We explain what ethics is as a philosophical discipline, its history, types and examples. Also, what is a code of ethics and what is morality.
What is ethics?
Ethics or moral philosophy is called one of the oldest branches of the philosophy, dedicated to the study of conduct expressed in concepts such as right and wrong, good and bad, virtue, the happiness and duty, as well as in systems of values that these categories hold. Despite what its name may suggest, ethics should not be confused with moral.
Contemporary ethics carries out its reflections on three different levels:
- The metaethics. Interested in the nature, origin and meaning of basic ethical concepts, that is, ethics itself.
- Normative ethics. Whose study focuses on the search and interpretation of normative systems with which to lead the human being towards the best possible life.
- Applied ethics. Which consists of the interpretation of specific ethical cases and controversies, generally from real life.
However, the field of action of ethics is not limited to the philosophical exercise. He also participates in the professional field of other Sciences Y disciplines, like medicine, economy, the politics wave psychology, to which it offers, precisely, a moral perspective.
History of ethics
Ethics has been present in the very beginnings of philosophy, especially in the Classic Greece. Philosophers such as Plato (c. 427-347 BC) and his disciple Aristotle (384-322 BC) studied human behavior and the codes that govern it.
His reflections are found in the Platonic dialogues of Gorgias Y Phaedo, as well as in his Republic, or in the famous Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle, the first proper treatise on ethics of the history.
In the centuries that followed, throughout the medieval, Christianity imposed its moral vision on practically all areas and knowledge. Defined as the ultimate goal of existence human faith, and as a precept of conduct what is expressed in the biblical Gospels.
The role of ethics then was to correctly interpret the sacred scriptures, to compose from their truth the Christian way of being. In this period, the works of religious thinkers such as Saint Augustine (354-430) and Tomás de Aquino (1224-1274) stand out.
The Modern age and the humanist vision broke with this tradition, both religious and ancient. The need to build a new ethical model was imposed, one that responded to reason and the place that, as the center of creation, the human being now occupied in life. culture.
The great modern philosophers such as René Descartes (1596-1650), Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) and David Hume (1711-1776) dealt with this complex matter. But it was Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) who made the great modern ethical revolution, with his idea of the categorical imperative.
In the Contemporary age, many new authors joined the questioning of ethics, from an existentialist or vitalist point of view. During the 20th century, questions arose nihilists profound, the work of the failure of the modern project to bring prosperity and happiness to humanity through science and reason.
Types of ethics
There are as many "types" of ethics as there are fields of life that can be subjected to moral judgment. Wherever there is a moral dilemma, there will be an ethical question. Thus, it is possible to speak of:
- Professional ethics. The one that concerns the exercise of knowledge (and often the powers) that a profession entails: medical ethics, psychological ethics, etc.
- Military ethics. The one that has to do with the use of military forces, especially in times of war or from conflict.
- Economic ethics. The one linked to economy, the Commerce and the finance, and asking himself questions about how it is right and how it is wrong to make money.
- Religious ethics. The one that emerges from a religion organized, and that follows a tradition moral and cultural specific. For example, one can speak of a Christian ethic, especially if we compare it with an Islamic or Judaic ethic.
Examples of ethics
Ethics intervenes in numerous contemporary debates that can serve as an example of their philosophical interests, such as:
- The legalization of abortion. Different social actors in the West ask for a legislation in the matter of abortion that allows a regulated, legal, sanitary and responsible practice of abortions, considering that it is a practice that occurs regularly but clandestinely in most of the countries of the hemisphere, and often causes deaths and serious harm to women who they do not have proper health care. The adverse sectors, on the other hand, ask that it remain illegal, since all abortion ends with the possibilities of being born and living of the human being engendered, which is totally innocent of its origins, whether desired or unwanted, the result or not of a violation. . What rights should the Condition: those of the pregnant woman, owner of herself and her destiny; or those of the unborn child, who still lacks a voice?
- The carnivorous diet. It is no secret to anyone that animals Farmers that supply meat and other animal products to the market are often intensively raised in the worst possible sanitary conditions, in ways only comparable to torture, something immoral and unacceptable by human standards. So is it ethical to consume the meat of animals treated in this way? Is vegetarianism the only ethical way to eat?
- Genetic manipulation. As the science has fully understood the way inheritance occurs and how the DNA human, the possibility of intervening in it has become tangible, to eliminate congenital defects, diseases and ailments, but also to choose the color of the eyes, the texture, the sex and other fundamental characteristics of the biochemical functioning of our body. To what extent is it ethical to intervene in the genome of the species, taking risks that we may not even suspect today, but tomorrow the whole of humanity will suffer to come?
Moral and ethic
Although ethics and morals are closely related concepts, they do not mean the same thing. The simplest distinction between them is that ethics is a discipline that studies morality, that is, that reflects on moral problems.
However, it is also possible to distinguish one from the other if we think that the ethical is governed by a certain code, a perspective or a convention, however naturalized or accepted it may be. Rather, morality is handled in absolute terms: good and evil.
Code of ethics
It is known as a code of ethics or deontological code to a type of documents that contain the guidelines and essential values for the ethical exercise of any collegiate profession.
These are generally normative formulas and responsibility, to which any professional who wishes to exercise his profession in a moral way must adhere. They are common in the health and psychological fields, as well as in other areas where professional practice involves a certain degree of power over others.