TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)

Born in Stagira, Greece (near Macedonia) Aristotle’s father introduced him to

anatomy, medicine and philosophy – he had a well-learned childhood

Parents died when he was 17 Plato taught and mentored Aristotle Plato was a leading thinker in Greece (at Academy)

Aristotle and Plato

Plato- He looked at the abstract, the world of

ideas- Man of contemplation and deep thought

Aristotle- He looked at human experiences and the

world of nature- Thrived on hands-on experience,

observation and classification

Aristotle and Alexander

Due to political unrest, Aristotle fled from Athens to Aegean

Fled again to Macedonia and began to tutor King Philip’s son – Alexander (later known as the Great)

Aristotle started a school (Lyceum)

He wrote about logic, metaphysics, theology, history, politics and ethics and the basic foundations of many science disciplines

Leaving again...

After Alexander the great died, there was more political unrest

Aristotle was charged with not respecting the gods of the state (he was friends with the King)

Fled again, but died in a year Much of his work was lost the

destruction of the great library of Alexandria

Only 40 of 360 works survived to today

Aristotle’s Teleological Ethics

St. Thomas Aquinas rediscovered Aristotle in the 13th century through Arab scholars

His teachings became associated with Catholic ethical theory

The Pursuit of Happiness

Aristotle believed that the happiness of a person (citizen) was found in community

Happiness is an enduring and long-lasting condition that results when one lives and acts well

Happiness is not the same as pleasure, as pleasure is momentary

The Pursuit of Happiness

Ethics aims to discover what is good for us as human beings

It helps us learn what permits us to reach out potential

Ethics gives us rationality and our internal compass (our conscience maybe)

Teleology and Teleological Ethics

All things in this world aim for goodness This ethics discovers the finality (telos)

or purpose of something – what completes us?

We are intended to be rational – our greatest capacity is our intelligence

Acting ethically, is to engage our capacity to reason as we develop good character (highest form of happiness)

Good person – one whose actions are based on excellent reasoning and spend a great amount of time thinking

Excellent!

When we have started to reach our potential and what we intend to be – we develop habits that make us the best

In other words, when we do things well, we become better humans (these excellent things we do well are virtues)

A good person used reason to control desire

We must allow reason to guide our actions, and only then will these moral virtues become habit!

DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS

IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)

Born and raised in Prussia (N.E. Germany)

Grew up in poverty-stricken, but very religious Protestant family

Family were Pietists – believed in personal devotion and Bible reading

Lived near home all his life (never went beyond 100 km of his birthplace)

His life was all about routine – everything was nearly scheduled

Mr. Kant: Teacher and Author

After university, Kant worked as a private tutor and teacher

He became a university professor of logic and metaphysics

Kant wrote books – difficult to understand

Critique of Pure Reason took 12 years to write and contains the longest sentences ever written (like in your reflections!)

He greatly influenced Western thought and philosophy

Theoretical Reason Kant wanted to know how humans

came to know things He also wanted to know what role

experience played in out knowledge Asked other questions:

Can we know things that are beyond our immediate experience?

Can we know and predict the cause and effect?

Theoretical reasoning asked the big questions and help us understand the laws of nature and cause and effect, govern human behaviour

Practical Reason

The moral dimension that guides human behaviour

Humans act out of impulse (our nature) and conscious choice (on principle)

Theoretical reasoning tells us what people actually do, while practical reasoning tell us what we should do

Kant introduced us to the idea of MORAL DUTY

Kant’s Ethics

Shared with Aristotle that good is the aim in life, but in a different way We need practical principles to pursue the

supreme good:1. God – the existence of God allows us to attain

supreme good, as we are limited in our power as humans

2. Freedom – to have the duty to achieve the supreme good, we must have the freedom to do something. Humans are free beings

3. Immortality – the supreme good is too large a task for this life – it goes beyond to the next life, and so on

The Good Will

Kant (unlike Aristotle) sees goodness in the individual (in their private life and inner conscience)

Good Will – doing our duty, because it is our duty Kant’s theory is deontological, as ‘deon’ refers to

duty A human action is morally good if it is done for

the sake of duty Real worth is measured by the motive behind

them According to Kant, you are the king of your castle

– your decision (and according to your will)

Kant’s Use of Moral Maxims

Duty is determined by maxims (principles)

For something to be ethical, there must be an objective principle (must also apply to all)

Ethical maxim – how every rational person would act if reason was used to decide actions

Act in a way you would want others to act also (Sound like anything familiar?)

EMMANUEL LEVINAS:ETHICS OF THE FACE (RELATIONAL ETHICS)

EMMANUEL LEVINAS (1905-1995)

Born in Kaunas, Lithuania Lived during the Holocaust with his Jewish

family Began studies at University of

Strassbourg in philosophy Levinas saw a contrast between Western

philosophy and his strong Jewish faith

The Sameness of Things

He understood that Western philosophy attempted to overcome difference/diversity by grouping everything in unity – called ‘Being’

Everything carries sameness Difference is reduced to being accidental

(not essential)

The Singularity of Things

This tradition focused on the singular (having its own identity)

The singularity of things gives them identity

Levinas and World War II

WWII – Levinas was caught by the Germans and was a prisoner of war for 5 years.

His whole family died in the Holocaust. His wife and daughter escaped but lost communication with him

His war experience made Levinas more aware of hisJewish roots

Connecting with his Jewish Roots

Mordachi Chouchani (Jewish teacher) was Levinas’ teacher at age of 40

He instructed Levinas in the Jewish Talmud

Soon, Levinas also instructed the Talmud to young Jewish intellectuals in France

Teaching and Last Years

Became chair in philosophy at Univ. of Poitiers

1973 – Became professor of philosophy at Sorbonne (most prestigious school in Paris)

Became a popular writer and soon retired Even in lecturing, took his Jewish values

very seriously (No lecturing on the Sabbath)

He wrote and lectured until illness and death in 1995

Levinas - The Good is Infinite

The Good – the central question of all philosophy The Good goes beyond Being The Being names what things have in common

(when you remove all the differences) The Being can be dangerous, because it takes

away from reality, the uniqueness of each individual or thing

The unique things and persons are called traces of the Good (a.k.a. God)

Everything we encounter is finite (that is why we only see traces of God)

God has gone ahead (the infinite)

The Face as Witness of the Good

The face is the most naked part of the body

We can see the traces of God in the face (Levinas was against make-up)

In someone’s eyes, we make immediate and direct contact

When you have an experience looking into someone’s face, you see their uniqueness

“You shall not murder” – taking away another person’s uniqueness

The Face as Ethical

Recognizing the Other’s hardships in the face allows good to prevail by making us act to help that person – makes you responsible

The face is a trace of God who has already passed by (the infinite good). The divine speaks to us through the face (Ex. Think of the face-to-face ethical experience)

Made Responsible by the Face

Our responsibility to the face is our calling or duty – here the search for the Good ends (by making a good moral decision)

We should be looking out for our neighbour - God’s touch

Goodness (with God as the end) is about responsibility for the other

We will see more of this in the social justice unit…