The Fundamentals of Morality, Ethics, and Freedom
Understanding Morality and Conduct
Morality is the practice of conduct in living. We inherit concepts of right and wrong from culture, family, and society. In morality, there is often no need for justification or reason; one simply tries to follow what is considered right.
Even within the same society, we all have different morals (e.g., Christian morals, Buddhism). Many people obey rules from those who claim moral authority without applying their own judgment or questioning them. This leads to living an unexamined life (Socrates). If we questioned these moral rules, we might realize they are not right, but by following them without reflection, we live our lives based on other people’s ideals.
The Concept of Moral Conscience
Moral Conscience is the ability to judge our own actions and the actions of others. Different people base this judgment on different factors:
- Some people judge an action as wrong due to their emotions.
- Others believe that judgment should be based on reason, not just moral feeling.
- Still others trust their values and deem anything that does not follow those values as wrong.
Examples: Child pornography is bad for our emotions; not wearing face masks is wrong based on reason (public health); letting a friend down is wrong based on our values.
Stages of Moral Development
Moral understanding develops over time. According to the framework often associated with Heinz, there are three stages of moral development:
Pre-conventional Stage
Focuses on doing what benefits you most and the direct consequences of your actions on yourself. For example, stealing is wrong because of punishment. Conversely, if no one is watching, stealing is right since there is no punishment and you gain money. In this stage, you do not realize what is inherently good or bad; you only think about the result and act on your benefit.
Conventional Stage
Involves doing what society thinks you should do and acting according to cultural norms. Something is considered good or bad based on the perspective of the culture. (Example: “I would break the law to save someone, otherwise my neighbors will think I am selfish.”)
Post-conventional Stage
Involves being able to discern what is right or wrong globally and internationally. This stage recognizes that some practices are universally wrong and that some laws are unfair, not just locally, but worldwide.
Ethics: Philosophical Reflection on Morals
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that can be studied based on reason, dealing with moral principles (good or bad). It asks: What ought I to do? Ethics is a philosophical reflection on morals that tries to explain morality by providing justification and explanations. Ethics provides us with tools to make good decisions. Our values or principles can also influence this process. It is a conscious process of reflection in which people’s opinions are shaped by their values, principles, and purpose.
Factors Influencing Ethical Decisions
Ethical decisions can be influenced by:
- Values: Things we hold to be good, what we care most about (friends, money, etc.). When we care about two values and must choose one, this creates a dilemma.
- Principles: We must know not only what is good, but what is right. Principles determine the acceptable ways of achieving what we value (e.g., be true to your word, never lie). Principles take the value and apply it to actions.
- Purpose: When we face a dilemma between a value and a principle, purpose helps us orient our judgment to solve the dilemma.
- Beliefs
- Norms
Applied Ethics and Professional Conduct
Within ethics, there are many specialized fields that determine how certain people ought to act or behave. For example, teacher ethics determines how teachers should behave. If a teacher disobeyed these behavioral rules, the action would not be ethically correct. However, a teacher can hold a different personal opinion (moral) that does not correspond to applied ethics. For instance, a teacher might think hitting students is correct (moral) even if it is ethically incorrect (ethics), and they would be punished for their action (law). This illustrates that the teacher does not have the ability to do whatever they want (limited negative freedom). Applied ethics connects different fields and includes specific ethical principles for doctors, teachers, and other professions.
Defining Ethical Values
Ethical values are basic and fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate attitudes or actions. (Example: If I find a wallet with money and an ID card, there are two options: consider money as my principal value and take it, or prioritize honesty/friendship as my major value and return it to the person.) We determine people’s values by analyzing their actions.
Stoicism: Reason vs. Instinct
For Stoicism, a natural animal is one that lives according to its instincts. A natural human being is one who lives with reason. Reason is what makes a human being natural. For animals, naturalness is the ability to live by their instincts (e.g., animals in circuses are not in their natural state).
Law and the Court System
Laws are formal rules that govern how we behave as members of society. They specify what we must do and what we must not do. They are upheld and applied by the state and the court system, and their role is to create a basic, enforceable standard of behavior. The law can be just or unjust. Furthermore, the law might not be useful when you have to decide whether you should tell the truth about someone or not.
Freedom: The Condition for Morals, Ethics, and Law
Freedom is the most important condition for morals, ethics, and law.
- Collective Freedom: The freedom you gain from other people or society. (Example: I have the freedom to travel to a destination because of the public transportation that society provides me.)
- Individual Freedom: My own freedom to decide what I want to do. (This can be affected by law, morality, or ethics: I am not free to kill someone because of the law.)
Types of Freedom (Isaiah Berlin)
Isaiah Berlin defined two types of freedom:
Negative Freedom
This is freedom from control by others. It represents the limits on what we can do (e.g., we have to wear a mask, pay taxes, do things we might not want to; these things impose a limit). We are not free to do many things because of society. Physical freedom is also negative, as we are not able or free to fly, for example. When other people limit our negative freedom, it means we are being forced not to do certain things.
Positive Freedom
This is the ability or the ways we have to guide our life or to decide how to live (e.g., after secondary education, we are free to choose our career). Positive freedom is freedom to control oneself. To be positively free is to be one’s own master, acting rationally and choosing responsibly in line with one’s interests.
Major Ethical Theories
Intellectualism
Based on reason. This theory suggests that if people know what they should do at every moment, they will do it (Socrates supported this ethical theory). Bad people are considered ignorant or stupid because they cannot differentiate right and wrong.
Emotivism
We know that something is right or wrong because of the emotions it causes in us. (Example: Genital mutilation. We do not need to reason if that is good or wrong; we know it immediately because we feel it. We can differentiate right from wrong due to the emotions that the action causes in us.)
Relativism
Connecting with individuals, something is good or wrong according to the individual themselves. This view states that there are no universal principles. What is good or bad depends on the individual.
Universalism
There are some universal principles that should be accepted by anyone (e.g., human rights).