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JUDITH A.

BOSS

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McGraw-Hm
Higher Education
Bastan
~,.1!an

Burr Ridge, IL
Caracas
p.J1ontreal f\~6V\i Delhi

i'Jew york Sar. Francsco St Louis

Lisben Londen Madrid ~J1ex,co
Taipei Tor'8nto
Seeul Singepore

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CHAPTER

ftkics
AJ1 Overview
. The ultimate purpose in studytng ethics is not as tt is in other inquiries,

the attainment 01 theoretical knowledge; we are not conducting this

inquiry in order t know what virtue 1S, but in order to become good,

else there would be no advantage in studying it.

-AR1STOTLE, Ncomachean Ethcs, Bk. 2, Ch. 2

It's the beginning of a new semester. Tomorrow morning is your first ethics
class. You signed up for the class only because it was required .."What a waste of
time," you grumble as you climb into bed. "What's the point in studying ethics?
It doesn't have anything to do with real life. 1 wish there was no such thing as
ethics or morality."
The next morning you wake up and wearily grope your way to the bath
room. As you open the door, you find to your dismay that your roommate has
left the bathroom in a total mess. Dirty clothes-your roommate's clothes-are
soaking in cold slimy water in the sink and bathtub, and the toilet is caked with
grime. Annoyed, you return to your room and shake your roommate's shoulder:
"Come on, get up. You promised to clean the bathroom yesterday."
"So what?" your roommate replies. "1 don't have to keep rny promises if 1
dorl't feel like t." And ,with that, your roommate rolls over and, looking quite
peaceful, goes back to sleep.
You are now feeling very annoyed, but you manage to get ready for class,
although not in time to have breakfasL You arrive at class right on time; how
ever, the teacherhasn't turned up. You take a seat next to another student who
lives ~n your dormitory. But instead of returning your greeting, he. grabs your
book bag and heads toward the door. "Stop!" you protes.L "That's mine. You
can't take that."
He looks at you like you're nuts. "Why not?"
"Because it doesn't belong to you," you reply indignantly. "It's stealing!"
'
At which he laughs, "You're not making any sense."
"You have no right ... ," you add.
The thief roUs his eyes: "Didn't you hear the latest news? Ethics, morality
they no longer exiSL Isn't that great news! Now we can do whatever we like!
And' no one can pass judgment on anything we do, including you!"

S E CTI ON 1

The Study oJ Ethics

( tl ~ 'ff H\f ~d Hob

~i$&l

(CA LVIN AND HOBBES Watterson. Dstributed by Universal Press Syndicate, Inc. Reprinted
with permisson. AH rights reserved.)

You wait another twenty minutes for the teacher to show up; then you
decide to head over to the cafeteria to get sorne breakfast. However, the
staff didn't bother to repon to work eitheL The back door has been smashed
open, and trays of donuts and fruit have been taken out onto
quad, where
a group of administrators and faculty members, including your ethics teacher,
are squabbling over the booty. You step up onto a chair that has
tossed out
on the curb, to get a better look, when someone comes rushing up from behind
and knock s you down.
As you fa11, you hear a sickening snap and feel a stabbing pain in your
knee. You cry out in agony. Then you recognize the person who knocked you
oveL
the dean of your college. You plead for her to caH for help. But she only
pushes you out of her way and hurries on toward the skirmish on the quad.
Off in the distance, you hear another cry for help as two men drag a terrified
woman into the bushes. No one tries to stop them. A few people stop and peer
at you out of curiosity before moving on. Most just stare blankly at you as they
walk pasL No one" offers to help. And why should they? Sympathy and compas
sion no longer exist. The duty not to cause harm to others or to help those in
need no longer exists. No one has any rights that we have to respect anymore.
No more stupid obligations, such as sharing with others or keeping our com
mitments, to prevent us from doing what we enjoyo
As you begin ro lose consciousness, you start
second thoughts about
the importance of ethics and morality in your life. At that moment, your alarm

CHAPTER 1

dock goes off. You get out of bed and wearily grope your way to the bathroom.
As you open the door, you realize that your roommate has left the bathroorn
in a total mess. Annoyed, you retum to your room and shake your roornmate's
shoulder: "Come on, get up. You promised to clean the bathroom yesterday."
"Oh, no," your roommate groans. ''!'m sorry, 1 forgot all about iL" After a
short pause, your roommate rolls out of bed, complaining under her breath, "I
can't thlnk of anything else I'd less rather do." You breathe a sigh of relief and
go to the kitchenette to make yourself some breakfast while your roommate
begrudgingly cleans the bathroom.

What 15 Ethics?
Ethics s alor like air: lt is pretty much invisible. In fact, for many centuries, peo-'
pIe did not realze that such a substance as air even existed. So too we often fal
to recognize the existence of ethics or morality until someone fals to heed ir.
The terrn ethics has several meanings. It is often used to refer to a set of
standards of right and wrong established by a particular group and imposed
on members of that group as a means of regulating and setting limits on their
behavor. This use of the word ethics reflects its etymology, which goes back
to the Greek word ethos, meaning "cultural custom or habit." The word moral
is derived from the Latn word moralis, which also means "custom." Although
some' philosophers distinguish between the terms ethical and moral, others,
including the author of this text, use the two terms interchangeably.
The identificaton of ethcs and mora lit y with cultural norms or customs
reflects the faet that most adults tend to identify morality with cultural eustoms.
Philosophical ethics, also known as moral philosophy, goes beyond this limited
concepi of right and wrOng. Ethics, as a philosophical discipline, includes the
study of the values.imd guidelines by which we live and the justification for these
values and guidelines. Rather than simply aeeepting the customs or guidelines
used by one particular group or culture, philosophical ethics analyzes and eval
.uates these guidelines in lght of aecepted universal principIes and coneerns.
More important, ethics is a way of life. In this sense, ethies involves active
engagement in the pwsuit of the good life-a life consistent with a coherent set
of moral values. According' to Aristotle, one of the leading Western moral phi
losophers, the pursuit of the good life is our most important actvity as humans,
Indeed, studies have found thar even. criminals believe morality is important
at least for others. Although criminals may noi alwys act on their moral beliefs,
they still expect others to do so. Almost all criminals, when asked, state that
they do not want their children to engage in immoral behavior and would get
angry if one of their children committed a c:rime.l
Aristotle believed that "the moral activities are human par excel1ence."z
Because morality is the mostfundamental expression of our human nature,'
it is through being moral that we are the happiest. According to Aristotle, it
:.~-. -,is through the repeated performance of good actions that we become moral
(and happier) people. He referred to the repeated practice of moral aetions as

Ethics

SECTION 1

TheStudy ofEthcs

habituation. The idea that practicing good actons is more important for eth
ics education than merely' studying theory is also found in other philosophies,
such as Buddhsm.

[A] man becomes just by the performance of the just. . actions; nor is there the
smallest likelihood of a man's becoming good by any other course of conducr. It is
not, however, a popular line

to

take, most men preferring theory LO practice under

the impression that arguing about morals proves them to be philosophers, and that
inthis way they will turn out. to be fine characters..
-ARISTOTLE,

Nicmachean Erhics, Bk. 2, Ch. 4

At the ag~ of seventeen, Arstotle became a student at Plato's Acaderny in

Athens, where he rernained until Plato's death twenty years lareL The Acad
erny was founded by Plato in 388 B.CE. and lasted over nine hundred years;
ir is repured to be Europe's first university.3 Plato's farnous Acaderny was not
like universities today, with organized classes, degrees, and specialized faculty.
lnstead, it was more of a fellowship of intellectuals interested in A~henian cul
ture and the opportunity to listen to and exchange ideas with the great philoso
pher Plato.

The philosopher Plato (e 427

347 BLE) with hs discple Aristotle
(384-322 BLE.) al the Academy
in Athens, by Renassance pan[c)"
Raphad. Founded Plato in
388 BCE., the Academy s reputed
to be Elirope's first universty.

