On the nature and object of ethics ETHICS

Part I: Introduction

What is ethics? The nature of ethics. Object of study Ethics as a science: theoretical, practical, normative science. Its relation with other fields of knowledge Ethics as a philosophical discipline: moral experience and ethical reflection.

ETHICS

Definition
Etymology Object

Object of study

Material object of ETHICS

Object of study: human acts

Human actions
free actions: proceed from man's deliberate will.

Acts

of man no rational control

Material object of ETHICS

What are human actions

When carrying out a free act, man uses his reason and his will. He is capable of leading himself to a freely chosen goal. Freedom makes man a moral subject. In every free act, man becomes the author of this act and is responsible for it.

Formal object of ETHICS

M

The formal object of any science is the perspective from which it studies a given reality;

Formal object of ETHICS

orali as the formal object of ethics

Ethics studies human acts in as much as they are good or bad;

Moral value (goodness or evil) of these acts They are good if they are oriented towards mans final goal; bad if they draw him away from that goal.

Moral goodness
Morality as goodness or badness

The notion of good and evil as ethical notions should be understood in reference to the WILL

Moral goodness
Morality as goodness or badness

Distinction between:
Moral

goodness reference to will

Technical

goodness in reference to intelligence, skill

Moral goodness
Technical goodness

Thief who carries out a "perfect" robbery good in the technical sense

Moral goodness
Technical goodness

ETHICS
Moral goodness is absolute goodness Ethics is concerned with the moral good or the absolute good, which is in reference to the orientation of the will to man's final goal.

ETHICS
Moral goodness/evil is absolute It makes the doer of the action good or bad in the absolute sense. Lying (even a small lie) converts a LIAR the person to

Ethics as a science: theoretical, practical, normative

ETHICS as science
science as certain knowledge through causes (Aristotle)

ETHICS as science

Characteristics of scientific knowledge

Certain

and systematic: based on serious reflection on universal principles (principles that have general application)

Well-founded

Ethics as a Science

Ethics as a Theoretical Science

speculative knowledge about what is good or evil, about the nature of mans activity, about the virtues, etc.

Ethics as a theoretical science

Ethical theory cannot stand on its own. In order to understand human actions, we need to have a correct understanding of the human person (philosophy of man/anthropology).

Ethics as a theoretical science

The philosophical study of man also needs to be grounded on metaphysics or the philosophy of being.

The metaphysics [of St. Thomas Aquinas] makes it possible to ground the concept of personal dignity in virtue of their spiritual nature (Fides et ratio, 83)

The significance of Thomas Aquinas

Philosophy of being or philosophical realism

The notion of creation dominates Thomas Aquinas philosophical explanation of reality: nothing exists which is not creatura except the Creator himself, and that this createdness determines entirely the inner structure of the creature. (J. Pieper, The Negative Element in the Philosophy of St. Thomas, p. 47)

What is specific of the philosophy of being (of St. Thomas) is the affirmation that the ultimate cause of all created reality is the act of being, actus essendi, as the most radical and basic act, without which nothing can exist.

As the first and most radical act, the act of being is act in the most proper and fullest sense that can subsist by itself without any limitation. The existence of a wide variety of beings however manifests that the act of being cannot be possessed in all its fullness by any created reality, as proven by their very own limitation in their manner of being or essence. This would mean that no created reality could have been the cause of its own reality: it could not have endowed its own existence unto itself since it could never had been always in existence. Thus in order to explain the existence of reality, the philosophy of being affirms the existence of an Uncaused Cause, Pure Act that subsists by itself: God is the source or the cause of all beings that exist.

Philosophy of being and ethics

The notion of creation has significant consequences for ETHICS 1. Mans innate capacity to regulate morally his conduct is ultimately explained as the participation of the rational being, created in the image and likeness of God, in the order established by Divine Wisdom.

Philosophy of being and ethics

2.

As Creator of all reality, God has a purpose (an end) for everything he created and has a plan to guide all creatures to their end. This plan is called the Eternal Law: it is present in the mind of God and is participated intrinsically by creatures, that is, it is found written in the nature of created reality.

This law is also participated intrinsically by man -as a rational being- through his intellect and free will, which directs him towards the purpose or end endowed upon him by the Creator. For Thomas Aquinas, the participation of the rational creature in the eternal law is called the natural moral law.

Philosophy of being and ethics

3.

Mans dignity as a free being ultimately lies in achieving the purpose for which he is created. The creation of rational beings responds to the divine plan that there should be persons who are capable of establishing a real spiritual communion with God. The realization of this divine plan begins with the act of creation, but can only find its fullness in the fulfilment, on the part of man through his free acts, of the purpose that inspired the creative Act.

Ethics is a practical science It aims at changing our lives

Practical science:
We do not study Ethics to know what is virtue but to learn how we can make ourselves virtuous and good; otherwise it will be a useless study. (Aristotle)

Normative:

On the basis of this reflection, ethics formulates value judgments and norms of behaviour to guide ones actions. Link between theory, practice, norms Rules are founded on theory To be ethical is not a matter of following rules as something external Norms have a RATIONALE

ETHICS as a normative science

Ethical behaviour cannot be reduced to doing the minimum

As long as I am not caught I am not harming other people It is a small action and will not do any real harm