PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS: OBJECT OF STUDY, SCHOOLS, REPRESENTATIVE AUTHORS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The philosophical ethics is a branch of philosophy that handles reflect on the behavior and moral convictions of both the individual and of the collective. For this he uses other disciplines such as metaethics, normative ethics and the history of ethical ideas.

The word "ethics" comes from the Greek term ethos, which can be translated in two possible ways: on the one hand, it means way of being or character; on the other, it is translated as use, habit or custom. It can be said that the two definitions are related. In fact, both Aristotle and Plato ensured the relationship between both meanings.

De Rafael Sanzio - Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public domain, According to Plato, any character can develop through habit. On the other hand, Aristotle differentiated the intellectual virtues from the ethical ones, establishing that the former originate from teaching while the latter derive from customs.

The word ethos can also be conceived from its most primitive sense. The author Aníbal D'Auria, in his text Approximation to philosophical ethics (2013), establishes that ethos can mean home, country, dwelling place or place from which it comes. It should be noted that currently the words "moral" and "ethics" are often used as if they were synonymous.

However, in academic language the word "ethics" is used to designate a branch of philosophy dedicated to reflection on Ethos, understanding this concept as a set of moral beliefs, attitudes and convictions of a person or of a social group. This means that "ethics" is the name of the philosophical discipline, while "moral" is the object of study of this discipline.

Object of study

As mentioned above, philosophical ethics has morality as its object of study. However, this discipline not only describes the moral aspects of each individual or society, but also questions its origin and functioning. That is to say, it seeks to answer the why of the existence of certain norms and tries to explain their value for the human being.

Philosophical ethics is based on aspects of normative ethics to carry out its studies. This allows you to offer guidelines for conduct that are supported for specific reasons.

Likewise, philosophical ethics also employs certain precepts of metaethics, a discipline that is responsible for reflecting on the epistemic and linguistic elements of normative ethics, such as: Is it possible to base moral judgments? Do normative sentences respond to a kind of proposition? Can moral statements be considered true or false?

In addition to normative ethics and metaethics, philosophical ethics employs a third discipline to study morality, this being the history of ethical ideas. This current seeks the philosophical understanding of the different ethical doctrines taking into account their historical context. Similarly, it brings a historical awareness of ethos.

Schools of philosophical ethics

The School of Ethics in Classical Antiquity

It can be established that philosophical ethics began with the Greek world of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. For them, ethics was integrated into reflection of a political nature. According to these philosophers, the highest ideal of life was the contemplative or theoretical life.

For example, for Plato a polis had to be governed by theoretical men - that is, philosophers. On the other hand, Aristotle considered that it was not necessary for the polis to be ruled by philosophers, but the state should guarantee theoretical men their reflective lifestyle.

Despite this difference, both authors agreed on the fact that politics and ethics were linked.

Pre-christian schools

Later, in the Hellenistic period (after the Aristotelian postulates) there was a decline in the conception of the polis as a political order. This resulted in a divorce between politics and ethics.

Consequently, the pre-Christian schools of this period were characterized by defending detachment from politics. Philosophers no longer wondered about the virtues that were necessary to create a communal life; rather they focused on the individual and their location in the universe.

The schools of ethics during Christianity

With the arrival of the monotheistic religion, Christian ethics prevailed. This was characterized by putting the theological virtues (hope, charity and faith) above the cardinal virtues defended by the Greeks (temperance, justice, courage and wisdom). Hence, man's moral duties were no longer to himself, but to please God.

Modern and contemporary ethical schools

From the dawn of Modernity, the ethical school developed and deepened the notion of the individual. Added to this was the introduction of the capitalist system, which proposed new relationships between individuals and the State. It also resulted in the birth of legal ties between governments and individuals.

During modernity, a new conception of ethics was established. Source: John Trumbull

All these social, cultural, economic and political changes determined new directions and new problems for ethical reflection. In Aristotelian ethics there were three solidly fused elements: virtue, political community and the search for a happy life. From the Hellenistic period, community political life was dispensed with.

With Christianity, the idea of ​​virtue was subordinated to faith and religion, which meant giving up looking for a happy life at least in this world.

In modernity - after undergoing all these modifications - moral reflection acquired a very different aspect. Sociability stopped being studied as a defining fact of man. Rather, man is seen as a being in conflict with the other beings of his species.

Representative authors

Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Bust of Aristotle. Source: Museo nazionale romano di palazzo Altemps, via Wikimedia Commons.

Aristotle was one of the authors who studied ethics the most from philosophy. One of his main notions consisted in affirming that coexistence and sociability were a natural gift of man, so that philosophical ethics should be based on the following question: How can man fulfill himself individually within life in society to achieve turn a happy and elevated life?

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Portrait of Kant, one of the main exponents of paralogism. Source: nach Veit Hans Schnorr, via Wikimedia Commons.

Kantian ethics was proposed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant and is the result of enlightened rationalism. In contrast to the thinkers of classical antiquity, Kant established that the only really good thing consisted of a good will.

Therefore, every action is good only if its maxim obeys the moral law. In other words, for this modern philosopher the moral law functions as a categorical imperative that acts on all individuals, without taking into account their wishes and interests.

References

1. D'Auria, A. (2013) Approach to philosophical ethics. Retrieved on December 5, 2019 from Dialnet: Dialnet.net
2. De Zan, J. (sf) Ethics, rights and justice. Retrieved on December 5, 2019 from corteidh.or.cr
3. Millán, G. (2016) On the distinction between ethics and morals. Retrieved on December 5, 2019 from Scielo: scielo.org.mx
4. Beauchamp, T. (2001) Philosophical ethics. An introduction to moral philosophy. Retrieved on December 5, 2019 from philpapers.org
5. Bostock, D. (2000) Aristotle's ethics. Retrieved on December 5, 2019 from philpapers.org
6. SA (nd) Immanuel Kant. Retrieved on December 5, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org