CHAPTER 1

Aristotle later opened his own school, the Lyceum, in Atherts. The Lyceum
contained a garden known as "the walk," where Aristotle supposedly had the
habt of walkng whle teaching his students. In 323 E.CE., Aristotle was accused
of impiety for teaching his students, in their quest for the good lHe, to continu
ally question the accepted ideas and norms of the time. Several years earlier,
in 399 E.C.E., the Athenians had sentenced Plato's teacher, Socrates, to death
on similar charges. Aristotle fled to Euboea rather than tak~ a chance that "the
Athenans should sin a second time against philosophy." He ded in Babylon a
year lateL

Exercises
1. What do you mean (what criteria do you use) when you say that something
is morally rght or morally wrong? Do aH actions have a moral dirnension? lf
nat, why do sorne actions involve moral judgments while Others are morally
neutral?

2. One way to define what we mean by "moral" is ro look at the lves of those
whom we regard to be good people. These people-be they parents, friends,
sports figures, political leaders, reformers, or even ficrional beings-serve as
our role models and heroes. Heroes used to be important in most people's
lives, but a recent survey found that 70 percent of Arnericans nowadays have
no one they consider a hero.4 Sorne people would say that this is a reflection of
the moral malaise of our times. Do you agree? Do you have a hero? If so, who
is your hero? Explain why.
3. According to the American Freshrnan survey, there has been a trend over the
past fifteen years toward more cornmunity service, with 82 percent of 2004
college freshrnen reporting that they engaged in cornrnunity service, up from
66 percent in 1990. On the other hand, there has been a decline in social activ
ism over the same period. 5 Why do you think this is happening? Discuss your
answer in light of your own college experience.
4. Do you agree with Aristotle that practicing moral virtues and behavior is more
important for ethics ed1:lcation than the study of moral theory? Howmight his
approach be< integrated into a college ethics course?

. Normative and Theoretical Ethics

... a complete moral philosophy would tell us how and why .ve should act and feel toward
others in relationships of shifting and varying power asymmetry and ~hifting and varying
intmaey.
-ANNETTE BA1ER,.Ethics (1986), p. 252

Ihere are two traditional subdivisions of ethics: (1) normative ethics and
.(2) theoretical ethics. Theoretical ethics is concerned with apptaisng the logi
.. cal foundations and internal consistencies of ethical systems. Theoretical ethics

Ethics

S ECTl ON 1

The 5tudy oJEthics

is also known as metaethics; the prefix meta comes from the Greek word mean
ing "about" or "above." Normative ethics, on the other hand, gives us guide
lines Dr norms, such as "do not le" or "do no harm," regarding which actions
are right and which are wrong. In other words, theoretical ethics, or metaethics,
studies why we should act and feel a certain way; norm<:llve ethics tells us how
we should aq in particular stuations.

Normative Ethics
Normative ethics affecls our liv_es al all levels: personal, interpersonal, social
(bOlh 10cal1y and globally), and environmentaL Normative ethics gives us prac
tical hands-on guidelines or norms that we can apply to real-life situations.
Because of this, it is ~ometimes referred to as applied. ethics. A professional code
of ethics is an eiample of ~ set of practical moral guidelnes.
Moral guidelines are not simply a list of dos and don'ts that others impose
. u pon us, however.
adults, it is not enough just to do as we are toldo We
expect to be given reasons for acting certain ways or takil!-g certain positions on
moral issues.

Iheoretical Ethcs
Theoretical ethics (also called theoretical moralty or metaethics) operates at a
more fundmental level than normative ethics. Theoretical ethics takes as its
starting point the most basic insights regarding morality. However, philoso
phers in their search for a consistent moral theory made only a tentative pre
sumption regarding the legitimacy of these everyday insights. These insights
are presumptons that first have to pass the test of rigorous analysis.
The division between normative and theoretical ethics is mainly a heuristic
tooL Moral norms' and guidelines need to be grounded in theoretical ethics;
otherwise, morality beomes arbitrary. in this text, we will concern ourselves
primarily with the theoretical underpinnings of ethics.
Metaethical theories can be divided into cognitve and noncognitive theo
ries. Noncognitive theories, such as emotivism, claim that there are no moral
truths and tha1 moral statements are neither tme nor false but simply expres
sions or outbursts of feelings. If moral statements are neither true nor false,
.
there is ho such thing as objective moral truths.
Cognitive theories, on the other hand, maintain that moral statements can
be either tme or falseo Cognitive theories can be further subdivided into rela
vist and universalist theories (Table 1.1). Relativist theories state that moral
ity s different fon:lifferent peopIe. In contrast, universalist theories maintain
that objective moral truths exist that are tme for a11 humans, regardless of their
personal belefs or cultural norms.
Relativist Theories According to the re1ativist theories, there are no indepen
dent moral values. Instead, moraIity 15 created by humans. Because morality s
nvented or created by humans, ir can vary from time to time and from person

e H A PT E R
,.

TABlE 1.1

Metaethical Theories

NONCOGNlTIVE

Emotivism

iO

COGNITIVE

Relativist Theories
Ethical Subjectvism
Cultural Relativism
Divine Command

. Universalist Theories
Ethical Egoism'
, DeonlOlogy
Virtue Ethics
Natural Law Ethcs
Utilitarianism
Rights Ethics

to persono Ethical subjectivism, the first type of relativist theory, maintans

.~ <:-rhat moral right or wrang is relative to the individual person and that mOJal

"-\ruth is a matter of individual opinion or feeling. Unlike reason, opinion is

based only on feeling rather than analysis or facts. In ethical subjectivism, there
can be as many systems of moralty as there are people in the world.

Moral values are not absolute but relative

lO the emotns they Express.
-EOWARO WESTERMARCK

(sociologisl)

Cultural relativists, on the other hand, argue that morality is created col
lectively by graups of humans and that it differs fram society to society. Each
society has its own moral norms, which are binding on the people who belong
to that society. Each society also defines who is and who is not a member of the
moral community. With cultural relativism,. each circle or moral system repre
sents a different culture.

We recognize tllat moralitJ dffers in every

sdcity, and s a convenient term for
socially approyed habits.
-RUIH BENEDlCT (amhropologist)

A third type of relativist theory is divine command theory. Accordng to

. this theory, what is moral for each person or relgion is relative ~o God. There
are no universal moral principIes that are binding on all people. Instead, there
no moralty independent of God's will, which may differ from person ro per
son or fram religion to religion.

Ethics

10

SECTION 1

TheStudyoJEthics

'Ethical subjectivism, cultural relativism, and divine command theory are

mutually exclusive. theories. When theories are mutually exclusive, a person
cannot consistently hold more than one of the theories lO be true at the same
time. For example, either morality 15 created by the individual and the opinion
of the individual always takes precedence over that of the collective, or else
morality is relative lO one's culture and the moral rule of the culture always
takes precedence ver that of the individual.
Universalist Theories Unversalist theories, the second group of cognitive the
ories, maintain that there are universal moral values that apply lO aH humans
and, in sorne cases, extend beyond the human community. Mrality is discov
ered, rather than created, by humans. In other words, the basic standards of
right and wrong are derived from principIes thatexist independently of an
individual's or a society's opinion.

Dtil nor do

10

others as you would not wish

done lo yourself.
-CONFUCIUS

(philosopher)

Act only on lhat rnaxim rhrough which you

can al the sarne time will that ir should be

a universallaw.

