People are often quick to make ethical judgments in response to either their own conduct or the conduct of others. These judgments take place within a framework of personalized standards for right and wrong behavior. The standards may be the result of a thoughtful effort to derive a personally meaningful and consistent moral system, a somewhat arbitrary assimilation of externally generated and uncritically held beliefs, or any process in between. They may be based on reason, feelings, divine revelation, custom, or law. Often they reflect different individual, cultural, and historical perspectives. Motives for adopting a given standard vary from individual to individual. About the only thing that is certain when it comes to personal moral standards is that there are as many sets of standards as there are people.
A personal moral standard may reflect not only a variety of influences, but also a particular level of moral development. According to Kohlberg, there are three primary levels of moral development. They are the pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. At the pre-conventional level, stage one behavior is motivated by fearful obedience in order to avoid punishment and stage two behavior is motivated by self-gratification. At the conventional level, stage three behavior is motivated by a desire to gain the approval of others by following customary moral standards and stage four behavior involves a strict adherence to rules and laws in order to preserve social harmony. At the post-conventional level, stage five behavior is defined as the reliance on internalized personal standards of social responsibility and stage six behavior as the internalization of moral standards believed to be universally valid. Individuals are not necessarily at the same level of moral development in all areas of their lives.
In spite of the diversity of personal ethical codes, there are a number of generally accepted definitions and concepts that provide a starting point for most ethical discussion. One of the most fundamental concepts is that voluntary actions tend to be open to moral judgment while involuntary actions do not. If an act is voluntary, its assessment as moral or immoral generally depends upon evaluation of motives, means, and consequences. Another important concept is that of the reciprocal nature of rights and duties. Based on the assumption that all members of a society have equal rights, then the rights of one member imply duties to other members who share the same rights. Additionally, societies may approve of traits and label them virtues. They may disapprove of traits and label them vices. Beginning with these loose and general concepts, the philosopher strives to refine definitions, observations, arguments, and ideas in order to meaningfully study morality.
Ethics is the study of morality, or moral conduct, as it relates to societies, groups, or individuals. Observing and describing behavior, establishing “what is”, is the focus of descriptive ethics. Normative ethics investigates the derivation of standards of behavior and attempts to define what “ought to be”. Metaethics focuses on the meaning of terms and the type of reasoning used in ethical discourse.
Ethical standards may be derived from a number of sources. Classical moral philosophies are based on the use of reason to discover self-evident truths and to deduce secondary principles. Some philosophies are developed around feelings. Other philosophies are founded on divine revelation as it is communicated through holy books, clergy, tradition, and personal insights. Quite often, custom and tradition form the basis for moral philosophies. The law may serve as the focal point for a moral philosophy, although the law tends to reflect, rather than establish, moral standards. Given the wide range of source choices and interpretations, it is not surprising that such a great variety of ethical theories exist.
Teleological, or “consequentialist,” ethical theories evaluate actions in terms of desired ends or goals. They emphasize the consequences of actions. Hedonism, Epicureanism, and Utilitarianism are all theories based on the premise that happiness or pleasure is the greatest good in life. Hedonism is the view that the proper aim in life should be the pursuit of one’s own pleasure as an end in itself. Epicureanism, .........................
[Personal reflections followed.]