Introduction to Ethics+

Course outline

1. Foundations of ethics: origins of ethical deliberations, effect of our free actions on our being.

2. Meta ethics: Metaphysical, Psychological, and Linguistic.

3. The great ethical traditions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judeo Christian, Islam.

4. Normative and non-normative ethics.

The Classical Ethical Theories

 Moral absolutism
 Moral relativism.
 Consequentialism(ethical egoism, utilitarianism, feminist consequentialism)
 Non consequentialism
 Divine Command.
 Natural law tradition
 Communitarianism.
 Virtue character theory.
 Deontological theories.

5. Criteria for moral judgment of human acts: basis for moral judgment/ discernment of one’s moral actions.

6. Elements to the ethical act

Object/content, End/intention, Circumstances

7. Evaluation of acts with double effect(indirectly voluntary acts)

8. Responsibility for other peoples actions.
9. Responsibility for cooperating in other peoples actions
10. Restrictions//impediments to proper use of intellect and will.

Mode of Delivery: Lectures, Group discussions and Assignments

Brief Course description

All around us we are jammed with moral norms that tend to influence practically every aspect of our lives. We
do often condemn certain acts as unethical/immoral and praise others as ethically commendable. Nonetheless we
are in most cases not conscious of such moral norms and we tend to take them for granted yet they continue to
exist. These norms are mostly unwritten and they usually lack an enforcer. Wherever we go, we cannot run away
from these norms. It is then expected that being so much around us as they are, these norms should be known to
everyone, but this is not the case. It is thus necessary to learn about and critically discuss these ethical/ moral
norms so as to recognize them in our daily life.

The society today faces so many moral challenges. Most people have lost a sense of moral responsibility and this
has led to moral degradation in society. It is therefore upon this background that this course tries to assess the
human moral development and moral re asoning within this social environment as it introduces students to ethics
and finally on how human acts can be judged.

1
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

Why Ethics? Origins of ethics

We have varied activities that we carry out which require regulation in their execution thus requiring a certain
form of behavior. Any form of behaving may not work until we know there is a right way or wrong way of doing
things.

In history people pondered and asked if there is a right way or wrong way of living.

Is there a pattern or a model of an ideal good human life? If so where can people find it and how strictly ought
they to follow it?

Much as there is no written code of such speculations , history seem to show that primitively people thought of
such questions and gave them answers which could help them live a good life.

This has been found in people’s cultures and tribal customs. What we find in peoples cultures and customs is
known as customary morality. Such kind of morality requires an individual to behave in accordance with social
custom and usage.

Different from this is reflective morality in which a person attempts to find general principles by which to direct
and justify his or her personalbehavior/conduct. The distinction between the two types of morality is very small
for both require some form of reflection.

What is Ethics?

Ethics is mainly known as the principle of moral conduct that makes a distinction between good and bad/ evil,
right and wrong, virtue and non-virtue. The word ethics is derived from a Greek word ‘ethos’ meaning character.

It is a branch of knowledge that governs right and wrong conducts and behaviours of an individual, profession,
group or organization. It is a core of the professional and personal lives of people. Different scholars have
defined ethics differently. However different their definitions might be, ethics is always concerned with morality
and right vs wrong and good vs evil.

Ethics is the study of what humans ought to do and what they ought not to do in order to live a good and
meaningful life.

Ethics refers to well-based standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do usually in terms
of rights, obligations, and benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.

At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles that guide human conduct for peaceful coexistence. They
affect how people make decisions and lead their lives.

In simple terms we can say ethics is concerned with human customs and usages from a point of view of their
rightness or wrongness commonly known as the moral point of view.

Throughout history humans have engaged themselves in asking questions about the good life. In asking this
question judgments have been made about what is the right thing to do or not to do. That we make judgments on
what is right and wrong it becomes ethics point of departure.

2
The fact that we keep asking philosophical questions about the good conduct and good life is as a result of
wanting to know what can be the best for us to live good and meaningful lives. On the whole we need to
acknowledge the importance of right and wrong in human conduct.

As traditionally conceived, the purpose of ethics is to study a fact of experience, that people distinguish right
conduct from wrong conduct and have some awareness of what ought to be done and what ought not to be done.

SCOPE OF ETHICS

As a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and
wrong conduct, ethics concentrates on three areas of study.ie metaethics, normative ethics and applied ethics.

Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong,
virtue and vice, justice and crime.

Three major areas of study (Scope) within ethics recognized today are:

1. Meta-ethics, concerning the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions, and how their truth
values ( if any) can be determined
2. Normative ethics, concerning the practical means of determining a moral course of action.
3. Applied ethics, concerning what a person is obligated (or permitted) to do in a specific situation or a
particular domain of action.

1. Meta-Ethics: Meta-ethics comprises the area of situational ethics and deals with logical questions like ‘What
do we mean by ‘freedom’ and ‘determinism’ etc. It delves into the nature of ethical properties, attitudes and
judgements. For example, a media critic’s description of a TV series as ‘good drama’ does not necessarily denote
that the program is morally sound. It is the function of metaethics to define such vague concepts in ethical terms.

2. Normative Ethics: Normative ethics deals with standards or norms by which we can judge human actions to
be right or wrong. It deals with the criteria of what is morally right or wrong. For example, if someone murders a
person, everyone will agree that it is wrong. The question is: Why is it wrong to murder someone? There are a
lot of different answers we could give, but if we want to specify a principle that stated why its wrong, the answer
might be: Murder is wrong because when we kill someone, we violate their right to live. Another perspective
might be – To inflict unnecessary suffering on the person being murdered or their family is wrong, that’s why to
kill a person is wrong. There are three elements emphasized by normative ethics:

-The person who performs the act (the agent) -The act -The consequences of the act

3. Applied Ethics: Applied ethics is the problem-solving branch of moral philosophy. It uses the insights
derived from metaethics and the general principles and rules of normative ethics in addressing specific ethical
issues and cases in a professional, disciplinary or practical field.

Some of the key areas of applied ethics are:- Decision Ethics -Professional Ethics -Clinical Ethics -Business
Ethics -Organizational Ethics -Social Ethics

Applied ethics takes into consideration issues such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, drug
decriminalization, gay marriage, etc.

3
Nature of Ethics

 Scientific Nature: Ethics is a normative science which determines norms, moral values in a person and
an individual’s character. It is a systematic explanation of what is right and what is wrong.
 Not Art: Ethics is not art as art deals with the acquisition of skill to produce objects, while morality
deals with motive, intention, purpose and choice which are considered right or wrong in the light of
goodness. (web)
 Variable Nature: Ethics is not static. It is not always the same. Human beings change and the morality
and ethical perspective in them also changes.
 Exclusively for Human Beings: Ethics can only be applied to human beings as we are the ones who
have the capacity for moral judgement. We cannot expect ethical behaviour from animals, as they are not
as intelligent as human beings are so ethics is exclusively for human beings.

Ethics deals with human well-being, and discusses

•The nav ture of“individual”good
•The nature of“social”good
•The relation between these
•The ethical motives that exist for the individual topursue“social good”, or to whatever is“morally right”
•The relation between“pleasure”and“good”
•The nature of“virtue”(in antique ethics)•Duty and moral obligation (in modern ethics)
•The freedom of the will
•The ethical worth of“Positive Morality”

Objectives of Ethics

o The objectives of ethics are to study and assess human behaviour.

o It is also to establish principles and moral standards of behaviour.
o Ethics is not compulsory in a person’s life and it is not forced upon anyone but being ethical is one step
forward towards being a good person.

Ethical objectives are based on the following factors: Objectivity –Impartiality (autonomy) – Accuracy - Public
Accountability –Fairness –Truthfulness

What is the importance of ethics in society?

Ethics is important in a society because it grants the members some expectation of consistency and
predictability in behavior/action. Much in the way laws do.

Legislating or mandating all behavior is impossible, so we invent ethical and moral norms to cover the grey
areas. Ethics covers the parts of life where no agency or ruling body has made explicit decrees. Or where they
shouldn’t make explicit decrees.

Once a group has agreed upon a set of moral and ethical values, they can proceed relatively uniformly toward a
goal. Knowing how people are likely to behave can ease interactions and facilitate exchange. It promotes
cooperation and cohesion.

A society without clear ethical/moral values and norms will typically experience more conflict in areas
concerning “quality of human life”. Any issue that impacts or deals with things that can be referred to as
fundamentally “good” or “bad” will be point of contention.

4
Ultimately, ethics takes care of the big and important questions so that we can get on with furthering
societal goals.

Subject Matter of Ethics

The study of ethics encompasses the study of good and bad of right and wrong. This can help people judge
making better decisions.

The following questions will serve to dig into the nature of the problems which Ethics attempts to solve:
•Is“happiness”the“ultimate end”of actions?
•Is“virtue”preferable to“pleasure”?
•How do“pleasure”and“happiness”differ?
•What is meant by saying that“I ought to perform some particular action or respect some general precept
such as the keeping of promises”?
•Am I under any obligation to seek the welfare of other persons, as well as my own? If so, what is the
right proportion between the twowelfares?
•What is meant by“freedom of the will”?
•Is feeling or reason the right guide to conduct.
What do the terms“good”,“right”,obligation”,“duty”,“conscience”signify, both practically
ortheoretically?
 These problems and similar others associated withthem form the subject matter of Ethics, which maybe
described as the“science which investigates thegeneral principles for determining the true worth of the
ultimate ends of human conduct”.These principles, if they could be discovered and exactly formulated,
so that the rules of this conduct could be deduced from them, would constitute Ideal Morality.

In history we find that world over there is a tendency to judge that there are three kinds of acts. These include:

1. Those acts a person ought to do.

2. Those acts that a person ought not to do.

3. Those acts that a person may either do or not do.

The judgment on these three is applied to both personal conduct and the conduct of other people in general. Thus
the fact that people make judgments of right and wrong is a basic fact of experience from which ethics takes its
start.

To this effect the subject matter of ethics becomes human conduct. In this case it refers to those actions a person
does consciously and willfully and for which he or she is held accountable. The aspect or point of view from
which ethics studies human conduct is that of its rightness or wrongness.

Ethics is not interested in what a person does except to compare it with what he or she ought to do. All ethical
writers agree that the investigation of the ought is the distinctive feature of ethics that separates it from other
forms of studies.

5
Relationship of Ethics with other Disciplines

Ethics embracea all disciplines and all sectors of life.

Ethics is related to all the human and social sciences but is always distinguished from them by its unique point of
view, its concern with what ought to be done.

For instance Anthropology and ethics both deal with human customs on various levels of culture and
civilization.

While anthropology studies the origin and development of human customs without passing any moral judgment
on their rightness or wrongness, ethics finds interest in the rightness or wrongness of these customs.

Psychology and ethics both deal with human behavior. While psychology studies how human beings behave
ethics examines how they ought to behave.

Sociology, economics and political science study human social life and so does ethics but with the same
difference of the unique point of view. While political science, economics and sociology deal with actual social,
economic and political institutions – how they are and how they function; ethics determines what they ought to
be and how they ought to function.

Is Ethics a science?

What is science?

By science we mean the general approach to acquire knowledge i.e.itinvolves the use of certain methods together
which adhere to several key values or standards. The values or standards involve a commitment to such goals as:
objectivity, accuracy and skepticism. This method consists of systematic observation and direct experimentation.

Objectivity; this means evaluating information on the basis of its merits rather than one’s personal preference.

Accuracy: this means gathering information carefully and as precisely as possible.

Skepticism: this means accepting any information from findings as being true only after such information has
been verified by other competent observers. The methods and standards or values are independent of any specific
field of study. In determining whether a given field of study is scientific or not the crucial question would
be;does it make use of scientific methods and access scientific values?

With this in place if ethics is a science it is not exactly the same sense as experimental sciences but in a sense of
its being abodyof systematized knowledge. It’s like experimental sciences in weighing, analyzing and studying
relationships of empirical data. It’s like art in focusing on moral beauty and in involving emotion, imagination,
intuition and taste, but it’s not an art. It is a practical science.

HUMAN BEING IN THREE WORLDS

The picture of the universe

 There is the physical universe, World 1, with its most important sub-universe, that of the living
organisms.
 World 2, the world of conscious experience, emerge as an evolutionary product from the world of
organisms.
 World 3, the world of products from the human mind, emerge as a product from World 2.

