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Introduction to the Course
Lecture #1: Introduction
I. II.
The Subject Matter of Ethics Moral Philosophy & Moral Theology
III. How to Study Philosophy
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Questions & Themes Three fundamental questions: 1. What constitutes a good human life? The question of the ultimate human good 2. What constitutes good character? The question of virtues & vices 3. What distinguishes good from bad (or right from wrong) actions?
I. The Subject Matter of Moral Philosophy
The question of duty Important themes: 1. The relation between morality & law 2. The relation between morality & religion 3. The history of moral philosophy, including the views of some of the leading Western moral philosophers 4. Considerations towards the resolution of particular moral issues
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The Four Chaplains Narrow & Broad Conceptions of Ethics •
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Too narrow: Questions of duty – What must I do? • Must I contribute to the needs of the poor? – What may I not do? • Is it always wrong to go to war? • Is it always wrong to kill a fetal human being? • Is it always wrong to tell a lie?
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A broader conception
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On 2 Feb 1943, during the sinking of the US troopship Dorchester, these four chaplains gave their own life jackets to soldiers who needed them and went down with the ship. They were awarded a Special Medal for Heroism by the US Congress in 1961. The theoretical points – Goodness in human actions goes beyond duty – A study of ethics goes beyond the evaluation of individual actions to questions of • supererogation • character • the evaluation of a human life taken as a whole
– The concept of supererogatory acts – The concept of virtue – The concept of εὐδαιμονία (eudaimonia, happiness or human flourishing)
Rabbi Alexander D. Goode
Rev. George L. Fox
Rev. Clark V. Poling
Fr. John P. Washington
Major Authors: Aristotle & St. Thomas Aquinas •
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“A quite special place … belongs to Saint Thomas, not only because of what he taught but also because of the dialogue which he undertook with the Arab and Jewish thought of his time. In an age when Christian thinkers were rediscovering the treasures of ancient philosophy, and more particularly of Aristotle, Thomas had the great merit of giving pride of place to the harmony which exists between faith and reason. Both the light of reason and the light of faith come from God, he argued; hence there can be no contradiction between them.” —John Paul II, Fides & Ratio 43
Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) – a Macedonian Greek – studied philosophy under Plato in Athens – wrote on metaphysics, the philosophy of nature, astronomy, biology, politics, & ethics – his Nicomachean Ethics will feature prominently in the course
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Aristotle & St. Thomas in the Catholic Tradition
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) – an Italian by birth
“The inner rapprochement between Biblical faith and Greek philosophical inquiry was an event of decisive importance not only from the standpoint of the history of religions, but also from that of world history—it is an event which concerns us even today.” “The critically purified Greek heritage forms an integral part of Christian faith.” —Pope Benedict XVI, Regensburg lecture
– a Dominican friar – a major participant in the medieval recovery of Aristotle’s philosophical texts & their reconciliation with Catholic theological doctrine
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What is Philosophy? The Origins of the Word Philosophy
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“ Pythagoras was the first person who invented the term Philosophy, and who called himself a philosopher; … for he said that no man ought to be called wise [σοφός, sophos], but only God. For formerly what is now called philosophy was called wisdom [σοφία, sophia], and they who professed it were called wise men [σoφοί, sophoi], as being endowed with great acuteness and accuracy of mind; but now he who embraces wisdom is called a philosopher [< φίλος, philos “friend, lover” of wisdom].”
II. Moral Philosophy & Moral Theology
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives I.1-3 The Greeks had a traditional list of Seven Sages [σoφοί], including Solon of Athens, remembered by historians of law Thales of Miletus, remembered by historians of philosophy & science The other five are now obscure
What is Philosophy? Two Christian Answers
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Philosophy & Wisdom I •
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According to St. Justin Martyr (100-165) – “Philosophy is the knowledge of that which really exists, and a clear perception of the truth” – Etymologically, a love [φίλος] of wisdom [σοφία] – Christianity, he said, is the true philosophy
According to St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) – Philosophy is knowledge based on reason & observation alone [i.e., not based on revelation]
There are many ways in which wisdom can be communicated: – by image – by a story – by a poem
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Wisdom in an Image: Caravaggio’s Matthew Cycle I
Wisdom in Story: W. Somerset Maugham’s “Appointment in Samarra”
Wisdom in an Image: Caravaggio’s Matthew Cycle II & III
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Wisdom in Poetry: V. I. Tyutchev’s “Silentium” Speak not, lie hidden, and conceal the way you dream, the things you feel. Deep in your spirit let them rise akin to stars in crystal skies that set before the night is blurred: delight in them and speak no word.
