Research and Publication Ethics

Unit-I – Philosophy and Ethics

Introduction to philosophy: definition, nature and scope, concept, branches -
Ethics: definition, moral philosophy, nature of moral judgements and reactions.
Research
Research is generally defined as studious inquiry or examination aimed at the
discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the
light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws.
Publication
 It is the dissemination of your findings to the scientific community  Scientific
publications are subject to peer review
Ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior". The field of
ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns matters of value, and thus comprises the
branch of philosophy called axiology major areas of study within ethics recognized
today are
 Meta Ethics  Normative Ethics  Applied Ethics
Philosophy
The word philosophy is derived from the Greek words philia (love) and sophia
(wisdom) and means the love of wisdom.
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those
connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is the
rational attempt to formulate, understand, and answer fundamental questions.
Nature of Philosophy
a) Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs about life and the universe, which are
often held uncritically.
We refer to this meaning as the informal sense of philosophy or “having” a
philosophy. Usually when a person says “my philosophy is,” he or she is referring
to an informal personal attitude to whatever topic is being discussed.
b) Philosophy is a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most deeply held
conceptions and beliefs.
These two senses of philosophy— “having” and “doing”— cannot be treated
entirely independent of each other, for if we did not have a philosophy in the
formal, personal sense, then we could not do a philosophy in the critical, reflective
sense.
Having a philosophy, however, is not sufficient for doing philosophy. A genuine
philosophical attitude is searching and critical; it is open-minded and tolerant—
willing to look at all sides of an issue without prejudice. To philosophize is not
merely to read and know philosophy; there are skills of argumentation to be
mastered, techniques of analysis to be employed, and a body of material to be
appropriated such that we become able to think philosophically. Philosophers are
reflective and critical.
c) Philosophy is a rational attempt to look at the world as a whole.
Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various sciences and human
experience into some kind of consistent world view. Philosophers wish to see life,
not with the specialized slant of the scientist or the businessperson or the artist, but
with the overall view of someone cognizant of life as a totality.
d) Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of the
meaning of words and concepts.
Certainly this is one function of philosophy. In fact, nearly all philosophers have
used methods of analysis and have sought to clarify the meaning of terms and the
use of language. Some philosophers see this as the main task of philosophy, and a
few claim this is the only legitimate function of philosophy.
e) Philosophy is a group of perennial problems that interest people and for which
philosophers always have sought answers.
Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems of human existence. Some
of the philosophical questions raised in the past have been answered in a manner
satisfactory to the majority of philosophers. Many questions, however, have been
answered only tentatively, and many problems remain unsolved.
“What is truth?”
“What is the distinction between right and wrong?”
What is life and why am I here?
Why is there anything at all?
Scopes of Philosophy
By relating philosophy to wisdom the scope of philosophy cannot be put within
precise boundary, but within the widening horizon of wisdom. Thus the scope of
philosophy embraces the whole of reality. Although philosophy claims to consider
everything in general and nothing in particular, we can still point out some of the
areas that are generally accepted as typically philosophical.
 Epistemology  Metaphysics  Ethics  Aesthetics  Theology
(a) Epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge. It is often called theory of
knowledge also. We have the experience or concept or phenomenon of knowledge.
Philosophy explains that concept. And that is called epistemology. It is not
knowledge of any other thing, but discussion on the problem of knowledge itself. If
you know about ‘atoms’ in physics, that constitutes the
 Metaphysics  Epistemology  Value theory
A. LOGIC Logic is the systematic study of the rules for the correct use of these
supporting reasons,rules we can use to distinguish good arguments from bad ones.
