Moral philosophy

The moral philosophy is the branch of the Philosophie and more precisely of the Philosophie practices which has as an aim the ethical questions. It should be distinguished from the ethical which is not a specifically philosophical discipline but also raises of the ethical applied and from the theological ethical .

Introduction

Object of moral philosophy

General L´éthique - that we will call simply ethical in the continuation establishes the criteria to judge if an action is good or bad and to judge the reasons and the consequences for an act. End of l ethic itself thus made it a practical science. It is not a question of d´acquerir a knowledge for itself but to return to us to same d´agir in a responsible way. She is considered nowadays as the discipline with the base of the ethical applied, of l´ ethical individual, the social ethical and the various specialized d ethic forms which are confronted with the normative problems of their particular field.

Differentiation of moral philosophy with other disciplines

It is difficult to determine with exactitude the relationship between morals and ethics because the distinction between these two terms themselves is delicate. In a direction “  ordinaire  ”, the ethical term is synonymous with Morale, and indicates a practice having for objective to determine a manner of living in conformity with the ends of the human life (research of happiness or morality). But a current distinction consists in understanding by “morals” the whole of the standards suitable for a social group or people at one exact moment of his history. Today, the " term is employed; éthique" generally to qualify theoretical reflections relating on practices and the conditions of these practices; thus one speaks about “  committee of éthique  ” within scientific institutions. L´éthique would thus have its bases not in the traditions of a country but in a rational decision.

The right also answers him with the question: " what do I owe faire"? But to the difference of l ethic it refers to an already existing precise legal order which can be as well the result d´une democratic decision as of traditions specific to a country.

The rational theories of the action also answer the question “that do I have to make? ”. But they are distinguished from the ethical problems because the theories of the rational action are not inevitably theories of what is well from a moral point of view. In a more particular way, the ethical theories which want to establish universally valid standards distinguish from the rational theories of the action because these last hold account only ends and interests of a particular agent.

Various fields related to ethics

Ethics is initially inseparable from philosophy so much so that it is even current to confuse it with moral philosophy. Indeed, it is often considered that ethics is one of the principal branches of the Philosophie and more particularly of the moral Philosophie.

Ethics is moreover closely related to the Méta-ethics even if it is especially in the contemporary debate that one makes the distinction also clearly. Méta-ethics indeed has the aim of analyzing the nature of the statements, the standards and the processes of ethics. It constitutes the discipline which allows ethics a reflexive return on itself.

The other great inseparable field is (at least with the eyes of the Western philosophical tradition) the Politique or more precisely the political Philosophie. It is traditional in philosophy to consider the city as the natural framework and like the prolongation of the ethical commands.

In addition, to a lesser extent, it is traditional to bind ethical and Philosophie of the action and this since Aristote insofar as the theory of the action is interested in certain fundamental problems for ethics like the problem of the responsibility for the agent, the intentionality of an action or definition of what is called an agent.

History of moral philosophy

See also: History of ethics

Even if moral the philosophy term does not appear that starting from Aristote in the Éthique in Nicomaque the ethical questions were in the center of philosophy since the Présocratiques.

Fundamental problems of moral philosophy

Moral philosophy relates mainly to the finality of the action and seeks to solve the questions which can arise in the deliberation and decision making:

  • Which do I have to make?
  • Which should I have made?
  • Y does it have limits with my actions?

The philosophers divide morals into three fields whose limits are not fixed always perfectly:

  • Méta-ethics: heard as the research of the origins and the direction of our moral concepts;
  • Moral or ethical normative, which relates to the criteria of our behaviors (practices, duties, consequences of our acts);
  • Moral or ethical applied, application of the two first to specific and discussed problems (for example, abortion, environment, right of the animals, etc).

Fundamental designs of moral philosophy

Ethics of the perfection

This morals defines the desirable good as perfection; this perfection is not subjective, but can be described objectively. For example the To know, the success, etc This good is designed like the base of happiness, but without implying subjective satisfaction. This good often represents the optimal realization of the human nature, and is being of this uneven fact. It defines indeed a Hiérarchie perfections to be reached, hierarchy from which the merit rises from the Individu S.

“All the actions of our heart which acquire us some perfection are virtuous, and all our satisfaction consists only with the interior testimony which we have to have some perfection. ” (Descartes, Letter with Elisabeth)

Ethical deontologic

Morals of the duty found the moral character of our actions by the concept of obligation. This type of morals is conceived independently of any consequence which could result from our actions. For example, according to Kant, one should not lie to avoid a murder, because the obligation to say the truth is absolute and does not tolerate any particular condition.

There exist several theories of the duties:

  • Samuel von Pufendorf distinguishes three types of duties:

    • duties towards God (internal and external devotion);
    • duties towards oneself (duties towards the heart: for example to develop its talents, and duties towards the body - not to commit suicide, not to harm themselves);
    • duties towards others (absolute duties: not to harm, conditional etc and duties: to hold its word, etc).

  • theory of the rights (for example Locke), in which:

    • the rights are natural (for example, food, free being, to seek happiness);
    • they are universal;
    • they are the same ones for all;
    • they are inalienable.

It should be stressed that straight calls a duty.

  • the categorical imperative : it is the Kantian theory morals. Kant distinguishes several types of requirements:

    • the hypothetical requirement says to us that if we want this, we must make such or such thing;
    • the categorical imperative says to us only that we must make such thing, no matter what we want or wish.

The theories of the duty do not expose only the principles which make moral an action, but also endeavor to solve the conflicts which result from our duties themselves.

Morals consequentialists

In our actions, we often take into account the consequences of our acts. These consequences can thus be regarded as possible criteria of our behavior, which makes of this type of morals, a normative type. For a morals of this kind, a control is moral if the consequences of an act are rather beneficial that unfavourable. The evaluation of the morality of a control is thus done on the basis of what is observable, rather than on the intention which is private and difficult to apprehend.

Several types of consequentialism can be distinguished, according to the criterion which one chooses to determine what is beneficial and what is harmful:

  • the Altruism: the consequences of the action favorable to whoever except the agent determine what is well and what is badly

  • the selfishness: the consequences of the action favorable to the agent and him only determine what is well and what is badly;
  • the Utilitarianism: the consequences of the action favorable to all determine what is well and what is badly. Jeremy Bentham is one of the first utilitarian philosophers. He proposes on the one hand to consider the consequences of our actions, and, on the other hand, to measure the pleasure and the sorrow which result from it, from where the utilitarian name of Hédonisme of these doctrines.

The problem of the base of morals

In a very general way, there exist two types of design of the bases of morals:

  • a design objectivist , which affirms that the laws morals do not depend on the man, but:
    • is of the natural laws (Greek philosophy in general);
    • is divine commands;
    • is laws of the reason, to which any be reasonable (thus the man) must obey.
  • a relativistic design , for which the values morals have a human origin:
    • because they are imposed by the company or an unspecified group;
    • because it belongs to the individual as such to define them.

In the design objectivist (or realistic), the values morals are eternal and universal, or, at least, absolute; one cannot thus change them nor to destroy them. On the contrary, in the second design, the values morals are variable of a company, group or one individual to another. This second design is often presented in a descriptive way, whereas first is normative. In the second, it is difficult to condemn practices which belong to other companies (capital punishment, tender of the women, etc), whereas the morals of the standard first claims to be essential on any be reasonable, in all times and all the places.

Indicative bibliography

See too

Random links:Dalian | RC The Basset hounds | Tertiary source | Candlelight Records | National research institute and development in microphone-technologies (Bucharest) | Résultats_d'élection_de_parti_communiste_de_l'Inde_(marxiste)