Death speaks: “There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, ‘Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there death will not find me.’ The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.
How can a heart expression find? How should another know your mind? Will he discern what quickens you? A thought once uttered is untrue. Dimmed is the fountainhead when stirred: drink at the source and speak no word.
“Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, ‘Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?’ ‘That was not a threatening gesture,’ I said, ‘it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.’”
Live in your inner self alone within your soul a world has grown, the magic of veiled thoughts that might be blinded by the outer light, drowned in the noise of day, unheard... take in their song and speak no word. —V. Nabokov, trans.
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Philosophical Argument & Tannen’s Critique of the “Argument Culture”
First Characteristic of Philosophy • •
Philosophy (unlike story, &c.) defends its doctrines on the basis of argument Two senses of the term argument
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– one focused on opposition between two views • “it takes two to make an argument”
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– one focused on giving reasons • “what is your argument for that claim?” • “ it takes premises to make an argument” •
“Tannen finds … that we thus most often argue emotionally when we should instead be trying to understand and evaluate rationally different points of view.”—Publisher’s Weekly Tannen offers a critique of “agonism”—“using opposition as a required and ubiquitous way to approach issues, rather than as one of many possibilities of getting things done by talk.” Tannen’s concern: – “When there is a need to make others wrong, the temptation is great to oversimplify at best, and at worst to distort or even misrepresent other positions, the better to refute them…. Straw men spring up like scarecrows in a cornfield.”
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This course (philosophy in general) is committed to avoiding this by careful presentation of views, as a necessary preliminary to their evaluation
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What is Theology? •
A broad definition – a systematic account [λόγος] of God [θεός]
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A narrower definition
• on this account, one could have philosophical theology – a systematic body of knowledge [about God] based on revelation [or, on faith].
II. Moral Philosophy & Moral Theology
• For Catholics, that would mean based on Scripture & Tradition as interpreted by the magisterium [the teaching authority of the Church]. • Protestants, Mormons, Jews, Muslims differ from Catholics & from one another over the source of revelation, not over its nature.
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Ethics & Religion
The Question • •
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Some people seem to insist on a close connection between ethics & religion This is a common mistake among many liberals & evangelicals.
Is moral philosophy possible? Or is ethics inextricably connected to theology & religion?
Liberals Sometimes are quick to call moral objections “religious objections”: “Scientists currently have to rely on obtaining surplus embryos from IVF clinics for their work, while some of those with religious convictions are unhappy at experimenting on and then destroying human life—even if it does pave the way to potentially life-saving treatment.”—BBC News
Evangelicals Sometimes claim a tight connection between religion & ethics: “Morality is dependent upon religion … Religion [is] the only basis for morality.”— William Jennings Bryan “Morality itself cannot be sustained without the support of religious beliefs.”—Sarah Palin
This confusion is not a necessary feature of either liberalism or evangelical Protestantism.
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The Perils of the South African Coast: The Birkenhead Drill & the Family Dog
Questions for Discussion
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Question № 1: Are Bryan & Palin making the same point? – If they are different, how?
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Question № 2: Is Bryan correct?
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On 26 Feb 1852, the HMS Birkenhead, a British troopship carrying over 600 passengers, struck an uncharted rock off the coast of South Africa. The infantrymen on the ship maintained their formation as the women and children were evacuated from the ship. All of the women and children were saved. Many of the soldiers went down with the ship.
