Lesson 1: INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

 The word “philosophy” literally means the “love” (philo in Greek) of “wisdom” (sophia). So, a
philosopher is somebody who loves wisdom.
 It is a way of life that cultivates and exercises to the fullest extent one's own powers of reasoning,
reflecting, evaluating, and decision making.
 In a broad sense, philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental
truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each
other. Those who study philosophy are perpetually engaged in asking, answering, and arguing for their
answers to life’s most basic questions.

EXAMPLES OF PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS:

1. Do humans need God to exist?

2. What happens when we die?
3. Does consciousness continue after physical death?
4. Can we choose our emotions, or do they just happen?
5. What does it mean to be happy?
6. Can I be happy when faced with suffering?
7. How do you define “good” and “evil”?
8. Which is more important: love or money? Why?
9. Is there such thing as true love? If yes, where does it come from?
10. How would you like to be remembered after you die?

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

These branches help us gain in-depth knowledge about different subjects rather than getting lost in a sea of
information, which makes it both manageable and accessible for learners.

1. METAPHYSICS - Metaphysics, one of the major branches of philosophy, talks about the basic things
of nature and reality. Concepts around being, knowing, identity, time, and space, among others, are all
part of Metaphysics. In Metaphysics, you will learn about the connectivity of the human body and mind
and what makes it real. It helps you understand the reason behind questions.
 Is there a God?
 What is truth?
 What is a person? What makes a person the same through time?
 Do people have minds? If so, how is the mind related to the body?
 Do people have free wills?

2. EPISTEMOLOGY - Epistemology is one of the types of philosophy, which gives a detailed knowledge
study. The knowledge can be from any topic, where you would gather articles and books, talk to experts
or watch videos to know more about it. Epistemology ensures that whatever we learn is true and not just
claimed. Typical questions of concern in epistemology are:
  What is knowledge?
 Do we know anything at all?
 How do we know what we know?
 Can we be justified in claiming to know certain things?

3. LOGIC - As we all know, logic is the argument and reasoning that determine whether a given statement
is correct or not. It's all about understanding how things work by determining their usefulness. To this
end philosophers employ logic to study the nature and structure of arguments. Logicians ask such
questions as:
 What constitutes "good" or "bad" reasoning?
 How do we determine whether a given piece of reasoning is good or bad?

4. ETHICS - One of the other major branches of philosophy is Ethics, which studies a set of guidelines to
be a better person. Ethics is what helps us distinguish between right and wrong, including our
behaviours. This branch of philosophy answers questions such as:
 What is good? What makes actions or people good?
 What is right? What makes actions right?
 Is morality objective or subjective?
 How should I treat others?

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
 Etymologically the term “ethics” correspond to the Greek word “ethos” which means character, habit,
customs, ways of behaviour, etc. or conduct.
 Ethics is also called “moral philosophy”. The word “moral” comes from Latin word “mores”
philosophical thinking about morality.
 Thus, ethics may be defined as the systematic study of human actions from the point of view of their
rightfulness or wrongfulness, as means for the attainment of the ultimate happiness.
 In simple words, ethics refers to what is good and the way to get it, and what is bad and how to avoid it.
It refers to what ought to be done to achieve what is good and what not to be done to avoid what is evil.
 The general study of goodness and right action is the main task of ethics. It can help people to act in
consideration of others and to consider their own moral values. Many subjects such as archeology,
education, and medicine have entire disciplines around the study of ethics as it relates to the specific
profession.

MORAL PRINCIPLES are those guiding ideas that help us determine what is right and wrong. Here are some
examples of common moral principles:

 HONESTY: Telling the truth and being truthful in your interactions with others.
 FAIRNESS: Treating everyone with justice and impartiality, giving everyone what they deserve.
 RESPECT: Showing regard for the feelings, needs, and rights of others.
 COMPASSION: Understanding and caring about the suffering of others and wanting to help.
 KEEPING PROMISES: Being reliable and following through on your commitments.
 AVOIDING HARM: Not causing physical or emotional damage to others.
 HELPING OTHERS: Offering assistance to those in need.
HOW TO USE ETHICS VS. MORALS CORRECTLY?

