Rembrandt, "Philosopher in Meditation" (1632)
Musee du Louvre, Paris
The term "ethics" has a number of meanings.
One of its most common meanings is a set of principles by which we live. Thus, we speak of 'medical ethics' and mean the code which guides the behaviour of doctors in their dealings with each other and with their patients. When we speak of 'Christian ethics' we refer to the principles which guide the behaviour of those who are Christians, such as the rules for conduct found in the Ten Commandments.
Philosophers, however, also mean by 'ethics' a theoretical study, very much as the physicist means by 'physics' a theoretical study. But the objects which are studied in ethics are theories. These 'ethical theories', deal with such questions as
- 'How should we behave?'
- 'What is the good life for man?'
An example of an ethical theory studied in 'ethics' is Hedonism. This is an ancient theory which holds that the good life is one of pleasure. Philosophers study such theories as Hedonism not only because these doctrines have important consequences for living and for understanding human nature, but also because many ethical doctrines which seem good at first, such as Hedonism, are found upon careful examination to have defects. For example, does it not make sense to speak of 'bad pleasures' (of the things which may give us momentary pleasure, such as drinking alcohol, but which may result in a life of subsequent pain?) Then how can the good life be identical with a life of pleasure, since there are pleasures which are bad?
But if it is not pleasure which constitutes the good life, what does? Part of the motivation for studying ethics lies in the attempts by philosophers to find answers to questions like those mentioned above.
In this section, we will consider some of the famous classical and modern ethical theories to see how they answer such questions. We will examine their pluses and minuses, and by so doing, we will take part in the philosophical study of 'ethics'.
Suppose we think that we should not take human life, and suppose we also believe that we have an obligation to defend our countries against enemies. What should we do when our country is at war? If we refuse to fight for our country, then what of our belief that we have an obligation to do so. On the other hand, if we do fight, in the course of doing so we may take human life. What should we do in these circumstances? How can we decide? Thinking about these kinds of problems give us the raw material of which ethical theories are made.
The difference between the thoughts of the non-philosopher and the thoughts of the philosopher is that the latter are frequently (though not always) more systematic, and are usually more general. Like the non-philosopher, the philosopher considers ethics by reflecting on common situations, but then goes beyond these to discussions of a more general sort.
ethical theories
The simplest and most obvious classification is an historical one. We can divide theories into those which are 'classical' and those which are 'modern'. Roughly speaking, a theory is classical if it attempts to answer the question : 'What is the good life for people?'; and if it attempts to answer the question : 'How should humans act ?'