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“On Aug. 4 [2013], Graham and Sheryl Anley, while yachting off the coast of South Africa, hit a reef, capsizing their boat. As the boat threatened to sink and they scrambled to get off, Sheryl’s safety line snagged on something, trapping her there. Instead of freeing his wife and getting her to shore, Graham grabbed Rosie, their Jack Russell terrier. (One media account reported that Sheryl had insisted that the dog go first). With Rosie safe and sound, Graham returned for Sheryl. All are doing fine.”—Robert M. Sapolsky, “Mind & Matter: Our Unique Obsession With Rover and Fluffy,” Wall Street Journal, 16 Aug 2013
– Consider the wreck of the Boundless (next slides)
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Distinguishing Ethics & Religion: Three Possible Approaches to Defending a Moral Principle
Question № 2: Why was it wrong to save Rosie first? •
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Dennis Prager says: – “There is only one way [to justify the priority of fellow man over animal]. We need to teach—as we did throughout American history until the 1960s —that human beings are created in God’s image and animals are not. That is the only compelling reason to save a human being you don’t love before the dog you do love.” Is he right?
(1) “The function of speech is to express with words … the thoughts of the mind. Whatever helps a faculty attain its proper end is something reasonable and morally good. The habit of veracity prompts man to use the faculty of speech in such a way as to attain its end.”
Argument without reference to God
(2) “Veracity is conformable to right reason because God is veracious. His sanctity includes veracity, because He would no longer be considered essentially holy if His speech … would contradict what He has in His mind. Man, in order to be holy, and therefore reasonable, must fashion his holiness on the holiness of God and make his speech conformable to his mind.”
Argument with reference to God, but without reference to revelation
(3) The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others.
Argument based on divine commands (or revelation)
What kind of argument did Prager use?
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Ethics & Religion: A Catholic View
Second Characteristic of Philosophy •
Philosophy (unlike theology) grounds its doctrines in observation, experience, and related natural powers (not in revelation)
Michelangelo, Il Penseroso
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Cosimo Rosselli, Descent from Mount Sinai
“With her long tradition of respect for the right relationship between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role to play in countering cultural currents which, on the basis of an extreme individualism, seek to promote notions of freedom detached from moral truth. Our tradition does not speak from blind faith, but from a rational perspective which links our commitment to building an authentically just, humane and prosperous society to our ultimate assurance that the cosmos is possessed of an inner logic accessible to human reasoning. The Church’s defense of a moral reasoning based on the natural law is grounded on her conviction that this law is not a threat to our freedom, but rather a ‘language’ which enables us to understand ourselves and the truth of our being, and so to shape a more just and humane world. … The Church’s witness, then, is of its nature public: she seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square.”—Pope Benedict XVI, Address to US Bishops on their Ad Limina Visit, 19 Jan 2012
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Why a Course in Moral Philosophy?
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It is possible to discuss ethics (& politics) without appeal to religion – Some revealed truths are knowable by natural reason. – This is important in a multi- or non-religious culture.
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The philosophical study of ethics helps clarify the relation of religion to ethics. – (This is an example of the kind of integration mentioned above.)
Philosophy is (or seeks) – a systematic body of knowledge – grounded in natural knowledge (as opposed to revelation)
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Branches of Philosophy
Two Other Comments about Philosophy • •
It is a discipline applicable to a number of subjects – So, there are various branches of philosophy
Philosophy
It is a discipline that helps integrate the various subjects of knowledge (some of which are investigated in part by other disciplines, such as science & history).
Science (= Systematic Body of Knowledge
Art (= Skill)
Practical Philosophy
Speculative Philosophy
General
Logic
Metaphysics
Special
Philosophy of Nature
PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Philosophical Theology
ETHICS
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How to Study Philosophy •
There are two distinct “levels” of understanding in philosophy – First is the doxographical, or “opinion-describing” level— • knowing what various authors said, and • knowing why they said it – Second is the epistemic— • evaluating the arguments, and • developing arguments oneself
III. How to Study Philosophy •
Examinations will center on – Definitions of terms – Distinctions between related concepts – Arguments for & against philosophical theses – General essay questions (exposition, comparison & contrast)
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How to Study Philosophy (cont’d.) •
Two things are important to remember in doing philosophy: – The truth of a claim does not mean • that any particular argument for it is sound. • that there is any known philosophical defense of it. • that any philosophical defense of it can be made at all. – The falsity of a conclusion does mean that there is something wrong with the argument; • but it is still important to be able to say what is wrong with the argument
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Three things to look for in the readings – Key terms & their definitions – Key theses (propositions) connecting the key terms
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– Arguments for the theses & something to think about – Examples of Key Concepts – Applications of Key Ideas
Political Philosophy
