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Chapter 3
Ethical egoism
Ethical egoism is the belief that one ought to do what is
in ones own self-interest. It is the doctrine that the ends
and motives of human conduct are, or should be, the good
of the individual agent.
Ethical egoism claims that it is necessary and
sufficient for an action to be morally right that
it maximize one's self-interest.
This is because, they say many, if not all, of our
actions are prompted by selfish desires. Even if
an action seems selfless, such as donating to
charity, there are still selfish causes for this,
such as experiencing power over other people.
Ethical Altruism
is a concept in philosophy and psychology that holds that
the interests of others, rather than of the self, can motivate
an individual. It argues that the true moral aim should be
the welfare of the society, rather than that of individuals.
It is the selfless concern for the well-being of others.
Altruism differs from duty, because, altruism focuses on a
motivation to help others or a want to do good without
reward, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards
a specific individual or organization.
Ethical relativism
The basic questions here in this theory are; whether
ethical judgments are universal which have ruling over all
human societies in all the times and places; or they are
relative norms and values.
According to this theory ethics and moral rules cannot be
universally or objectively true for all people at all times.
moral right and wrong is always relative to a particular
culture and particular time and that no absolute system of
ethics can be known to be true for all time (as two plus
two equals four is true, presumably, forever)
Ethical Relativism
Moral relativism is the position that moral and
ethical propositions do not reflect universal
moral truths, but instead, this theory claims
that social, cultural, historical, personal
circumstances are what determine the truth of
Morality.
- Islam
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Judaism
- Christianity
Islamic Ethics
Unlike the human authored theories, the Islamic ethics
gives attention to certain origins such as: Divinity,
holistic view, balance, permanence, flexibility, realism
and universality.
Islamic ethical system does not neglect the motives and
the causes of ethical actions, conditions of the goodness
of the intention.
It allows individual freedom, disapproves the negligence
of the minority or any single member of the society.
Islamic Ethics
1. Actions and decisions are judged to be ethical depending
on the intention of the individual. Not consequential
2. Good motives (niyat) followed by good outcome (amal)
are considered as acts of worship.
3. Islam allows an individual the freedom to believe and act
how he/she desires, but not at the expense of the
accountability and justice.
Islamic Ethics
4. Belief in Allah endows the individual with complete
freedom from anything or anybody except Allah.
5. Decisions that benefit the majority or a minority are not
necessarily ethical in themselves. Ethics is not a numbers
game.
6. Islam uses an open system approach to ethics, not a closed,
self-oriented system. Egoism has no place in Islam.
7. Unlike the ethical systems advocated by many other
religions, Islam encourages humankind to experience
tazkiyah through active participation in this life. By
behaving ethically in the midst of the tests of this dunya,
Muslims prove their worth to Allah.
Origins of Ethics in Islam
Reason (aql): through reason which is not only
the most important source of Islamic ethics but it
is also the foundation of the whole religion, we
are able understand the meanings of ethical
judgments.