6
  In each of these cases, the emerging product has a tremendous feedback effect upon the world from
which it emerges.

Codes of Ethics

A code of ethics is a guide of principles designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and with
integrity. ... A code of ethics also referred to as an "ethical code," may encompass areas such as business ethics,
a code of professional practice and an employee code of conduct

What are the five codes of ethics?

 Integrity.
 Objectivity.
 Professional competence.
 Confidentiality.
 Professional behavior.

Values

Values are defined as the acts, customs, and institutions that a group of people regard in a favorable way.
Statements of value typically contain words of approval, disapproval, and obligation. Some of these words might
be good, bad, should, and should not. However, value judgments do not have to contain specific value words.
“That is a lie” does not contain a particular word of disapproval, but the implication that a lie is wrong is
understood. Values are what really smatter to us most—what we care about most.

Morals

Morals are a set of rules or code of conduct on which society is based. Certain moral elements are universal, such
as the laws forbidding homicide and the basic duties of doing good and furthering the well-being of others. With
morals serving as the underpinning of society, there are four points we should remember:

 Moral rules are important: In general, moral rules are rules that help society function in a civilized way.

 Morality consists of universal rules: They apply to everyone, everywhere, and a re recognized by
everyone as being necessary.
 Morals are objective: They do not consider personal preferences. Right is right and wrong is wrong.
 Morality affects other people: Morality involves considering the well-being of others as reflected by the
Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Integrity: To have integrity is to be honest and sincere. Integrity is defined as adhering to a moral code in daily
decision making. When people and businesses possess integrity, it means they can be trusted. On the other hand,
people who lack this quality and mislead others with lies are never trusted and suffer serious consequences.

Character: Ethics is not just how we think and act. It is also about character. Character drives what we do when
no one is looking. Each person has the ability to build, change, or even destroy his or her own character. We can
build our character through the way we live—by thinking good thoughts and performing good acts. Similarly,
bad thoughts and behavior can destroy our character.

7
A person with character has high morals and will act morally in all situations by choice, not force. A person
with character will honor his or her commitments. Character pertains to organizations, as well. A company with
high character is worthy of trust and respect, acts honestly, and stands by its promises.

Laws: The law is a series of rules and regulations designed to express the needs of the people. Laws protect
people from the most blatant and despicable affront to morality, such as murder, rape, and theft.

Laws frequently provide us with a sense of right and wrong and guide our behavior, but not always. While
murder is against the law, the law does not always stop someone from killing another out of hatred, anger, or in
defense of a personal philosophy.

Professional Codes of Ethics:

Many professions and corporations have developed codes of ethics to address their unique business situations.
In fact, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies and nearly half of all corporations have codes of ethics that can be
applied to all employees. By developing a code of ethics, an organization makes it clear that employees and
members cannot claim ignorance as a defense for unethical conduct. Reasons Your Business Needs a Code of
Ethics.

Different proffessions have guiding principles that govern and regulate their operations.

Examples of the types of standards found in professional codes of ethics include:

 An attorney or physician maintaining client-patient confidentiality

 An accountant not using client information for personal gain.

Do we really need a Code of Ethics?

Yes you do!

A code of ethics is a set of standards adopted to govern the conduct of a group of people.

It’s your rule book if you will. Groups such as national medical associations adopt Codes of Ethics that govern
members in individual practices across many places of employ, while individual businesses may adopt more
specific code of ethics to ensure integrity within the company.

Let’s put together a Code of Ethics that will work for your company.
A company’s Code of Ethics will generally cover behaviour that, while not illegal, is nevertheless harmful to the
company and/or its clients.

A good Code of Ethics should include a motivating statement regarding the reason for its existence and the
company’s purpose. It should also address the consequences of violating the code as well as ways to report
violations of the code.

Its language should be clear and avoid meaningless phrases, focusing instead on directly communicating
expectations.

8
A Code will not be very useful unless it is widely known and followed; it should therefore be referred to
frequently, becoming a part of company culture rather than being read once at hiring and disappearing forever
into the abys.

Benefits of a Professional Code of Ethics: A professional code of ethics sets a standard for which each member
of the profession can be expected to meet.

 It is a promise to act in a manner that protects the public’s well-being.

 A professional code of ethics informs the public what to expect of one’s doctor, lawyer, accountant, or
property manager. As long as professionals adhere to these standards, the public is willing to have their
professional associations create and enforce their ethical codes.
 In cases where these codes are repeatedly and grossly violated, the public’s likely response is to demand
protective legislation. Most professionals would prefer to police themselves, rather than have an
externally imposed set of regulations. That is a major reason why they create codes of ethics in the first
place.

Why should you develop a Code of Ethics?

The following are several reasons to consider adopting a Code of Ethics for your company.

Shows employees you are a responsible company.

One reason to develop a Code of Ethics for your business is that it communicates to employees that your
company is committed to doing business responsibly.

New employees know right away your company’s standards and expectations. If management adheres strictly to
the code of ethics, a culture consistent with the code will grow among employees throughout the company. This
kind of company culture creates a kind of positive peer pressure to maintain a high level of work consistent with
the values of your company.

Shows customers you value integrity.

Additionally, customers tend to feel reassured by the existence of a Code of Ethics within a company. They feel
that the company values its integrity and will operate accordingly when doing business.

Third party groups also tend to look more favourably upon organizations that adopt a Code of Ethics,
appreciating that some attempt is being made to develop a company culture of responsibility and honesty.

Prevents ‘innocent’ violations of ethics

Another reason to maintain a code of ethics is that they address matters that might not occur to employees on
their own. While codes don’t necessarily touch on matters of illegality, they do address important matters that
affect the profitability, integrity and reputation of a business.

Having a specific Code of Ethics outlining the specific standards and expectations of your company for your
staff will sensitize employees to things that may not have been obvious to them and avoid inadvertent, yet
potentially harmful, missteps.

Provides a clear point of reference when enforcing corrective action

Lastly, another reason to consider keeping a Code of Ethics as part of your company culture is that such a
document will serve as a reference for corrective action or even termination for employees who fail to meet these
standards.

9
A widely known code removes anything arbitrary or murky from dealing with an employee who consistently
fails to behave in a manner that meets company standards.

Even one such employee can potentially cause great harm to a company, but straightforward, objective
expectations for employee behaviour provides a solid foundation for catching and addressing this kind of
problem.

Don’t forget keep it simple. When creating your code, get right to the point. Avoid big legal sounding words and
use bullet points instead of long winded paragraphs. Remember, you have to address all your employees and
they each have their own levels of understanding of such documents.

A business, no matter how big or small, can always benefit from having a clear Code of Ethics!
A business can always benefit from having a Code of Ethics in place both to avoid potential problems and to
address problems when they arise. If you decide to develop one, consider what would motivate and unite your
employees in a company culture consistent with the values you want to maintain throughout your organization.

THE HUMAN ACT AND ACTS OF MAN

Not everything that a man does is a human act. A perfect idiot does no human acts, nor a child that has not come
to the use of reason, nor a man asleep or under an anesthetic.

Things that we do mechanically, automatically, without thinking, have little of the human act about them. The
beating of the heart is not a human act, nor digestion, nor respiration for the most part.

A human act is an act of which a man is master, to do or not to do: it is an act of free will. It is an expression of
self. It is a man's own act, not of other agents about him. It is not an organic process going on in his body: but
rather an output of his soul and spirit.
Human action originates in man as a rational and free being. The human act differs from an “act of man”, in
which something happens independently of man's will. The general understanding of the human act. ... Not
everything he does is a human act, but only that which originates from him as rational and willed.

Man is responsible to God for all his human acts and to his fellowman for many of them: and for none but his
own human acts is any man responsible. What is not a human act can never be a sin.

Human persons are intelligent, free and capable of determining their own lives by their own free choices thus the
reason why they are accountable for ther human acts.

By freely choosing to shape our lives and actions in accord with the truth and by making good moral choices.
These choices performed freely and deliberately are what we call human acts.

HUMAN ACTS – THE CONCERN OF MORALITY

O n l y h u m a n a c t s a r e m o r a l a c t s . I t i s o n l y w i t h h u m a n a c t s t h a t m a n i s responsible for his
actions. Its reason and freedom that makes man a moral subject

Reason-Human acts are either in agreement or in disagreement with the dictates of reason.
 
Dictates of reason
Shared consciousness of prudent people about the manner of action or behavior- Norm of morality which is
the standard by which actions are judged as good or evil

Good -in harmony with reason.Evil -opposed to reason.Indifferent-neutral.

10
THREE ELEMENTS OF THE HUMAN ACT:
a] motion of the will (otherwise known as volition).
b] Intellectual knowledge of the purpose of the act.
c] Freedom. If any of these elements is missing, no human acts have taken place. Or the essential elements of a
human act are three: knowledge, freedom, actual choice.

THE OBJECTS OF THE HUMAN ACT:

In every human act something is chosen, and this is referred to as the object of the human act.It is the matter of
a human act.

The object chosen morally specifies the act of the will, insofar as reason recognizes and judges it to be or not to
be in conformity with the true good. Objective norms of morality express the rational order of good and evil,
attested to by conscience. The objects of the human act are either direct or indirect

The direct object of the human act is that which immediately terminates the will. Itmay be internal, as in an act of
loving a friend or hating an enemy, or external as when the will commands some other bodily power to do
something.

The physical act of the body is the commanded act. The act of the will is the internal decision. The truly
human act is always and only the inner act of the will. It alon is free.

The indirect object of the will is something not intended but foreseen as following from what we directly intended.

KINDSOF HUMAN ACTS:

a} The perfect voluntary act: Its done withfull knowledge and consent

 b} The imperfect voluntary act: It is semi-deliberate, in which there is incomplete deliberation or consent. We are not
responsible for that which merely happens within us, but only for what we deliberately cause to happen.

The modification of the human act: The modifiers of human acts include ignorance, passions, fear, violence, and
habit.
The voluntary nature of our human acts depends on knowledge and free consent. The following factors affect
either knowledge or free consent and so diminish the human act.

 Ignorance:
a) Invincible ignorance - a person does something, and he could not have reasonably been expected to
know it under the circumstances. If a person is invincibly ignorant of a fact, he is not responsible.
b) Vincible ignorance - a person has not made adequate effort under thecircumstance to find out necessary
information.
c) Crass ignorance - a person has not made any effort to find out thetruth.

VIOLENCE - Refers to any physical force exerted on a person by another free agent for the purpose of
compelling said person to act against his will. - In cases where the victim gives complete resistance, the
violence is classified as perfect violence.

2. ACTS OF MAN
 Those acts which man performs without being master of them through
h i s intellect and will = therefore, they are not voluntary

11
Acts of Man. Actions beyond one's consciousness; not dependent on the intellect & the will. Essential qualities
of acts of man – Done with out knowledge – Without consent – Involuntary. Ex: unconscious, involuntary, semi-
deliberate, spontaneous actions

Examples of Acts of Man

The natural acts of vegetative and sense faculties
 Digestion, beating of heart, growth, corporal reactions, visual or
a u d i t i v e perceptions. -But these acts may become human acts when they are performed with malice,
or when we are directed by the will, when we look at something or
a r o u s e ourselves
 Acts of personsw i t h o u t t h e p r o p e r u s e o f r e a s o n e.g. C h i l d r e n o r i n s a n e persons
 Acts of people asleep or under the influence ofhypnosis, alcoholor other drug; however, there
may still be some degree of control by the will- but there is indirect responsibility if the cause
of the loss of control isvoluntary.
 Primo-primo acts : quick and nearly automatic reactions( re f l e x a c t i o n s a n d n e a r l y
i n s t a n t a n e o u s r e a c t i o n s w i t h o u t t i m e f o r t h e intellect or will to intervene
 A c t s p e r f o r m e d u n d e r s e r i o u s p h y s i c a l – o r i n s o m e c a s e s – moral violence

Effects of human acts on the actor:

 Every human act is self-referential.
 Creates a habit and character in you.
 Influences all other future actions.
 A moral experience is gained/ attained and influences your future actions.

Effects human acts on other people

Infringes on other people’s rights, Violates peoples rights, causes psychological torture, affects people’s
economic status, disgraces people and it can be a source of happiness and joy, it can lead to insecurty, grief,
anxiety, depression ,anxiety, stress and sickness. Causes conflicts and lowers ones self esteem,

Meta ethics: Metaphysical, Psychological, and Linguistic.

