Moral Philosophy: A Journey Through Ethical Systems
Moral Systems
Our actions are based on moral values, which hold significance for us. These values differ across eras, cultures, and individuals. A moral system comprises rules and criteria that guide human actions. Moral systems:
- Investigate the origin and coexistence of various moral codes.
- Suggest how our conduct should be guided.
- Analyze the consequences of our moral actions.
- Help us discern right from wrong in moral dilemmas.
1. The Sophists and Socrates
In 5th-century BC Athens, a direct democracy existed (distinct from modern democracy). Without elected representatives, citizens gathered in the public square (agora). Rhetoric and oratory, the art of constructing persuasive speeches, flourished. Sophists argued that absolute moral standards and values do not exist. They advocated moral relativism (the absence of absolute moral values) and were skeptical (doubting everything), believing everything was debatable and questionable.
Two key figures:
- Protagoras asserted that moral standards were conventional, resulting from agreements and varying between cities.
- Thrasymachus argued that since all moral norms are conventional, we must follow the law of nature.
Some Athenians mistook Socrates for a Sophist. This Athenian, considered politically dishonorable, faced charges for his teachings. Seeking wisdom through dialogue, Socrates employed a method called maieutics: the art of intellectual midwifery. He defended the absoluteness of moral values, linking virtue with knowledge and vice with ignorance. Socrates believed education fosters wisdom and virtue. He sought to embody the Delphic oracle’s maxim: “Know thyself.” His moral intellectualism asserts that virtue is knowledge.
2. Aristotle: The Pursuit of Happiness
A student of Plato and Socrates, Aristotle lived in 4th-century BC Athens and authored the first treatise on ethics. He believed happiness is the purpose of human life, our primary objective. True happiness isn’t fame, honor, or wealth, but fulfilling one’s purpose. This purpose is to develop our defining characteristic: reason. Humans are meant to act rationally, and excellence lies in doing so consistently. Excellence, or virtue, is finding the right balance between two extremes, which are vices. Cowardice and recklessness exemplify vices, while prudence is the guiding virtue. Prudence involves discovering the appropriate balance for each individual. Virtue and character are habits acquired through repeated actions. We are not sincere because we speak the truth, but rather we speak the truth because we are sincere. The philosopher seeks knowledge for its own sake, achieving the most complete happiness.
3. The Hedonists: Pleasure and Pain
Aristippus and Epicurus identified good with pleasure. Aristippus of Cyrene, a direct disciple of Socrates, was the first to equate good with pleasure. His philosophy emphasizes living in the moment. This mindset, embraced by the Romans, is encapsulated in the phrase “carpe diem.” Cyrenaics believed freedom lies in experiencing life’s pleasures without being enslaved by them.
Epicurus, of Samos, acquired an estate called “The Garden” outside Athens in 306 BC and founded his philosophical school, open to both men and women. He lived apart from political and social life. Pleasure and pain are the primary motivators for all living beings. Pure pleasure is the supreme good, and supreme evil is pure pain. Joys and sufferings are consequences of fulfilling or preventing appetites.
Epicurus categorized appetites into three classes:
- Natural and necessary
- Natural but not necessary
- Neither natural nor necessary
He also distinguished two types of pleasures:
- Pleasures of the body
- Pleasures of the soul (superior to bodily pleasures)
Pleasure of the soul aims for ataraxia, the absence of mental anxiety or agitation. Epicurus believed philosophy’s purpose is twofold: to combat false ideas and create a favorable state of mind in any circumstance. This involves overcoming fears, especially the fear of pain, death, gods, and fate. His “tetrapharmakon” (four-part remedy) addresses these fears:
- No need to fear death: when we exist, death does not; when death exists, we do not.
- No need to fear intense pain: when it is short, it is bearable; when prolonged, it is less intense.
- No need to fear the gods: they do not concern themselves with human affairs.
- No need to fear the future: nothing is predetermined.
4. The Cynics: Living According to Nature
Cynicism has a negative connotation, associated with lacking moral convictions and mocking those who uphold them. Politically, the cynic is a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, not bound by national allegiances. Among Socrates’ disciples, Antisthenes founded the Cynic school. Diogenes, who lived in a barrel and satisfied his needs wherever he pleased, is the most famous Cynic. Crates of Thebes abandoned his wealth to beg, and Hipparchia also joined their ranks. Cynics were guided not by social conventions but by the virtue of nature: to live according to nature!