Western Ethics: From Homer to Utilitarianism
Homeric Poems and Community
The practices depicted in Homer’s poems, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, are shaped by philosophical thought. These poems present reflections on moral principles, emphasizing:
- Good (from a welcoming and service-oriented community)
- Justice (the ability to excel)
- The intention to excel by providing the best service to the community
The Socratic Attitude
Socrates is considered the founder of Western ethics. Philosophers were dedicated to investigating the principles of the universe. Socrates centered his inquiry on the realization of good within society. Let’s reflect on some possibilities:
- The relentless pursuit of truth
- Truth as opposed to dogma
- Truth discovered through dialogue and reflection
- The Maieutic method: the art of giving birth to truth
- Moral concepts valuable to everyone
- Wisdom and happiness as necessary for virtue
- The connection between morality and intellect
Models of Happiness
Aristotle’s Eudaimonia
Aristotle stated that “all actions aim at some good.” Happiness is self-realization. True happiness, according to Aristotle, is:
- A perfect good (it is sought for its own sake)
- A self-sufficient good (it fulfills all desires)
- Achieved through the proper exercise of one’s abilities
- A continuous activity achieved with excellence
The Theoretical Life and Practical Wisdom
Actions have an inherent order. Perfect actions are superior to imperfect ones, and their effects are more significant. For example, spending time with friends is valuable in itself, but it also serves a specific purpose (e.g., maintaining relationships). Aristotle concludes that happiness consists not in the exercise of any activity, but in the exercise of the best activity. This involves intellectual virtue (dianoetic virtue), which includes practical wisdom (phronesis), the ability to deliberate well and propose a good life. It also involves ethical virtue (ethic virtue), which guides individual decisions within a society, requiring political engagement.
Happiness as Self-Sufficiency: The Cynics
The term “cynic” was applied to a group of philosophers who believed that true happiness consists of radical individual freedom from all social rules and institutions. According to the Cynics, the wise person lives according to nature.
Stoicism
Stoicism can be divided into three periods:
- Early Stoicism (3rd century BC): Represented by Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus. This was a materialist doctrine combining elements of Cynicism and Heraclitus, focusing on physics and logic.
- Middle Stoicism (2nd-1st century BC): Represented by Panaetius and Posidonius. This period incorporated Platonic elements, moving away from materialism and focusing on moral issues.
- Late Stoicism (1st century AD): Represented by Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. This period focused on ethics and had a significant socio-political influence in the Roman world.
Stoics generally divided philosophy into logic, physics, and ethics. The Stoic ideal is the exercise of virtue, achieved through acceptance of fate and the struggle against passions.
Happiness as Pleasure: Hedonism
Hedonism is a philosophical doctrine that identifies good with pleasure. Aristippus and Epicurus are considered hedonists. According to hedonism, ethical precepts are merely guidelines for navigating feelings of aversion and embracing the joys of life.
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is the philosophical doctrine of Epicurus and his followers. It follows the Cyrenaic school, focusing on pleasure as the supreme human goal, achieved through autonomy (autarkeia) and tranquility (ataraxia). The wise person cultivates happiness and eliminates obstacles, such as fear of the gods and death. This requires a physical theory and a theory of knowledge. Epicurus’ system includes:
- Canonics: The study of knowledge
- Physics: The study of nature, inspired by atomist materialism
- Ethics: The study of the soul and its behavior
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a philosophical doctrine that bases morality on the principle of utility, either individual or universal. While it has been associated with Aristippus’ hedonism and even Hobbes’ theory, the term “utilitarianism” should be reserved for the movement that emerged in England in the late 18th century and developed in the 19th century, represented by Jeremy Bentham, James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and Herbert Spencer.
Bentham based his moral arithmetic on pleasure: the goal of morality is happiness, understood as maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain, focusing only on quantitative aspects (intensity, duration, etc.), without qualitative distinctions. John Stuart Mill, in his book Utilitarianism (1861), distinguished between higher and lower pleasures, emphasizing intellectual and emotional pleasures over physical ones, breaking with both hedonism and social and psychological atomism. Herbert Spencer argued that the law of evolution leads to a progressive harmony, the fulfillment of which will be the ultimate happiness of each and all.
Criticisms of Material and Heteronomous Ethics
Kantian ethics criticizes material ethics (which focuses on the content of actions) and heteronomous ethics (which identifies morally good actions with those aligned with external forces, such as natural laws). Heteronomous ethics is not autonomous because it relies on external factors.
Consequences of Autonomy
- Human Dignity: An autonomous being possesses dignity and should not be treated as a means to an end.
- Goodwill: Goodwill is morally good in itself. It involves acting out of respect for moral law, specifically for humanity.
- The Supreme Good: This is the combination of virtue and happiness. Goodwill represents moral goodness, and happiness constitutes the supreme good, making it possible for actions to be both virtuous and fulfilling.