Meta-ethics is one of the three branches of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties,
statements, attitudes, and judgments. Other branches are normative ethics and applied ethics.

Metaethics is the study of metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language,
insofar as they relate to the subject matter of moral or, more broadly, normative discourse – the subject matter of
what is good, bad, right or wrong, just, reasonable, rational, what we must or ought to do,

Metaethics explores the status, foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words. Whereas the
fields of applied ethics and normative theory focus on what is moral, metaethics focuses on what morality itself
is.

While normative ethics addresses such questions as "What should I do?" endorsing some ethical evaluations and
rejecting others, meta-ethics addresses questions such as "What is goodness?" and "How can we tell what is good
from what is bad?" seeking to understand the nature of ethical properties and evaluations.

Metaethics is an attempt to understand the metaphysical, aepistemological, semantic, and psychological,

presuppositions and commitments of moral thought, talk, and practice. As such, it counts within its domain a
broad range of questions and puzzles, including: Is morality more a matter of taste than truth?

12
 Are moral standards culturally relative? Are there moral facts? If there are moral facts, what is their origin? How
is it that they set an appropriate standard for our behavior? How might moral facts be related to other facts (about
psychology, happiness, human conventions…)? And how do we learn about the moral facts, if there are any?

These questions lead naturally to puzzles about the meaning of moral claims as well as about moral truth and the
justification of our moral commitments.

Meta-ethics explores as well the connection between values, reasons for action, and human motivation, asking
how it is that moral standards might provide us with reasons to do or refrain from doing as it demands, and it
addresses many of the issues commonly bound up with the nature of freedom and its significance (or not) for
moral responsibility

Meta-ethical positions may be divided according to how they respond to questions such as the following:

  What exactly are people doing when they use moral words such as “good” and “right”?
  What precisely is a moral value in the first place, and are such values similar to other familiar sorts of
entities, such as objects and properties?
 Where do moral values come from—what is their source and foundation?
 Are some things morally right or wrong for all people at all times, or does morality instead vary from
person to person, context to context, or culture to culture?

Current writers distinguish between normative ethics that is, ethics as the study of what humans ought to do and
what they ought not to do and meta- ethics or analytic ethics, that is the inquiryinto the presuppositions of
normative ethics. Meta-ethics is the study of the ethical theory itself; it is ethics own reflection on itself judging
the success or failure of itself as moral theory.

Meta-ethics has two major aims namely: analysis of the meaning of terms used in moral argumentation.

And examination of rules of reasoning and methods of knowing by which moral beliefs can be shown to be
either true or false.

The first aim precisely explains how terms like good, evil, right, wrong, duty, ought and moral obligation
function in moral language.

In expressing our moral beliefs, convictions, , judging our conduct, appraising our and other peoples character ,
deliberating about what we ought to do and what we ought not to do and evaluating what we and other people
have done we use moral language.

The second aim is to make explicit the logical principles that are followed or intended to be followed when
we give moral reasons for or against doing something or when we try to justify our acceptance or rejection of
a moral judgment or argument.

What philosophy of science does for the natural sciences, meta ethics does for ethics.ie Try to show the
logical structure and underlying the method whereby statements are verified and theories are supported by
appeal to evidence. Thus meta-ethics tries to show how moral beliefs or convictions can be established as
true or false and on what grounds a person can claim to know that they are true or false.

Normat1ive ethics

13
Normative esthics is the study of ethical action. It is the branch of ethics that investigates the set of questions that
arise when considering how one ought to act.

Normative ethics is interested in determining the content of our moral behavior.

Normative ethics is distinct from meta-ethics because it examines standards for the rightness and wrongness of
actions.

Examples of normative ethical claims would include:

 “Murder is wrong.”
 “Giving to charity is good, but not ethically mandatory.”
 “Conflict of interest must be handled carefully.”
 “My dad was a man of integrity.”

Traditionally, normative ethics (also known as moral theory) was the study of what makes actions right and
wrong. These theories offered an overarching moral principle one could appeal to in resolving difficult moral
decisions.

Applied ethics

Applied ethics refers to the practical application of moral considerations. It is ethics with respect to real-world
actions and their moral considerations in the areas of private and public life, the professions, health, technology,
law, and leadership. For example, the bioethics community is concerned with identifying the correct approach to
moral I ssues in the life sciences, such as euthanasia, the allocation of scarce health resources, or the use of
human embryos in research.

Environmental ethics is concerned with ecological issues such as the responsibility of government and
corporations to clean up pollution.

Business ethics includes questions regarding the duties or duty of 'whistleblowers' to the general public or their
loyalty to their employers.

Applied ethics has expanded the study of ethics beyond the realms of academic philosophical discourse. The
field of applied ethics, as it appears today, emerged from debate surrounding rapid medical and technological
advances in the early 1970s and is now established as a subdiscipline of moral philosophy.

However, applied ethics is, by its very nature, a multi-professional subject because it requires specialist
understanding of the potential ethical issues in fields like medicine, business or information technology.
Nowadays, ethical codes of conduct exist in almost every profession.

THE GREAT ETHICAL TRADITIONS

Budhism

Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on original teachings
attributed to the Buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies.

14
Buddhism originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BC,
spreading through much of Asia.

Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognised by scholars: Theravada (Pali: "The School of
the Elders") and Mahayana (Sanskrit: "The Great Vehicle").

Most Buddhist traditions share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of death and rebirth, either by the
attainment of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood.

Widely observed practices include taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, observance of
moral precepts, monasticism, meditation, and the cultivation of the Paramitas (virtues).

Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha, or
other enlightened beings such as Bodhisattvas.

Śīla in Buddhism is one of three sections of the Noble Eightfold Path, and is a code of conduct that embraces a
commitment to harmony and self-restraint with the principal motivation being non-violence, or freedom from
causing harm. It has been variously described as virtue, right conduct, morality, moral discipline and precept.

Sīla is an internal, awareness, and intentional ethical behavior, according to one's commitment to the path of
liberation. It is an ethical compass within self and relationships, rather than what is associated with the English
word "morality" (i.e., obedience, a sense of obligation, and external constraint).

Sīla is also wholehearted commitment to what is wholesome. Two aspects of sīla are essential to the training:
right "performance" (caritta), and right "avoidance" (varitta).

Honoring the precepts of sīla is considered a "great gift" (mahadana) to others, because it creates an atmosphere
of trust, respect, and security. It means the practitioner poses no threat to another person's life, property, family,
rights, or well-being.

Moral instructions are included in Buddhist scriptures or handed down through tradition. Most scholars of
Buddhist ethics thus rely on the examination of Buddhist scriptures, and the use of anthropological evidence
from traditional Buddhist societies, to justify claims about the nature of Buddhist ethics.

Foundations: The Basic Teachings of Bu ddha which are core to Buddhism are: The Three Universal Truths;
The Four Noble Truths; and the Noble Eightfold Path.

The source for the ethics of Buddhists around the world is: the Three Jewels of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

The Buddha is seen as the discoverer of liberating knowledge and hence the foremost teacher.

The Dharma is both the teachings of the Buddha's path and the truths of these teachings.

The Sangha is the community of noble ones (ariya), who practice the Dhamma and have attained some
knowledge and can, thus, provide guidance and preserve the teachings. Having proper understanding of the
teachings is vital for proper ethical conduct. The Buddha taught that right view was a necessary prerequisite for
right conduct.

Karma and Rebirth

15
 The bhavacakra (wheel of life) shows the r ealms of karmic rebirth, at its hub are the three poisons of greed,
hatred and delusion.

A central foundation for Buddhist morality is the law of Karma and Rebirth. The Buddha is recorded to have
stated that right view consisted in believing that (among other things): "'there is fruit and ripening of deeds well
done or ill done’: what one does matters and has an effect on one’s future; 'there is this world, there is a world
beyond': this world is not unreal, and one goes on to another world after death"

Karma is a word which literally means "action" and is seen as a natural law of the universe which manifests as
cause and effect.

In the Buddhist conception, Karma is a certain type of moral action which has moral consequences on the actor.
The core of karma is the mental intention, and hence the Buddha stated ‘It is intention(cetana), O monks, that I
call karma; having willed one acts through body, speech, or mind’.Therefore, accidentally hurting someone is
not bad Karma, but having hurtful thoughts is.

Buddhist ethics sees these patterns of motives and actions as conditioning future actions and circumstances - the
fruit of one's present actions, including the condition and place of the actor's future life circumstances (though
these can also be influenced by other random factors).

One's past actions are said to mold one's consciousness and to leave seeds which later ripen in the next life.

The root of one's intention is what conditions an action to be good or bad. There are three good roots (non-
attachment, benevolence/good will, and understanding) ‘and three negative roots (greed, hatred and
delusion/false impression/illusion).

Actions which produce good outcomes are termed "merit" (puñña - fruitful, auspicious) and obtaining merit is
an important goal of lay Buddhist practice.

There three 'bases which effect karmic fruitfulness’ (puñña-kiriya-vatthus): giving, moral virtue and meditation.

One's state of mind while performing good actions is seen as more important than the action itself. The Buddhist
Sangha is seen as the most meritorious "field of merit".

Negative actions accumulate bad karmic results, though one's regret and attempts to make up for it can ameliorate these
results.

The Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths express one of the central Buddhist worldview which sees 1.worldly existence as fundamentally
unsatisfactory and stressful (Dukkha).

2.Dukkha is seen to arise from craving

3. Putting an end to craving can lead to liberation (Nirvana).

4. The way to put an end to craving is by following the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha, which includes the
ethical elements of right speech, right action and right livelihood.

16
From the point of view of the Four Noble Truths, an action is seen as ethical

 If it is conductive to the elimination of Dukkha.

Understanding the truth of Dukkha in life allows one to analyze the factors for its arising that is craving, and allows us to
feel compassion and sympathy for others. Comparing neself with others and then applying the Golden Rule is said to follow
from this appreciation of Dukkha.

 From the Buddhist perspective, an act is also moral if it promotes spiritual development by conforming to the
Eightfold Path and leading to Nirvana. In Mahayana Buddhism, an emphasis is made on the liberation of all beings.
Therefore, special beings called Bodhisattvas are believed to work tirelessly for the liberation of all and are seen as
important figures.

According to Buddhist, the ethical and moral principles are governed by examining whether a certain action, connected to
body or speech is likely to be harmful to one's self or to others and thereby avoiding any actions which are likely to be
harmful. Buddhism, talks of a skilled mind. A mind that is skillful avoids actions that are likely to cause suffering or
remorse.

Moral conduct for Buddhists differs according to whether it applies to the laity or to the clergy or Sangha.

A lay Buddhist should cultivate good conduct by training in what are known as the "Five Precepts". These are not like, say,
the ten commandments, which, if broken, entail punishment by God.

The five precepts are training rules, which, if one were to breakany of them, one should be aware of the breech and examine
how such a breech may be avoided in the future.

It entails less feelings of guilt than its Judeo-Christian counterpart. Buddhism places a great emphasis on 'mind' and it is
mental anguish such as remorse, anxiety, guilt etc. which areto be avoided in order to cultivate a calm and peaceful mind.

The eight precepts are:

1. To undertake the training to avoid taking the life of beings. This precept applies to all living beings not just humans.
All beings have a right to their lives and that right should be respected.

How far does this precept extend?

Buddhists have always interpreted this precept to mean, not merely a prohibition of murder, but of all kinds of violence
against human beings and animals.

Killing animals is considered less unskilful than killing human beings (because animals have a less developed consciousness
and because killing a person requires more deliberate will and effort), we still have a responsibility to limit the killing and
other violence inflicted on animals as far as possible.

Buddhists should also avoid actions which indirectly support violence, e.g. trading in arms. An important aspect of Right
Livelihood is that one's job should not cause suffering as far as possible.

17
Why is killing wrong?

Killing is the expression of a mental state rooted in greed, hatred, and delusion. It is an unskillful act because it brings
suffering on the doer and on the victim, holding both back from Enlightenment.

"To kill a living being means to inflict upon him the greatest of all sufferings or evils, for inasmuch as life is the greatest
good, so the greatest suffering, or the greatest evil, that can befall one, is to be deprived of life."

Himsa and Ahimsa

Killing is also considered wrong because it is the expression of himsa: force or violence. This violence can be mental or
physical, and really means doing to another being something which that being does not want.

Violence and the self

Violence is the most extreme form of as sertion of one self over another. In doing damage to another, one actually does
damage to oneself: one only fails to understand this because of delusion.

