Moral Philosophy - Essay Example

 Moral Philosophy I. Introduction Glover says that in Humanity he intends to use “ethics to interrogate history.”1 How Glover successfully attacks this issue is to take a unique approach at yielding new insights into an ethical review of history—in order to help avoid catastrophes in the future. Glover does this by using applied ethics, morality, and the advent of the meeting between evolution and ethics. II. Applied Ethics Applied ethics definitely will play a large part in how history is viewed, and Glover espouses this point. "Even in applied ethics, awareness is often missing. The tone of much writing suggests that John Stuart Mill is still alive and that none of the twentieth centuries has happened. (‘Never such innocence again' has not been applied to ethics.) [Glover hopes] to help change this by encouraging an idea of ethics as a more empirical subject."2 Applied ethics basically says that one takes an ethical principle, and applies it to a real-life situation. For example, if a parent says to a young child to clean up his toys, the Bible teaches that young children should honor their parents. In this situation, the applicable ethical point that is made is that the child should obey his parent by doing what his parent asked him to do. In history, one can view applied ethics through the decisions of governments as they were influenced due to the religious mores of their time. For example—on a more general level, which deals with history—the Ottoman Empire, which used to span the globe—effected the territories it owned with its prevailing religion. Constantinople, at the end of his life, professed the Christian faith. However, the name of the city Constantinople was later changed to Istanbul after the geopolitically-defined, mainly Muslim, country of Turkey came into prominence. Applied ethics can be seen all over the world, not to mention a lack of application of ethics in world history. For example, when Hernan Cortes and his men came to Mexico, the land of the Aztecs—to hoard gold and other valuables—the Aztecs thought this was fulfilling a prophecy that their great leader would come from far away. Instead of admitting that Cortes was not the leader he was who they thought, Cortes took advantage of the fact that the Aztecs thought he was a holy figure, and consequentially took the wealth of the Aztecs, his men raping their women and killing a lot of people, including roasting the Aztec leader Cuauhtemoc over a fire spit and pouring boiling oil over his feet. The point is, types of domination like this went on all over the world. Christopher Columbus never indeed “found” the New World (the U.S.), but he found plenty of island natives in the Caribbean whose peaceful lives he ruined by the ruthless plundering of himself and his men. There is evidence of all of these types of cruel inhumanity present in all of history—and it is not just limited to the Europeans, although they were a major cause for discontent the world over. If one thinks about it, in world history—the British Empire once spanned a majority of the globe. The French and the Dutch also had colonialized several countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Due to these white peoples taking over indigenous nations’ peoples and forcing their values, religion, language, and culture upon them—they were forced to either change or die. So, these people adapted. More about evolution and ethics will also be discussed in the last section of this piece. III. Morality Morality became politically-correct (or ‘PC') after the civil rights movement in the ‘60s in the United States, because it meant that any kind of oppressed people (not just Blacks) could basically rise up and say that they weren't going to take being discriminated against anymore. Of course, this has led to postmodernist thinking, that everyone is equal and everyone's perspective has to be right because no one is wrong; we all worship the same God even though some of us may not call God God, nor does everyone think that God is a Him but could also be a Her. In reality, Nietzsche could have been called (along with William James) the father of postmodernism. The idea that everyone has a different ‘perspective' in life is a very postmodernist idea. "Because Nietzche wants people to create themselves, he cannot lay down exactly what they should be like. But there are some qualities which (perhaps because he thinks they are necessary for self-creation) he indicates will be possessed by the kind of [person] he wants to see."3 Self-creation largely comes from the idea that one can create one's own reality, and one's own life—whereas other traditions have set rules that identify or are prelates as with regard to who can do what action. For example, if one were to be born as a shoemaker in Medieval Germany, most likely, as the progeny of a shoemaker, it would probably be culturally acceptable that the only path for the son of a shoemaker would be to become a shoemaker as well. Not only that, but Nietzsche advocated that philosophers of the future would need a certain ‘hardness’. The attitude about which he spoke “takes a Stoic form, in being directed against [one’s] own impulses, but at other times it spills over into hardness towards others…possessing ‘certain self-possessed cruelty which knows how to wield the knife with certainty and deftness even when the heart bleeds.’”4 Of course, there are moral debates about several points in history that can be supported with Nietzschean logic, since Nietzsche’s father was a pastor. Although he had declared ‘God is dead,’ Nietzsche was actually quite a morally sound person