Ethics: How Do You Know Right from Wrong? - Wondrium Daily

There's a more common view that is not too far from that. It is the idea that we know the ethical value of right and wrong by listening to our conscience. That ... HomePhilosophyAppliedPhilosophyEthics:HowDoYouKnowRightfromWrong? ByPatrickGrim,PhD,StateUniversityofNewYork,StonyBrook Ethicsquestions…Whatisright?Whatiswrong?Howdoweknowthatanythinghasvalue?Whenwethinksomethinghasacertainvalue—thathumanlifeisvaluable,forexample—howdoweknowthat? (Image:HuzaStudio/Shutterstock) Wedoknowthingsaboutethics.Weknowthathumanlifeisimportantandvaluable.Weknowthatpeoplehaverights,suchastakingtheirownpathsinlife.Weknowitisethicallywrongtoviolatethoserights.Weknowwehaveobligationstoourfamily,friends,andhumanityatlarge.Thisisanimportantkindofknowledge,butanormalkindofknowledge. Thequestion,however,isnotwhetherwehavethatkindofknowledge.Thequestionisareflectivequestionaboutwhatkindofknowledgeitis. LearnMore:Kant’sEthicsofDutyandNaturalRights TheIntersectionofMathandEthics Thereisanapproachthatseesethicalknowledgenotasordinaryempiricalknowledgebutasextraordinaryempiricalknowledge.Thisgoestogetherwithaparticularviewofmathematics.Asithappens,inthisview,bothmathematicsandethicsinvolveakindofextraordinaryperception. Plato,theancientGreekphilosopher(Image:Dimitrios/Shutterstock) Platothoughtofmathematicalknowledgeintermsofgeometry;hangingovertheentrancetotheAcademy,hisschoolofphilosophy,wastheslogan“Letnooneignorantofgeometryenterhere.”Whatisgeometryabout?It’saboutconceptslikeperfecttriangles.YourhighschoolgeometryteachermayhavebeenaPlatonistinthisway.Heorshemayhavesaid,“Here,letmedrawatriangleontheboard.Ofcourse,thisisn’tarealtriangle;ithaslinesthathaveathickness,asI’vedrawnitontheboard.Ihaven’tdrawnthemperfectlystraight.Whatwe’retalkingaboutistheidealtrianglethatthisdrawingontheboardrepresents.”Buthowdoweknowaboutthatperfecttriangle,thatidealtriangle,ifwecan’tdrawone,ifperfecttrianglesexistnowhereonthisearth? ThisisatranscriptfromthevideoseriesThePhilosopher’sToolkit:HowtoBetheMostRationalPersoninAnyRoom.Watchitnow,onTheGreatCourses. Simplyput,Plato’stheorywasthatweseethoseperfecttriangleswithourmind’seye.Mathematicalknowledge,insuchanapproach,isaglimpseofarealmofpureformsinwhichthepuretriangleexists.AccordingtoPlato,ethicalknowledgeissimilar;itcomesnotfromlookingatthephysicalworld,butbyglimpsingtheformofthegoodinthisother,abstractrealm. ListeningtoYourConscience—EthicalKnowledge There’samorecommonviewthatisnottoofarfromthat.Itistheideathatweknowtheethicalvalueofrightandwrongbylisteningtoourconscience.Thatstill,smallvoiceinsideiswhattellsuswhethersomethingisrightorwrong. Theoriesthatweknowrightfromwrongbylisteningtoourconsciencearetroublesome.ClickToTweet ButheproblemwithPlato’stheoryisthatitpostulatesaformofperception—theperceptionofarealmofbeingtheperfectforms—forwhichwehavenoevidenceatall.Noonehasfoundamind’seyeburieddeepinthebrain,andit’sunclearwhatitwouldbeevenifitwerefound.Thisdoesn’tlooklikeanordinaryexplanationforanordinarykindofknowledge.Itlookslikeamythicalexplanationinvokingsomemythicaltypeofperception. LearnMore:WeAreNotAlone—CompassionandEmpathy Theoriesthatweunderstandrightfromwrongbylisteningtoourconsciencearetroublesomeaswell.Theproblemisn’tpsychologicalunreality,asitisinthePlatoniccase;indeed,thenotionofastill,smallvoiceinsidedoesseemtohavesomekindofpsychologicalreality.Theproblemisintryingtobelievethatitissomekindofinfallibleguide. InTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn,TwainusesFinn’sinnerturmoiloverhisdecisionnottoturnJimin,asawayofrevealingimportantnotionsabout ethicsandconscience.(Image:EdwardWinsorKemble–ProjectGutenberg/Publicdomain) Wherewouldone’sconsciencegetitsinformationonwhatisrightandwrong?Howdoweknowthatthestill,smallvoiceistellingusthetruthaboutrightandwrong?MarkTwainmakesthepointbrilliantlyin TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.Huckleberry’sconsciencetellshimthatheshouldturnJimin.Afterall,Jimisaslave.Therefore,hebelongstosomeoneelse.Huckleberryberateshimselfbecausehehelpedhimgofree.Hisconsciencetellshimthatwaswrong—byhelpingJimgofree,he’sdeprivedMissWatsonofherproperty.Notonlythat,butJimtalksabouttryingtofreehisownchildren.Huck’sconsciencebothershimaboutthat.Afterall,Hucksays,thosechildrenbelongtoamanhedoesn’tevenknow. Whatweknow—andwhatMarkTwainreliesonusknowing—isthatHuckleberry’sconscienceisnotinnateandisnotinfallible.Thatsmallvoiceinsideismerelyanechoofhisacculturation,completewithanapprovalofslaverytypicalofthattimeandplace.Intheend,HuckleberryFinndefieshisconscienceanddecidesnottoturnJimin. AreEthicsSelf-Evident? There’sanotherviewofethicalknowledgetiedtoadifferentviewofmathematics.Euclid’saxiomatizationofgeometry,writtenin300BC,about50yearsafterPlato’s,becameamodelforwhatknowledgeshouldbelikeforalmost2,000years.ButinEuclid,noteverymathematicalquestionisansweredbycastingyourmindinward,lookingfortheforms,asPlatowouldhaveyoudo.InEuclid,youbeginwithafewbasicaxiomsthataretakentobeself-evident.Youdeduceotherthingsfromthoseaxioms,bysmallstepsinwhichthevalidityofeachstepisself-evident.Youcanfindoutsurprisingthingsthisway;indeed,allthesurprisingtruthsofgeometryinthisway.Theresultsmaybesurprising,buttheyfollowbyself-evidentstepsfromyourself-evidentaxioms.Isethicalknowledgelikethat? ThomasJefferson,primaryauthoroftheDeclarationofIndependence.(Image:ByRembrandtPeale/Publicdomain) Someprominentpeopleseemedtothinkitwas,includingThomasJefferson.ThatimageofethicalknowledgeappearsintheDeclarationofIndependence.Itsays,“Wetakethesetruthstobeself-evident,thatallmenarecreatedequal,endowedbytheirCreatorwithcertainunalienableRights,thatamongtheseareLife,LibertyandthepursuitofHappiness.”Jeffersonformulatesthe DeclarationofIndependence asifheisgoingtoputdownsomeself-evidentaxiomsanddeducefromthemthatthecolonieshavearighttobefreeandindependent.Nowevenhere,oneissupposedtoseethatthebasicaxiomsaretrue.Tothatextent,itisstillaperceptualviewofethics,demandingsomekindofinnereyeattunedtotheethicaluniverse. Learnmoreaboutemotionsinethics Differentpeopleseemtotakeverydifferentthingstobeself-evident,andthatagainmakesyoudoubttheself-evidenceofethicsassomeinfalliblemodeofinnerperception. Unfortunately,differentpeoplemayclaimverydifferenttruthsareself-evident.GeorgeIIIcertainlydidn’tthinkitfollowedfromself-evidenttruthsthatthecoloniesshouldbefreeofEnglishcontrol.Hisself-evidenttruthsweresomethingdifferent;theywerebeliefslikethedivinerightofkings.Differentpeopleseemtotakeverydifferentthingstobeself-evident,andthatagainmakesyoudoubttheself-evidenceofethicsassomeinfalliblemodeofinnerperception. Ifethicalknowledgeisnotakindofempiricalperceptionintheworld,analogoustoscientificknowledge,andifitdoesn’tinvolveakindofinnerperceptiononeitherofthesemodelsofmathematics,justwhatkindofknowledgeisit? Toaddressthis,whatIwanttoproposeisthatalargepartoftheset-upofthisquestioniswrong.Neitherscientificknowledgenormathematicalknowledgeisreallyaswetendtoportraythem.Whenwehaveabetterappreciationforwhatotherkindsofknowledgearelike,ethicalknowledgebeginstolooklikethoseotherkindsofknowledge.Ethicalknowledgestartstolooklessdifferentorstrange. CommonQuestionsAboutDefiningEthics Q:Whatisethics,bydefinition?Ethicsisdefinedasacodeofconductassetandfollowedbyacollectiveofpeople.Q:Whatdophilosophersconsiderasthethreetypesofethics?Thesubgroupsofethicsthattoday’sphilosophershavedecideddefineethicsarenormativeethics(rulesgoverningbehavior),metaethics(thestudyofethicsitself),andappliedethics(practicaluseofethicsineverydaylifeandprofessions).Q:Arethereanyexamplesofethics?Ethicsrangefarandwideandcanincludethebehavioroftheemployeesofacorporationoracult.SomecommonexamplesofethicsmightincludetheTenCommandmentsorbasicidealsofgeneraltortlawinmunicipalities.Q:Whatarethefourprinciplesofethics?Thefourprinciplesofethicsarecommonlythoughttobenonmaleficence(donoharm),justice,beneficence,andrespectforautonomy. ThisarticlewasupdatedonJuly31,2020 KeepReadingWhatWasGreekPhilosophyBeforeSocrates?HowPlatoandAristotleInfluencedScientificThoughtAmazonDevelopingWearableTechThatReadsHumanEmotions ProfessorPatrickGrim RelatedArticles AppliedPhilosophy WhyDoScientistsNoLongerStudyTheSoul? February9,2017 Despiteitsimmenseimportanceoverthemillennia,thereisoneconceptnotfoundincontemporaryscienceorphilosophyofmind:theconceptofthesoul.Whyareproblemsofmindandbodystillwithus,bothphilosophicallyandscientifically,whilecontemporaryscientistsandphilosophershavenothingtosayaboutsouls?Thislectureconsidersthehistoryofthatvanishedconcept.[…] AppliedPhilosophy WillWeEverSolvetheMind-BodyProblem?—TheTorchPodcast February10,2017 Examinethequestionssurroundinghumanconsciousnessandtheinfinitesourceofinquirytheyprovideforthestudyofmind-bodyphilosophy.[…] ©TheTeachingCompany,LLC.Allrightsreserved.