Most of the great philosophers from Aristotle to the present have been convinced
that logic permeates all other branches of philosophy. The ability to test arguments
for logical consistency, understand the logical consequences of certain
assumptions, and distinguish the kind of evidence a philosopher is using are
essential for “doing” philosophy
B. METAPHYSICS
Another traditional branch of Philosophy traditionally known as metaphysics. For
Aristotle, the term metaphysics meant “first philosophy,” discussion of the most
universal principles; later the term came to mean “comprehensive thinking about
the nature of things.”It means, usually, the study or theory of reality. The question
of metaphysics is: what is reality? What is real? Is reality some kind of “thing”. Is
it one or is it many? If it is one, then how is it related to many things around us?
Can ultimate reality be grasped by five senses, or is it supernatural or
transcendent?
Metaphysics undoubtedly is the branch of philosophy that the modern student finds
most difficult to grasp. Metaphysics attempts to offer a comprehensive view of all
that exists. It is concerned with such problems as the relation of mind to matter, the
nature of change, the meaning of “freedom,” the existence of God, and the belief in
personal immortality.
C. EPISTEMOLOGY
The technical term for the theory of knowledge is epistemology, which comes from
the Greek word episteme, meaning “knowledge.” In general, epistemology is the
branch of philosophy that studies the sources, nature, and validity of knowledge.
There are three central questions in this field:
i. What are the sources of knowledge? Where does genuine knowledge come from
or how do we know? This is the question of origins. ii. What is the nature of
knowledge? Is there a real world outside the mind, and if so can we know it? This
is the question of appearance versus reality. iii. Is our knowledge valid? How do
we distinguish truth from error? This is the question of the tests of truth, of
verification.
Traditionally, most of those who have offered answers to these questions can be
placed in one of two schools of thought—rationalism or empiricism.
The rationalists hold that human reason alone can discover the basic principles of
the universe. The empiricists claim that all knowledge is ultimately derived from
sense experience and, thus, that our knowledge is limited to what can be
experienced.
It should be clear that there is a necessary relation between metaphysics and
epistemology. Our conception of reality depends on our understanding of what can
be known. Conversely, our theory of knowledge depends on our understanding of
ourselves in relation to the whole of reality.
D. VALUE THEORY
Value theory is the branch of philosophy that studies values. It can be subdivided
into ethics, aesthetics, and social and political philosophy.
In broad terms ethics concerns itself with the question of morality. What is right
and what is wrong in human relations? Within morality and ethics there are three
major areas: descriptive ethics, normative ethics, and metaethics. Descriptive
ethics seeks to identify moral experience in a descriptive way. We seek to identify,
within the range of human conduct, the motives, desires, and intentions as well as
overt acts themselves.
Ethics
Etymologically the term ethics correspond to the Greek word ethoswhich means
character, habit, customs, ways of behaviour, etc. Ethics is also called moral
philosophy. The ethics may be defined as the systematic study of human actions
from the point of view of their rightfulness or wrongfulness, as means for the
attainment of the ultimate happiness.
As a philosophical discipline, ethics is the study of the values and guidelines by
which we live. It also involves the justification of these values and guidelines. It is
not merely following a tradition or custom. Instead it requires analysis and
evaluation of these guidelines in light of universal principles. As moral philosophy,
ethics is the philosophical thinking about morality, moral problems, and moral
judgements.
Nature of Ethics
Ethics aims at systematic knowledge. So, ethics is a science. Every science is
concerned with a particular sphere of nature. As a science ethics has its own
particular sphere; it deals with certain judgments that we make about human
conduct. It deals with systematic explanation of rightness or wrongness in the light
of the highest Good of man.
Ethics is a normative science. It is concerned with what ought to be done rather
than what is the case. Ethics is not a practical science. Practical science deals with
means for the realization of an end or ideal. It teaches us to know how to do.
Ethics is not an art. Ethics does not teach us an art as to how to lead a moral life.
Rather it helps us to justify rightness or goodness which can lead to the supreme
goal of human life. So, ethics is not a means to the highest ideal of human life.
A norm or ideal in the ethical sense is defined as any regulatory principle that
controls or lays guidelines to thought and mode of acting.