There are two practices one can cultivate in Buddhism to try to prevent the arising of the self-view and its accompanying
violence:

1. The equality of oneself with others, reflecting that one suffers from the same effects of samsara as other beings.

2. Putting one in the place of others, imagining that one experiences exactly the same pains and pleasures.

Can Violence never be justified?

Violence can only be justified if its aim is actually to help the living being towards whom it is aimed, to save it from its own
ignorance. For example, one could justifiably use force to restrain a child from harming itself.

2.To undertake the training to avoid taking things not given. This precept goes further than mere stealing. One should
avoid taking anything unless one can be sure that is intended that it is for you.

The second precept involves undertaking not to take things that belong to others, unless these have been freely given. This is
seen as a form of violence.

Stealing vs. generosity

Why is this so important? After all, Buddhist monks and nuns give up all individual property apart from a bowl and robe, all
in a spirit of renunciation.

If you steal someone else’s brand new Mercedes-Benz, isn’t this helping them to renounce possessions? It becomes obvious
that the answer to this is “no” if you then think through what the average Mercedes-Benz owner would do once their car was
stolen.

First of all they’d be very angry, then go to the police, try to get the car back and the thief punished, and so on. These are
not the actions of someone who has renounced attachment to their property! The fact is that you cannot force someone into

18
renouncing their property. They have to do it freely for themselves.

Stealing someone’s property generally has the opposite effect, of making them realize how much they are attached to it.

Instead, Buddhism puts forward the positive ideal of generosity.

Through generosity, the boundaries of the self can gradually begin to be dissolved, as we no longer think of the thing we are
giving (whether this is an object, a favour, time etc) as “mine”. Stealing and having things stolen, however, reinforce these
ego-boundaries.

Generosity also leads to further good effects as other people respond to it. Gratitude is a natural effect of generosity, and has
a similarly opening effect on our states of mind.

Expressions of gratitude are encouraged in Buddhism for this reason. For example, disciples may formally express gratitude
to a spiritual teacher.

Issues relating to taking the not-given

As with the other precepts, the interpretation of this precept raises problems about where you draw the line. A burglar who
picks a lock, creeps into a house when the owner is away, and steals a computer is obviously stealing.

But what about the starving person who steals a loaf of bread? What about the pocketing of corporate property at work?
What if you fail to repay a loan made to you by a friend?

One basic principle in Buddhist ethics is that the motive behind the moral offence should be considered. If a man steals a
loaf of bread so as to feed his starving family and save their lives, he has a good motive for his action.

Stealing indirectly, then, may also be a breach of the precept, depending on how deliberately this is done.

Failing to repay a loan would be a form of taking the not-given, though it would be more blameworthy if it was deliberate
than if one simply forgot to do so (though one is also responsible for one’s lack of mindfulness in Buddhism).

It would also be more blameworthy depending on the size of the loan, as it requires a more deliberate action to fail to repay
a larger loan, just as it requires more deliberate effort to decide to steal a more important or more valuable thing.

Issues relating to generosity

Generosity is a very important positive emotion in Buddhism, and it is said that giving (dana) is a practice that anyone can
engage in, however difficult they find other Buddhist practices. Generosity contributes to awareness as we become more
aware of those we are giving to. Giving should also be made with good intentions, not out of self-interest or because one
wants something back.

Any kind of giving is said to produce good karma because it reduces attachment and increases awareness. The Buddhist
tradition particularly stresses the value of giving to monks, who are seen as a “field of merit”, i.e. providing an opportunity
for others to create good karma, because of the way in which they are using the gift to help them directly in spiritual
development.

19
There is no limit to how far generosity can be developed.

3. To undertake the training to avoid sensual misconduct. This precept is often mistranslated or misinterpreted as
relating only to sexual misconduct but it covers any overindulgence in any sensual pleasure such as gluttony as well as
misconduct of a sexual nature.

This means that some Buddhists (e.g. Sangharakshita) claim that it is not only concerned with sexual desire, but also other
kinds of sensual desire. On this interpretation the third precept would involve avoiding eating too much chocolate as well as
sexual misconduct.

The ultimate ideal in Buddh ism is to go beyond sexual differentiation, because our attachment to being male or female, and
the specific feelings this brings with it, is part of what holds us back from developing towards enlightenment.

This is best achieved by avoiding sexual activity altogether, so the best practice (for those in a position to follow it) is
celibacy, as practiced by monks and nuns. Sometimes temporary celibacy for a limited period is also followed by lay people,
and in the Theravada this is one of the eight precepts that lay people sometimes take to temporarily.

Interpretations of the precept

Minimally this means the avoidance of rape, abduction and adultery. So if one is married (and in the modern West, this is
often taken to mean in any kind of settled sexual relationship) it would be a breach of the precept to have sex outside that
relationship, or to have sex which involved violence (which would also be a breach of the first precept).

There is more controversy over fornication (casual sex before marriage) and over homosexuality. Here there is a great gulf
in attitudes between traditional Theravadins, who tend to be very conservative on sexual morality, and modern Western
Buddhists, who tend to be liberal.

Sangharakshita, giving a modern interpretation for Western Buddhists, sees the third precept as being about avoiding sexual
activity which is exploitative in any way or hurts others.

This means it would be unethical to have sex with someone else's wife or husband if this is likely to upset them, just as it
would be unethical to have sex with someone else's boyfriend/girlfriend where this would have bad effects.

Sangharakshita has no problem with homosexuality, and indeed at times has been accused of favouring homosexuality over
other forms of sexuality.

4. To undertake the training to refrain from false speech. As well as avoiding lying and deceiving, this precept
covers slander as well as speech which is not beneficial to the welfare of others. The fourth of the five precepts
focuses on avoiding false speech of all kinds, with the positive counterpart of truthfulness.
Some key points to emphasise here about the focus on truth in the Fourth precept are that:

 Truth is not only emphasised because lies can be harmful, but because Enlightenment is seen as a state in which
truth is understood. The whole Buddhist Path is thus a quest for the truth (in a sense in which factual and moral truth
come together).
 Truth-telling involve not distorting the truth by exaggeration, selection, or evasion.
 As with the other precepts, breaches can be indirect. One can undermine truth, not just by lying, but for example by
not listening to or not believing someone else who is speaking the truth.

20
 Working for a newspaper that regularly lies or distorts the truth might also be seen as indirectly breaking the fourth
precept, as well as being wrong livelihood.

As with other precepts, the motive is important, but this does not prevent us from being responsible for our lack of
awareness. So we are not responsible for passing on others’ lies when we genuinely believe them to be true, but if
more careful observation of others to detect lying could have avoided this situation, then we are at least partially
responsible.

5.To undertake the training to abstain from substances which cause intoxication and heedlessness?This
precept is in a special category as it does not infer any intrinsic evil in, say, alcohol itself but indulgence in such a
substance could be the cause of breaking the other four precepts.

This precept is generally seen as an aid to mindfulness. Intoxicants are to be avoided partly because of their effects on one’s
state of mind, but also because in an intoxicated state one is more likely to break the other precepts. Intoxicants may also
have psychologically (or sometimes physically) addictive effects, leading to a cycle of craving.

The precept particularly refers to alcoholic drink, but is often interpreted to refer to recreational drugs as well, or most
broadly to the taking of any substance which can have an intoxicating effect. Some Buddhists have taken it to include
smokig as well.

These are the basic precepts expected as a day to day training of any lay Buddhist. The additional precepts are:

6) To abstain from taking food at inappropriate times.This would mean following the tradition of Theravadin monks of
not eating from noon day until sunrise the next day .

7) To abstain from dancing, singing, music and entertainments as well as refraining from the use of perfumes,
ornaments and other items used to adorn or beautify the person.

8) To undertake the training to abstain from using high or luxurious beds.These three are rules regularly adopted by
members of the Sangha,monks and followed by the layperson on special occasions.

Lay persons following the Mahayana tradition will also follow a strictly vegetarian diet.

This is not an additional precept but a strengthening of the first precept; To undertake the training to avoid taking the life of
beings. The eating of meat would be considered a contribution to the taking of life, indirect though it may be.

Controversy?

Although history War records conflicts involving the so-called Buddhist nations, these wars have been fought for economic
or similar reasons. History does not record wars fought in the name of propagating Buddhism.

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama never suggested armed conflict to overcome the persecution and cruelty perpetrated by the
Communist Chinese occupation forces. He always advocated a peaceful and non-violent solution.

21
Venerable MahaGhosananda, the Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia urged Cambodians to put aside their anger for the
genocide of the Khmer Rouge and to unify and re-establish their nation. He has written:

The suffering of Cambodia has been deep. From this suffering comes great compassion. Great compassion makes a peaceful
heart. A peaceful heart makes a peaceful person. A peaceful person makes a peaceful family. A peaceful family makes a
peaceful community. A peaceful community makes a peaceful nation. A peaceful nation makes a peaceful world.

In the early history of Buddhism, Emperor Asoka, who, after a bloody but successful military campaign, ruled over more
than two thirds of the Indian subcontinent, suffered great remorse for the suffering that he had caused. He thus banned the
killing of animals and exhorted his subjects to lead kind and tolerant lives.

He promoted tolerance towards all religions and supported them financially.

He recommended that all religions desist from self-praise and condemnation of others.

His pronouncements were written on rocks at the periphery of his kingdom and on pillars along the main roads and where
pilgrims gathered.

He also established many hospitals for both humans and animals.

Some of his important rock edicts stated:

1. Asoka ordered that banyan trees and mango groves be planted, rest houses built and wells dug every half mile along the
main roads.

2. He ordered the end to killing of any animal for use in the royal kitchens.
3. He ordered the provision of medical facilities for humans and beasts.
4. He commanded obedience to parents, generosity to priests and ascetics and frugality in spending.
5. All officers must work for the welfare of the poor and the aged.
6. He recorded his intention to promote the welfare of all beings in order to repay his debt to all beings.
7. He honours men of all faiths.

Key values and virtues

Following the precepts is not the only dimension of Buddhist morality; there are also several important virtues,
motivations and habits which are widely promoted by Buddhist texts and traditions.

 At the core of these virtues are the three roots of: -non-attachment (araga),- benevolence (advesa), and -
understanding (amoha).
 One list of virtues which is widely promoted in Buddhism are the Pāramitās (perfections)

- Dāna (generosity), Sīla (proper conduct), Nekkhamma (renunciation), Paññā (wisdom), Viriya (energy),
Khanti (patience), Sacca (honesty), Adhiṭṭhāna (determination), Mettā (Good-Will), Upekkhā (equanimity).

 The Four divine abidings ln Buddhism are seen as central virtues and intentions in Buddhist ethics,
psychology and meditation.

22
 These abidings are:good will, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. Developing these virtues
through meditation and right action promotes happiness, generates good merit and trains the mind for ethical
action.

Issues in Budhism

Killing

The first precept is the abstaining from the taking of life, and the Buddha clearly stated that the taking of human
or animal life would lead to negative karmic consequences and was non conductive to liberation.

Right livelihood includes:

 Not trading in weapons

 In hunting and butchering animals. Various suttas state that one should always have a mind filled with
compassion and loving kindness for all beings, this is to be extended to hurtful, evil people as in the case
of Angulimala the murderer and to every kind of animal, even pests and vermin (monks are not allowed
to kill any animal, for any reason).
 Buddhist teachings and institutions therefore tend to promote peace and compassion, acting as safe
havens during times of conflict.

War

The Buddhist analysis of conflict begins with the 'Three Poisons' of: greed, hatred and delusion.

Craving and attachment, the cause of suffering, is also the cause of conflict. Buddhist philosopher Shantideva
states in his Siksasamuccaya:

 "Wherever conflict arises among living creatures, the sense of possession is the cause".
 Craving for material resources as well as grasping to political or religious views is seen as a major
source of war.
 One's attachment to self-identity and identification with tribe, nation state or religion is also another
root of human conflict according to Buddhism.
 The Buddha promoted non-violence in various ways, he encouraged his followers not to fight in wars
and not to sell or trade weapons.
 The Buddha stated that in war, both victor and defeated suffer: "The victor begets enmity. The
vanquished dwells in sorrow. The tranquil lives happily, abandoning both victory and defeat"

Abortion

There is no single Buddhist view concerning abortion although traditional Buddhism rejects abortion because it
involves the deliberate destroying of a human life and regards human life as starting at conception. Although
some Buddhist views can be interpreted as holding that life exists before conception because of the never ending
cycle of life.

