Do we need Ethics at all?
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2015 9:34 am
As my argument on this topic I shall start with nature: let us consider human nature as our focus. We have hormones that activate at puberty. They serve to encourage the propagation of the species; boys are attracted to girls, and vice versa. Without this, the species would die off. A certain amount of births are needed and sexual desire is the vehicle; it attracts us to one another. As a result, we form families. If family members are ignorant in human-relation skills, or decline to defer to one another, or to cooperate, we witness some conflicts arising.
If selfishness dominates over the will to harmonious relations, then tension and serious conflict is inevitable. We expect children to be self-centered; yet wise parents shape and socialize the child into maturity, into becoming a responsible adult.
Tribalism starts with an extended family. The first tribe was an extended family. From tribes ethnic groups derive. And such groups result in distinctive cultures. When one culture’s values are incompatible with another culture’s values we are liable to see some tension and some conflict. It is known as “culture clash.”
When a tribe gets large enough to form a small town, the first building they want to build is a meeting hall – or a building for ceremonial rituals that will encourage bonding. The meeting hall is where the tribal chief, or the most-respected elders of the tribe, will set up government and assign a police force; this will later evolve into an army or guard for the authorities. [Today, every city has a mayor. The local police answer to him or her.]
In earlier times the king, or queen, was considered to be sovereign. Many of them encouraged the spreading of the idea that the sovereign was divine and had a closer connection to the gods than the common folk did. Eventually priests became emperors, and tribal chiefs became shamans. They were the authority that informed ordinary people how to be ‘moral’ and ‘ethical.’ [Today, in Moral Philosophy, we note that one school of thought, one ideology, is known as The Divine Command Theory. …another possible source of conflict.]
We have examined how strife and conflict can originate – even in our intimate settings if we don’t know our Ethics. Is it not about time that we studied, and learned the fundamentals of this body of useful knowledge? Yes, to restore harmony and for each of us to attain a quality life Ethics is definitely needed in today’s world. Need I argue any further in support of this? In a future thread I will explain just how the concepts of Ethics can spread around the world and find wide acceptance.
{You see, Skip, I don't agree with the pessimistic view that it is already too late for the human race. Sure, we may undergo a bankruptcy and reorganization of a sort; or we may support leaders who are willing and ready to tax the billionaires - perhaps to the level of taxation that prevailed during the Eisenhower administration, when the USA was thriving and people were flourishing compared with today - but if we do elect such leaders, who want to go ahead with all deliberate speed in developing clean, green, decentralized energy, and who encourage profit-sharing businesses, there is still hope for us.}
To learn what I mean by "Ethics" or to get further details in re this field, see these two links:
ETHICS FOR THE 21st CENTURY: Keys to the good life (2015)
http://www.myqol.com/wadeharvey/PDFs/ET ... ENTURY.pdf
BASIC ETHICS: a systematic approach (2014) http://tinyurl.com/mfcgzfz
Your comments?
If selfishness dominates over the will to harmonious relations, then tension and serious conflict is inevitable. We expect children to be self-centered; yet wise parents shape and socialize the child into maturity, into becoming a responsible adult.
Tribalism starts with an extended family. The first tribe was an extended family. From tribes ethnic groups derive. And such groups result in distinctive cultures. When one culture’s values are incompatible with another culture’s values we are liable to see some tension and some conflict. It is known as “culture clash.”
When a tribe gets large enough to form a small town, the first building they want to build is a meeting hall – or a building for ceremonial rituals that will encourage bonding. The meeting hall is where the tribal chief, or the most-respected elders of the tribe, will set up government and assign a police force; this will later evolve into an army or guard for the authorities. [Today, every city has a mayor. The local police answer to him or her.]
In earlier times the king, or queen, was considered to be sovereign. Many of them encouraged the spreading of the idea that the sovereign was divine and had a closer connection to the gods than the common folk did. Eventually priests became emperors, and tribal chiefs became shamans. They were the authority that informed ordinary people how to be ‘moral’ and ‘ethical.’ [Today, in Moral Philosophy, we note that one school of thought, one ideology, is known as The Divine Command Theory. …another possible source of conflict.]
We have examined how strife and conflict can originate – even in our intimate settings if we don’t know our Ethics. Is it not about time that we studied, and learned the fundamentals of this body of useful knowledge? Yes, to restore harmony and for each of us to attain a quality life Ethics is definitely needed in today’s world. Need I argue any further in support of this? In a future thread I will explain just how the concepts of Ethics can spread around the world and find wide acceptance.
{You see, Skip, I don't agree with the pessimistic view that it is already too late for the human race. Sure, we may undergo a bankruptcy and reorganization of a sort; or we may support leaders who are willing and ready to tax the billionaires - perhaps to the level of taxation that prevailed during the Eisenhower administration, when the USA was thriving and people were flourishing compared with today - but if we do elect such leaders, who want to go ahead with all deliberate speed in developing clean, green, decentralized energy, and who encourage profit-sharing businesses, there is still hope for us.}
To learn what I mean by "Ethics" or to get further details in re this field, see these two links:
ETHICS FOR THE 21st CENTURY: Keys to the good life (2015)
http://www.myqol.com/wadeharvey/PDFs/ET ... ENTURY.pdf
BASIC ETHICS: a systematic approach (2014) http://tinyurl.com/mfcgzfz
Your comments?