-IMMANUH KANT

(philosopher)

Unlike relativist theories, most universalst theories include all humans in

their moral community rather than only those living in their society, as often
happens in cultural relativist theories. The moral community is composed of
all those beings that have moral worth or value in themselves. Because mem
bers of the moral community have moral value, they deserve the protection of
the community, and they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Because
the basic moral principIes are universal, unversalist theories can be represented
by one circle that includes individuals from all cultures.
Universalist ethics, also known as moral objectivism, is not the same as
moral absolutismo Absolutsts believe that there are moral norms or principIes
that should always be obeyed. Sorne ethical relativists are absolutists when it
comes to obeying certain cultural norms. Along the same lines, sorne people
though not most-who subscribe to universalist moral theories may be abso
lutists when it comes to certain moral principIes.
There is a great deal of overlap between the different universalist theories.
Instead of being mutually exclusive, like ethical subjectivism and cultural rela
tivism, unversalist theories, for the most part, emphasize one particular aspect

CHAPTER 1
,.

of morality rather than providinga comprehensive picture. Almost all ethicists

include aspects of more than one of these theories in their moral philosophy.
Ethics, as a branch of philosophy, however, begins in wonder--not theory.
Theories, by their very nature, oversimplfy. A theory is merely a convenient
to01 for expressing an idea. Sorne theories are better than others for explain
ing certain phenomena and providing solutions to both old nd new problems.
When studying the different moral philosophers, we mustbe carefu1 not to
pigeonh01e their ideas into rigid theoretical boundaries.
Theories are like telescopes. They zoom in on certain key points rather
than elucida te the total extent of thinking about ethics. Because morality cov
ers such a broad scope of ssues, different philosophers tend to focus on dif
ferent aspects of morality. Problems arise when they claim that ther insight
is the complete picture-that morality is merely consequences or merely duty
or merely having good intentions. Morality is not a simple concept that can be
captured in a nice tidy theory; it 1S a multfaceted phenomenon.

Exercises
*1. Choose a moral issue from your tife as a college student. Discuss how this

issue affects decisions in your life in terms of the norms you adopt to gude
your behavior. lf you are doing community service, relate your answer to your
service learning.
2. Discuss which of the ethical theories you would most likely use in judging the
morality of the different people-including the messy roommate, the thieving
classmate, the tardy professor, and the uncaring dean-in this chapter's open
ing scenario. To what l110ra1 theories, universalist or relativist, did the subject
of the scenario appeal?

Philosophy and the Search for Wisdom

To do philosophy is to explor~ one's own temperament, andyet at the same time to attempt to
discover the truth.
-1RIS MURDOCH

In most Nonh American and Western European universities, ethics 1S taught

as a course in a philosophy department. Although sorne aspects of the study of
ethics extend beyond the purview of philosophy, philosophical inquiry is at the
heart of the ethical enterprise.
The word philosophy comes from the Greek words philos, meaning "lover,"
and sophos, meaning "wisdom." 'To be a lover (philos) entails not only having a
*An asterisk indica tes that the exercse is appropriate for students who are doing cornrnunity
service leaming as pan or the course.

Ethics

11

12

SE CTION 1

The Study oJEthics

positive attitude toward the object of our affection (wisdom, in this case) but
also taking ac~ion and actively pursuing that object. This interp1ay of attitude
and action is reflected in the study of ethics. Ethics education a1so goesbeyond
theory by challenging us to live consistently with our moral values.
Philosophy, unlike most academic disciplines, involves the expansion and
systematic nurturing of a basic human activity rather than simply the accumula
ton of knowledge. Philosophy arises out of a natural sense of wonder and what
many philosophers regard as a basic human need to find hgher meaning and
value in our lives. As small children, we wondered and asked countless ques
tions about the world around uso Indeed, child psychologists note that curiosity
and ethical concerns about justice and sharing emerge spontaneously in chil
dren sometime between the ages of eghteen and thirty-six months, regardless
of their culture and without prompting from adults. 6'
Wsdom begins in self-knowledge. According to British philosopher
Philppa Foot (b. 1920), wisdom, unlike ordinary knowledge or cleverness, pre
supposes good ends and the search for values. \Ve all share a common human
ity, but how we proceed in our quest for wisdom and the good life will vary
to sorne extent from person lO person and from culture to culture because we
a11 have different personalities and different experiences. Ths do es not imply,
however, that wisdom is relative, Rather, it suggests that there are several paths
to wisdom, just as there can be several paths to the top of a mountain.

Becoming Autonomous
In seeking answers lO questions about the meaning of life and the nature of
moral goodness, the philosopher goes beyond conventional answers. Rather
than relying on public opinion or what others say, it is up to each of us, as phi
losophers, to critcally examine and analyze our reasons for holding particu
lar views. In this way, the study of philosophy encourages us lO become more
autonomous.
The word autonomous comes Trom the Greek wOrds auto ("self") and nomos
("law")' In other words, an autonomous moral agent is an independent, self
governing thinker. A heteronomous moral agent, in contrast, is a person who
uncritically accepts answers and laws imposed by others. The prefix hetero
means "other."
Because philosophy encourages people to be independent thinkers and to
question the deeply held beliefs of their society, most people, as Socrates dis
covered, resist philosophy. Scrates, who is known as the Father of Western
Philosophy, was born in Athens, Greece, in 469 BLE. At that time, Athens was
a flourishing city-state and a democracy. Socrates never wrote any books or
papers on philosophy. What we know of him comes primarily from the writ
ings of his famous student, Plato. Like most of the early philosophers, Socrates
was not a career philosopher; he most likely made his living as a slOnemason
(his father's profession) or anisan. His real love was philosophy, however. As
Socrates got older, he began hanging out more at the market and other places

CHA PT ER 1

"The Death of Socrates," by jacques-Louis David. Socrates (469-399B.C.E.) was put to death by the
state for blasphemy and conupting the youth ofAthens. Pictured here surrounded by his disciples
as he drinks the poison hemlock, Socrates remained true 10 his principIes right up lo the moment of
hs death.

where people congregated, taIking to the populace and questioning conven

tional answers to issues regarding justice and virtue.
According to Socrates, wisdom is important for achieving happiness and
inner harmony as well as the intellectual and moral improvement of COrririlU'
nity. His approach to philosophy, known as the Socratic method, consists of a
didactic dialogue using questions and answers. The Socratic method is one of
the most popular and productive methods used in philosophy.
The road to wisdom, Socrates believed, begins with the realizaron that
we are ignorant. In his search for wisdom, Socrates would stop peopIe on the
street lO ask them questions about things they thought they aIready knew. In
doing this, he hoped to show people that there was a difference between truth
and what they felt to be true (rheir opinons). By exposng the ignorance of
those who considered themselves wise, Socrates taught people lO look at the
social cuslOms and Iaws in a new way. He taught them nt to simply accept the
prevailing views but to question their own views and those of their society in a .
rtever-ending search for truth and wisdom.
Not everyone appreciated having their views chal1engeCl by Socrates. Peo
pIe in positions of power were especial1y threatened and outraged by Socrates's
habit of asking people lO question existing laws and cuslOms and encouraging
them lO think in new ways. At the age of seventy, Socrates was arrested and
charged with blasphemy and corrupting the yauth of Athens. He was faund
guilty and was sentenced lO death and ded by drinking poison hemlock.

Ethics 13

14

S E e TI o N 1

TIte Study oJ Ethics

Even as Socrates faced death, he did not cease being philosopher. At

his trial, Socrates is reputed to l:ave said the following in a speech in his own
ddense before the 501 rnernbers of the jury: 7
1 shall never stop practicing philosophy and exhorting you and elucidating the
truth for everyone that 1 meeL 1 shall go on saying ... Are you not ashamed that
you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly
with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and under
standing and the perfection of your soul?
And ir any of you disputes this ... 1 shall question him and examine him and
test him ... 1 shall do this to everyone that 1 meeL

Self- ReaIzation
Sorne of the most important philosophical questions are those regarding the mean
ing and goals of our lives. What kind of person do 1want to be? How do 1 achieve
that goal? Many philosophers define this goal in terms of self-realization-also
known as self-actualizaton and enlightenment. Self-realzation is closely linked
to the idea of moral virtue. According te psychologist AbrahamMaslow, self
actualized people are autonomous: They do not depend on the opinions 6f oth
ers when deciding what to do and what to believe. Phlosophers such as Socrates
and Buddha exemplified what Maslow meant by a self-realzed person. 8
Self-realzation is an ongoing process or way of life. People who are self
actualized devote their lives to the search for ultimate values. They are con
stantly searching for answers te questions like those we have raised in earlier
sections of this chapter. People who are not honest w1th themselves will have
a difficult time making good lfe choices. Being honest involves the courage
to be different and te work hard at being the best one can be at whatever one
does. People who are lacking in authenticity or sincerty blame others for their
own unhappness, giving in to what French philosopher Simone de Beauvor
0908-1986) called "the temptations of the easy way." 9

The man who is aware ofhimse1f is henceforward independent; and he is never bored,
and life s only too short, and he is steeped through and through with a profound yet
temperat~ happiness. He a1so lives, while peopIe, slaves of ceremony, let 11fe slip past

..

them in a kind of dream. Once conform, once do what other peopIe do because they
do it, and a lethargy steals over a11 [he finer nerves and facuIties of the soul.
-VIRGINIA WOOLF,

Ihe Common Reader (first series) (1929)

People who are self-actualized. in contrast, are flexible and even weIcome
having their vews challenged. Like true philosophers, they are open to new

CHAPTER 1
,

ways of lookng at the world. They are willng ro analyze and, if necessary,
change their views-even if this rneans taking an unpopular stand. This proc
ess involves actively working to recognize and overcorne the barriers to new
ways of thinking; chief among these is cultural conditioning.

