Foundations of Morality and Ethical Criteria
Moral Philosophy and Ethics Fundamentals
Regulatory Systems
Morality involves models enforced through rules backed by authority, serving universal needs:
- A model of humanity, defining status and virtues.
- A behavioral model.
- A societal model.
These models regulate conflicts of interest between people and manage conflicting internal desires. Legitimacy is the current basis for this authority.
Tradition, Morality, and Law
- Standards from Custom: Derived from usual practices and imposed through training.
- Moral Standards: Imposed through social pressure.
- Rules of Law: Imposed by authority through coercion.
The Moral Crisis
Moral crises can arise from several factors:
- Emergence of critical social movements challenging existing standards or their foundations (e.g., claims regarding the rights of homosexuals or racial minorities).
- Social or cultural changes introducing moral problems that previous frameworks cannot resolve (e.g., new economic interactions creating desires for wealth and competitiveness).
- The rise of influential moral or religious figures presenting new ways of understanding life, attracting large followings (e.g., cultures introducing new lifestyles).
- Contact with different moral systems and cultures, undermining confidence in the infallibility of one’s own (e.g., exposure to diverse global lifestyles causing uncertainty).
Genealogy of Morals: Origins and Problems
The Origin of Morals
Examining where moral concepts come from.
A Shared Rationality
Exploring the common ground in human reasoning about morality.
Nine Major Moral Problems
Common ethical challenges across societies:
- The value placed on life
- Duties to the community
- Power and its exercise
- Conflict of interest
- Ownership and distribution of assets
- Sexuality, reproduction, and the family
- Caring for the weak
- Dealing with foreigners and the different
- The afterlife, death, gods, and the meaning of life
Methods and Foundations of Ethical Study
Various Philosophical Methods
- Since Aristotle, ethics has often been linked to human nature, using deductive reasoning from human essence. However, Aristotle also employed inductive processes when addressing reality’s complexities.
- Scholastic philosophers aimed to deduce morality from ‘nature’, referencing God as the supreme legislator.
- Kant utilized the transcendental method, positing a moral law inherent in humans.
- Max Scheler developed a phenomenology of values.
The Foundation of Ethics
Many thinkers seek to base ethics on history, experience, or practice, making relativism a significant challenge. An immutable foundation, valid for all, is often sought in human nature or a divine relationship.
- The concept of ‘nature’ can be insufficient, as individuals may project their own desires or beliefs onto it.
- Appealing to God depends on faith, not reason, limiting its universal validity in philosophical ethics.
- A distinction can be made between inherent ‘human nature’ and a ‘second nature’ associated with natural law.
- Crucially, all human beings possess inherent dignity by virtue of their existence, from which fundamental rights derive.
Criteria for Ethical Truth and Validation
Evidence and Errors
Evaluating the basis for ethical claims and identifying potential mistakes.
Essential Criteria
- Subjective Evidence: The fundamental criterion where the individual must recognize the value of an ethical theory’s content.
- Internal Scrutiny of Evidence: Seemingly strong evidence may prove fragile upon closer analysis.
- Acceptability: Does universal acceptance automatically equate to moral goodness? Considerations include:
- The moral experience of mankind: Advocated by Jacques Maritain to test ethical models.
- Arguments to an impartial observer: Judging based on the perspective of someone detached from personal interests.
- Reasoned Dialogue (Discourse Ethics): Defended by Habermas and Apel.
- Universality: An ethical principle gains support if it can be applied universally (Kant’s categorical imperative).
- Consistency: An ethical model or theory must be free from internal contradictions.
- Consistence with Other Truths: Ethical models should align with established knowledge, including science.
- Effectiveness: The practical applicability and outcomes of the ethical model.
- Prediction of Good Consequences: An ethical claim is supported if it leads to predictably positive outcomes.