The traditional Buddhist view of rebirth sees consciousness as present in the embryo at conception, not as
developing over time. Then, the causing of an abortion is seen as an act of killing punishable by expulsion from
the monastic Sangha.

23
'life is there from the moment of conception and should not be disturbed for it has the right to live'.One of the
reasons this is seen as an evil act is because a human rebirth is seen as a precious and unique opportunity to do
good deeds and attain liberation.

Suicide and Euthanasia

Buddhism understands life as being pervaded by Dukkha, as unsatisfactory and stressful. Ending one's life to
escape present suffering is seen as futile because one will just be reborn again, and again. One of the three forms
of craving is craving for annihilation and this form of craving is the root of future suffering. Dying with an
unwholesome and agitated state of mind is seen as leading to a bad rebirth, so suicide is seen as creating negative
karma.

Ending one's life is also seen as throwing away the precious opportunity to generate positive karma. While
suicide does not seem to be interpreted as a breaking of the first precept (not killing other beings) it is still seen
as a grave and unwholesome action.

Buddhism sees the experience of dying as a very sensitive moment in one's spiritual life because the quality of
one's mind at the time of death is believed to condition one's future rebirth.

The Buddhist ideal is to die in a calm but conscious state, while learning to let go. Dying consciously, without
negative thoughts but rather joyously with good thoughts in mind is seen as a good transition into the next life.

Traditional Buddhism would hold Euthanasia, where one brings about the death of a suffering patient (whether
or not they desire this) so as to prevent further pain, as a breach of the first precept. The argument that such a
killing is an act of compassion because it prevents suffering is unacceptable to traditional Buddhist theology
because it is seen to be deeply rooted in delusion.

This is because the suffering being who was euthanised would just end up being reborn and having to suffer due
to their karma (even though, not all suffering is due to karma), and hence killing them does not help them escape
suffering.

Killing of one's sick and aged parents is an act of delusion. The act of killing someone in the process of death
also ruins their chance to mindfully experience pain and learn to let go of the body, hence desire for euthanasia
would be a form of aversion to physical pain and a craving for non-becoming.

Capital punishment: Budhism places great emphasis on the sanctity of life and hence in theory forbids the
death penalty. However, capital punishments have been used in most historically Buddhist states.

Animals and the environment

Buddhism does not see humans as being in a special moral category over animals or as having any kind of God
given dominion over them as Christianity does.

Humans are seen as being more able to make moral choices, and this means that they should protect and be kind
to animals who are also suffering beings who are living in samsara. Buddhism also sees humans as part of
nature, not as separate from it.

ThichNahtHanh summarizes the Buddhist view of harmony with nature thus:

24
  We classify other animals and living beings as nature, acting as if we ourselves are not part of it. Then
we pose the question ‘How should we deal with Nature?’
 We should deal with nature the way we should deal with ourselves!
 We should not harm ourselves; we should not harm nature...
 Human beings and natures are inseparable.

Environment

Early Buddhist monastics spent a lot of time in the forests, which was seen as an excellent place for meditation
and this tradition continues to be practiced by the monks of the Thai Forest Tradition.

 Forests and jungles represented the ideal dwelling place for early Buddhists, and many texts praise the
forest life as being helpful to meditation.
 Monks are not allowed to cut down trees as per the Vinaya, and the planting of trees and plants is seen
as karmically fruitful.
 Due to this, Buddhist monasteries are often small nature preserves within the modernized states in East
Asia. The species ficusreligiosa is seen as auspicious, because it is the same kind of tree that the Buddha
gained enlightenment under.

Vegetarianism

There is a divergence of views within Buddhism on the need for vegetarianism, with some schools of Buddhism
rejecting such a claimed need and with most Buddhists in fact eating meat. Many MahayanaBuddhists -
especially the Chinese and Vietnamese traditions - strongly oppose meat-eating on scriptural grounds.

The first precept of Buddhism focuses mainly on direct participation in the destruction of life. This is one reason
that the Buddha made a distinction between killing animals and eating meat, and refused to introduce
vegetarianism into monastic practice.

While early Buddhist texts like the Pali Canon frown upon hunting, butchering, fishing and 'trading in flesh'
(meat or livestock) as professions, they do not ban the act of eating meat.

Direct participation also includes ordering or encouraging someone to kill an animal for you.

The Buddhist king Ashoka promoted vegetarian diets and attempted to decrease the number of animals killed for
food in his kingdom by introducing 'no slaughter days' during the year. He gave up hunting trips, banned the
killing of specific animals and decreased the use of meat in the royal household.

He even banned the killing of some vermin or pests. His example was followed by later Sri Lankan kings. One of
Ashoka's rock edicts states:

 Here (in my domain) no living beings are to be slaughtered or offered in sacrifice...Formerly, in the
kitchen of Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, hundreds of thousands of animals were killed every day

25
 to make curry. But now with the writing of this Dhamma edict only three creatures, two peacocks and a
deer are killed, and the deer not always. And in time, not even these three creatures will be killed.

Many Buddhists, especially in East Asia, believe that Buddhism advocates or promotes vegetarianism. While
Buddhist theory tends to equate killing animals with killing people (and avoids the conclusion that killing
can sometimes be ethical, e.g. defense of others), outside of the Chinese and Vietnamese monastic tradition,
most Buddhists do eat meat in practice.

There is some controversy surrounding whether or not the Buddha himself died from eating rancid pork.
Most Chinese and Vietnamese monastics are vegetarian, Japanese lay people tend to eat meat, but
monasteries tend to be vegetarian.

Gender issues

 In pre-Buddhist Indian religion, women were seen as inferior and subservient to men.
 Buddha's teachings tended to promote gender equality as the Buddha held that women had the same
spiritual capacities as men did.
 According to Isaline Blew Horner, women in Buddhist India: "commanded more respect and ranked as
individuals.
 They enjoyed more independence, and a wider liberty to guide and follow their own lives."
 Buddha gave the same teachings to both sexes, praised various female lay disciples for their wisdom
and allowed women to become monastics (Bhikkhunis) at a time when this was seen as scandalous in
India, where men dominated the spiritual professions.
 The two chief female disciples of the Buddha were Khema and Uppalavanna.
 The Buddha taught that women had the same soteriological potential as men, and that gender had no
influence on one's ability to advance sspiritually to nirvana.
 Buddhist nuns are however bound by an extra 8 precepts not applicable to Buddhist monks called The
Eight Garudhammas.

Relationships

 The Buddha placed much importance on the cultivation of good will and compassion towards one's
parents, spouse, friends, relatives and all other beings.
 Buddhism strongly values harmony in the family and community.
 Keeping the five precepts and having a generous attitude (Dana) is seen as the foundation for this
harmony. An important text, seen as the lay people's Vinaya (code of conduct) is the SigalovadaSutta
which outlines wrong action and warns against the squandering of wealth.
 The SigalovadaSutta outlines how a virtuous person "worships the six directions" which are parents
(East), teachers (South), wife (West), and friends and colleagues (North), and the two vertical directions
as: ascetics and Brahmins (Up) and the Servants (Down).
 The text elaborates on how to respect and support them, and how in turn the Six will return the kindness
and support.
 The relationships are based on reciprocation, and it is understood one has no right to expect behavior
from others unless one also performs good acts in their favor.

Parents for example, are to be respected and supported with the understanding that they are to have
provided care and affection to their family.

26
  In marriage, the sutta states that a householder should treat their wife by "being courteous to her, by not
despising her, by being faithful to her, by handing over authority to her, and providing her with
adornments." while in return the wife "performs her duties well, she is hospitable to relations and
attendants, she is faithful, she protects what he brings, she is skilled and industrious in discharging her
duties.
 The Buddha also stated that a wife and husband are to be each other's best friend (paramasakha).

 While monogamy is the predominant model for marriage, Buddhist societies have also practiced and
accepted polygamy and polyan dry.
 Buddhism sees marriage not as sacred but as a secular partnership and hence has no issue with divorce.

Sexuality

 The Third (or sometimes Fourth) of the Five Precepts of Buddhism states that one is to refrain from
"sexual misconduct", which has various interpretations, but generally entails any sexual conduct which is
harmful to others, such as rape, molestation and often adultery, although this depends on the local
marriage and relationship customs.
 Buddhist monks and nuns of most traditions are not only expected to refrain from all sexual activity but
also take vows of celibacy.

Sexual orientation

Among the Buddhist traditions there is a vast diversity of opinion about homosexuality, and in
interpreting the precedents which define "sexual misconduct" generally. Though there is no explicit
condemnation of homosexuality in Buddhist sutras, be it Theravada, Mahayana or Mantrayana, societal
and community attitudes and the historical view of practitioners have established precedents.

Some sangha equate homosexuality with scriptural sexual misconduct prohibited by the Five Precepts.

Other sangha hold that if sexuality is compassionate and/or consensual and does not contravene vows,
then there is no karmic infraction, irrespective of whether it is same-sex or not. Buddhist communities in
Western states as well as in Japan generally tend to be accepting of homosexuality.

In Japan, homosexual relations among Buddhist samurai and clergy were actually quite common. Male
homosexuality between clergy was especially common in the Tantric ShingonSchool.

27
 Buddhist cultures' attitudes towards homosexuality have generally been neutral.

While both men and women can be ordained, hermaphrodites are not allowed by the Vinaya. According
to the ancient texts this is because of the possibility that they will seduce monks or nuns.

Economic ethics

Buddha's teachings to laypeople included advice on how to make their living and how to use their wealth. Right
livelihood is an element of the Noble Eightfold Path, and generally refers to making one's living without killing,
being complicit in the suffering of other beings (by selling weapons, poison, alcohol or flesh) or through lying,
stealing or deceit (advertising which deceives others, for example). The SigalovadaSutta states that a master
should look after servants and employees by: "(1) by assigning them work according to their ability, (2) by
supplying them with food and with wages, (3) by tending them in sickness, (4) by sharing with them any
delicacies, (5) by granting them leave at certain times of the year.

In the AdiyaSutta the Buddha also outlined several ways in which people could put their 'righteously
gained' wealth to use:

1. Providing 'pleasure & satisfaction' to themselves, their mother & father, their children, spouse, slaves,
servants, & assistants.
2. Providing 'pleasure & satisfaction' to their friends and associates.
3. Warding off calamities coming from fire, flood, kings, thieves, or hateful heirs, and keeps himself safe.
4. Performs five oblations/offerings: to relatives, guests, the dead, kings, & devas.
5. Giving of offerings to priests (Brahmins) and contemplatives (monks).

The Buddha placed much emphasis on:

 The virtue of giving and sharing, and hence the practice of donating and charity are central to Buddhist
economic ethics.
 Even the poor are encouraged to share, because this brings about greater spiritual wealth: "If beings
knew, as I know, the results of giving &sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the
stain of selfishness overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would
not eat without having shared, if there were someone to receive their gift."
 Buddhist texts promote the building of public works which benefit the community and stories of
Buddhist Kings like Ashoka are used as an example of lay people who promoted the public welfare by
building hospitals and parks for the people.
 While Buddhism does not see anything wrong with wealth gained ethically, it does see greed and craving
for riches as negative, and praises contentment as 'the greatest wealth'.
 Poverty and debt are seen as causes of suffering, immorality and social unrest if they prevent one from
having basic necessities and peace of mind.
 For laypeople, Buddhism promotes the middle way between a life of poverty and a materialistic or
consumerist life in which one is always seeking to enrich oneself and to buy more things.
 For Buddhist laypersons then, to be Buddhist does not mean to reject all material things, but, according
to Sizemore and Swearer: "it specifies an attitude to be cultivated and expressed in whatever material
condition one finds oneself.
 To be non-attached is to possess and use material things but not to be possessed or used by them.
Therefore, the idea of non-attachment applies all across Buddhist society, to laymen and monks alike."