Skepticism
Philosophers try ro approach the world with an open rnind. Rley question ther
own beliefs and those of other people, no matter how obviously true.a particu
lar belief may seem. Rather than accepting established belid systems uncrit
cally, philosophers first reflect on and analyze them. By refusing ro accept
beliefs until they can be justified, philosophers adopt an atttude of skepticism,
or doubt, as their starting poinL
Skepticism, unlike cynicism, is grounded in wonder. The skeptic is always
curious and open-minded, with an eye ro the truth. Cynicisrn sometimes
masquerades as philosophy; however, it is very different. Cynicism is closed
minded and mocks the possibility of truth; it begins and ends in doubt. Cyni
cisrn denies rather than analyzes. In this sense, cynicism is a means of resisting
philosophical thought because it hinders analysis.

Ihe first [rule for seeking truth] was to accept nothing as tme whch 1 dd not c1early
recognze to be so: that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitaton and prejudce in
judgments, and

to

accept in them nothing more than what was presented to my

mind so c1early and distinctIy that 1 couId have no occasion

-REN DESCARTES,

to

doubt ir.

Discourse on the Melhod 01 Rightly ConduCling lh Reason

and Seeking Trulh in lhe Sciences (1637)

Plato's "Allegory 01 the Cave"

Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" has been used to il1ustrate r.he nature of philo
sophical thought. In the reading from his Republic, Plato compared us to pris
oners who have been chained and ldt in a cave since childhood. Our heads are
held fast in place, so we face the back wall. When peopIe and anirnals pass by
the entrance of the cave, we see them only as shadows-on the back walL We
hear the sounds of the outside world only as echoes.
Now, suppose that one of the prisoners has been unchained and turns to
face the entrance of the cave. At first,the prisoner s frightened and blinded by
the light. At this point, most people will try to return to the comfon of the cave.
But if ur prisoner is forced or cajoled out of the cave into the light, his eyes
'.- will begin ro adjusL Once the prisoner is out in the light and freed of the shack
" les of everyday opinion, he begins to see and learn about wonderful truths that
he never befare imagined.

EthC5

15

16

SE e TI ON I

The Study oJ Ethies

After a period of study, he feels the urge to retum to his fel10w prisoners and
share his knowledge with them. Each step back into the cave, however, is pain
fuI. He is ridiculed for his beliefs. At this point, the budding philosopher has
three options: (1) He can leave the cave again and return to the light. In this case,
his newfound wisdom will become irrelevant to the world ofhuman experience.
(2) He can give up the wisdom he has acquired and retum to his old beliefs.
By doing so, he gives in to public opinion rather than risk being unpopular. Or
(3) he can remain in the cave and persist in his quest to share his wisdom with
others. This last option, aeeording to Plato, is the path of the true philosopher.
Plato believed that truth was embodied in changeless universal forms that
could be discemed by the use of reason. Plato's student Aristotle disagreed
with Plato's analysis. In his Nicomaehean Ethies, Ari~lotle argued that even if the
Form of Good did exist, it would be too abstraet lo guide us in making every
day moral decisions. Other philosophers see truth, rather than being static and
absolute, as dynamic and as constantly revealing itself to uso Pre-Socratic phi
losopher Heraclitus Ce. 535-475 BLE.) taught that an essential feature of reality
is that it is ceaselessly changing, like a flowing river. Just as you cannot step
into the same rver twice, permanenee is an illuson. Everything in flux. And
Zen J3uddhists speak of truth as being found in "the eontinued or repeated
imfolding of the one big mind."

Alle9or~ofthe(a-uE
Plato
[C)ompare the effect of educaton and of
the lack of ir on our nature to an experience
like this: Imagine human beings living in
an underground, cavelike dwelling, with an
entrance a long way up, which s both open
to the lightand as wide as the eave itself.
They've been there sinee childhood, fixed
in the same place, wth their neeks and legs
Plato, The Republie, Book VII, 514a-517c, translated by
G. M. A. Grube, revised by C. D. C. Reeve (lndianap
olis: Hackett Publishing
lnc., 1992), pp. 186-189.
Copyright 1992 by tIackett Publishing Company,
lne. Reprinted by permssion of Hackett Publishng
Co. All rghts reserved (To read the complete text of
Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," go to http://classics.mit
.edu/Plato/Republic.html)

fettered, able to see only in front of them,

because their bonds prevent them from tum
ing their heads around. Light is provided by
a fire buming far above and behind them.
Also behind them, but on higher ground,
there is a path stretehing between them and
the fire. Imagine that along this path a low
wall has been built, like the screen in front
of puppeteers above which they show ther
puppets....
Do you suppose, first of aH, that these
prisoners see anything of themselves and
one another besides the shadows that the
fire easts on the wall in front of them 7 ...
And what if their prison a1so had an
echo from the wall facing them? Don't you

e HA P TER
think they'd belevethat the shdows pass
ing in front of them were talking whenever
one of the carriers passing along the wall
was doing so? ...
Then the prisoners would in every way
believe that the tmth is nothing other than
the shadows of those artifacts.. .
Consider, then, what being released from
their bonds and cured of their ignorance
would naturally be like. When one of them
was freed and suddenly compelled to stand
~'; up, turn his head, walk, and look up toward
the light, he'd be pained and dazzled and
unable to see the things whose shadows he'd
seen before. What do you think he'd s ay, if
we told him that what he'd seen before was
inconsequential, bu( that now-because he
,. is a bit closer to the things that are and is
turned towards thngs that are more-he
sees more correctly? ... [D]on't you think
he'd be at a 10ss and that he'd believe that
the things he saw earlier were truer than the
ones he was now being shownL ..
And if someone dragged him away from
there by force, up the rough, steep path, and
didn't let him go unti1 he had dragged him
into the sunlght, wouldn't he be paned and

Ethcs

17

irrtated at being treated that way? And when

he carne into the light, wth the sun filling
his eyes, wouIdn't he be unable to see a sin
gle one of the things now said to be true? ...
1 suppose, then, that he'd need time to
get adjusted before he could see things in
the world aboye ....
The visible realm should be likened to
theprison dwelling, and the light of the tire
inside it to the power of the sun. And if you
interpret the upward journey and the study
of thngs aboye as the upward journey of the
soul to the intelligble realm, you'll grasp
what 1 hope to convey, snce that is what
you wanted lO hear abour. '''V'hether it's tme
or not, only the god knows.But this is how
1 see ir: In the knowable realm, the form of
the good is the last thing to be seen, and it
is reached only with difticulty. Once one has
seen ir, however, one must conclude that it
is the cause of all that s correct and beauti
fuI in anything, that it produces both light
and its source in the visible rea1m, and that
in the intelligible realm it control s and pro
vides tmth and understanding, so that any
one who s to act sensbly in private or public
must see t.. , :

Sorne people believe that mora lit y demands a son of rigid, absolutist attitude;
in other words, a person should stick to his or her principIes no matter whaL
However, if we believe that truth is constantly revealing itself to us-whether
through reason; experierice, or intuiton-in our quest for moral wisdom we
must always be open to dialogue with each other and with the world at large.
lf we think at sorne point that we have found truth and, therefore, close our
minds, we have then ceased to think like a tme philosopher. We will lose our
sense of wonder and become rigid and self-righteous.
For a philosopher to stop seeking tmth is like a dancer freezing in one
postion because he thinks he has found the ultimate dance step or an artist
stopping painting because she thinks she has created the perlen work of art.
Similarly, to cease being open-minded and wondering is lO cease thinking like
a philosopher. Totease thinking like a philosopher is to give up the quest for
the good life.

