Morality indicates what is the ‘right’ and what is the ‘wrong’ way to behave. Ethics should help us define, prioritize and achieve our values — general as well as specific ones. On the other hand, attempting to base morality on what is good for others, a selfless ethic, is doomed to failure. On the positive side, under the pressure of ever accelerating change and complexity, people are crying out for guidance. Rational or common sense rules and principles aimed at achieving a given objective. Humans are globally linked into a large macrosociety, and as such we are all interconnected, every person on the planet. The most reliable and consistent means of deciding of what is good for our life. An important aspect of optimal living is to bring conscious values and emotions into harmony. Religious, spiritual or cultish ethic claims to possess absolute knowledge — divinely inspired — and therefore not subjective. Another byproduct of a misguided morality can be seen in a number of popular false dichotomies: The moral cannot be practical; what is good and moral differs from what we want to do; self-interest invariably undermines social order and well-being; reason and emotion are opposing forces; worthy research and art are incompatible with money and business. The Four Principles are an extensive indication which gives a substantial space to judge specific cases such as; A number of writers have explored means of developing it. On the other hand, money or pleasure, by themselves, are not sufficiently comprehensive long-term goals. A natural hierarchy of values helps us to determine priorities: Survival is a prerequisite for flourishing; long-term existence presupposes short-term survival; physical suffering impairs mental functioning; successful human relationships require adequate emotional health. Do we really want to live by that code? But we can go much further in utilizing rationality to establish principles for living — we can pro-actively seek to systematically eliminate contradictions, detrimental beliefs and inappropriate emotional responses. An essential part of morality involves determining what is “right” or “fair” in social interaction. Ethics concerns itself with factors potentially under our control. In one sense, this is exactly what we have to — automatized principles are essential for coping with the myriad of complex decisions we face. Children’s social and moral reasoning. None of these can be done for someone else. A morality based on society’s well-being is inherently detrimental to many individuals in the group because it imposes the subjective values of some of the group on the rest. We are right to love political freedom; it promotes our life and happiness. Breakthroughs in psychology and advances in epistemology will further enhance ethics. Furthermore, emotions are also an important aspect of rationality. Religions have, of course, always used this ploy to control us. Let us take a closer look at the nature of emotional health. Virtue leads to strength; strength to more virtue. 1. Recognizing this, and the fact that personal virtues are universal, that they are potentially beneficial to every individual, provides the basis for respecting the rights of others. They help ensure that, overall, people are a value to each other, and not a burden or threat. Prioritizing competing aspects of Optimal Living may, at times, be difficult, but it is far from impossible. Be it laziness or fear; or be it just lack of practice. Living a healthy, flourishing life on an ongoing basis necessitates an appropriately virtuous character. Whether my system should be regarded as an interpretation of Objectivist ethics is open to debate. Difficult, when we rely on others for our well-being, and when we know that we are denying rational values. To defend these two principles, Rawls revives the idea of a social contract associated with Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Kant. ‘What goes around comes around’ is a popular expression of this aspect of causation. Dangerous advice. In addition, any partial success in living morally in likely to yield commensurate benefits. The justified love that we have for someone is based on who and what the whole integrated person is. In other words, is it correct for one person … ‘Divine’ morality is frequently used by religious and cult leaders — alone or cahoots with kings and governments — to control people. The opposite extreme to absolutism is the fashionable notion of moral subjectivism: Good and bad are just individual or collective preferences — essentially a matter of custom or taste. This cannot possibly result in optimal living. It must never become a duty or obligation. Self-appointed leaders claim to have a direct line to God or some ‘cosmic consciousness’. While supposedly telling us what is ‘right’ or ‘good’ for us, they variously imply sacrificing our lives to some Greater Good, restrict beneficial sexual conduct, oppose our legitimate desire for personal happiness or offer supposedly ideal, but impractical solutions. We can savor and amplify beauty, joy and success, minimize issues we have little or no control over. A uniquely social principle is that of voluntary, mutually beneficial interaction. Many moral