How is Ethics Determined?

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WanderingGaze22
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How is Ethics Determined?

Post by WanderingGaze22 »

Where does this word come from? How did it come to be what it means today? How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
stevie
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by stevie »

WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from?
The English word ethics is derived from the Ancient Greek word ēthikós (ἠθικός), meaning "relating to one's character", which itself comes from the root word êthos (ἦθος) meaning "character, moral nature".[4] This word was transferred into Latin as ethica and then into French as éthique, from which it was transferred into English.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am How did it come to be what it means today?
It has more than one meanings since it has more than one definition in vocabularies: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
Depends on what definition you opt for. I'd opt for "a guiding philosophy" which is an amoral and pragmatic understanding.
mankind ... must act and reason and believe; though they are not able, by their most diligent enquiry, to satisfy themselves concerning the foundation of these operations, or to remove the objections, which may be raised against them [Hume]
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Sculptor1
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by Sculptor1 »

WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from? How did it come to be what it means today? How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
Ethics are never determined, and come from human thinking.
Ethics are dicussed. They are debated. They can be applied. But they can never be found or discovered.
Belindi
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by Belindi »

Ethics is another name for moral philosophy. This discipline covers standards of right and wrong.
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LuckyR
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by LuckyR »

WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from? How did it come to be what it means today? How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
My understanding is that ethics represent the local societal standard. Thus in the antebellum South slavery was ethical. Obviously standards change as do what is ethical. Personal standards, by contrast are morals.

For example in the US (as a whole) right now, abortion is ethical (and legal as a separate but related issue). OTOH a substantial minority find it personally immoral, which is entirely consistent. In addition, there are various subsets within the US that consider abortion unethical. Therefore a description of ethical status needs to also describe among which groups are being referred to.
"As usual... it depends."
AverageBozo
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by AverageBozo »

The OP’s title makes the claim that ethics is determined, or fixed, in some resolute fashion.

But this assertion is not a priori. In fact, it is the root of countless discussions on the matter of ethics.

No matter. The question could as well have asked how is ethics deciphered.

In that case, the OP attempts to conjoin the study of ethics with philosophy of mind.

For what is it that shapes the interpretation of the meaning of a moral proscription other than reason and experience (and the experience of education)?

What makes a person choose a solution to the Trolley thought experiment? A predetermined rule? A situational interpretation? A self conscious image?

The thread suggested by the OP title is not an etymological one.
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Pattern-chaser
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

Belindi wrote: October 30th, 2021, 9:11 am Ethics is another name for moral philosophy. This discipline covers standards of right and wrong.
That's about it. 👍 I would also add that moral philosophy is about what humans think is right or wrong. It's more about "should" than "is". Oh, and it only governs how humans should behave toward other humans. Morality (and ethics) toward other species (all of them!) is not often considered.
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WanderingGaze22
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by WanderingGaze22 »

stevie wrote: October 30th, 2021, 3:53 am
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from?
The English word ethics is derived from the Ancient Greek word ēthikós (ἠθικός), meaning "relating to one's character", which itself comes from the root word êthos (ἦθος) meaning "character, moral nature".[4] This word was transferred into Latin as ethica and then into French as éthique, from which it was transferred into English.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am How did it come to be what it means today?
It has more than one meanings since it has more than one definition in vocabularies: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
Depends on what definition you opt for. I'd opt for "a guiding philosophy" which is an amoral and pragmatic understanding.
Above and beyond, I like that.
WanderingGaze22
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by WanderingGaze22 »

Sculptor1 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 6:49 am
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from? How did it come to be what it means today? How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
Ethics are never determined, and come from human thinking.
Ethics are dicussed. They are debated. They can be applied. But they can never be found or discovered.
And that is one of the many beneficial traits many would like about Ethics. (The discussing and debating parts, because it means a group of diverse people get to determine this.)
WanderingGaze22
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by WanderingGaze22 »

LuckyR wrote: October 30th, 2021, 1:13 pm
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from? How did it come to be what it means today? How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
My understanding is that ethics represent the local societal standard. Thus in the antebellum South slavery was ethical. Obviously standards change as do what is ethical. Personal standards, by contrast are morals.

For example in the US (as a whole) right now, abortion is ethical (and legal as a separate but related issue). OTOH a substantial minority find it personally immoral, which is entirely consistent. In addition, there are various subsets within the US that consider abortion unethical. Therefore a description of ethical status needs to also describe among which groups are being referred to.
Very on point here.
WanderingGaze22
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by WanderingGaze22 »

Pattern-chaser wrote: October 31st, 2021, 8:07 am
Belindi wrote: October 30th, 2021, 9:11 am Ethics is another name for moral philosophy. This discipline covers standards of right and wrong.
That's about it. 👍 I would also add that moral philosophy is about what humans think is right or wrong. It's more about "should" than "is". Oh, and it only governs how humans should behave toward other humans. Morality (and ethics) toward other species (all of them!) is not often considered.
If only people kept all that in mind when making any kind of decisions.
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LuckyR
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by LuckyR »

WanderingGaze22 wrote: November 1st, 2021, 2:48 am
LuckyR wrote: October 30th, 2021, 1:13 pm
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from? How did it come to be what it means today? How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
My understanding is that ethics represent the local societal standard. Thus in the antebellum South slavery was ethical. Obviously standards change as do what is ethical. Personal standards, by contrast are morals.

For example in the US (as a whole) right now, abortion is ethical (and legal as a separate but related issue). OTOH a substantial minority find it personally immoral, which is entirely consistent. In addition, there are various subsets within the US that consider abortion unethical. Therefore a description of ethical status needs to also describe among which groups are being referred to.
Very on point here.
Just sticking to the definition of the word.
"As usual... it depends."
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Sculptor1
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by Sculptor1 »

WanderingGaze22 wrote: November 1st, 2021, 2:47 am
Sculptor1 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 6:49 am
WanderingGaze22 wrote: October 30th, 2021, 2:37 am Where does this word come from? How did it come to be what it means today? How do we separate all we process into the categories of ethical and unethical? Could this be able to aid us in seeing the grey in a world supposedly made to be black and white? You and you alone decide.
Ethics are never determined, and come from human thinking.
Ethics are dicussed. They are debated. They can be applied. But they can never be found or discovered.
And that is one of the many beneficial traits many would like about Ethics. (The discussing and debating parts, because it means a group of diverse people get to determine this.)
Quite rare historically.
Most commonly ethical questions were the preserve of the establishment.
It is quite common that where distinctions are used between ehtics and morals, it is morals that are counted as the rules as imposed by the establishment (consdiered Objective), whilst ethics is a more open discussion about the use and values of such social rules, and coisderations such as diversity and inclusion are possible.
AmosMorrison
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Re: How is Ethics Determined?

Post by AmosMorrison »

Other decisions, such as religion, law, or morality, are sometimes confused or confused with ethics. Many faiths encourage ethical decision-making, but they don't necessarily cover the whole variety of ethical dilemmas we face. A decent legal system should be ethical, but it sets a precedent by attempting to impose universal standards and hence cannot adjust to unique situations. One way of looking at the relationship between ethics and morality is to consider ethics as a reasonable foundation for morality. Ethical theories can be split into three groups in general. Some of the most essential and helpful methods include consequentialist, non-consequential, and agent-centered. Each of these categories has a variety of ethical perspectives, some of which are common to all of them.
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