18

S E e TI o N 1

The: 5tudy 01 Ethics

Exercises
1. What is the difference, H any, between wisdom and knowledge? Which are
you acquiring at college? How does one actively seek wisdom or live wisely?
What is the connection between wisdom and morality? Between knowledge
and mora lity?

2. According to Socrates, the first step on the path to wisdom is to "know thy
self." Discuss the following questions in light of this mandate.
a. What is my goal or plan of life?
b. What sort of person do 1 want to be?
c. How close am 1 to my goal?
*d. For those who are doing community service, how does your servicefit
with or assist you in clarifying and achievingyour life goals?

in

3. Do yo,,! agree tht self-actualization is linked to virtue and to happiness?

Explain why. To what extent are you a self-actualized or enlightened person?
15 becoming self-actualized one of your goals in life? What barriers are holding
you back from achievingself-actualization? What can you do to remove sorne
of those barriets?
4: German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche asked us to imagine what sort of lHe
we would create for ourselves if we knew that it would be repeated over and
over again for the rest of eternity. This 1S known as the theory of eterna1 recur
rence. Nietzsche described it as follows: .
"What if, sorne day or night a demon were to steal after you into your
loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived
it, yo will have to Uve once more and innumerable times more; and there
will be nothing new in t, but every pain and every joy and every thought and
sign and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return
to you, all in the same succession and sequence-even this spider and this
moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and 1 myself. The eternal
hourglass af existence is turned upside down again and again, and you with it,
speck of dustt'
'"Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the
demon who spoke thus? _.. Or how well disposed would you have to become
to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervemly than this ultimate eter
nal confirmation and sea!?" 10
How would you answer Nietzsche's questions? Are you satisfied with the
life you are now creating for yourself? If so, why? lf not, what could you do to
make it a bel:fer life, one that you would want to be repeated over and over ad
infintum? Explain.

S. Discuss sorne of the other assumptions that underlie Western philosophy,

or your own philosophy of life, that usually go unquestoned. How do these
assumptions affect the way you or others treat other human and nonhuman
bengs? How do they affect your perception of your place in society and in the
world?

eHA PT ER 1

6. Discuss your own lfe in terms of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." Where are you
now in your journey? Are you still chained up in the cave? Have you had a
glimpse of the light 7 How did you respond 7 Did you try sharing your insights
with others? How did they respond?

Metaphysics and the Study of Human Nature

In every writer on philosophy there is aconf;ealed metaphysic, usually unconscious; even if
his subject is metaphysics, he is almost certain ro have an uncriticaHy believed system which
underlies hs specific arguments.
-BERTRAND RUSSELL, The Philosophy oflohn Dewey

Ethical theories do not stand on ther own but are grounded in other phlo
sophical presumptions about such matters as the role of humans in the uni
verse, the existence of free will, and the nature of knowledge. Metaphysics
.:is the branch of philosophy concerned with the study of the nature of reality,
.including what it means to be human.
Our concept of human nature has a profound inflw;nce on our concept
of how we ought to live. Are humans basically selfish? Or are we basically
altruistic? What s the relationship between humans and the rest of nature?
Do humans have a sou!? Or are we purely physical beings governed by our
instincts ~nd urges? Do we have free will? Or is all of our behavior subject to
causallaws?
Metaphyscal assumptions about the nature of reality are not smply abstract
theories; they can have a profound effect on both ethical theory and normatve
ethis.Metaphysical assumptions playa pivotal role, for bener or for worse, in
structuring relations among humans and betweeri humans and the rest of the
world.

MetaphysicaI Dualism
According to metaphysical 'dualists, realty is made up of two distinct and
separate substances: the material or physical body and the nonmaterial mnd,
..:which also referred to as the soul or spirit. The bdy, being material, is subject
.<to causallaws. The mind, in contrast, has free will bec;ause it 1S nonmateral imd
JationaL Sorne philosophers believe that only humans have a mind, and hence,
only humns have moral value. The belief that adult humans are the central or
most significant reatity of the universe is known as anthropocentrism.
Accotding to most dualists, humans express their nature or essence through
reason, which is the activity of the nonmaterial mind. Only through reason can
we understand moral truth and achieve the good life. Dualistic philosophies
;tend to support a hierarchical worldview and a morality based on the exclusion
of some beings from the moral community-particularly nonhuman annals
and humans who are regarded as not fully rationaL

Ethcs

19

20

SE CTI ON 1

The Study ofEths

Ecofeminist Karen Warren (b. 1947) argues that the domination of women
and the domination of nature that typify Western dualism are inexorably con
nectedY Both, she claims, are based on a herarehical and dualistc metaphysics
and a "logc of domination" that as sumes that certain beings (whether human
or nonhuman) are morally superior and that those who are superior have a
right to dominate those who are subordinate.

For living is apparent1y shared with p1ants, but what we are looking for is the special
function of a human being: hence we should set asid e the life of nutrition and
growth. The lfe next in arder is sorne sort of 11fe of sens-perception; but this too is
apparently shared, with horses, oxen and every animaL The remaining possibility,
then, is sorne sort of life of action on the part of the soul that has reason .
. . . the human function is the sou1's activity that expresses reason ... the human
functon to be a cenain.kind of 11fe, and we take this lfe to be the soul's activity and
actions that express reason. The excellent man's functon

1S lO

do this finely and

we1l. Each function is completed well when its comp1etion expresses the proper
virtue. Therefore, the human good turns out to be the soul's proper function.
-ARlSTOTLE,

Nicomacnean Etnics, Bk. 1, Ch. 1

Hindu metaethics, like Western dualism, at one time supported a hierar

chical view of reality.12 In Hindu philosophy, this hierarchy manfested itself
primarily within the caste system that was believed to reflect the natural
order of the universe. In India, the Hindu caste system and the hierarchical
metaphysics upon which it was based were challenged by Hindu statesman
philosopher Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948). He denounced the caste system as
"evil" and "an ineffaceable bIot that Hinduism today cardes with iL" 13 Gandhi's
demand for change was strongIy influenced by the teachings of another Indian
philosopher, Siddhartha Guatama (563 BLE.-C. 483 BLE.), better known as
Buddha or the "Enlightened One."

Of created beings the most excellent are said to be those which are animated; of the
animated, those which subsist by ntelligence; of the intelligent, mankind; and of
men, the Brahmans.
-The Hindu Laws ofManu

CHAPTER 1

Oile of the main problems wth dualism is comng Up with an explanation

of how two apparemly completely different substances-mind and body-are
able ro interact with each other, especially on a causal leveL Because of the
mind-body problem, many philosophers have rejeeted duahsm. 14

Metaphysical Materialsm
There are many va,riatons of nondualistie or one-substance theories. One of
the more popular one-substanee theories is metaphysical materialism. In this .
worldview, physicar matter is the only substance. Therefore, materialists do not
have ro de al with the mind-body problem. On the other hand, materialists have
a diffieult time explining the phenomenon of eonsciousness. Because meta
physical materialists reject, or consider irrelevant, abstraet eoncepts su eh as
mind or soul, morality must be explained in terms of physical matter.
Sociobiology is based on the assumption of metaphysieal materialism.
As a braneh of biology, sociobiology apples evolutionary theory to the social
sciences-including questions of moral behavior. Soeiobiologist Edward O.
Wilson claims that moralty is based on biological requirements and drives,15

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), also known as Mahatma C'great soul"), nationalist leader of
India, 1931 (right; talking to Jawaharlal Nehru). Gandhi's use of nonviolent resistance as a strategy
for political and social r~form has han a tremendous influence on later civil rights movements,
induding the 1960s civil rights movement in the United Sta tes.