 ETHICS refers to the rules that a social system provides us with. These are the codes of how to act in a
workplace, in a public place, in a church, or anywhere else where other people are present. It’s necessary
to act according to ethical principles even if they don’t agree with your own feelings. Because if you
don’t, other people are likely to start judging you. MORALS, in contrast, are our own principles. When
we act according to morals, we do something because we personally are certain that this is the right
thing to do.

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS

 We can think of ethics as the principles that guide our behavior toward making the best choices that
contribute to the common good of all. Ethics is what guides us to tell the truth, keep our promises, or
help someone in need. Ethics guides us to make the world a better place through the choices we make.
 Ethics in business is just as important as ethics in personal life. Business leaders have a unique role and
a great responsibility in shaping the ethical culture of their businesses, and thereby influence their
broader communities as well.
 Workplace ethics refers to a specific set of moral and legal guidelines that organizations may abide by.
These guidelines typically influence the way employees and customers alike interact with an
organization—in essence, workplace ethics guide how organizations serve their clients and how they
treat their employees.
 Ethics is a really important approach in one's life as it gives direction to choose between what is right
and wrong. Ethics is essential to students' life as it helps in decision-making to choose the best decision
between right and wrong or good and bad. The study of ethics provides the students with knowledge
about the opportunity to understand different opinions and respect whatever it is, as everyone has a
different way of thinking and beliefs in life.

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF ETHICS:

1. META-ETHICS: WHAT DOES “RIGHT” MEAN? - Metaethics is the study of the nature of ethics
itself (ethical concepts, theories and principles). It deals with what it means to claim that something is
right or wrong. It asks questions such as:
 What is the difference between right and wrong?
 What is the basis of moral judgments?
 What does it take to make an ethical choice? How do we know if a decision is ethical?

2. NORMATIVE ETHICS: HOW OUGHT PEOPLE TO ACT? - The word ‘normative’ signifies
‘norms’ or ‘rules’ to be followed. The definition of normative ethics can be stated as laying certain
rules about good and bad, and following them diligently.
 That is to say, a person may analyze his actions and classify them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on the
norms.
 It may not be necessary that the good actions indicate a good person, or bad actions indicate that
the person is bad. However, many of us who lay down the norms tend to follow the same.
 It is to be remembered that norms may be regularized as per situations.
 An example of normative ethics would be when a person questions, “Is it correct to abort my
child?”.
  Someone who religiously makes anti-abortion claims may state that it is wrong. The woman
herself may have been taught that it is a wrong action. Therefore, in her own opinion, if she goes
ahead with the task, she would classify herself as a bad person.
 The question is, however, what if she is a teenager? Or she is an unwed mother? Would it be fair
to the child to be raised in unpleasant circumstances? This is a case where metaethical claims
may help question the norms.
 Should capital punishment be made legal? -This is an example of normative ethics. There may
be varied opinions on this. In general, the mindset of people seems to be that capital punishment
is also a crime, while some seem to equate it to justice.

3 MAJOR SUBFIELDS OF NORMATIVE ETHICS

1. VIRTUE ETHICS
 Focus on Character
 Refers to the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong.
 A virtue is a positive quality or disposition that guides and directs a person’s actions towards
goodness and moral excellence.
 Virtue ethics holds an individual’s ethical behavior should be measured by their trait-based
characters such as honesty, courage, and wisdom, rather than by the consequences of their
actions or particular duties they are obliged to obey.
 Another approach states that the best action is that which would be taken by a good person. This
is generally called VIRTUE ETHICS and suggests that virtuous people are virtuous because
their character is good, and their actions are the natural expressions of their good character.
 Think of the characteristics of people we would describe as ‘good’: they are charitable,
merciful, kind, supportive, unselfish, courageous, trustworthy, generous, etc. Virtue ethics
suggests that when you’re in a challenging ethical dilemma you should think to yourself ‘What
would a good person do in this case’, rather than try to calculate the least worst outcome, or
identify a rule you should follow.