decisions involve an implicit balance of judgement between competing objectives. The more extreme forms claim that moral rules apply irrespective of context — it is always wrong to kill even one murderer to, say, save a whole city full of innocent people. Accepting this reality as the correct interpretation of ethics leaves us at the mercy of social whims. This model posits that this evolutionary process was originally caused by inborn morality carried by our genes. I consider these views to be distortions of what ethics really has to offer — given a rational approach. The centuries have seen many different approaches to ethics; none seem to be satisfactory. This model includes knowledge of external reality, as well as knowledge of our own thoughts and emotions. (You better be certain that you exist and are conscious, otherwise none of this make any sense to you.) Morals are held and agreed to by all members of the culture. This rule is particularly controversial, because it generates a dilemma: if freedom is a higher principle, does this imply the right to pass over other moral principles? Principled living is not geared primarily for instant gratification, but towards the more enduring and satisfying ideal of Optimal Living. Will any ol’ person do as a business partner, a baby sitter, a spouse? Fortunately, many rational moral principles benefit both ourselves and others. These beliefs encourage us to abdicate self-responsibility, they paralyze us. Meta Ethics - discussion of ethical theories and language. We will understand that knowledge is a prerequisite for change, and that rational change leads to improved living. We prefer to deal with moral, principled people because they are productive and dependable. They include: integrity, productiveness, discipline and dynamic optimism. We have an effect on others, and others have an effect on us. He has since reduced the number to three by combining the first two. If it does, then we have slipped back into an obsolete view of morality. This paternalistic directive abuses the power of language. Later I will show why these are indeed selfish virtues. Goals that are both rationally and emotionally important to us will motivate beneficial thought and action. Background: The principles of biomedical ethics - autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice - are of paradigmatic importance for framing ethical problems in medicine and for teaching ethics to medical students and professionals. However, the essence of action is to turn our thoughts and dreams into reality — to live. A more subtle form of this handicap are social standards and peer pressure. As we have seen in many places in this book, helping others is part of our human nature. We waste our time and energy following their advice, while doubting our own ability to take charge of our lives. Some of them are self-deluded and act in ‘good faith’. 7. The most important elements of the Langedijk case that highlights the ethical tenets of a liberal euthanasia policy is patient autonomy, self-determination, and freedom.A patient does have the right to "die with dignity," in a manner according to his or her will, especially when a presiding physician has determined that the case clearly warrants compassionate intervention. Once it fails to do that, we must stop to reevaluate. Apart from the reasons given above, altruism invariably entails that we force others to do what we think is good for them — indeed it is our duty to do so. By what criteria to judge others, and on what basis to interact with them. Who has the direct line to God or to some platonic Eternal Wisdom? What we need is an explicit system of ethics to serve as a reference to the programming of our subconscious values. This subconscious assimilation leads to automatic emotional responses that are in harmony with our explicit conscious values. Interactions can, and should be profitable to all parties. This destructive belief also reduces the individual’s moral motivation, responsibility and authority by making them shared issues. Not only is it impossible to define another person’s happiness, let alone achieve it for them, but more fundamentally, why should we bother to live our lives to serve the happiness of others? Reason usually provides the most reliable assessment, however, occasionally our emotions know better. The overwhelming preponderance of adults retaining their own parents’ social and religious values is proof of these influences. A basic moral test for our society is how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst. A new type of morality to plant a seed to change the world. We may love the memory of who they were, or visions of who they might have been; we may still have many of the feelings, but we cannot consciously value a child turned mass murderer. The virtues of rationality, curiosity and honesty embody this love of true knowledge. We need to know if things are good or bad, pro living or pro suffering. Having outlined the nature and purpose of this practical and personal rational ethic, let us take a closer look at its goal — Optimal Living — and at the processes and virtues that help achieve it. “In the end, only morality which acknowledges certain norms as valid always and for everyone, with no exception, can guarantee the ethical foundation of social co-existence, both on the national and international levels.” (Veritatis Splendor, 97) The four principles of health care ethics are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Morality is often used by various leaders and organizations to control society — sometimes benevolently, but usually bringing about self-sacrifice and human suffering. Be it communication, parenting or social skills. 