Ethcs

21

22

S E e T ION l . The Study

oJ Ethics

Human behavior is governed by the same innate epigenetic rules as other

animals.
According to sociobiologists, human social behavior, lke that of other
social animals, is primarily oriented toward the propagaton of the species.
This goal is achieved through inborn cooperative behavior that sociobologists
call biological altruismo Biological altruism accounts for the great sacrifices we
are willing to make to help those who share our genes; however, sociobiologists
do not equate natural with moraL Wilson writes that we as humans "must con
sciously choose among the alternative emotional guides we have inherited."16
Wewill be looking more at the concept of biological altruism in Chapter 7 on
ethical egoism.
One of the problems with basing ethics on I?etaphysical materialism is
that it gives us no guidance in a situation where tw epigenetic rules, such as
egoism and altruism, are in conflict. For this and other reasons, the majority of
philosophers, without denying that biology is important, reject biology as the
basis for morality.
.

Buddhism and the Unity DI All Reality .

Buddha, like Socrates, did not leave behind any writirrgs.What we know of his
philosophy comes from the writings of his disciples. Leading a moral or right
lifestyle is central to Buddha's philosophy. Buddha rejected metaphysical dual
ism, emphasizing the unity of aU reality rather than differences.
According to Buddha, the natural order is not rigidly herarchical; rather,
it is a dynamic web of interattions that condition or influence, instead of deter
mining, our actions. Mind and body are not separate substances but are a man
ifestation one substance that is referred to in most Buddhist philosophies as
the "One." Because all reality is interconnected, Buddhism opposes the taking
of life and encourages a simple lifestyle in harmony with and respectful of other
humans and of nature in generaL
Like most Buddhists, the Lele, a Bantu-speaking tribe living in the Demo
cratic Republicof Congo, also believe that the world is a single system ofinter
relationships among humans, animals, and spirits. Avoiding behavior such as
sorcery that disrupts this delicate balance of interrelationships is key to the
morallifeY Sorne Native American philosophies also stress the interrelatedness
of all beings; they do not divide the world into animate and inanimate objects
but rather see everything, including the earth itself, as having a self-conscious
life. 18 This metaphysical view of reality is reflected in a moral philosophy based
on respect for al1 peings and on not taking more than one needs.

Determinism Versus Free WilI

Another question raised by metaphysics is whether humans have free will or
whether all our behavior is causally determined. The theory of determinism
states that all events are governed by causallaws: There is no free wilL Humans

e HA PTER

are governed by causal laws just as all other physical objects and beings are.
According to strct determinism, if we had complete knowledge, we could
predict future events with 100 percent certainty. The emphasis on the scien
tific method as the source of truth has contributed lo the trend in the West to
describe human behavior in purely scientific terms. 19
Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) claimed that humans are
governed by powerful unconscious forces and that eveu our most noble
accomplishments are the result of prior events and instincts. Behaviorists
such as JohnWatson (1878-1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) also believed
that human behavior is determined by past events in our lives. They argued
that, rather than the unconscious controlling our actions, so-called men
tal states are reallya function of the physcal body. Rather than being free,
autonomous agents, we are the products of past conditioning, elaborately pro
grammed computers~according to Watson, an assembled organic machine
ready to runo
Existentialist philosophers go to the opposite extreme. According to them,
we are defined only"by our freedom. ExistentialistJean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
argued that "there is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. ..
Man [therefore] is condemned to be free."20 He argued that, as radically free
beings, we each have the responsibility to create our own essence, including
choosing the moral principIes upon whch we act. Because we are free and not
restricted by a fixed essence, when we make a moral choice, we can be held
completely accountable for our actions and choices.

1 do not at allbeHeve in human freedom in the philosophical snse. Everybody

acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner
necessity.
-ALBERT EINSTEIN

Buddhist philosophers also disagree with determinism, although they

acknowledge that ':Ve are influenced by outsid~ circumstances beyond our con
troL 21 This is reflected in the concept of karma in Eastern phlosophy. Karma is.
sometimes misinterpreted as determinismo However, karma is an ethical prin
iple or universal force that holds each of us responsible for our actions and
the consequences of our actions, not only in this lifetime but in subsequent
lifetimes. Rather t!:tan our being predetermined by our past karma, karrna pro
vides guidance toward liberation from our past harmful actions and illusions
and toward mora(~perfection. In Chapters 10 and 11, we willlearn aboUl the
influence of this metaphysical view on Buddhist ethics.

Ethics

23

24

S E e TI o N 1

The Study of Ethics

Key Concepts in Metaphysics

Metaphysics The study of the nature of reality,
Anthropocentrism The beBef that humans are the most important reality
in the universe.
Metaphysical Dualism The theory that reality is made up of two distinct
substance's-mind and matter.
Metap'hysical Materialism The theory that reality 1S made up of one
substance-matter.
.
.
Determinism The theory that all events are governed by causallaws; there
is no free wilL

Determinsm and Excuses

The determinism versus free will debate has important implications for eth

ics. In particular, it raises serious questions about to what xtent we can hold

people morally responsible for their actions, Making excuses for our actions is

. as old as humankind: Adam excused his behavior by blaming Eve for the apple

incident. Eve in tum blamed the serpent.

The scientific trend lOward seeing forces outsde our control as responsi
ble for our actions has recently been extended lO relabeling behavior such as
alcoholism and pedophilia as i11nesses or disablities rather than moral weak
nesses. The belief that human behavior is detei-mined has also influenced how
we treat people who commit crimes. lIihs book The Abuse Excuse, criminal
defense anomey Alan Dershowitz examined dozens of excuses that lawyers
have used successfully in coun lO enable people lO "get away with murder."22
More and more people, he writes, are saying "1 couldn't help myself" lO avoid
taking responsibility for their actions. Excuses such as "battered woman syn
drome," "Super Bowl Sunday syndrome," "adopted chld syndrome," "black rage
syndrome," "the Twinkies defense," and "'pornography made me do it' syn
drome" have all been used in coun cases.
So, when, if ever, are we responsible for our actions? At one extreme, the
existentialists claim that we are completely responsible and that there are no
excuses. At the other extreme are those, such as the behavorists, who say that
free will is an illusiori. Most philosophers accept a positon somewhere in the
middle, arguing that a1though we are the products of our biology and our cul
ture, we are also creators of our culture and our destiny.

Exercises
*1. Discuss how your concept of reality and human nature influences the way

you think aboDt morality.For examp1e, are humans made of two dis
tinct substances-mind and body? lf so, should one's degree of ratonality

e H A P TER
correspond to one's moral wonh? Or are we made of the same substanceas
the rest of reality as metaphysical materialists and Buddhists daim? If so, do
all beings have equal moral value? If you are doing community service work,
relate your answer to your servce.
2. Do you agree with Karen Warren's theory that sexism and naturalism are
linked? What is the relatonship of sexism and naturalism to an anthropocen
tric metaphyscs? How does this affect how you define your.moral communty?
How rriight ArislOtle have responded lO Warren's theory?
. 3. vVarren talks aQQut the mportance of using the first-person narrative to raise
philosophcal questions that more abstract methods of philosophy might
overlook.
a. Find a comtrtable spot outside or by a window. Rave a pad and pencil
ready. Putting on the mantle of a metaphysical dualst, look at others, includ
ing humans ora different ethnic background or gender, nonhuman animals,
plants, and inanimate objects. After five minutes, or however long you need,
wrte down your thoughts and feelings regarding the different bengs you
see and their moral worth.
b. Repeat this qercise, putting on the mantle of a nondualist, such as Buddha
orWarren.
c. Again, repeat the exercise, now looking at the world through the eyes of a
metaphysical materialist such as B. F Skinner.
When you have finished the exercis'e, compare and contrastyour expe
rences. Discuss how adopting the different metaphysical viewpoints affects
how you see others and how you vew your place in the world.
4. In Alan Dershowitz's book Ihe Abuse Excuse, he argues that the current vogue
of making excuses for violent actions threatens the democratc' ideal of indi
. vdual freedom. Do you agree with him? Or do you believe that we are the
products of our envronment and, as such, unabl to. overcome our past? If
we are merely products of our environment, should terrorists, such as those
that blew up the World Trade Ce~ter in 2001, be held morally responsible for
their actions? Discuss your answer in light of [he determinism versus free will
. '. debate as well as your own personal experience.
5. Vctor Salva, director of the 1995 Disney movie Powder, was sentenced to jail
in 1987 for having oral'sex with a twelve-year-old boy who was an actor in a
rriovie he was directing. Salva served fifteen months in prison for his crime. Ris
vctim, Nathan.,Winter, was outraged that Salva went back to directing movies
and urged peopl~ to boycon his films. "Re should not be allowed to live his life
as if nothing hppened," Winter told a joutnalist. Others who object to Salva
point out that, according to a 1988]usticeDepartment study, sexual abusers of
children are rarely "cured." About one-half of those released are later arrested .
forthe same crime.
Salva, on dIe other hand, clams that he now regrets his past actions and
has "paid for [11is] mistakes dearly." Roger Bimbaum of Caravan Pictures,
whch made the film Powder for Disney, supports S!llva, arguing that "what
happened eighf"years ago has nothing lO do with this movie."