2. DEONTOLOGY ETHICS
 Another traditional approach is the DEONTOLOGY ETHICS. It focuses on rightness and
wrongness of the action rather than consequences of those actions. Deontology is an ethical
theory that says actions are good or bad according to a clear set of rules.
 Its name comes from the Greek word “deon”, meaning duty. Actions that align with these rules
are ethical, while actions that don’t are not. This ethical theory is most closely associated with
German philosopher, Immanuel Kant.
 Kant believed the ability to use reason was what defined a person. Immanuel kant’s philosophy
are bound by a universal law. Kant’s believed that ethics was about having a Good Will. That is,
a will to “do what is right, simply because it is right” not because it will feel good, not because it
will produce the best outcomes, but because ‘That is must be done”.
 How does it work? Let say you made a promise to another professional that you’ll partner with
them on a business project. Later on, you found out that partnering with that person might tarnish
your reputation. Many people would advise you to cut ties. Deontology reminds us that we are
obliged to keep our promises. Even when they come at a personal cost.
 3. CONSEQUENTIALIST ETHICS
 One ethical principle is based around what happens after an action has been committed. It looks
at the consequences of the action and is called consequentialism. It suggests that if the
consequences are what we have decided we want them to be, then that action, because it led to
the desired consequences, is the right action. It’s what we should have done. This is a principle
that seems intuitive and most of us use it most of the time, whether we are conscious of it or not.
 Generally, the thing we’re looking for in the consequences is something to do with the maximum
amount of happiness produced, or the least amount of suffering. The main theory in this category
is called utilitarianism and it is central to all sorts of methods of solving real-life ethical
dilemmas, such as so-called end-of-life issues (ie, the withdrawal of medical treatments).
 Healthcare - Another example of consequentialism philosophy in action is the example of
consequentialism in healthcare. If you worked in a hospital and only had enough dosage of a
particular drug to either keep one patient who is severely sick from dying, or five patients who
are less sick and could share the dosage from dying, which would you choose?
A consequentialist would choose the five patients who require less of a dosage to receive the
medicine, allowing the sixth patient to die, as this produces the most moral good. A non-
consequentialist, on the other hand, would infer no judgement over who is more worthy of the
medicine, and would simply administer the necessary medicine on a first come, first serve basis,
until it runs out
 For instance, most people would agree that lying is wrong. But if telling a lie would help save a
person's life, consequentialism says it's the right thing to do.
 One example of consequentialism would be praising a burglar who accidentally robs a crime
lord. While the burglar only sought to benefit themselves, their robbery actually stopped the
crime lord from using their wealth to hurt others. Thus, the best overall consequences were
achieved through robbery.

3. APPLIED ETHICS: HOW DO PEOPLE IMPLEMENT MORAL KNOWLEDGE? - Applied ethics,

actual applications of ethical or moral theories for the purpose of deciding which ethical or moral actions
are appropriate in a given situations.
 Practical ethics attempts to answer the question of how people should act in specific situations.
 For example, is it morally permissible for a doctor to engage in mercy killing when a terminal
cancer patient begs to be put out of her misery?

Applied ethical issues nowadays are divided into different fields:

 BUSINESS ETHICS- which deals with ethical behavior in a corporate world

 BIOMEDICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS- which deals with issues relating to
health, welfare and responsibility we have towards people and our environment.
 SOCIAL ETHICS- which deals with the principles and guidelines that regulate corporate
welfare within society

CASUISTRY, from the Latin casus meaning "a case," is a method used in moral theology that attempts to
apply a set of general principles in specific cases of human conduct.