GS Paper 4: Ethics Lecture 2

Introduction

• Topic: Morality and Ethics
• Previous Class: Introduction to values and attitudes

Morality vs Ethics

• Morality

  • Derived from Greek "mos" meaning customs
  • Set of beliefs accepted by groups (society, culture, religion)
  • Examples of moral principles:
    • Do not cheat
    • Tell the truth
    • Be loyal
  • Types:
    • Moral Absolutism: Universal principles
    • Moral Relativism: Principles vary based on context
  • Characteristics:
    • Content: Justice, sympathy
    • Standards: Laws
  • Group behavior and customs

• Ethics

  • Derived from Greek "ethos" meaning character
  • Focuses on individual character rather than group customs
  • Personal ethics can differ (e.g., punctuality)
  • Part of philosophy (along with metaphysics, epistemology, logic)
  • Aristotle's view: Good habits lead to good character
  • Examples of ethical behavior: personal honesty, punctuality

Ethical Theories

• Normative Theory: Ethics as a normative theory (not based on factual knowledge)

  • Focus on predictive behavior and reasonable obligation
  • Trolley Problem: Ethical dilemma example

• Ethical Theories

  • Consequentialism: Outcome-based (save more lives)
    • Types include egoism, eudaemonism, utilitarianism, hedonism, intellectualism
  • Deontology: Rule-based (not obligated to kill)
  • Virtue Ethics: Choose based on beneficial outcomes

Types of Ethics

• Descriptive Ethics: Quantifies moral beliefs
• Meta Ethics: Nature of moral judgments (cognitive vs non-cognitive)
• Normative Ethics: Prescribes actions (e.g., ought statements)
  • Is-Ought Dichotomy: Gap between descriptive and prescriptive statements
• Applied Ethics: Application to real-life situations (case studies)

Key Differences between Morality and Ethics

• Morality: Customs, group behavior, varies by group
• Ethics: Character, individual behavior, applied consistently
• Morality: Based on spiritual guidelines
• Ethics: Based on social/material basis
• Morality: General statements; Ethics: Abstract, personal

Conclusion

• More lectures on ethics will follow, focusing on GS paper 4.