28
 Hinduism

 Hinduism is one of the worlds most practiced and most prominent religions, approximately 80 percent of
Indians consider themselves Hindu and some estimates claim that more than 1 billion people worldwide
are Hindu, there are differences in how Hindus practice their religion. Despite this, most Hindus adhere
to several central moral values.
 Hinduism is the predominant religion in the Indian subcontinent. It is often referred to as Sanātana
Dharma, a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its followers.
 Hinduism also includes yogic traditions and wide span of "daily morality", based on the notion of karma
and societal norms like Hindu marriagecustoms.
 Among its origin is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is frequently
said to be the "oldest religious tradition" or "oldest living major tradition."
 It is formed from diverse traditions and types and does not have a single founder.
 Hinduism is the world's third largest religion following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a
billion followers, of which about 905 million live in India.
 Other countries with vast Hindu populations can be found all across southern Asia.
 Hinduism's large body of scriptures is divided into Śruti ("revealed") and Smriti ("remembered"). These
scriptures discuss theology, philosophy and mythology, and also provide information on the practice of
dharma (religious living).
 Among these texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are considered the first in authority, importance and
antiquity. Hinduism refers to the religious mainstream that evolved organically and spread over a vast
territory that is marked by significant ethnic and cultural diversity.

This mainstream evolved both by innovation from within, and by the taking in of external traditions or
cults into the Hindu fold.

 This has resulted in an enormous variety of religious traditions, ranging from innumerable small,
unsophisticated cults to major religious movements with millions of followers spread over the entire
subcontinent.
 The identification of Hinduism as an independent religion apart from Buddhism and Jainism
consequently hinges on the affirmation of its followers that it is such.
 Prominent themes of Hindu beliefs include (but are not confined to), Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra
(The continuous pattern of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and followin reaction), Moksha
(liberation from samsara), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).

Concept of God

In Hinduism, the concept of God is very complex and depends on particular traditions. The majority of traditions
of Vaishnavism believe he is Vishnu, God, and the text of Vaishnava scriptures notices this being

He contains extraordinary power. They believe in the devotion to a single god and yet accep the existence of
others

Most Hindus believe that one's spirit or soul — the true "self" of each person, called the ātman — is eternal.

Karma and Samsara

 Most Hindus share a belief in the concept of karma, the effect of past actions on present circumstances.

29
  Hindus believe in reincarnation -- the cycle of life, death and rebirth -- and karma is connected to this
belief. For example, according to Hindu philosophy, if your thoughts and deeds are kind and
compassionate, your soul will then reap positive results.
 Karma directly influences the life situation into which you are reborn. If you have created good karma,
you will be reborn into a pleasant situation in the next life.The cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and
rebirth is a continuum known as samsara.
 Samsara provides ephemeral/passing pleasures, which lead people to desire rebirth so as to enjoy the
pleasures of a perishable body. However, escaping the world of samsara through moksha is believed to
ensure lasting happiness and peace.
 It is thought that after several reincarnations, an atman eventually seeks unity with the cosmic spirit
(Brahman/Paramatman).
 The ultimate goal of life, referred to as moksha, nirvana or samadhi, is understood in several different
ways:
 As the realization of one's union with God
 as the realization of one's eternal relationship with God
 realization of the unity of all existence
 Perfect unselfishness and knowledge of the Self
 as the attainment of perfect mental peace
 As detachment from worldly desires. Such a realization liberates one from samsara and ends the cycle
of rebirth.

Dharma

 According to Hinduism, all humans are born with certain duties.

 These duties are specific to a person's gender, caste and age. For example, a child's dharma is to respect
his parents by obeying them, and a parent's dharma is to protect, feed, educate, and shelter thier child.
 The Hindu scriptures teach that when a person fulfills his or her dharma, all beings benefit.
 When all people submit to their individual dharma, the society as a whole flourishes.
 If you fulfill your dharma at all stages of your life, your karma will be positively affected.

Yamas

In order to achieve liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, Hindus who practice Raja Yoga (one
school of Hindu philosophy) place value on 20 essential morals called yamas and niyamas.

The yamas refer to a person's behavior in day-to-day life. They include:

 asteya (nonstealing)
 satya (truthfulness)
 arjhava (honesty)
 Anddaya (compassion).
 The first yamas, however, is ahimsa (nonviolence), and it is this core Hindu moral of nonviolence that
serves as the foundation on which all other Hindu yamas are built.

Niyamas

In addition to the code of personal behaviors outlined in the yamas, Hindu scriptures also teach that following a
code of religious practices called niyamas will improve a person's karma.

30
The niyamas include:

 hri (showing modesty)

 dana (giving to others)
 isvarapujana (daily worship)
 Andjapa (chanting).
Most Hindus stringently follow a code of ethics asindicated in the Yamas and Niyamas.

Hindus are well versed in the yamas and niyamas, the basic guides to moral behaviors.

Moral and Ethical Ideals of Hindus

1. Ahimsã (non-injury)-Don't harm others by word, deed or thought.

2. Satya (truthfulness)-Refrain from lying and betraying promises.

3. Asteya (nonstealing)-Don't steal, covet or enter into debt.

4. Brahmachãrya (controlling sex)-Observe celibacy when single, and faithfulness in marriage.

5. Kshamã (forgiveness)-Restrain from intolerance and ill will.

6. Dhriti (firmness)-Overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness.

7. Dayã (compassion)-Conquer callous and insensitive feelings.

8. Ãrjava (honesty)-Renounce fraud, cheating and stealing.

9. Mitãhãra-Refrain from overeating and consuming meat.

10. Shaucha (purity)-Observe purity of the body, mind and intellect.

11. Hrî (remorse)-Be modest and show remorse for misconduct.

12. Santosha (contentment)-Don't be a slave to the senses. Seek joy and serenity in the Self.

13. Dãna (tithing)-Give generously without thought of reward. The more you give, the more you get.

14. Ãstikya (faith)-Have unwavering faith in God's grace.

15. Pûjana (worship)-Perform daily worship and meditation.

16. Shravana (hearing of scriptures)-Study scriptures, listen to the teachings of the wise, and faithfully follow
guru's advice.

17. Mati (cognition)-Sharpen the intellect with guru's guidance.

18. Vrata (sacred vows)-Observe scriptural injunctions faithfully.

31
 19. Japa (chanting)-Chant God's names and sacred mantras daily.

20. Tapas (austerity)-Perform sãdhana (spiritual discipline) as outlined by the guru.

Moral and Ethical Ideals of Hindus

1. Ethics can be described as the science of morality, and morality as the living of a virtuous life.
2. Hindus place greater emphasis on the attitude of the mind rather than on postulation of the elaborate
theories of what is right and what is wrong.
3. Accordingly, the Hindu vision of morality and ethics is characterized by the following considerations:

•Morality proceeds from the inner spirit of man. In Hindu view, one's motive is as important in the performance
of an action as the action itself. When the heart is pure and free from lust and greed, whatever one does to
perform one's duties has a high moral value.

•Harmlessness to all creatures is the highest morality.

•There are four sources of right conduct: Vedas, the Smriti (secondary scriptures), the conduct of wise persons,
and the individual's own judgment.

•In times of confusion and crisis regarding what is right and what is wrong, one's own conscience is the sole
guide. "In times of doubt, O, son of Kunti [Arjuna], one must decide using one's own good sense."

•An individual is ultimately responsible for his own actions, i.e. the Law of Karma. He is also responsible for the
actions of others if he induces or forces them to perform such actions.

•Hindus declare that loyalty to one's moral values is the highest loyalty, and of all the losses, loss of one's
character and loss of judgment are the worst.

Nine Beliefs of Hinduism

1. Hindus believe in the divinity of the Vedas, the world's most ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas
as equally revealed. These primordial hymns are God's word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the
eternal religion which has neither beginning nor end.
2. Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme being who is both immanent and transcendent, both
Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
3. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.
4. Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by
his thoughts, words and deeds.
5. Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas has been
resolved, and moksha, spiritual knowledge and liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a
single soul will be eternally deprived of this destiny.
6. Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments as
well as personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.
7. Hindus believe that a spiritually awakened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent
Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation.
8. Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, "non-injury."

32
9. Hindus believe that no particular religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all
genuine religious paths are facets of God's Pure Love and Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.

Five Obligations of all Hindus

1.Worship, upasana: Young Hindus are taught daily worship in the family shrine room--rituals, disciplines,
chants, yogas and religious study. They learn to be secure through devotion in home and temple, wearing
traditional dress, bringing forth love of the Divine and preparing the mind for serene meditation.

2. Holy days, utsava: Young Hindus are taught to participate in Hindu festivals and holy days in the home and
temple. They learn to be happy through sweet communion with God at suchauspicious celebrations. Utsava
includes fasting and attending the temple on Monday or Friday and other holy days.

3. Virtuous living, dharma: Young Hindus are taught to live a life of duty and good conduct. They learn to be
selfless by thinking of others first, being respectful of parents, elders and swamis, following divine law,
especially ahimsa, mental, emotional and physical noninjury to all beings. Thus they resolve karmas.

4. Pilgrimage, tirthayatra: Young Hindus are taught the value of pilgrimage and are taken at least once a year
for darnana of holy persons, temples and places, near or far. They learn to be detached by setting aside
worldly affairs and making God, Gods and gurus life's singular focus during these journeys.

5. Rites of passage, samskara: Young Hindus are taught to observe the many sacraments which mark and
sanctify their passages through life. They learn to be traditional by celebrating the rites of birth, name-giving,
head-shaving, first feeding, ear-piercing, first learning, and coming of age, marriage and death.

 Hindu practices in general involve seeking awareness of God and also seeking blessings from Devas.
Therefore, Hinduism has developed many practices meant to help one think of divinity in everyday life.
 Hindus may engage in pūjā (worship or veneration), either at home or in a temple. At home, Hindus often
create a shrine containing icons dedicated to their chosen form(s) of God.
 Temples are generally dedicated to a primary deity, along with associated subordinate deities, though some
will commemorate multiple deities.
 Visiting temples is not obligatory, and many will only visit temples during religious festivals.
 Hindus perform their worship through icons known as murtis. They work as a tangible link between the
worshiper and God. The image is often times considered as a manifestation of God, since God is immanent.
 The Padma Purana states that amūrti is not to be thought of as mere stone or wood, but as a manifest form of
the Divinity. Few Hindu sects, such as the ĀryaSamāj, do not believe in worshiping God through icons.

Rituals

The vast majority of Hindus engage in rituals on a daily basis, Most Hindus observe religious rituals at their
home, but observation of rituals greatly vary among regions, villages, and individuals.

Devout Hindus perform daily chores such as:

- worshiping at dawn after their bathing (usually at a family shrine, and typically includes lighting a lamp and
offering foodstuffs before the images of deities)

33
-recitation of religious scripts

-singing hymns of devotion

- Meditation

-Chanting mantras

-reciting scriptures and so forth.

Pilgrimage and Festivals

Pilgrimage is not mandatory in Hinduism, though many adherents will undertake them. Hindus recognize several
Indian cities to be holy, including Allahabad, Haridwar, Varanasi, and Vrindavan.

Scriptures

Hinduism is based upon "the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons in different
times". The scriptures were transmitted orally in verse form to help aid memorization, for many centuries before
they were finally written down.

Islamic Ethics
The word “morality” comes from the Latin word moralitas meaning “manner, character, and proper behavior”.
Morality generally refers to a code of conduct, that an individual, group or society hold as authoritative, in
distinguishing right from wrong. Such an ideal code of conduct is often espoused in preference to other
alternatives.

The Arabic term Islam literally means "surrender," or "submission." Islam's believers (known as "Muslims" from
the active participle of "islam"), accept surrender to the will of Allah (the Arabic word for God). Allah is viewed
as a unique God---creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world.

The motive force in Islamic ethics is the notion that every human being is called to "command the good and
forbid the evil" in all spheres of life. The will of God, to which man is to submit, is made known through the
Qur'an (the Koran), revealed to his messenger Muhammad

Muhammad, it is claimed was the last of the great prophets which included Adam, Noah, Moses, Jesus and some
others.

The basic belief of Islam is expressed in the shahadah, the Muslim confession of faith, "There is no god but God;
Muhammad is the prophet of God." Muslims understand the role of Muhammad as attempting to facilitate this
submission.

Islam as a comprehensive way of life encompasses a complete moral system that is an important aspect of its
world-view. We live in an age where good and evil are often looked at as relative concepts. Islam however, holds

34
that moral positions are not relative, and instead, defines a universal standard by which actions may be deemed
moral or immoral.

Islam’s moral system is striking in that it not only defines morality, but also guides the human race in how to
achieve it, at both an individual as well as a collective level.

Islamic ethics, defined as "good character," historically took shape gradually from the 7th century and was
finally established by the 11th century.

The ethical system in Islam, which is essentially a reflection of the divine commandments and guideline for the
right and wrong, permeates every aspect of an Islamic society, including business and commerce, and guides
them to be socially responsible and deal with justice.

