Ethics
As is usual with me, this particular post is an extension of an argument I had offline with a friend.
Who, my contention was, is to say what is ethics? Who is the arbiter of what is ethical and what is not. Shouldn’t each one of us be the judge of our own system of ethics? How can one man or one group of people impose their idea of behaviour on a whole bunch of people? To me, culture, ethics and social systems were invented by person or persons, who, physically weak, would have absolutely no chance of winning war or love, and had to level the playing field a bit by imposing certain restrictions on who can do what.
Aren’t ethics then an imposition of one man’s idea of his life – and archaic at that?
The other point, as I’ve already mentioned, is that shouldn’t each one of us decide our own system of ethics, and it should be flexible and adapt to situations – I call it being amoral – not having a moral system – rather than being immoral. A person can be immoral according to public perception, but be absolutely true to his own system of beliefs. The point is, one man’s perversion is another man’s kink is another man’s daily routine. And what’s taboo in one society is ritual in another. Shouldn’t I then adapt my own system of ethics to reflect what is current to the society. I will have a better chance of living happily that way, instead of staying rigid to one school of thought.
I digress. What the point I was going to make is, shouldn’t I stay true to what I, under no external influence or duress, think is right?
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February 17th, 2005 at 11:36 am
Imagine the chaos in the world if everyone just lived according to their own sense of right. What is right for one will be wrong for another most of the time. Systems do solve a purpose, even though some thinking beings may find them restrictive.
Strength lies in being true to yourself. Wisdom lies in giving others the impression that you are being true to them too ;-). Intelligence lies in making the best of both.
February 19th, 2005 at 10:02 am
Hi Gopi,
Hmm.
What I really meant by ethics was the way we are supposed to conform to a certain set of rules and stuff – not really etiquette – but more like, I ought not talk about myself, I ought not be proud of my achievements etc.
I agree – it’s just semantics – but I still feel that way.
See, the issue that really got me piqued was a friend telling me “You shouldn’t be telling us you are good. It is not ethical. We, Others have to say you are good” or words to that extant. And so this particular rant.
February 19th, 2005 at 12:26 pm
I think semantics is getting in the way. Ethics specifically means the practice of morality. For example, I may consider it immoral to kill, but it may still be ethical to act immorally, to kill in self-defense. Ethics is bound by reason to morality.
Morality, on the other hand, need not be reasoned. You may choose to make reason your moral authority, or you may abrogate it to an external like, say, religious scripture.