Moral Philosophy and Ethics

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Classical Ethical Philosophies

Epicureanism

EPICUREANISM EXPLAINED

This is the idea where the goal of life is to live solely for self pleasure, there is no predetermined events in the world and everything is unplanned and on the spot much to the chagrin of Stoics

A common critique on Epicureanism / Hedonism is that this thought process does not make sense when people decide to act in the benefit for others even if it may harm or have no positive effect for the individual

Now the obvious elephant in the room is how living solely for pleasure can destroy the body, but Epicureans clearly state that life is only possible if lived moderately.

"Enjoy Life While You Can"

Cynicism

Cynicism was a direct attack at people in the upper echelon of society who lived a rich and frugal life, this is because Cynicism was against ideas such as property, government, marriage and even religion and thus leading to the end conclusion that the answer to life is only within themselves.

Some people like Diogenes fully believed in the idea of living a "natural life", the idea that you only take what is needed to survive and no more or less, it had it's flaws as he would not even eat cooked food.

It was seen that Socrates and Diogenes were massive figures in the concept of Cynicism, while Antisthenes began the philosophy

It covers the ideas of rejecting societal values, more specifically materialistic values in an ancient society

"The Philosophy of a Simpler Life"

Stoicism

STOCISM 101

Many have looked at Stoicism and stated that the concept is contradictory since how is it possible to control individual thoughts and actions if everything is predetermined.

Stoicism is all about the idea that everything is predetermined and the only thing that humans can control is the reaction to all of these predetermined events.

Stoicism is influential all across western philosophy and was the most well known philosophy in the Roman Empire, which can be traced back the Zeno.

"Indifference to External Things"

Aristotle's Views

"Thus the kinds of habits we form from early childhood are of no small importance; they matter a great deal-- indeed they make all the difference"

With these different environments, habits will be formed, and with these habits, good ethical choices can only be made if the aforementioned habit is doing the right thing.

Aristotle believed that ethical behaviours are built from habits gained by the environment and people that influence the individual. So that means that people can gain bad ethics and not change.

When Aristotle looked at Plato's worldview on ethics, he did not agree that humanity can create a perfect ethical choice and have that perfect "form"

Plato's Views

Unlike some philosophers, Plato was very into the idea of there being an absolute right and wrong in terms of behaviours. That lead to the idea of an "Ideal" form for anything in the universe including ethical situations.

When you did something that was wrong and unethical Plato stated that it results in hurting others and oneself as well.

Plato brought up the idea of a "Healthy Soul" This takes three concepts of the mind that being the physical body, spirit, and intellect and having a perfect balance between the three to get the aforementioned "Healthy Soul"

Plato when looking at the ethics of a human believed that most people would no matter what choose the most ethical situation even if it did not benefit the individual or if the situation had no consequences.

Moral Guidance to Ethical Decisions

The Golden Rule

Treat people like how you want to be treated. Something taught by every education system starting at a very young age.

“Do unto others as you would have then do unto you”

Christian Ten Commandments

TEN COMMANDMENTS EXPLAINED

All thy neighbours that support Christianity, never disrespect or steal from them.

No unethical behaviour like killing, stealing, or adultery

Honour your mother and father always

Sunday is the most holy day for Christian

Never use the Lord's name in vain

Never deny or insult god, love the fellow Christians that live around you. Keep these commandments in your heart.

No gods take priority over him

Islamic Ten Commandments

ISLAMIC COMMANDMENTS EXPLAINED

It covers concepts such as only believing in one god, be kind to your mother and father, never kill children to avoid poverty, never conduct in shameful acts, protect the weak, no killing unless the law requires, push honesty and fairness and fulfill all promises all while you follow the path of god.

Within the Qur'an there are set rules given to humanity to help them follow the divine path of Islam.

Seven Laws of Noah (Hebrew)

No denying or making fun of god, no unethical behaviour like murder or stealing, do not eat from a live animal, and also making sure to establish a legal system to follow such laws.

These are guidelines given from god to humanity

Anishinaabe Seven Grandfather Teachings

Respect, Love, Truth, Bravery, Wisdom, Generosity, and Humility

These were set tools given to the Anishinaabe to live proper lives

Consequentialist Ethics

Utilitarianism

It was well known for a long time that the importance of happiness within humans is necessary to life, but with how humans function this was impossible for everyone to have. That is when Utilitarianism came up and some people saw it as the best possible way to live life, while some saw the flaws that being how a lot of choices seemed to lack common sense in terms of morality and it sometimes not having well reasoning behind the choice other then what benefits the most amount of people

The ethical idea of Utilitarianism was introduced in the early 18th century by Jeremy Bentham.

Utilitarianism is the philosophy that tends to make decisions that maximise happiness and the well being for all individual who would be affected by that choice

Ethical Egoism

Egoists whenever they are given a decision, they decide to make the choice that best benefits themselves even if it harms the other side. "To give charity to someone is to degrade them"

This term was made in the early 19th century before altruism, by philosopher Max Stirner. He stated that all of philosophical beliefs were a rejection of morality and says that it is nonexistent. It could even possibly be identified all the way back in 4th century B.C with Yangism.

Egoism is the idea that states, actions should maximise the personal benefit of the indiviual making the ethical choice.

Ethical Altruism

Altruists believe that the choice that leads to the pleasure and absence of pain of other people when you act in an altruistic manner is the most ethical decision to make

This concept was conceived by Auguste Comte in the 19th century. This was made as a antonym to "Ethical Egoism"

Altruism is the theory that states; every action should be made to maximise the benefits of others around the individual making the choices

Eastern Ethical Theories

Confucius

In modern day eastern ethics, Confucian ethics are continually being developed as it is highly influential

He only formed very basic forms of relationships; father to son, husband to wide, elder to junior, elder brother to younger brother. and ruler to subject

Confucius was a self educated professor who would gather small groups of students to explain his philosophical beliefs. These lectures were recorded in the "Analects"

Hindu Ethics

HINDUISM AGAINST NIETZCHE

Hinduism is a diverse religion which is seen to be surrounding the idea of the "Ultimate Reality" and the goal of life, and these ideas are backed up by many texts, philosophical ideas, and Hymns.

Was discovered in the Indus Valley and was popularised in the Northwest section of India roughly around 2500 and 1500 BCE.

Transcending Birth and Death

Buddhism Eightfold Path

Eightfold Path Explained

Have a perfect vision of reality, act with love and compassion, all communication should be clear and truthful, live ethically, work towards bettering yourself, being aware of others, and meditation. These are all key to living via the Eightfold Path.

This is known as one of the four teachings of Buddha, the last one to be specific. The Eightfold Path is a process to get what's known as true spiritual enlightenment.