The principle and fundamental purpose of Islamic morality is love: love for God and love for God's creatures.
The religious conception is that mankind will behave morally and treat each other in the best possible manner to
please God. Teachings on morality and moral conduct constitute a major part Islamic literature.

The enlightenment of Islamic ethics is of vital importance for the coordination of the relations between social
members. As the spirit that constitutes the inner nature of man, ethics plays an important role in the mental
structure of man. It is the perfect combination of the will power, reason and feelings of man.

There are three main kinds of values in Islam: (a) akhlāq, which refers to the duties and responsibilities set out
in the shari'ah and in Islamic teaching generally; (b) adab, which refers to the manners associated with good
upbringing; and (c) the qualities of character possessed by a good Muslim.

Morality & Ethics in Islam 

Basic Principles in Islamic Morality

The Islamic moral system stems from its primary creed of belief in One God as the Creator and Sustainer of the
Universe. Islam considers the human race to be a part of God’s creation, and as His subjects.

The Six Articles of Faith

Belief in the existence and oneness of God (Allah) There is One God, Supreme and Eternal, Creator and
Provider, Who is Merciful and Compassionate. God has neither father nor mother, and no sons or daughters.
Belief in the existence of angels
Belief in the existence of the books of which God is the author:
The Quran (revealed to Muhammad) in Islam
The Gospel (revealed to Jesus),
The Torah (revealed to Moses), and
Psalms (revealed to David).

From an Islamic perspective, the purpose of human life is to worship God, by leading this worldly life in
harmony with the Divine Will, and thereby achieve peace in this world, and everlasting success in the life of the
hereafter. Muslims look to the Glorious Qur’an and the Traditions of the Prophet as their moral guides.

35
The Glorious Qur’an says:

“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah
and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for
Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wanderer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves;
to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm
and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth,
the Allah-fearing.” [Al-Qur’an 2:177]

This verse underscores the Islamic belief that righteousness and piety is based, before all else on a true and
sincere faith. The key to virtue and good conduct is a strong relation with God, who sees all, at all times and
everywhere. He knows the secrets of the hearts and the intentions behind all actions. Therefore, Islam enjoins
moral behavior in all circumstances; God is aware of each one when no one else is. It may be possible to deceive
the world, but it’s not possible to deceive the Creator.

The love and continuous awareness of God and the Day of Judgment enables man to be moral in conduct and
sincere in intentions, with devotion and dedication.

The Glorious Qur’an also says:

Say: the things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds, whether open or secret; sins and
trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to Allah, for which He hath given no authority; and
saying things about Allah of which ye have no knowledge. [Al-Qur’an 7:33]

It is interesting that the Qur’an refers to “sins and trespasses against truth or reason”. It is an indication of God’s
blessing to every human being, of an innate moral sense. Such a moral sense, when uncorrupted by family or
society, is what leads people to commendable acts of virtue. Islam aims to enhance and amplify the moral sense
in every human being and adorn the individual’s character with the noblest of virtues.

The Islamic moral principles therefore, appeal naturally to the human intellect, while elevating the pursuit of
morality to the level of worship. This is because Islam holds every action that is done with the goal of attaining
of God’s pleasure to be worship.

Morality and the individual

The guiding principle for the behavior of a Muslim is what the Qur’an refers to as Al `Amal Assalih or virtuous
deeds. This term covers all deeds, not just the outward acts of worship.

Some of the most primary character traits expected of a Muslim are:

 Piety, humility and a profound sense of accountability to God.

 A Muslim is expected to be humble before God and with other people.
 Islam also enjoins upon every Muslim to exercise control of their passions and desires.
 Islam warns against vanity and excessive attachment to the ephemeral pleasures of this world.
 While it is easy to allow the material world to fill our hearts, Islam calls upon human beings to keep
God in their hearts and to use the material world in moderation and in accordance with God’s guidance
“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, but only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a
sound heart” [Al-Quran: 26:88-89]

36
  Charity is one of the most commendable acts in Islam. In fact, Zakah, the annual charity that is
obligatory on every Muslim who has accrued wealth above a certain level, is one of the pillars of Islam.
 Every Muslim is encouraged to cultivate qualities of gratitude in prosperity, patience in adversity, and
the courage to uphold the truth, even when inconvenient to oneself.

Some further explanation on basic principles

The Qur’an has a strong ethical thrust. For example, it contains condemnation of the people of Mecca for their
oppression of the poor (Sura 107:3) and the orphans (Sura 17:34; 93:9), and for cheating in commerce (Sura
17:35). The following list offers six basic principles of Islamic ethics:

 Every action has moral significance. Perhaps the phrase most often cited by Muslim ethicists comes
from Sura 3:104, where Muslims are told that they’re a people who should call all to do what is good
and right and forbid what is wrong or dishonorable.

 Moral actions are those which result in justice (´adl, Sura 4:58). In concrete circumstances, an action
may involve both good and evil consequences and then one must choose that action which will
maximize the good and minimize the evil, resulting in the greatest degree of justice,
 Faith and works are both required. Sura 2:25 says, “To those who believe and do acts of righteousness
give the good news that they will go to paradise.” The moral choices one makes are serious as they play
a role in determining one’s ultimate fate — to heaven or to hell.

 Intentions are as important as deeds (as is true also in acts of worship) Sincerity is crucial. The trio of
“heart, tongue, and deed” is frequently mentioned. Everyone agrees that it’s not enough to advocate
moral actions (the action of the tongue) but then act differently. An action done just for external
compliance, says Islam, isn’t nearly as good as one that comes from the heart. Something that comes
from the heart will be accompanied by words and actions. If circumstances prevent accomplishment of
the action, then commitment of the heart is still regarded as good.

 When it comes to doing what is morally right, having the proper character (consisting of virtues such as
wisdom, concern for justice, modesty, and the avoidance of vices such as lust, greed, and anger) is as
important as following a set of rules. Believers, guard your own souls. The person who has gone astray
cannot hurt you if you are rightly guided.”

 Extremes should be avoided; follow the middle path, the way of balance. One shouldn’t be arrogant or
exalt oneself in the eyes of others. Sura 31:18–19 says, “Do not be scornful of other people, nor walk in
arrogance in the earth. God does not love any person who boasts arrogantly. Be moderate in your pace
and lower your voice. The most unpleasant of voices is the ass’

Tapping texts for illustration

According to tradition, Muhammad said, “None among you is a believer until he wishes for his brothers and
sisters what he wishes for himself.” This is similar to the Golden Rule, versions of which occur in Judaism,
Christianity, Confucianism, and most other faiths.

On the other hand, Islam has no Ten Commandments, although several Qur’anic texts do summarize basic moral
requirements. Sura 23, 3–11 says, “Believers are those . . . who avoid vain talk; who are active in deeds of
charity; who abstain from sex except with their wives, or whom their right hands possess. Thus they’re free from
blame, but those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors. Believers faithfully observe their trusts and

37
covenants and keep their prayers. They will be the heirs, who will inherit Paradise, where they will dwell.” Sura
70:22–35 has a similar list of good and bad deeds.

Muhammad gave a summary of some of the moral duties of a Muslim in his farewell sermon on the pilgrimage
to Mecca in 632. Along with worship and other obligations, he included the following moral instructions:

 Return any property belonging to others.

 Don’t hurt anyone. The Islamic view is that life and death are given by God. Life is sacred, and a gift
from God; and it is only God, and not the human beings, who has a right to take it back. This willful
taking of one's own life is considered a major sin in Islam.

 Don’t charge interest on money loaned to others.

 Husbands should treat their wives well, as they are partners together.

 Don’t make friends with people of bad character.

 Don’t commit adultery.

Morality and Society

For an individual as well as a society,

 Morality is one of the fundamental sources of strength, just as immorality is one of the main causes of
decline.
 While respecting the rights of the individual within a broad Islamic framework, Islam is also concerned
with the moral health of the society.
 Everything that leads to the welfare of the individual and the society is morally good in Islam, and
whatever is harmful is morally bad.
 Given its importance to a healthy and just society, Islam supports morality and matters that lead to the
enhancement of morality, and stands in the way of corruption and matters that lead to the spreading of
corruption. The injunctions and prohibitions in Islam are to be seen in this light.
  Moral values in Islam then, whether they are individual such as sincerity, patience, charity love, soul
combating, or common such as self-feeling, obligation, and call for Islam, are meant to bring individual
and society benefit and protect human benefit.

In summary:

 Morality in Islam addresses every aspect of a Muslim’s life, from greetings to international relations. It
is universal in its scope and in its applicability.
 A Muslim is expected to not only be virtuous, but to also enjoin virtue.
 He/She must not only refrain from evil and vice, but must also actively engage in asking people to avoid
them.
 In other words, they must not only be morally healthy, but must also contribute to the moral health of
society as a whole.

38
  The Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) summarized the conduct of a Muslim when he said: “My
Sustainer has given me nine commands: to remain conscious of God, whether in private or in public; to
speak justly, whether angry or pleased; to show moderation both when poor and when rich, to reunite
friendship with those who have broken off with me; to give to him who refuses me; that my silence
should be occupied with thought; that my looking should be an admonition; and that I should command
what is right.”
 There is no separate discipline of ethics in Islam, and the comparative importance of reason and
revelation in determining moral values.. For most Muslims, what is considered halāl (permitted) and
harām (forbidden) in Islam is understood in terms of what God defines as right and good. There are
three main kinds of values: (a) akhlāq, which refers to the duties and responsibilities set out in the
shari‘ah and in Islamic teaching generally; (b) adab, which refers to the manners associated with good
breeding; and (c) the qualities of character possessed by a good Muslim, following the example of the
Prophet Muhammad.

Among the main differences between Islamic and western morality are the emphasis on timeless
religious principles, the role of the law in enforcing morality, the different understanding of rights, the
rejection of moral autonomy as a goal of moral education and the stress on reward in the Hereafter as a
motivator of moral behaviour.

The Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam:

1. Profession of Faith (shahada). The belief that "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the
Messenger of God" is central to Islam.. One becomes a Muslim by reciting this phrase with conviction.
2. Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and
after dark. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening chapter (sura) of the Qur'an, and is sometimes
performed on a small rug or mat used expressly for this purpose.

Muslims can pray individually at any location or together in a mosque, where a leader in prayer (imam)
guides the congregation. Men gather in the mosque for the noonday prayer on Friday; women are
welcome but not obliged to participate. After the prayer, a sermon focuses on a passage from the Qur'an,
followed by prayers by the imam and a discussion of a particular religious topic.

3. Alms (zakat). In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to
community members in need. Many rulers and wealthy Muslims build mosques, drinking fountains,
hospitals, schools, and other institutions both as a religious duty and to secure the blessings associated
with charity.
4. Fasting (sawm). During the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, all
healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink. Through this temporary deprivation,
they renew their awareness of and gratitude for everything God has provided in their lives—including
the Qur'an, which was first revealed during this month. During Ramadan they share the hunger and thirst
of the needy as a reminder of the religious duty to help those less fortunate.

5. Pilgrimage (hajj). Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must make at least one visit to the
holy city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. The Ka'ba, a cubical structure covered in black
embroidered hangings, is at the center of the Haram Mosque in Mecca Muslims believe that it is the

39
 house Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) built for God, and face in its direction (qibla) when they pray. Since
the time of the Prophet Muhammad, believers from all over the world have gathered around the Ka'ba in
Mecca on the eighth and twelfth days of the final month of the Islamic calendar

“There is no division of ethics and law in Islam.”

Because of the linkage between Islamic ethics and law, study of Islamic ethics is more fruitful when
done in conjunction with a study of Islamic law.

Historically, Muslims derive their Islamic ethics from the Qur’an and the Hadith. The Qur’an contains
several commands Muhammad’s followers must obey.

The Hadith presents Muhammad as the exemplary human whom Muslims must imitate in all respects.

Muhammad was only a mortal being commissioned by God to teach the word of God and lead an
exemplary life

He stands in history as the best model for man in piety and perfection. He is a living proof of what man
can be and of what he can accomplish in the realm of excellence and virtue.

The Prophet is caught as it were in the ordinary acts of his life—sleeping, eating, mating, praying,
hating, and dispensing justice, planning expeditions and revenge against his enemies.