'manner, character, proper behavior') is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper. Humans are globally linked into a large macrosociety, and as such we are all interconnected, every person on the planet. Address to the Lycéens of Sens 3. Genuine self-esteem is an important measure of our success at Optimal Living. Rational morality is an integrated, non-contradictory, reality-based system of goals and principles. It was then that he realized a fresh approach to a Social Psychology textbook was needed to structure and integrate student learning; thus, Principles of Social Psychology was born. The four principles currently operant in health care ethics had a long history in the common morality of our society even before becoming widely popular as moral action guides in medical ethics over the past forty-plus years through the work of ethicists such as Beauchamp and Childress. Action — the third corner of our strategy triangle — is the ‘simple’ act of getting down to implementing our plans. Optimal is, by definition, contextual and dynamic — not absolute or static. This general description of the good life I call ‘Optimal Living’ and take as the standard of good and bad, right and wrong. The name ‘Objectivism’ also refers to the philosophy of Ayn Rand (5). They must be based on the individuals’ rational self-interest. Firstly, I reject postulating some hypothetical individual who would be perfectly happy, live a totally fulfilled life, while committing the most vile acts. Morality is an endangered species: Global communications and travel, cultural upheaval, plus massive changes in life-styles and technology are increasingly exposing contradictions and practical limitations in traditional systems. Another of the universal moral principles is the freedom of human beings to make their own decisions. Reason seeks to obtain as accurate a representation of reality as possible. the bad effect is not disproportionate in gravity to the intended good effect. ‘Ethics is either absolute and rigid or subjective and relative.’ Rational ethics is objective, personal, customizable, dynamic, flexible and open to new knowledge and insights. A shared rational personal ethic forms the basis of social conduct, law and politics — conflicts are resolved using reason, not force. Christian ethics and Albert Schweitzer’s ethics are examples.” Consciously identifying these errors, and then integrating the truth into our overall system of rational values will help us to enjoy our genuine achievements — without emotional trauma. Judge, not pre-judge. Matthew 22:35-40; Romans 12; James, passim. Such sacrifice may be motivated by a foolish sense of duty or by irrational goals, such as heaven. Not only for the obvious selfish benefit of living a vastly extended vital life, but more generally for the advantage of having more wise people active in society. And cooperation and... Social Fairness. Weak social … They represent an opportunity for enhancing our lives — not a threat. Home; Table of Contents; Blog; About; Contact; Podcast - Search: Social Morality , on Itunes; Principles of Social Morality. Some moral principles govern how we treat each other. We must choose our values: where to live, how to spend our time, whom to associate with, whom to believe. What is good for me? These norms include principles of morality and social fairness. ‘Should’ without an objective is gibberish. Knowledge virtues: Respecting reality, cognitive competence, rationality, curiosity, creativity, independent thinking, wisdom, honesty and a love of knowledge. There are many arguments and thought-experiments that demonstrate the impossibility of this outcome — this, by itself, could fill a whole book (and hopefully will). Social Morality & Personal Morality. Wisdom can be described as seeking and possessing practical knowledge pertaining to human life and, in particular, knowledge of human nature and relationships. Technology should be seen as the invaluable tool that it is; not as some essentially anti-life menace. On the contrary, ethics stresses on right and wrong conduct. The basis of Ethics should be rational not biological. Different principles will produce different rules. As our active years are extended, I expect that many more dynamic, wise and able people will experience and demonstrate Optimal Living — and will thereby positively contribute to society. It is one of the most popular areas of research in contemporary social psychology, driven in part by recent political-economic crises and the behavioral patterns they exposed. Unfortunately, this relativism does not usually prevent people from trying to force their views on others, even killing and dying for it in its name. ‘Your rational ethics is all very well for you and me, but what