Ethics

25

26

SECTION 1

Ihe Study ofEthics

.,

To what extent can people overcome their past? To what extent is their
present behavior determined by ther past? How can we really know, in a case
such as Salva's, if the person has changed?
6. Because medical resources are limited for such thngs as organ transplants and
expensive cancer treatments, we must decide how they should be allocated. If a:
person knowingly engages in behavior that could jeopardize his or her health,
should this be taken into- consideration when allocating scarce resources? For
exampIe, baseball superstar Mickey Mantle received a liver transplant, even
though the- damage to his liver was mainly the result oL his years of heavy
drinking. Mantle died shortly after receving the transplant. Was it right to
who needed a new liver because of
give him the liver? Or should someone
an inherited liver disease havebeen given priority over Mantle? How doesyour
position in the determinismversus free will debate influence your answers to
these questions?
*7. Discuss how our current government policies toward vulnerable populations

such as the homeless, children, prisoners, and families living in poverty 'are
influenced by a philosophical view of human behavior as free or determned. If
you are doing community service work, illustrate your answer using examples
from your service.

Moral Knowledge: Can Moral Beliefs

True?

Opinion 1S that exercise of the human will which helps us Co make_ a decision wthout
information_
-JOHN ERSKINE,

Ihe Complete Life (1943)

In the movie Terminator 2, the "terminator," an android pIayed by actor Arnold

Schwarzenegger, is about to kill two unarmed men who are harassing his friend
John Connor. Connor jumps in, just in the nick of time, and pushes the termi
nator's gun aside:
Connor: You were going to kll that guy!
Termnator: Of course. l'm a terminator.
Connor: Listen to me very carefully. You're not a terminator anymore. You
just can't go around killing people.
Terminator: Why7
Connor: What do you mean "why"!? 'Cause you can't!
Terminptor: \\i'hy?
Connor: Because you just can't.
In this passage, John Connor is makng two important points. First, moral
ity transcends our nature. We cannot use the excuse "but
my nature" to
justfy our hurtful actions. Morality, including the principIe of nonmalefi
cence, or "do no harm," is binding on everyone. The terminator is by nature

CHAPTER 1 . Ethics

a killer, but ths does not mean that he ought to kilI. Morality creates in us
obligatons to carry out or refran from carryng out certain actions in a way that
our nature or natural tendendes do not. Second, basic moral knowledge,
according to Connor, is self-evdenL We may need to justfy our behavior, but
we do not have to justify the general moral principIes that inform our moral
decisions,
Of course, not everyone would agree with John Connar that the princi
pIe of nonmaleficence entails that it 1S always morally wrong to kill unarmed
people. Disagreement or uncertainty, however, does not negate the existence .
of moral knowledge>We also disagree about emprical facts, such as the age of
our planet, the caus' of Alzheimer's disease, whether people in comas can feel
pain, and whether i[';is going to rain on the weekend. When we disagree about
an important moral'issue, we don't generally shrug off the disagreement as a
matter of personal opinion. lnstead, we try to come up with good reasons for
acceptng a particula'r position or course of action. We also expect others to be
able to back up ther positions or explain their actions. In other words, most
people believe that;moral knowledge is possible and that it can help us in mak
ng decisons about"rnoral ssues.
Even the mos(i~goistic people generally accept a sort of moral minmal
ism. That is, they believe that there are certain mnimal morality requirements
that include, for example, refraining from torturing and murderng innocent,
helpless people. The one exteption ro this s psychopaths, whom we'll be exam
inng in Chapter 6 on moral development.

Epistemology and Sources oJ Knowledge

The branch of phlosophy concerned wh the study of knowledge-including
moral knowledge-is known as epstemology. Epistemology deals with ques
tions about the nature and limits of knowledge and how knowledge can be
validated. There are many ways of knowing: Intuition, reason, feeling, and
. experence are a11 potental sources of knowledge.
.
Many Western philosophers beleve that reason. is the primary source of
moral knowledge. Reason can be defined ,as "the power of understanding the
connection between the general and the particular." 23 Ratonalism is the epis
temological theory that most human knowledge comes through reason rather
than through the physical senses.
,
Other Western philosophers, such as Bentham, Ross, and Hum, and many
non-Western philo~bphers, including Confucius and Buddha, have challenged
the dependence on reason that characterizes much ofWestern philosophy. They
suggest that we discover moral truths primarily through irtuition rather than .
reason. Intuition isJmmediate or self-evident knowledge, as opposed to knowl.:..
edge inferred from'other truths. Intuitive truths do not need any proof. Utili
tarians, for exampl, clam that we intuitvely know that pain 1S a moral eviL
Confucians maintain that we intuitively know that benevolence is good. Rights
ethicists claim that we intuitively know that all people are created equaL

27

28

s E e TI o N

The Study 01 Ethcs

Cognitive-developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg believes that

certain morally relevant concepts, such as altruism and cooperation, are built
into us COI at least almost all of us). According to Kohlberg, these intuitive
notions are part of humans' fundamental structure for interpreting the social
world, and as such, they may not be fully artculated. 24 In other words, we may
nnow what is right but not be abIe to explain why ir 1S right.
The difficulty with using intuition as a source of moral knowledge 1S that
these so-called intuitive truths are not self-evident to everyone. Whte suprem
acists, fOI example, do not agree that all people are created equal. On the other
hand, the facr that spme people do nor accepr tertan moral intutions does not
make these moral intuitions false or nonexistent any more than the deafness of
sorne people means that Beethoven's syi:nphones <;io not exisL
.Asimilar problem exists with grounding moral knowledge in religious
faith. Snce knowledge gained by faith is not objectively verifiable, we have no
criteria for judging the mora lity of the actions of someone who, for example,
-commts an act of terrorism in the name of their faith. Most religious ethcists,
such as Thomas Aquinas, overcomethis problem by grounding morality not
in faith but in.objective and universally applicable moral principIes based on
reason. See Chapter "ls Morality Grounded in Religion?" for an overview of
the relationship between morality and religion.

Key Concepts in Epistemology .

Epistemology
Rationalism
reason.

study of the natme and limits of knowledge.

The theory that most human knowledge comes through

Empiricism The theory that most human knowledge comes through

rience or the five senses.
Intuition

lmmediate or self-evident knowledge.

Emotivism The position that moral judgments are simplyexpressions of

individuals' emotions

The Role Di Experience

Experence is also a source of moral knowledge. Aristotle emphasized reaso})
as the most important source of moral knowledge, yet he also taught that eth
cs educaton needs an experiential component ro lead to genuine knowledge.
Sorne philosophers carry the experiential component of moral knowledge even
funher. Empiricism c1aims that all, or at least most, human knowledge comes
through the five senses.
Positivism, whch was popular in the first half of the twentieth century,
represents an attempt to justify the srudy of philosophy by algnng ir with sci
ence. Positivsts believe that moral judgments are simply expressions of indi

CHAPTER;t

Ethcs

29

viduals' emotions; this is known as emotivism. Because statements of moral

judgment don't seem to convey any information about the physical world, they
are meaningless. Emotivists such as Alfred J Ayer (1910-1989) concluded
that these moral judgments are merely subjective expressions of feelng or com
mands to arouse feelings and stimulate action and, as such, are devoid of any
truth value.