even though his theological ideas about God were somewhat controversial. Nietzsche was somewhat of a moralist, so it may difficult to be amoral and “outwardly Nietzschean unless…powerful”; protecting Jews in Hitler’s Germany or helping reactionaries in the Chinese Cultural Revolution “risked stigma and sometimes punishment.”5 IV. Evolution and Ethics Ethics was not always part of human evolution. "[P]acks of hunters who survived were often those who were best at killing other humans who were members of rival packs…Having emerged from being good at killing, the human species has invented codes of ethics."6 For sure, Darwin's theory of evolution has played a part in helping the earth decide which humans were most fit to survive. Eventually, this turned into a literate legal code that could be interpreted. Unfortunately, what is legally permissible is not necessarily ethical. For example, if a family lived in an apartment building and there was little heat in winter but was just above the legal limit, it is still not necessarily ethical to not provide the family with more heating than what is legally permissible. This is due to the fact that ethike, the Greek word for ethics, is basically considered to be ‘moral virtue,’ in the many respects of the word. "The ancient philosophers made no distinction between sense and intellect and referred both to a corporeal principle. Plato, however, drew a distinction between intellect and sense yet he referred both to an incorporeal principle…just as understanding belongs to the soul…"7  When it comes to the question of whether or not the souls of other animals are subsistent, one must obviously ask oneself if he or she believes that they are.  One sticking point regarding this point is that animals are generally thought not to have souls, mainly because they cannot speak.  It is language that separates humans from other animals.  Thus, the power of language cannot be underestimated.  It is definitely this aspect that makes animals lesser than people.  Thus, the appearance of language in humans and the lack of language within the animal kingdom—language here meaning spoken words—seems to prove that humans are rational beings with souls. “It follows that if an anomaly is to evoke crisis, it must usually be more than just an anomaly.”8  Take, for example, Newton’s theory of gravity.  Newtonian theory was, at first, considered rather absurd.  However, for him and his work to be recognized, Newton’s theories had to withstand the tests of time and various scientific de rigour before his theories were considered generally acceptable.  In fact, Newton strived to have his theories accepted within the scientific community.  At first, no one posed any objection to his theories.  But much like Copernicus’s and Galileo’s discoveries, Newton’s laws had to go through a rigorous process in order to ensure that these laws were indeed laws that could be applied universally.  Once the scientific community accepted his theory as law, however, his three laws of motion—as well as the concept of gravity—became staples of physics and a slew of other sciences. One issue that plagues ethicists today, which Cottingham deals with, is the genealogy of morals. This was also something that concerned Friedrich Nietzsche, but generally, the moral compass of people is an issue that still remains a sticking point with many. People are generally concerned about how morals interact with government. Should the government, in fact, have a deciding role in legislating who can do what? And, to what extent is this possible? This section explores the ways in which individuals approach their ethics, or ethike as Kierkegaard would have said, perhaps.  The personal ethics people maintain is perhaps different than public ethics.  This is a very general problem that people must face and deal with on an everyday basis.  How one’s morals are determined at a young age definitely influences the way one lives.  Thus, ethics are a key part of who someone is.  Ethics are essential and very necessary.   Kierkegaard’s Ethike was written in order to corral peoples' attention to the importance of ethics. This section emphasizes the importance of ethics in peoples' lives. It begs the question, "What would happen if we did not have ethics?" Indeed, where would one be without ethics? Ethics governs one's daily life in the laws that are written as the law of the land. Additionally, ethics are found in both peoples' personal lives as well as in the public realm. However, what is the importance of personal ethics? It seems that one of the most important aspects of personal ethics is that to each individual, those ethics are unique and characteristic of a person's personality. Thus, they are subject to change. This is in contrast to public ethics, which will be discussed more in-depth. Basically, private ethics are based on one's own decisions, and as such are able to, therefore, be emended. New religious movements may be communitarian, or they may be specifically spiritual or religious in nature.  Usually what separates new religious movements from other religious movements in society is their unique ability to isolate people from other social networks.  This is where social psychology plays a crucial role.  Since the family is deeply intertwined with society, the psychology of such groups affects one’s psyche. New religious movements are part of the dominant culture.  Usually, however, new religious movements are on the fringe of society. Cults became popular in the late 19th century.  By the 1970s, new religious movements had received a bad name. New religious movements had connotations of brainwashing.  