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TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS

TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS. ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.). Born in Stagira, Greece (near Macedonia) Aristotle’s father introduced him to anatomy, medicine and philosophy – he had a well-learned childhood Parents died when he was 17 Plato taught and mentored Aristotle

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TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS

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  1. TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS

  2. ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.) • Born in Stagira, Greece (near Macedonia) • Aristotle’s father introduced him to anatomy, medicine and philosophy – he had a well-learned childhood • Parents died when he was 17 • Plato taught and mentored Aristotle • Plato was a leading thinker in Greece (at Academy)

  3. Aristotle and Plato • Plato • He looked at the abstract, the world of ideas • Man of contemplation and deep thought • Aristotle • He looked at human experiences and the world of nature • Thrived on hands-on experience, observation and classification

  4. Aristotle and Alexander • Due to political unrest, Aristotle fled from Athens to Aegean • Fled again to Macedonia and began to tutor King Philip’s son – Alexander (later known as the Great) • Aristotle started a school (Lyceum) • He wrote about logic, metaphysics, theology, history, politics and ethics and the basic foundations of many science disciplines

  5. Leaving again... • After Alexander the great died, there was more political unrest • Aristotle was charged with not respecting the gods of the state (he was friends with the King) • Fled again, but died in a year • Much of his work was lost the destruction of the great library of Alexandria • Only 40 of 360 works survived to today

  6. Aristotle’s Teleological Ethics • St. Thomas Aquinas rediscovered Aristotle in the 13th century through Arab scholars • His teachings became associated with Catholic ethical theory

  7. The Pursuit of Happiness • Aristotle believed that the happiness of a person (citizen) was found in community • Happiness is an enduring and long-lasting condition that results when one lives and acts well • Happiness is not the same as pleasure, as pleasure is momentary

  8. The Pursuit of Happiness • Ethics aims to discover what is good for us as human beings • It helps us learn what permits us to reach out potential • Ethics gives us rationality and our internal compass (our conscience maybe)

  9. Teleology and Teleological Ethics • All things in this world aim for goodness • This ethics discovers the finality (telos) or purpose of something – what completes us? • We are intended to be rational – our greatest capacity is our intelligence • Acting ethically, is to engage our capacity to reason as we develop good character (highest form of happiness) • Good person – one whose actions are based on excellent reasoning and spend a great amount of time thinking

  10. Excellent! • When we have started to reach our potential and what we intend to be – we develop habits that make us the best • In other words, when we do things well, we become better humans (these excellent things we do well are virtues) • A good person used reason to control desire • We must allow reason to guide our actions, and only then will these moral virtues become habit!

  11. DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS

  12. IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) • Born and raised in Prussia (N.E. Germany) • Grew up in poverty-stricken, but very religious Protestant family • Family were Pietists – believed in personal devotion and Bible reading • Lived near home all his life (never went beyond 100 km of his birthplace) • His life was all about routine – everything was nearly scheduled

  13. Mr. Kant: Teacher and Author • After university, Kant worked as a private tutor and teacher • He became a university professor of logic and metaphysics • Kant wrote books – difficult to understand • Critique of Pure Reason took 12 years to write and contains the longest sentences ever written (like in your reflections!) • He greatly influenced Western thought and philosophy

  14. Theoretical Reason • Kant wanted to know how humans came to know things • He also wanted to know what role experience played in out knowledge • Asked other questions: • Can we know things that are beyond our immediate experience? • Can we know and predict the cause and effect? • Theoretical reasoning asked the big questions and help us understand the laws of nature and cause and effect, govern human behaviour

  15. Practical Reason • The moral dimension that guides human behaviour • Humans act out of impulse (our nature) and conscious choice (on principle) • Theoretical reasoning tells us what people actually do, while practical reasoning tell us what we should do • Kant introduced us to the idea of MORAL DUTY

  16. Kant’s Ethics • Shared with Aristotle that good is the aim in life, but in a different way • We need practical principles to pursue the supreme good: • God – the existence of God allows us to attain supreme good, as we are limited in our power as humans • Freedom – to have the duty to achieve the supreme good, we must have the freedom to do something. Humans are free beings • Immortality – the supreme good is too large a task for this life – it goes beyond to the next life, and so on

  17. The Good Will • Kant (unlike Aristotle) sees goodness in the individual (in their private life and inner conscience) • Good Will – doing our duty, because it is our duty • Kant’s theory is deontological, as ‘deon’ refers to duty • A human action is morally good if it is done for the sake of duty • Real worth is measured by the motive behind them • According to Kant, you are the king of your castle – your decision (and according to your will)

  18. Kant’s Use of Moral Maxims • Duty is determined by maxims (principles) • For something to be ethical, there must be an objective principle (must also apply to all) • Ethical maxim – how every rational person would act if reason was used to decide actions • Act in a way you would want others to act also (Sound like anything familiar?)

  19. EMMANUEL LEVINAS:ETHICS OF THE FACE (Relational Ethics)

  20. EMMANUEL LEVINAS (1905-1995) • Born in Kaunas, Lithuania • Lived during the Holocaust with his Jewish family • Began studies at University of Strassbourg in philosophy • Levinas saw a contrast between Western philosophy and his strong Jewish faith

  21. The Sameness of Things • He understood that Western philosophy attempted to overcome difference/diversity by grouping everything in unity – called ‘Being’ • Everything carries sameness • Difference is reduced to being accidental (not essential)

  22. The Singularity of Things • This tradition focused on the singular (having its own identity) • The singularity of things gives them identity

  23. Levinas and World War II • WWII – Levinas was caught by the Germans and was a prisoner of war for 5 years. • His whole family died in the Holocaust. His wife and daughter escaped but lost communication with him • His war experience made Levinas more aware of his Jewish roots

  24. Connecting with his Jewish Roots • MordachiChouchani (Jewish teacher) was Levinas’ teacher at age of 40 • He instructed Levinas in the Jewish Talmud • Soon, Levinas also instructed the Talmud to young Jewish intellectuals in France

  25. Teaching and Last Years • Became chair in philosophy at Univ. of Poitiers • 1973 – Became professor of philosophy at Sorbonne (most prestigious school in Paris) • Became a popular writer and soon retired • Even in lecturing, took his Jewish values very seriously (No lecturing on the Sabbath) • He wrote and lectured until illness and death in 1995

  26. Levinas - The Good is Infinite • The Good – the central question of all philosophy • The Good goes beyond Being • The Being names what things have in common (when you remove all the differences) • The Being can be dangerous, because it takes away from reality, the uniqueness of each individual or thing • The unique things and persons are called traces of the Good (a.k.a. God) • Everything we encounter is finite (that is why we only see traces of God) • God has gone ahead (the infinite)

  27. The Face as Witness of the Good • The face is the most naked part of the body • We can see the traces of God in the face (Levinas was against make-up) • In someone’s eyes, we make immediate and direct contact • When you have an experience looking into someone’s face, you see their uniqueness • “You shall not murder” – taking away another person’s uniqueness

  28. The Face as Ethical • Recognizing the Other’s hardships in the face allows good to prevail by making us act to help that person – makes you responsible • The face is a trace of God who has already passed by (the infinite good). The divine speaks to us through the face (Ex. Think of the face-to-face ethical experience)

  29. Made Responsible by the Face • Our responsibility to the face is our calling or duty – here the search for the Good ends (by making a good moral decision) • We should be looking out for our neighbour - God’s touch • Goodness (with God as the end) is about responsibility for the other • We will see more of this in the social justice unit…

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