In continuing to address different Ethics Schools of Thought, let's look at Existentialism.
This is a modern idea wherein a person must make individual moral choices and take full responsibility for those choices. The belief is that absolute moral values do NOT exist (Virtue Ethicists say they do exist).
For Existentialists, AUTHENTICITY (being true to oneself when making moral choices) is the only true virtue worth striving for.
Soren Kierkegaard (19thC Danish Philosopher). Said that people must make and judge their own moral choices. People must move beyond judging their actions according to reason or the standards of society and must be accountable only to God. To achieve this one must be authentic.
Authentic choices are CONSISTENT in:
1. Perception
2. Thought
3. Action
One who is inauthentic will not create him/herself and does not live independently. For example, if you are attending school, this year or next, because it's the right thing to do in your parents' eyes, is INAUTHENTIC. But if it's your choice to be in school, then that is an authentic idea.
Existentialism comes from Kierk's focus on individual existence - thus the term, "Existentialism."
Quick Video on Kierkegaard.
Friedrich Nietzsche urged people to make their own moral choices rather than to accept, unthinkingly, the values of the majority or other influential people in their lives (e.g. parents, peers). He said that people should NOT think that they are accountable to God ("God is Dead" - mentioned several times in different writings by Nietzsche - he did not mean the literal death of an existing god, rather he meant the death of the shared cultural belief in the existence of God in Europe). Rather, he said that because universal belief in God was fading, and with it, the universal values provided by that faith, people must determine their own values.
Jean-Paul Sartre is the most well-known Existentialist - he lived through WWII in Europe and because of that experience he believed that there was, in fact, no higher purpose for our life. He said that there is no grand master plan and that human existence is a random occurrence. Because of this, Sartre declared that existence precedes essence. By this he meant that:
People exist first (bodily form) and then we make are own essence by defining ourselves, determining what we will be and choosing our own values.
For existentialists, everything is a matter of choice - feelings, beliefs, actions, attitudes. But there are no moral guidelines that are universally accepted to guide you along the way. This provides great freedom but also great responsibility. In other words you have no one to blame but yourself!
This raised the German term, "angst", meaning "anxiety". Under existentialism, where you are responsible for your own choices, you may feel much anxiety and pressure as you weigh the consequences of your moral choices. Raises the pradox, "We are condemned to be free."
Existentialists believe that a good person recognizes their own personal freedom AND responsibility and thus makes authentic choices.
Robert Holmes (modern thinker) wrote:
"Adolescence brings an unsettling awareness that the comforting framework of values taken for granted as children is not fixed and unchanging. This moment is crucial. If people refuse to accept their freedom as they grow out of their childhood faith, they choose a life of self-deception."
Divine Command Ethics
Throughout history we have linked moral choices to religious beliefs, everywhere. The idea that the supreme being defines right and wrong is - Divine Command Theory.
The belief is that there is a god or gods and that their commands are written in sacred texts.
Throughout history ethicists have grappled with the question, "Is something right because it is favoured by the gods, or do the gods favour it because it is right?"
A great Bible story is Abraham's following God's command to kill his son, Isaac. Abraham was stopped at the last second by god and was rewarded for his faith in God's command, violating community ethics for God's command, the higher power. Was Abraham's faith in God justified?
Aquinas argued that we must follow God's law through reason.
Unfortunately throughout history some religious extremists have viewed their own holy texts as the only correct ones and have interpreted them to justify political or other community actions.
Utilitarianism: Quick video on utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stewart Mill (1806 - ) - consequences of moral acts are the focus here. Utility or usefulness is the base for the word, Utilitarianism.
Greatest Good for the Greatest # of People is the ultimate goal for Utilitarians. Good things are pleasure, good, happiness and the prevention of mischief, pain, evil and unhappiness.
Bentham's Hedonistic Calculus:
1. Intensity - How strong will the pain or pleasure be?
2. Duration - How long will the pleasure or pain last?
3. Certainty - How likely is it that the expected pain or pleasure will occur?
4. Propinquity (nearness) - How soon will the pleasure or pain be experienced?
5. Fecundity (productivity) - How likely is the pleasure or pain to generate similar pleasure or pain?
6. Purity - How much pain is mixed with the pleasure and vice versa?
7. Extent - How many people will be affected?
This raises some interesting questions - is it OK for children to work in sweatshops so that we can buy cheap clothes? - more of us than those children.
One big benefit of Utilitarianism is that it forces people to seek alternatives.
For example, a Divine Command Ethicist would say, "Give to that charity because it's the right thing to do".
A Utilitarian would have to consider how best to enrich the lives of those the charity supports.
Act Utilitarianism - measure the greatest good principle of a single act.
Rule Utilitarianism - measure the greatest good principle among everyone, particularly measure the act as something you would be ok with if done to you (Golden Rulish).
For You to Do . . . .
OK, choose a personal ethical dilemma - how choose three ethical schools of thought/philosophers and explain how they would approach you dilemma.
Jean-Paul S
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