Robert Cavalier
Philosophy Department
Carnegie Mellon
Part I History of Ethics
Preface: The
Life of Socrates
Section 1:
Greek Moral Philosophy
Section 2:
Hellenistic and Roman Ethics
Section 3:
Early Christian Ethics
Section 4: Modern
Moral Philosophy
Section 5: 20th
Century Analytic Moral Philosophy
Part II Concepts and Problems
Preface: Meta-ethics,
Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics
Section 1:
Ethical Relativism
Section 2:
Ethical Egoism
Section 3:
Utilitarian Theories
Section 4: Deontological
Theories
Section 5: Virtue
Ethics
Section 6: Liberal
Rights and Communitarian Theories
Section 7: Ethics
of Care
Section 8: Case-based
Moral Reasoning
Section 9: Moral
Pluralism
Part III Applied Ethics
Preface: The
Field of Applied Ethics
Section 1:
The Topic of Euthanasia
Multimedia
Module: A Right to Die? The Dax
Cowart Case
Section 2:
The Topic of Abortion
Multimedia
Module: The Issue of Abortion in
America
Postscript:
Conflict Resolution
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
Aristotle was born in the northern Greek city of Stageira and was sent to Plato's Academy at the age of 17, where he studied under Plato for some 20 years. After Plato's death, Aristotle wandered (even becoming Alexander the Great's tutor at one point) until he founded his own school, the Lyceum. Here he lectured on topics ranging from Logic to Biology to Physics to Ethics.Aristotle criticized Plato's belief in a separate realm of Forms. He argued, instead, that rational beings can discover the 'essences' of things and that a being's essence is its potential fulfillment (as the essence of an acorn is to become an oak tree). The essence of 'human being' is rationality and, therefore, a life of contemplation (a.k.a. Philosophy) is the best kind of life for true human flourishing. But in order to have this kind of life, a degree of leisure must be possible -- and to guarantee this, to assure that we are not always hunting or fighting, a good State (polis) must be in existence. Hence, for Aristotle, the creation of a good politician and a good political order are of the highest practical importance. It is in this context that he writes his works on 'ethics' and attempts to describe the nature of good character and the way in which humans who possess 'practical wisdom' determine right and wrong courses of action.
The Nicomachean Ethics
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All
humans seek happiness ("well being"), but in different ways.
True happiness is tied to the purpose or end (telos) of human life. The essence of human beings (that which separates and distinguishes them as a species) is Reason. Reason employed in achieving happiness (human telos) leads to moral and intellectual virtues:
-- Intellectual virtues (e.g., `science,' art, practical wisdom, theoretical wisdom)
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In one sense, we can view Aristotle's 'ethics' as cataloging what he took to be the best features of a 'well bred Athenian gentleman' -- a person liberal and generous in spirit, embodying such 'cardinal virtues' as justice, courage, and moderation and knowing how to employ those virtues appropriately in particular circumstances (practical wisdom). Such a person is both worthy and capable of good friendships and certainly worthy and capable of good citizenship. Furthermore, if such a person also has the inclination, good fortune, and leisure to reflect upon the very nature and place of these virtues in the context of human well being, such a person would be cultivating aspects of the intellectual virtues. Indeed, such a person might be, like Aristotle, a philosopher writing about ethics. Excerpts from the Nicomachean Ethics
See Alfonso Gomez-Lobo's commentary on Aristotle's conception of the right. See, also, Martha Nussbaum's recent essay on Aristotelian Rationality.
See excerpts from the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Aristotle.