ErnotivisJ11:.

. c:'-

Alfred]. Ayer
[Ilt is our business to gve an account of
"judgements of val:.l~" which is both satisfac
tory in itself and cdnsistent with our general
empiricst principlf5. We shall set ourselves
lO show that in so fir as statements of value
are significant, they are ordinary "scien
tific" statements; and that in so far as they
are not scientific, they are not in the literal
sense significant, but are simply expressions
of emotion which can be neither true nor
falseo ...
We begiri by admitting that the funda
mental ethical concepts are unanalysable,
inasmuch as there is no criterion by which
one can test the validity of the judgements in
which they occur.... We say that the rea
son why they are unanalysable is that they
are mere pseudo-concepts. The presence
of an ethical symbol in a 'proposition adds
nothing to its factual conten!. Thus if 1 say to
. someone, "You acted wrongly in stealing that
money," 1 am not stating anything more than
if 1 had simply safa; "You stole that money."
In adding that this action is wrong 1 am not
From A. J Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic (New York:
Dover Publicatons, lnc., 1952), pp. 31, 102-103, 107
109. Copyright 1946 A. J Ayer.

making any funher statement about it. 1 am

simply evincing my moral disapproval of iL

lt is as if 1 had said, "You stole that money,"

in a peculiar tone of horror, or written it with

the addition of sorne special exclamation

marks. The tone, or the exclamaton marks,

adds nothing to the literal meaning of the

. sentence. It merely serves to show that the

expression of it is attended by certain feel

ings in the speaker. ...

It is wonh mentioning that ethical terms
do not serve only to express feeling. They
are ca1culated also to arouse feeling,-~and so
to stimulate action. lndeed sorne of them are
used in such a way as to giv.e the sentences
in which they occur the effect of commands.
Thu~ the sentence "It is your duty to teH the
truth" may be regarded both as the expres
sion of a certain son of ethical feeling about
truthfulness and as the expres5ion of the
command "Tell the truth." ...
We' can now see why it i5 imp05sible
to find a criterion far determining the valid
ity of ethical judgements. It i5 not because
they have an"absolute" validity which is
mysteriously independem of ordinary sense
experience, but because they have no objec
tive validity whatsoever.

J/

30

S EC TION 1

The 5tudy 01 Ethics

The statement "torturing children is wrong," in the context of emotivism,

is neither true nor false. lt is nothing more than the expression of a negative
emotion ar feeling toward torturing ehildren-mueh like saying "yuek" when
tasting a food that disagrees with one's palate. Someone's preferenee for tortur
ing young ehildren and another person's preferenee for a particular flavor of ice
eream are both morally neutraL
Ths allanee between ethics and scienee (as interpreted by the postivists)
proved fatal to ethics. If science is the only souree of valid knowledge, then
moral statements sueh as "killing unarmed people s wrong" and "torturing
children is wrong" are meaningless beeause they do not appear to correspond
to anything in the physical world, as do statements such as "tigers have stripes"
or "ir was sunny at the beach yesterday."
Emotvism was never widely aeeepted as a moral theory. The horrors of
the suffering wrought by the Holoeaust foreed sorne emotivists to reevaluate
their moral theory and to eommit themselves to the position that sorne aetions
re immoral: Genocide, like torturing ehildren, is wrong-regardless' of how
one feels about it.
Philosopher Sandra Harding (b. 1935) also maintains that experience is
n important component of knowledge; however, she disagrees with the emo
tivists that moral knowledge is impossible. Moral knowledge, she claims, is
radieal1y interdependent with our interests, our cultural institutions, our rela
tionships, and our lHe experienees such as those based on gender and social
status. 25 To rely solely on abstract reasoning, she argues, ignores other ways
of experiencing the world and moral values within the world. Instead, know
ing eannot be separated from our position in society and from other practical
pursuits sch as working toward greater justice and equality. Moral knowledge
and moral decision making le within the tension between the universal and the
particular in our individual experiences. By emphasizing the imponanee of
experience, feminist epistemology reminds us that we must listen to everyone's
voice before forming an adequate moral theory-not just the voice of those,
such as "privileged White males."26 This coneern with experience has led to an
increased emphasis on multiculturalism in contemporary college education.

Exercises
1. Philosophers who believe that moral knowledge is intuitive argue that every

one (or almost everyone) would agree that causng pain to an infant for one's
own amusement s morally wrong. How would yau respond to someone who
thinks that torturing infants is either morally right or, in the case of the posi
tivsts, morally neutral?
2. Discuss Alfred Ayer's claim, in the selection from his essay "Emotivism," that

moral judgments are nothing more than expressians of feeling and have no
validity. lf morality is simply an expression of feeling, is there any such thng
~

CHAPTER 1

as moral responsiblity? Does it matter anymore what we do or don't do? Are

Gandhi and Hitler morally equvalent? Why or why not?
3. Sandra Harding suggests that there may be dfferent ways of knowing moral
truths for differe1t groups. Do you agree with her? For example, are there
spedal female, Caucasian, Arab, Asian American, crime victim, or Holocaust
survivor ways of knowing? If there are, does this necessarily imply that moral
truth is relative or simply a matter of propaganda? Are there.cenain basic moral
truths that transcend our panicular experiences?

Summary
1. Ethics is concerned with the study of rignt and wrong and how to live the good

life.
2. The two main suodivisions bf ethics are theoretical and normative ethcs. The

oretical ethics, of:metaethics, s concerned wth appraising the logical foun

dations of ethicl'systems. Normative ethics gives us practical guidelines for
dedding which 3..ions are right or wrong.
3. There are two typ"es of ethical theories. Nancagnitive theories, such as emotivism,
clam that moral statements are neither true nor falseo Cognitive theories claim
that moral statements can be true or falseo Cognitive theories can be funher
subdivided into relativist theories and unversalist theores. Relatvist theories
maintain that right and wrong are creations of either individuals or groups of
humans. Universalist theores claim that ihere are universal moral values that
apply ro all hurans.

4. Philosophy is, lite rally, the "love of wisdom."

5. The 50cratic methad nvolves a dialogue in which a teacher questions people
about things they thought they already knew.
6. Wisdom begir:ts in self-knowledge, which in turn leads lO self-realization or self
actualization.
7. True philosophersapproach the world with an ofien mind. They begin the
process 6f inquiryby adopting an initial positon of skepticism or doubt.
8. Plato's "Allegory pt,lhe Cave" defines the task of the philosopher: movng out of
our conventional;.mode of thinkng (the darkness of the cave) into the light of
truth. This expej~nce of truth should in turn:be shared with others ~ho are
stilllving in darkness.

'9. Metaphysics s thephilosophical study of the nature of realty, ncluding human

nature.
10. Metaphysical dualism claims that reality is made up of two distinct substances:
physical matter and nonmaterial mind. Metaphysical materialism, in ontrast,
claims that physical matter is the only substance.
11. Buddhist metaphyscs maintains that realty is aunty and manifestaton of
one substance.

Ethcs

31

32 SECTION 1

The: 5tudy ofEthics

12. Sociobologists claim that morality is genetically programmed into humans and
other animals. Behaviorsts, on the other hand, claim that mora lit y is shaped by
our environment.
13. Determinism claims that all events, including human actions, are caused by
previous events (predetermined) and that free will is an illusion. If there is no
free will, then of course there is no such thing as moral responsibility.

14. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. Most traditional Western philosophies

emphasize reason as the primary source of moral knowledge; most non-West
ern and feminist philosophies emphasize intuition or sentiment.
Emotvism is the theory that moral statements are meaningless because they do
not' correspond to anything in the physicaI world. Emotivism arose from an
attempt by the positivists to scientifically legitimate the study of philosophy.