What is a moral anyway?
Very recently I have become very interested in ethical business practices. I can say that I have always been a bit curious about the subject of ethics in general, although I've not done much reading on it. It has occurred to me that I have a lot of gut reactions to ethical things. I can tell you that something is "right" or "wrong", "acceptable" or "unacceptable" but I'm not sure I can outline what it is that makes this so.
My friend Sarah is a philosopher. One of the many things that being friends with Sarah has done for me is remind just how important it is to be able to step up a strong argument. She has an argument for everything. You think, being a linguist would make that something that comes with the territory. Yet, somehow I've missed that. Ethics have always been just things that back up the gut-wrenching feeling you get when you come across something that is wrong. And, things that are wrong, for some reason have always just been justifications in themselves. Not surprisingly, as I've grown up and moved out into the world I have developed some feelings on things that may not be the sort of black and white transparent "wrong" that wouldn't require any sort of justification. This has become a particular interest because very recently I have found myself thinking extensively about why exactly I think that things like sweat shop labor, the death penalty and secret surveillance are wrong. And, as it turns out, my argument at first is my knee-jerk reaction, which is, "because they are." Which is nsufficient.
So, I have set myself a goal of fixing this. I would like to be able to make a coherent argument and outline how I feel about these sorts of things. I think its important to know because, at the very least, it can help me not contribute to the misery of others. This is something that I have talked about before, not contributing to the misery of others. And, given that ethics have to do with what is right and what is wrong, this is probably where I'll start. Why is it important to not contribute to the suffering of others?
Also, I am taking suggestions of readings that can help me in my quest.
Comments
If you want to get into Ethical Theory (which is meta-ethics), right now we are reading "Moral Skepticism" by Sinnott-Armstrong, "Thinking How to Live" by Gibbard, and "Moral Realism" by Shafer-Landau. The Sinnott-Armstrong is a bit crazy, but gives a nice overview of meta-ethics nonetheless. Whenever you are reading any sort of book on Ethical Theory, you should remember that the author is attempting to convince you of a position. Don't be seduced by them.
I'm a skeptic anymore- possibly even a nihilist. I can't determine any solid reason why anything is "right" or "wrong" in every situation, thus have come to the conclusion that "right" and "wrong" is the sort of thing that doesn't exist. Maybe I'm an expressivist. I haven't really decided yet. And taking a class in meta-ethics hasn't helped this.
You have no idea how much I love you right now though. That's fucking hot Kat. Don't talk to me about this the next time you see me- or at least make sure John's in between us. :-) Although he's pretty small and I bet I could take him :-)
Posted by: Sarah | October 21, 2006 12:15 AM
Cheers, Sarah. I talked to Preston briefly the other night and he recommended some of the same texts (imagine that!) I'm hopefully going to the library this afternoon, so I'll keep an eye out for some of these. And, obviously, I'll be bothering you with questions via email. (I don't know when I'll get to see you next in person. This makes me sad.)
Posted by: Kate | October 21, 2006 11:24 AM
Well these are "THE" guys in Ethical Theory right now. The thing about ethical theory, oddly enough, is that it is all theory. There is very little that you can actually apply. Well no, that's not true... one must have their theory before they can apply it and talk about normative or substantive ethics. I just don't know if ethical theory is what you are really looking for. Beyond theory, I don't know what to tell you. Mostly because I haven't taken much in the realm of ethics. And when I do look at ethics? It ends up coming from some sort of epistemological standpoint.
Posted by: Sarah | October 21, 2006 09:40 PM