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Western Ethical Theories Chapter III Western Ethical Theories Though the topic of my thesis falls in the purview of ethics in the context of the Indian philosophical tradition, I venture to present my work using the established western methodology and categories where ethics is one of the branches of Philosophy. Although in the Indian tradition there have been normative discussions of human conduct, behavior and actions, I intend to place the ethical thinking of Ayurveda using the western categories and context. Hence it is necessary to prepare foundations to investigate, evaluate and examine the ethicality of the Indian tradition in the context of Ayurveda. Thus I want to sketch the prevalent and dominant ethical theories of the western tradition for the purpose of tracing, locating, identifying and evaluating the ethical concerns and foundations of Ayurveda. 3.1 About Ethics In the world that we live, we need to make decisions of several kinds, every now and then. The decisions may range between being life changing to trivial ones. These decisions can be with regards to making choices between alternatives available to us in a given situation or choosing between conflicting alternatives. We have to consider our own interests when taking decisions and sometimes interests of other individuals as well as society at large, and they may conflict, making the decision making process more difficult. It is not sufficient to merely arrive at decisions, but to act accordingly, and in order to act upon them, it is necessary to know if they are right or wrong, correct or incorrect, good or bad; especially if they are decisions involving moral considerations. We apply different rational procedures to determine right decisions, right conduct and right practice in particular situations. These rational procedures together constitute the science of Ethics. 96 3.1.1. Nature, definitions, scope and content of Ethics Prof. William Lillie gives a 'provisional' definition of ethics as "the normative science of the conduct of human beings living in societies - a science which judges this conduct to be right or wrong, to be good or bad or in some similar way."^^ Society is an alliance of people organized under a system of rules, regulations and norms; these rules aim at the good of its members as well as a harmonically fiinctioning society. The science of ethics, according to this definition is important mainly in the context of human beings in relation to the society which they live in. One of the most important words in this definition is 'science'. A science is a systematic body of knowledge about a particular set of events and objects and their relation to one another. Ethics is such a systematic science and differs from commonsense haphazard opinions about its subject matter. The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek "ethos" meaning custom or habit. Similarly, "Moral Philosophy" is derived from the Latin "mores" meaning customs or habits. Thus, it can be said that ethics deals with individuals' habits and customs or in other words, their characters, the principles on which they habitually act, and considers what it is that constitutes the rightness and wrongness of these principles, the good or evil of these habits. "^^ Though we have defined Ethics as a science of human conduct, it is not a science in the same sense as other natural sciences are called science. There are certain characteristics of Ethics which gives it a peculiar nature of its own and differentiates it from other sciences. Mentioned below are some such distinctive characteristics of ethics; (i) Ethics as a normative science Sciences can be classified in different ways depending on their subject matter and methodology. One of the classifications of sciences is into descriptive or positive and prescriptive or normative sciences. Descriptive or positive sciences are those which simply describe the facts and events which fall under the scope of '' Lillie William, An introduction to Ethics, Allied Publishers Private ltd., New Delhi, 2013 Chapter 1, p.l ""' Mackenzie John, Manual of Ethics, 4''' edition, Hinds, Hayden & Eledrge, New York, 1901, p.l 97 their subject matter. Descriptive sciences do not involve judgments regarding the facts. They merely state and describe facts as well as relations between facts and between events. Ethics is a science which engages in both descriptions of facts, i.e. facts relating to human conduct; as well as is engaged in evaluation of the facts and relations between facts, objects and events. It also prescribes certain rules of conduct and also provides norms which are guiding principles in the realm of conduct for human beings. In case of ethics, the normative aspect is more important than the descriptive aspect, however the latter is not entirely absent and hence cannot be ignored. There are ethical facts as well as ethical laws and ideals. The science of ethics is concerned with the rightness or goodness of human conduct and hence it is also concerned with the relation of human conduct with attaining a particular end and deals with the rules with the help of which these ends can be attained. (ii) Ethics as a Practical as well as Theoretical Science Ethics has sometimes been distinguished from the natural sciences on the ground that it is practical and they are theoretical. Such a distinction however can't be maintained seriously and meaningftiUy. It is true that Ethics is more closely connected with the practical aspect of human life than other sciences like astronomy or physiology. However, the theoretical aspect of it cannot be overlooked. It is this theoretical aspect that provides ethics with a basis for being able to put it into practice. Though as a normative science, ethics is prescriptive in nature, it does not imply that it is directly grounded in practice and has the least theoretical relevance. The prescriptive or normative aspect of Ethics is firmly based on its theoretical foundation and hence Ethics can be said to be as theoretical as any of the other natural sciences. Thus, though a normative Science, Ethics cannot be regarded as a merely practical Science. (iii) Ethics deals with human conduct We have defined Ethics as the normative science of conduct and conduct includes voluntary actions. Conduct does not include those human activities like the circulation of the blood, because normal people do not have a control over it. 98 A voluntary action is that action which one could have done differently if one would have so chosen. Voluntary actions involve a conscious process of willing. Conduct may include inward activities like motives and desires as well as outward activities like speech and action. '*" Moreover, Ethics is usually confined to the study of the conduct of human beings living in societies. 3.1.2. Branches of Ethics Meta-ethics The term "Meta" means beyond and as such the term meta-ethics involves a second order enquiry involving the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. Meta-ethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words. The issues that fall within the scope of meta-ethics are abstract essentially because meta-ethics deals not with the specific situations of moral relevance, but with certain debates about the very nature of morality, its assumptions, foundations and the meanings of ethical concepts like good, right, etc. Discussions about whether there can be an absolute, universal ethics or whether ethics is a subjective, individual matter of enquiry are typical examples of discussions in meta-ethics. Normative Ethics The task of normative ethics, on the other hand, is a practical one. It, strives to arrive at moral standards which help in regulating human conduct. In other words, normative ethics is interested in determining the content of our moral behavior. It provides alternative answers to the question "What I ought to do". The task of normative ethics also involves articulating the kind of good that we ought to pursue, the duties that we ought to do, etc. The moral theories of Kant and Mill are examples of such normative theories. Such theories provide guidelines for making decisions and determining the course of action. Applied Ethics Applied Ethics involves examining specific ethical issues like euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, environmental concerns etc. which come up in the ""Lilie,2013,p5 99 practice of specific course of actions. Though the enquiry of Applied Ethics falls under the category of a philosophical enquiry, it is not solely a part of philosophy. We can enlist several disciplines for which such kind of enquiry may be done from an ethical perspective. Applied ethics is a source of resolution of disputes in a variety of fields ranging from Genetic Engineering, Medical Sciences, various professions like Teaching, Business, issues relating to Prostitution, Homosexuality, and so on. 3.1.3. Fundamental Concepts of Ethics Several terms are commonly used in judging human actions in the context of Ethics. We say that an action is good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral; we say that we 'ought' to perform an action, that we 'should' perform it, or that it is our duty to perform it. Similarly, for certain actions we say we 'ought not' perform it, 'should not' perform it, or it is our 'duty' to not perform it. It is important to understand the exact meaning and sense in which these words are used in any ethical judgment. Good / Bad This is the most commonly used pair of terms in the ethical context, and probably the duo used most ambiguously, too. Their use and scope is extremely indefinite and confiasing in common conversafions too, which need not be elaborated here. The word 'good', as commonly used, reflects the favorable atdtude of a person towards an object or event in the context of which the term is used.
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