Do you believe that you are ethical? Do you staunchly believe it is wrong to lie? Would you lie to a rapist inquiring about the whereabouts of a woman hiding in your house? I am sure you will and will that make you unethical then.
Clearly, the subject of morals and ethics is not that straightforward. Different philosophers have inquired this topic by looking at love as the basis of all moral behavior, some others believe it is only to be looked into on the basis of pure reason, where emotions do not play a part. But it is impossible to sever all emotions from the human psyche and so it should have some say in how we define ethics and morality.
In Ethical Empowerment: Virtue Beyond the Paradigms, Arthur D. Schwartz looks into this tricky and complex mesh of forces that shape the discussion on Ethics and Morality. He is the director of Integral Hypnosis and does philosophical counseling in Newton, MA.
Ethical Empowerment: Virtue Beyond the Paradigms
Pages: 408 pages Publisher: Emergence Books (November 20, 2014) ISBN-10: 0989467147, 978-0989467148 Read a Sample Here
The author begins with an investigation of basic principles that we learn through our childhood from our parents, teachers and from other influential sources in our society. He offers arguments and counter arguments to definitions of what is ‘Good’ and what is ‘Right’ by citing various philosophers and thinkers from Aristotle to Fredrick Nietzsche.
So what is Ethical Empowerment about? It is not about making you a rule follower, there is no concrete definition of what is ethical and moral. Ethical Empowerment seeks to understand the parts that makes something moral or immoral.
The author believes that any definition of ethics and morals should be based on the concept of universal love. The author argues that every action and situation can be looked at in number of ways. To accept rules, traditions and Dos and Don’ts without putting them to question periodically is to go against nature as passing time changes perspectives on everything. He supports his argument by quoting how even scientific theories, once considered to be the bedrock of the material world, have been disproved and changed to accommodate new realities.
A very present and common example of ethical empowerment is discussed in the later chapters where the author discuses the right to choose (Pro Life vs. Pro Choice). The deliberation looks at the situation from a mother’s perspective and also talks about the state’s right to take away the freedom to choose. The author points out that the best approach here will be to educate people at an early age equip them to make a right decision.
Compassion, beneficence, and fairness, although relative, form the core of the decisions people take throughout their lives. A balance of all these is necessary to arrive at a decision that is ethically correct. Is good intention enough to say that a decision was right even if the results are disastrous? Or should we let our passions run the decisions we make irrespective of whether it harms others or self?
Ethical Empowerment raises these basic questions and talks on a range of subjects such as Social Empowerment, Power and Humility. A discussion that covers the subject’s depth and breadth. If you like to read and talk about philosophy, Ethical Empowerment will give you a lot to think.