Several people are still wont to call new religious movements “cults” because that term is still more popular than the term “new religious movement.” There is still no formal criteria for what a new religious movement constitutes. However, in general, the group which is a new religious movement is somewhat new (obviously), and it is set apart or distinct from other religions. There is much controversy over what constitutes a “new” religious movement.  Some people use certain dates as benchmarks for saying a religion is new—for example, a religious movement that has occurred within the last 20 years or so. People generally also have come to realize that what constitutes the stipulation of being distinct from other religions as difficult to empirically analyze.  Generally, however, the distinction between new religious movements and established religions is that although the religious movement may be seen as part of an existing faith tradition, it meets with some type of clash within the religion for its varying belief systems—and thus is not an accepted branch of that religion. Take Christianity, for example.  There are many fringe groups in Christianity that are not considered “Christian,” for the very sake of the fact that they do not share certain core beliefs central to the main theme of Christianity. These new religious movements could include Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and prosperity movement churches.  These movements are designed to be part of Christianity.             However, because of some of the radical beliefs in each of these new religious movements (considered by many Christians to be cults), the movements are not accepted as valid faith communities.  Therefore, the fact that these communities are not accepted in mainstream society can have a great deal of impact on the families involved. The New Age movement picked up popularity during the late 20th century but can be dated back to the early 19th century. Phineas Quimby, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Mary Baker Eddy contributed to the New Age profoundly. These earlier pioneers of the New Age focused on holistic healing and mind, body, and spirit balance. The idea that the mind could control pain or even heal the body was intriguing to these individuals. Their writings helped contribute to the New Age movement.    Phineas Quimby9began holistic healing and mesmerism after doctors could not cure his consumption as a child. He found adrenaline rushes temporarily cured his pain. First, he saw someone hypnotized. He started practicing mesmerizing crowds with a particularly susceptible young woman. His practices were healing through the subconscious. The individuals he healed all believed in him. Some he hypnotized; others Quimby coached to make themselves better through thought. This self-actualization was one of the first pain managing techniques in the West. Ralph Waldo Emerson focused on the mind, body, and spirit like Eastern religions. Ralph Waldo Emerson felt that the religions in the East like Buddhism, Confucianism, and mysticism were more advanced than Western religions. Whereas the West calls self-actualization "New Age," these techniques have been used in the Eastern countries of Asian and India for centuries. Buddhists, Taoists, and Hinduism all focus on the philosophy of thought, cosmic energies, and herbal remedies. Instead of dismissing these practices, Emerson embraced them.     Mary Baker Eddy had an interest in self-healing, but she sought this through studying the Christian Bible. The Mary Baker Eddy Library revealed:  “Following a serious accident, Eddy had a profound healing experience that provided important insights into the spiritual nature of life and health…which she had been seeking for many years.  She later called that experience a ‘discovery’ and soon sought to understand, replicate, make notes on, and teach this…”10              These insights led to holistic healing through Biblical interpretation. Even though she was a Christian, some of the New Age concepts were interwoven into her Christianity. This allowed Mary Baker Eddy to be the founder of Christian Science movement. By the 1970s many individuals felt that Christianity and other organized religions had failed society. The Findhorn Community and Wrekin Trust were founded in England during this time.11 Soon internationally the New Age movement was spreading. Neo-pagans, Gnosticism, Astrology, use of crystals, Wicca, and other practices became the practice of those disappointed in organized religion. All of these practices were, in effect, lumped together as New Age practices. V. Conclusion Definitely, Glover, in his book Humanity, demonstrates the importance of applied ethics, morality, and the advent of the cross between evolution and ethics which led to formalized religion. These are very complex issues which have been discussed in having looked back through history and how Glover ‘applies’ these ethics to make sense of the past. WORKS CITED Cottingham, John, Ed. Western Philosophy: An Anthology, 2nd Ed. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2008. Pp. 142, 352. 
 Glover, Jonathan. Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century. US: Yale University Press, 2001. Pp. 6, 14, 16, 20. Hughes, R. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby: His Complete Writings and Beyond. New York:  Phineas Parkhurst Quimby Resource Center, 2009. Pp. 79. Mary Baker Eddy Library. Science & Health With Key to the Scriptures from 8 October 2011 at: . Pp. 1. Robinson, B.A. “New Age Spirituality.” Religious Tolerance, from 8 Oct 2011 at: . Pp. 1. Read More