion, "implicit" imperatives, or something else? If they are truth-apt, are they ever true? If they are ever true, what is the nature of the facts that they express? And are they ever true absolutely (seemoral absolutism), or always only relative to some individual, society, or culture and cultural relativism)?

A claim of "meta-ethics" is that ethical positions cannot have absolutes unless there is a stated and agreed opinion about the goal of the ethical standards within the community that claims ethical absolutes.

Ethical propositions and truth-aptitude

One of the fundamental debates in ethics is between cognitivists and non-cognitivists. Their debate is over the truth-aptitude of ethical propositions. Ethical propositions are those used to either positively or negatively morally evaluate something. Concepts of value, e.g. good and evil, or concepts of deontic nmodality, e.g. obligation ("should/ought") and prohibition ("should not/ought not"), or similar concepts of other kinds (e.g. fairness and unfairness), are typically components of ethical propositions. Here are some examples:

• "Sally is a good person."

• "People should not steal."

• "The simpson verdict was unjust."

• "Honesty is a virtue."

• "One ought not to break the law."

• "He deserved what he got."

In contrast, a non-ethical proposition does not serve to morally evaluate something. Examples would (ostensibly) include:

• "Sally is my friend."

  • "Someone took the stereo out of my car."

  • "O.J. Simpson was acquitted at his trial."

  • "Many people are honest."

  • "I dislike it when people break the law."

  • "He did things that were disapproved of."

  (It is important to note that non-cognitivists may disagree with the categorization of the last two propositions as non-ethical, as one non-cognitivist position is that ethical propositions are nothing more than coded expressions of approval or disapproval.)

  Religion and meta-ethics

   

  Some philosophers, such as the Danish existentialist soren viewed meta-ethics as a pursuit that could only be understood in terms of religion. Kierkegaards Christian ethics is seen most clearly in his concept of a "teleological suspension of the ethical"—a moment when ethical reality is superseded by religious reality, such as Abrahams near-sacrifice of his son Isaac on Mt. Moriah and its prefiguration of God the fathers sacrifice of Christ. Organized religion may be seen as an extension of moral philosophy that seeks a system of thought that transcends the accepted ethical norms of a particular time.

  Normative Ethics

  Normative ethics bridges the gap between meta-ethics and applied ethics. It is the attempt to arrive at practical moral standards that tell us right from wrong, or good from bad, and how to live moral lives. This may involve articulating the good habits that we should acquire, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior on ourselves and others. The consequences of our behavior on ourselves and others would be determined by the goods or bads created by our behavior and the intrinsic good (the good in itself) of some of our actions.

  Normative ethicists who follow the first approach are often called virtue ethicists, and articulate the various virtues or good habits that should be acquired. Aristotle is a pioneer virtue ethicist.

  Normative ethicists who follow the second approach are often called deontological ethicists. Immanuel Kant set out the large framework for a deontological normative ethical theory.

  Normative ethicists who follow the third approach are often called utilitarians or consequentialists, and John Stuart Mill set out a large framework for a utilitarian normative ethics. When it is said that normative ethicists are consequentialists, it should be remembered that consequentialism is meant very broadly. A consequence includes the intrinsic good, or good in itself, of an action.