Chapter 1- Why be Ethical? Summary sheet
Key Terms:
Autonomy- Free self-direction; responsibility
Ethics- A discipline that deals with the nature of the good, the nature of the human
person and criteria that we use for making right judgments
Morality- A system of right conduct based on fundamental beliefs and obligation to
follow certain codes, norms, customs and habits of behavior
Obligation- What one is bound by duty or contract to do
Responsibility- Being morally accountable for one's actions, responsibility presumes
knowledge, freedom, and the ability to choose and to act
Revelation- The ways that god makes Himself known to humankind.
Beautiful- Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically
Deontological ethics- The normative ethical position that judges the morality of an
action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.[1] It is sometimes described
as "duty" or "obligation" .
Desire- A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to
happen.
Duty- A moral or legal responsibility or obligation
Good- That which is morally right; righteousness.
Passion- Strong and barely controllable emotion.
Response- A verbal or written answer
Teleological ethics- theory of morality that derives duty or moral obligation from what
is good or desirable as an end to be achieved.
Subjective- relating to a person's own perception and understanding of a reality, arising
from the individuals own mind and feelings
Objective- relating to a sensible experience that is independent of any one's individual's
thought, and that can be perceived by others.
The Four ethical Experiences:
The experience of personal response
 Without thinking about an action you feel an inner tension to respond, this is the
ethical experience. It is not a decision you make rather an automatic response.
The experience of the other
 your interactions with others resonate with you making you responsible to make
a decision on what action to take. Others peoples expressions have an impact on
you, creating an ethical experience.
The experience of obligation
 Feeling obliged to obey a rule or law is a component of your ethical side.
Someone who has authority over you convinces you to follow their reasons or
wishes. This order or wish invades your consciousness and demands a
response.
The experience of contrast
 when you feel overwhelmed by the unjust suffering of others, the fury you feel is
an experience of contrast with what should be done. This is an ethical experience
because when confronted with senseless violence and disregard, you naturally
recoil from the destruction.
Defining Ethics
Ethical experiences do not always lead to an ethical theory, ethics cannot be easily
defined. But at a general level ethics is about the goodness of human life. Moral
philosophers or ethicists use an ethical approach to these experiences as they delve
into the complexity of human actions and propose what is the right thing to do. Ethicists
start by diverging into two main viewpoints. Some would have us reflect on the aim of
human life like aristotle, while others look at the obligation derived from respect for the
law such as Kant.
Aristotle (384- 322 BC):
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Born in greece, parents influenced his desire for anatomy and medical practices
He then studied in Plato’s academy and realized that him and Plato’s
philosophical ideas were very different. Plato focuses on abstraction and the
world of ideas, Aristotle explored the natural wold and human experience.
 Created his own school, The Lyceum
 He thrived on hands on experience, observation, and classification
 Became a political advisor to Hermeias and married his niece
 Wrote extensively on logic, meta physics theology, history, politics, ethics,
psychology, anatomy, biology, zoology, astronomy, as well as the ancient
equivalents of physics and chemistry.
Teleological Ethics:
 At the core of his ethics are political intent, his first concern is not the individual
but the polis.
 Aristotle does not relate happiness with pleasure. Pleasure is only suitable for
cattle and momentary. Happiness however is a enduring state.
 His theology was that above all else, we are intended to be rational. Our greatest
capacity is intelligence and following our internal compass means developing this
capacity.
 To act excellently, is to do things well and act successfully as a human being.
Also means allowing ones reason to rule their actions
 Aristotle was very aware of the need to maintain balance in our actions; be
moderate in all things, like in the middle as an individual
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
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Born and raised in Germany, in a religious and poor household
Studied at the local university, and he worked as a private tutor
Deontological ethics:
 One of his primary concerns was clarifying how it is that humans come to know
things
 Theoretical reasoning; area of reasoning by which we come to know how the
laws of nature, the laws of cause and effect, govern human behavior, freedom of
choice is not an issue
 Practical reason; to understand how people make choices but we must look
elsewhere
 Kant contributed to our understanding of ethics through the concept of moral
duty
 Kant was primarily concerned about the certainty of the principles of ethical
reasoning
 Three areas of interest in his ethics; God, freedom, and immortality
 Kant’s ethics were individualized, they are seen through the inner convictions of
the individual
 He states that individuals can achieve “the good” through doing moral actions
that are our duties and are only morally good if it is done in trying circumstances
 For Kant our duties are determined by principles or maxims (reason) according to
which we act
 Kant believes that people should never only be treated as means and workers
should be respected and see the person as an end
Emmanuel Levinas (1905-1995)
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Born in Lithuania to Jewish parents
At the age of seventeen, he moved to France to study philosophy, then
continuing to study in Germany
 He started to experience a contrast between Western philosophy and his deeply
rooted Jewish faith
 Grouped differences and diversity as an all-encompassing unity, called "Being"
 Believed Westerners thought of everything as unified, which contrasted to the
Hebrew tradition of thinking in the singularity
 After World War II he sought to strengthen his Jewish faith under the teachings of
Mordechai Chouchani, am extraordinary Jewish teacher
 He only became recognized as a philosopher at the age of 68 after becoming a
professor of philosophy in Paris
 He continued to write and give lectures until he became ill, and died shortly after
in 1995
Ethics of the Face:
 The "Good" is his central question of all philosophy. He says going in search of
the Good goes beyond Being
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He calls people and unique things 'traces' of the Good or God
Says that the face is the most naked part of the body and should not be
concealed, and that eyes penetrate every mask
Believes that a face-to-face experience that has touched you deeply is a "thrill of
astonishment". The face is an authority, "highness, holiness, divinity"
The face becomes ethical at the point of morality and sorrow
The face makes us responsible. This responsibility is our human vocation, our
calling.