Introduction to Ethics: Definition of ethics, morality, values, and principles

Explanation of ethics, morality, values, and principles

Ethics

Ethics, as a field of philosophical inquiry, is broadly concerned with questions about the nature of moral judgement and theories of right action. Simon Blackburn’s Ethics: A Very Short Introduction primarily aims to address the widespread apprehension that "ethical claims are a kind of sham", exploring this through concepts such as relativism, scepticism, and nihilism.

More generally, ethics refers to the "moral or ethical environment". This environment is described as:

• The surrounding climate of ideas about how to live.
• It determines what we find acceptable or unacceptable, admirable or contemptible.
• It shapes our understanding of when things are going well and when they are going badly.
• It establishes our conception of what is due to us, and what is due from us, as we relate to others.
• It shapes our emotional responses, influencing what causes pride, shame, anger, or gratitude, and what can be forgiven.
• It provides our standards of behaviour.

Philosophical ethics, in particular, aims to "understand the springs of motivation, reason, and feeling that move us" and "the networks of rules or ‘norms’ that sustain our lives". It is an "enterprise of self-knowledge". The sources emphasise that "human beings are ethical animals" because they inherently "grade and evaluate, and compare and admire, and claim and justify". Ethics is not merely an external "institution" or "concealed conspiracy," but is fundamental to human living itself, as "for human beings, there is no living without standards of living".

Morality

While often used interchangeably with 'ethics,' 'morality' in the sources refers more directly to the set of rules, codes, or practices governing conduct within a society or for an individual. It is commonly believed to be "far more important to be good than to be clever or knowledgeable". Key aspects of morality include:

• Basic requirements: Such as not harming others without good reason, and refraining from major acts of dishonesty.
• A "seamless web with mutually dependent parts": Meaning its normative and metaethical elements are intertwined.
• Practical nature: Moral awareness is seen as a fundamental requirement for leading a good life.
• Not optional: Most people do not view moral awareness as a minor accomplishment.
• Grounded in reason: Most people making moral judgements see them as stating truths based on reasons, which they hope will be persuasive to others.
• Universal core: Across human societies, there is a fundamental need for "some institution of property," "some norm governing truth-telling," "some conception of promise-giving," and "some standards restraining violence and killing". Societies also require "some devices for regulating sexual expression," and "some sense of what is appropriate by way of treating strangers, or minorities, or children, or the aged, or the handicapped".
• Challenges to morality: The sources discuss various "threats" to ethics, including the "death of God" (suggesting no lawgiver, therefore no law), and "moral nihilism," which claims "there are in fact no moral rights, no moral obligations, and that nothing is morally better or worse than anything else".

Values

Values represent what is considered good, desirable, or important within an ethical framework or society. They are intrinsically linked to the ethical environment.

• Shape the ethical climate: Our values determine what is considered acceptable, admirable, or contemptible.
• Basis for justification: They provide the underlying justification for social systems, even those that are exploitative. For instance, racists and sexists "always have to tell themselves a story that justifies their system," which is sustained by the prevailing ethical climate.
• Controversial origins: The sources explore whether values are objective, mind-independent features of reality ("moral realism") or merely "projections onto the world [of] our attitudes, preferences, needs or desires" ("projectivism"). Simon Blackburn’s "quasi-realism" suggests that while moral judgments might be projections of our attitudes, this doesn't invalidate the practice of moral judgment, allowing us to still judge moral utterances as true or false within our ethical framework.
• Relativism concerning values: Moral relativism, as discussed, posits that different moral systems and "values" can all be considered "true" for particular cultures or individuals, and that there is "no one moral code which applies to everyone". This often leads to the idea that "all moral convictions are only opinions".
• Debate over objectivity: The "fact–value distinction" highlights the puzzle of whether "moral commitments answer to states of the world" or whether "value possibly be objective". An Aristotelian perspective, however, suggests that values can be "objective and naturalistic" by linking them to human function and flourishing.
• Fundamental values: Despite disagreements, some values are presented as universally acknowledged, such as happiness being preferable to misery, and dignity being better than humiliation. There is also a recognition of "increased sensitivity to the environment, to sexual difference, to gender, to people different from ourselves in a whole variety of ways" as "small, hard-won, fragile, but undeniable causes of pride".

Principles

Principles in ethics are general rules or fundamental beliefs that guide behaviour and moral judgements. They are distinct from specific moral decisions but underpin common positions on various issues.

• Role in moral theory: Moral philosophy explores "theories of right action," which are general principles meant to apply to a range of moral problems.
• Kantian principles: Immanuel Kant's ethics centres on the "categorical imperative," which dictates universally binding moral principles derived from reason alone. This includes the "Formula of Universal Law" (acting only on maxims that could be willed as universal law) and the "Formula of Humanity" (treating humanity never merely as a means but always as an end). Kant believed that moral motivation comes from "respect for a rule" or "duty," not desire.
• Utilitarian principles: Utilitarianism is based on the "principle of utility," also known as the "greatest happiness principle," which states that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote pleasure or happiness". It is a consequentialist theory, meaning actions are judged by their outcomes. Indirect utilitarianism further suggests that moral rules and rights are justified by their overall impact on general happiness.
• Deontological principles: These refer to "duty-based" theories, where the wrongness of an act comes from its inherent nature (e.g., lying or murder) rather than its consequences. The distinction between "killing and letting die" often fits a deontological mindset.
• Contractualist principles: Morality is viewed as a system of principles that "rational people could agree to, because it works to their mutual advantage". John Rawls's "original position" and "veil of ignorance" are theoretical devices to determine principles of justice, such as the "difference principle".
• Practical application: Principles help classify individual acts and make their rightness or wrongness intelligible and explicable. For instance, concepts like justice, kindness, and honesty help evaluate actions.
• Challenges to principles: Some moral views, particularly conservative ones, may present themselves as "founded in something distinctive – perhaps even something sacred – and not derivable from any general theory". There is also a recognition that "extreme demands" from certain ethical principles (e.g., absolute prohibition on lying, limitless charity) can lead to their rejection as "impractical".