Ethics, Morality, and the Political Community
Item 9: Moral Actions and Ethical Reflection
Moral Actions
Moral actions are those performed consciously and freely by human beings. As these actions have consequences for others and the environment, they must be subject to moral norms.
Human Behavior
- Habits
- Customs
- Standards
Moral Level
The moral level is composed of rules of conduct designed to regulate the specific actions of individuals. It asks, “What should I do?”
Ethical Standards
Ethical standards involve reflecting on moral standards. They raise questions such as: Must there be rules? If so, why some rules and not others? Is it necessary for human conduct to abide by rules? Where do these rules originate?
Ethics is primarily theoretical, while morality is more practical, detailing rules grounded in ethical reflection.
Moral Norms
Moral norms are rules of conduct with the following characteristics:
- Self-Obligation: Individuals are presented with a demand to be respected, not from any external authority, and without needing others to observe compliance.
- Universality: Individuals who have considered moral standards believe these standards should govern everyone’s behavior.
- Unconditionality: Moral norms are followed for their own sake, not for recognition or to please any authority.
Roots of Morality
Humans need rules of behavior primarily because they are free and social beings. Freedom and sociability are the roots of morality.
Freedom
Human beings are free by nature. To be free means constantly making decisions and needing standards to guide choices.
Animal Behavior: Determined by instinct and environment. Stimuli trigger specific behaviors, which are similar within a species.
Human Behavior: Stimuli present humans with a range of possible actions, from which they must choose. This awareness of choice is the experience of freedom.
Radical Determinism
Radical determinism argues that all actions are predetermined. Human life is inevitable, imposed by time and place.
Sociability and Morality
Being free does not make humans moral. Being social does. Morality arises because actions impact others and the environment.
Because humans are free and social, they are responsible for the consequences of their actions. Responsibility has two dimensions:
- External: Actions leave marks on the world.
- Internal: Actions shape the individual, building and defining them.
With our actions, we write our own lives.
Moral Foundation
For centuries in Europe, morality was largely religious. The Ten Commandments summarize the Judeo-Christian faith-based moral demands.
Philosophy can base morality on natural sciences, experimental sciences, and formal sciences. This rational legitimization provides reasons for following certain rules.
Item 10: The Need for Ethical Reflection and Different Ethical Frameworks
The Need for Ethical Reflection
Modern individuals in developed countries have numerous life choices. Increasing autonomy necessitates ethical reflection to determine worthwhile goals. Human dignity is the basis of ethical reflection, around which human rights are developed.
Happiness
A dignified life and happiness are strong desires. Understandings of happiness vary, requiring respect for others’ interpretations and their chosen means to achieve it. This introduces the concept of justice.
Happiness involves personal fulfillment, culminating in moral ideals. However, happiness is inseparable from justice and respect for others.
Justice emphasizes respect and obligations, but duty also contributes to human realization and happiness.
Aristotle’s Ethics of Happiness
Happiness comes from fulfilling one’s function, ideally through contemplative life.
Epicurus’ Ethics of Pleasure
Happiness involves enjoying natural pleasures, free from fear of death, gods, and fate. It requires moderation to avoid pain from artificial desires. This leads to ataraxia (tranquility).
Utilitarianism
Good is defined by usefulness. Actions are moral if they benefit someone, including oneself.
Neohedonist Ethics
Happiness comes from pleasures of solidarity, helping others, and shared experiences. Actively fighting injustice brings greater satisfaction than selfish pursuits.
Christian Ethics
Humans are God’s creation, and God is their ultimate end. Happiness lies in divine contemplation, achieved through purifying the soul by living according to God’s commandments and the Church.
Ethics of Justice
Humans are social beings, requiring a just order that everyone respects, enabling individual fulfillment.
Stoicism
Reason governs the universe, creating order. This reason is God. Fate determines events. All humans are brothers, children of universal reason.
Kantian Ethics
Humans must give themselves their own laws. Acting morally means following reason’s mandates autonomously. Good or evil depends on intention, not outcome. Reason is identical in all humans.
Dialogical Ethics
Individual interests often conflict. Rules should result from rational dialogue and consensus, with individuals defending their positions.
Item 11: Collective Identity, Political Communities, and Citizenship
Collective Identity
Individuals understand the world and act according to their self-concept. Belonging to various groups shapes this self-awareness. The political community, the society that regulates public activity, is the ultimate link in collective identity.
Political Community in the Ancient World
Early humans formed tribes based on kinship. In later nations and empires, biological equality was replaced by domination. Residents were subjects obligated to obey authority.
Political Community in Periclean Athens
Rational law unified citizens. Democracy emerged, with citizenship granting equal rights and obligations. Free speech enabled reasoned governance. Civic virtues emphasized citizen responsibility, but excluded women and slaves.
Political Community in the Medieval World
Individuals reverted to subjects under authority, necessary for peaceful coexistence in an imperfect city.
Political Community in the Modern World
Subjects became citizens. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) outlined these rights. Liberal ideals coexisted with the harsh realities of industrial cities and proletarian life.
Political Community in the Contemporary World
Citizenship expanded to all social classes and genders. Equality extended beyond legal rights to include economic, social, and cultural factors. Socialist thought aimed for social peace. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) affirmed rights for all.
Contractualism and Citizenship
Contractarians based their theories on individual freedom and the state of nature, contrasting with theories that prioritized society over the individual.
Organismic Theories
Prevalent in ancient, medieval, and authoritarian systems, these theories viewed society as an organism, with the individual subordinate to the whole.
Citizenship in Locke’s Contractualism
Individuals in the state of nature possess inherent rights to life, liberty, and property. Rulers’ power is derived from the people, who can remove them if they fail to fulfill their duties. This framework underpins modern citizenship.
Citizenship and Secularism
Secularism is essential for meaningful citizenship. It promotes freedom of conscience and neutrality in metaphysical matters, requiring political power to respect individual beliefs.
Citizenship and Cosmopolitanism
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000) outlines rights for European citizens and residents. Global citizenship recognizes all humans as citizens of the world.
Civic Virtues
Citizenship entails rights and responsibilities. Civic virtues arise from belonging to a community and involve a sense of duty towards others. Justice is paramount, along with solidarity, responsibility, and tolerance. Politicians require prudence.