Universal Ethics

[Eudaimonist]

I agree with you that Dictatorships and societies that treat peoples nothing more as tools is dehumanizing and dangerous. Isn't a dictatorship an extreme example of placing the self before the society? With the dictator is in charge, wouldn't society be better off if the dictator placed society before himself?

No, that is still dangerous. The dictator could still order millions to their deaths because he thinks this will serve the "greater good" of society. If the dictator is super-honest, he might even send himself to his death, though I doubt it.

With respect to humanity, isn't the whole greater the sum of the individual parts?

Greater in the sense of "larger", perhaps. Not greater in the sense of "a higher ethical aim".

Perhaps, there is a common good to strive for that benefits all of humanity.

That "common good" is nothing separate from individual goods. I suppose one could argue that the common good is the legal framework of a free society in which individuals have the right to be self-determining beings, but this would be firmly in recognition of individual goods.

Aren't morals socially constructed?

The moral that "slavery is good" was socially constructed. Is social construction enough to have a good moral? Many pop morals are socially constructed. However, what justifies them -- what makes them good for people - is not. This is why philosophy is needed to validate, and sometimes even create, morals.

To put it another way, the idea that "vitamins are good for you" could be seen as "socially constructed". But is that why vitamins are good for you?

Isn't the happiness of others in the equation of individual's pursuits of their own happiness?

In a free society, individuals are free to pursue the happiness of loved ones just as much as they personally choose. It is extremely doubtful that an individual ought to pursue the happiness of everyone else in society, however.

Societies exist because they are a construct of man. Man is a gregarious and social creature and societies (at least democratic) are a natural by-product of a common good. If you advocate that individuals have the right to pursue their own happiness, aren't you advocating that this a universal ethic?

Yes. I'm not objecting to universal ethics. I'm objecting to altruistic and collectivistic ethics.

Do we belong to the Earth or does the Earth belong to us?

Ownership only clouds the issue. Property is more of a political/legal concept than a moral one. The point isn't that we "own" the Earth. The point is that we are human beings who ought to act for our own well-being, just as animals may be expected to act for theirs. We have the ability to do so more wisely, of course.

Isn't preservation of the Earth for furture an ethical responsibility? Or do we have the moral right to extract as much as happiness at the expense of future generations?

I would like to see us preserve enough of the Earth that future human beings will be able to enjoy it too. What I object to is turning this into some sort of abstract altruistic duty.

I am an advocate of personal responsibilty. Surely you could not have arrived at this conclusion without the aid of others. You are repsonsibilty for yourself and part of the "whole" (i.e the well being of your friends and family).

I am a whole, not part of one. My family is not a whole, but a collection of wholes. I object to the collectivism in the way you have been describing things.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[The Nihilist]

Your outlook is as bleak as people who view humanity filled with base and sin.
We shape the experiences we have, the relationships we form, and the people we attract into our lives. The amount of danger we are willing to face in this life, the joy, the sorrow – all of this is within our control.
We have power to shape our lives and the lives around us or we can forever live under the tyranny by the men that carry these guns. We can use our strength of character and our intellect to shape our environments. We have the power to make change or let others take the reins and make changes for us. We all of the power of choice.

I was being flip. I might agree with you.