about someone who enjoys lying and killing. Then there are all of the psychological and mental contradictions: Self-esteem relies on judging ourselves competent and worthy. Optimal Living gives us a general bearing rather than a specific single destination. This is “ social morality.” It includes standards like … The Golden Rule: Respect the conscience of others, as you desire them to respect your conscience. This dynamic optimism (3) will enhance our enjoyment while promoting success — a self-fulfilling prophesy. Many other beneficial methods of self-transformation seem possible. But, we do not have reliable inherent knowledge or instincts that will automatically promote our survival and flourishing. The word norm is associated with rules and morality can be interpreted as customs, beliefs or habits. Seeking, and usefully applying, psychological knowledge, both in our personal lives as well as in relationships, is one of the cardinal rational virtues. Social contract theory says that people live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior. Autonomous Moral Motivation: Consequences, Socializing Antecedents, and the Unique Role of Integrated Moral Principles Avi Assor These views will connect with views that extend beyond the political realm. Any amount of suffering and hardship can be justified in the name of duty — in fact, it encourages it. Rational ethics is a personal, self-chosen system: We choose to follow it only if we accept that reason is the most reliable means to knowledge, and if we desire to discover and achieve Optimal Living. Wouldn’t that give them license to be even more depraved?’. It is also true that our emotional moral judgment, our conscience, is an essential part of living morally. Business partners — forget it. We may encourage others to accept it, but we cannot compel them. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. Let us explore three different perspectives: social, technological, individual. On the terms ‘Ethics’ and ‘Morality’ The term ‘ethics’ is technically used by philosophers to mean a philosophical study of morality—morality understood as a set of social rules, principles, norms that guide or are intended to guide the conduct of people in a society, and as beliefs about right and wrong conduct as well as good or bad character. It can provide us with a priceless integrated reference-framework of values. So, ethics and morality are not the same things! Apart from fearing others, we would also be unable to enjoy close honest relationships. Before we look at the details of a Personal Rational Ethic, let us summarize some the key points of this novel approach to ethics by highlighting some common misconception: ‘Ethics is about social interaction only, not about individual behavior.’ This fallacy assumes that we need principles to regulate society while it denies their importance in guiding the individual’s life. Christianity has played a large part in spreading and entrenching these unfortunate moral misconceptions in societies around the world. Children? To protect someone’s privacy or feelings; a white lie — it depends on the circumstances. One approach that attempts to derive ‘ought’ from ‘is’ is Evolutionary Ethics. This foundational moral principle is contained in the natural law. Intuitive, emotional ‘knowledge’ of what is right and wrong — a personal moral compass. Any number of false beliefs may be the cause of this: Superior achievement is immoral; pride is a vice; a lingering notion instilled by our parents or church that we are ‘bad’, ‘unworthy’ or ‘useless’. Psychological virtues: Self-curiosity, pride, valuing self-esteem, valuing psychological knowledge. In the final analysis though, if others stubbornly choose self-sacrifice, irrationality or suffering, our ethics also tells us how to deal with them — to respect their individual rights while asserting and protecting our own. It also advances diversity; yet it reduces social conflicts by providing a means of resolving them. Ethics to establish principles of the GOOD and those of right behavior Ethics deals with the basic principles that serve as the basis for moral rules. Finally, the individual, personal dimension: To live, explore and enjoy ethics. Every moral act consists of three elements: the objective act (what we do), the subjective goal or intention (why we do the act), and the concrete situation or circumstances in which we perform the act (where, when, how, with whom, the consequences, etc. Sociology in France in the Nineteenth Century II. We need knowledge both of ourselves, and of other aspects relevant to our lives. Furthermore, I yearn to be objectively judged by others. We've spent some time exploring principles that one might use to guide their daily lives. We cannot be certain of anything. Its ethics is a virtue-based, rational egoism. Unfortunately this ethics of duty has been extremely influential. This is true not only for commercial transactions, but equally — and possibly even more importantly — for primarily emotional, psychological trades: friendships. Objective resolution of these trade-offs is sometimes difficult — they do not always have a useful common standard for comparison. 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