The picture that emerges is hardly flattering, and one is left wondering why in the first instance it was
reported at all and whether it was done by admirers or enemies. One is also left to wonder how the
believers, generation after generation, could have found this story so inspiring.

The answer is that the [Muslim] believers are conditioned to look at the whole thing through the eyes of
faith. An infidel in his fundamental misguidance may find the Prophet rather sensual and cruel—and
certainly many of the things he did do not conform to ordinary ideas of morality—but the believers look
at the whole thing differently.

To them (Muslims) morality derives from:

 The Prophet’s actions; the moral is whatever he did.

 Morality does not determine the Prophet’s actions, but his actions determine and define morality.
 Muhammad’s acts were not ordinary acts; they were Allah’s own acts [i.e., acts empowered, guided and
approved by Allah].
 It was in this way and by this logic that Muhammad’s opinions became the dogmas of Islam and his
personal habits and idiosyncrasies/habbits became moral imperatives: Allah’s commands for all
believers in all ages and climes to follow.

Islamic Ethics – Moral Absolutes:

The Islamic view of ethics, like the Christian view of ethics, affirms ethical absolutes. Whereas the Bible
grounds morality in God’s essential character, the Qur’an teaches that God cannot ultimately be known. Certain
actions are good not because they derive from God’s character, but because God chooses to call them good.

40
God could have decreed a different set of moral principles. Therefore, Muslims know moral goodness by God’s
decree. Islam and Christianity agree to some of the same moral standards although significant differences exist.

HammudahAbdalati summarizes Islamic morality as follows:

The concept of morality in Islam centers on certain basic beliefs and principles. Among these are the following:

(1) God is the Creator and Source of all goodness, truth, and beauty.

(2) Man is a responsible, dignified, and honorable agent of his Creator.

(3) God has put everything in the heavens and the earth in the service of mankind.

(4) By His Mercy and Wisdom, God does not expect the impossible from man or hold him accountable for
anything beyond his power. Nor does God forbid man to enjoy the good things of life.

(5) Moderation, practicality, and balance are the guarantees of high integrity and sound morality.

(6) All things are permissible in principle except what is singled out as obligatory, which must be observed, and
what is singled out as forbidden, which must be avoided.

(7) Man’s ultimate responsibility is to God and his highest goal is the pleasure of his Creator.

Islam as a way of life

The Muslim ummah or community is thus seen as the instrument through which Qur‘anic ideals and commands
are translated at the social level. Individuals become trustees through whom a moral and spiritual vision is
fulfilled in personal life.

They are accountable to God and to the community, since that is the custodian through whom the covenantal
relationship with God is sustained. The Qur‘an affirms the dual dimension of human and social life - material
and spiritual - but these aspects are not seen in conflictual terms, nor is it assumed that spiritual goals should
predominate in a way that devalues material aspects of life.

The Qur‘an, recognising the complementarity between the two, asserts that human conduct and aspirations have
relevance as acts of faith within the wider human, social and cultural contexts. It is in this sense that the idea that
Islam embodies a total way of life can best be understood.

An illustration of one aspect of such a vision is the Quran's emphasis on the ethics of redressing injustice in
economic and social life. For instance, individuals are urged to spend of their wealth and substance on:

1. family and relatives

2. orphans
3. the poor
4. the travelling/shelterng homeless
5. the needy
6. Freeing of the enslaved.

41
Such acts define a Muslim's responsibility to develop a social conscience and to share individual and communal
resources with the less privileged.

At the social level, the Qur‘an's emphasis on the family includes a concern for ameliorating/improving the status
of women, through the abolition of pre-Islamic practices such as female infanticide and by according women
new rights.

Among these were the rights of ownership of property, inheritance, the right to contract marriage and to initiate
divorce, if necessary, and to maintain one's own dowry.

Polygyny, the plurality of wives, was regulated and restricted, so that a male was permitted to have up to four
wives, but only if he could treat them with equity.

Individual duties in a Muslim polity

As the Muslim polity took shape it also became necessary for it to address the question of its relationship and
attitude towards non-Muslims with similar scriptural traditions, particularly Jews and Christians. In the Quran
they are referred to as 'People of the Book'.

Where they lived among Muslims, as subjects, they were to be granted `protected' status through a mutual
agreement. They were to be subject to a poll tax and their private and religious property, law and religious
practices were to be protected.

They could not, however, proselytise among Muslims. While recognising the particularity of the Muslim
community and its pre-eminent status, the Qur‘anencourages a wider respect for difference and otherness in
human society, while favouring common moral goals over mutually divisive and antagonistic attitudes:

"For each community, we have granted a Law and a Code of Conduct. If God wished he could have made you
One community, but He wishes rather to test you through that which has been given to you. So live with each
other to excel in goodness and moral virtue." (5: 48)the final basis for moral obligation, from its perspective, was
the data of Islam's foundational texts, the Qur‘an and the Sunnah, elaborated and applied as God's commands and
five categories are employed for evaluating all acts:

1. Obligatory acts, such as the duty to perform ritual prayerand profess faith, paying of zakat and the
practice of fasting.
2. Recommended acts, which are not considered obligatory, such as supererogatory acts of charity,
kindness, prayer, etc.
3. Permitted actions, regarding which the law adopts a neutral stance, that is there is no expectation of
reward or punishment for such acts.
4. Acts that are discouraged and regarded as reprehensible, but not strictly forbidden; Muslim jurists differ
about what actions to include in this category.
5. Actions that are categorically forbidden, such as murder, adultery, blasphemy, theft, intoxication, etc.

These categories were further set by jurists within a dual framework of obligations: towards God and
towards society. In each instance transgression was perceived in both legal and theological terms, as
constituting a crime as well as a sin.

Such acts were punishable under the law and the jurists attempted to specify and elaborate the conditions
under which this could occur. For example, one of the punishments for theft or highway robbery was the
cutting off of a hand and, in minor instances, flogging.

42
Moral commandments

1. Worship only God: Do not make with Allah another god; lest you will sit disgraced and forsaken.
2. Be kind, honourable and humble to one's parents: And your Lord has decreed that you not worship
except Him alone, and to be good to the parents. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with
you, say not to them [so much as], a word of disrespect, and do not repel them but speak to them a noble
word.
3. Be neither miserly nor wasteful in one's expenditure: And give the relative his right, and [also] the
poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully. (Quran 17:26) Indeed, the squanderers are brothers of
the devil, and the devil is, to his lord, ungrateful. (Quran 17:27)

And if you [must] turn away from the needy awaiting mercy from your Lord which you expect, then
speak to them a gentle word. (Quran 17:28)

And do not make your hand [as] chained to your neck or extend it to its utmost reach, so that you
[thereby] become blamed and insolvent. (Quran 17:29)

4. Do not engage in 'mercy killings' for fear of starvation: And do not kill your children for fear of
poverty. We provide for them and for you. Indeed, their killing is ever a great sin. (Quran 17:31)
5. Do not commit adultery: And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is an immorality
and an evil way. (Quran 17:32)
6. Do not kill unjustly: And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever
is killed unjustly - We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in [the matter of]
taking life. Indeed, he has been supported [by the law]. (Quran 17:33)
7. Care for orphaned children: And do not approach the property of an orphan, except in the way that is
best, until he reaches maturity...(Quran 17:34)
8. Keep one's promises: ...fulfill (every) engagement [i.e. promise/covenant], for (every) engagement will
be questioned (on the Day of Reckoning). (Quran 17:34)
9. Be honest and fair in one's interactions: And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with
aneven balance. That is the best [way] and best in result. (Quran 17:35)
10. Do not be arrogant in one's claims or beliefs: And do not pursue that of which you have no
knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - all those will be questioned. (Quran 17:36)
11. And do not walk upon the earth exultantly. Indeed, you will never tear the earth [apart], and you will
never reach the mountains in height. (Quran 17:37)

Islamic Eschatology

Islamic eschatology is the aspect of Islamic theology concerning ideas of life after death, matters of the soul, and
the "Day of Judgement," known as Yawm al-Qiyāmah, "the Day of Resurrection"or, "the Day of Judgment").
The Day of Judgement is characterized by the annihilation of all life, which will then be followed by the
resurrection and judgment by God.

The Day of Judgment is also known as the Day of Reckoning, the Last Day, and the Hour (al-sā'ah).

Unlike the Qur'an, the hadith contains several events, happening before the Day of Judgment, which are
described as several minor signs and twelve major signs. During this period, terrible corruption and chaos would
rule the earth, caused by the Masih ad-Dajjal (the Antichrist in Islam), then Isa (Jesus) will appear, defeating the
Dajjal and establish a period of peace, liberating the world from cruelty. These events will be followed by a time
of serenity when people live according to religious values.

43
Similar to other Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches that there will be a resurrection of the dead that will be
followed by a final tribulation and eternal division of the righteous and wicked. The righteous are rewarded with
the pleasures of Jannah (Paradise), while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam (Hell).

Although not commonly appreciated by most Christians and Jews, the various sects of Islam, in their oral
tradition, and from the Koran, maintain a complex and intricate eschatology dealing with the end of the age and
the coming of a great world leader, or Mahdi.

The center of these events at the end of the age is Jerusalem, not Mecca, and Jesus is one of the principle
participants in the coming great judgment, according to Muslim belief.

Since the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple in 70 AD, Jews have been unable to offer any blood sacrifice
for sins; however the Moslems observe to this day an annual sacrifice of many thousands of lambs which are
slain during the pilgrimage to Mecca:

"Christians are interested to learn of the high regard Muslims have for Jesus (Isa, in Arabic).

Jesus, it is taught, was born of a virgin, without human father, and lived a sinless life.

He is given titles of honor bestowed on no other prophet and He is pictured as a wandering preacher who
performed miracles and spoke beautiful words.

To Him was given a book for His people, the Gospel, but the book was lost (or hopelessly distorted) and Jesus
Himself was rejected.

His people attempted to crucify Him, but Jesus was saved when someone took His place on the cross or tree and
He ascended into heaven, having promised to send a comforter (Muhammad)."

"In Muslim piety many legends surround Jesus. Some Muslims believe that at some time in the distant future He
will return to earth and marry.

A grave site has been reserved for Him. Others declare that Jesus will judge the world at the end of time--or that
He will help Muhammad with his work of judgment.

Still another tradition, from the Ahmadiyya Muslims of South Asia, has it that Christ fled Palestine for India,
where He gathered many followers, died at a ripe old age, and was buried at Srinagar, where His tomb was
recently uncovered."

A recent study of Muslim beliefs concerning the end time says:

"The Imamite doctrine of the Mahdi at one point merges with the return of Jesus, another prominent figure of
Islamic eschatology. The doctrine of the return of Jesus, as described in the Sunnite sources and cited by the
Shiite traditionists is explained in a more or less uniform manner."

"He will descend in the Holy Land at a place called Afiq with a spear in his hand; he will kill with it al-Dajjal
(the Antichrist of Islamic eschatology) and go to Jerusalem at the time of the Morning Prayer. The Imam will
seek to yield his place to him, but Jesus will refuse and will worship behind him according to the Sharia of
Muhammad. Thereafter he will kill the swine, break the cross, and kill all the Christians who do not believe in

44
him. Once al-Dajjal is killed, all the Peoples of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians) will believe in him and will
form one single umma of those who submit to the will of God.

Jesus will establish the rule of justice and will remain for forty years, after which he will die. His funeral will
take place in Medina, where he will be buried beside Muhammad, in a place between Abu Bakr and Umar."

Judeo Christian Ethics

-Christian ethics is defined as the systematic study of the way of life set forth by Jesus Christ applied to the daily
demands and decisions of human Existence.

-Or Christian ethics is a branch of Christian theology that defines virtuous behavior and wrong behavior from a
Christian perspective. Systematic theological study of Christian ethics is called moral theology.

-Christian morality consists of living one’s life with guidance and inspiration from the Christian scriptures and
traditions. .  Most Christian ethicists agree that the sources for doing ethics include revelation (scripture) and
tradition, as well as human reason and experience.

-Being shaped by Biblical revelation is the primary way that Christian ethics can be distinguished from
alternative ethical perspectives, both religious and secular.

-The Christian moral code, defined by the Christian bible, is the standard of right and wrong that was established
by Jesus Christ and then taught by his disciples. It is based on two foundations: loving God and loving people.

The Covenant, the Law, and the Prophets

In tracing the source of Christian ethics to its Old Testament roots, we look at the covenant and its developing
radical monotheism (belief in one almighty God), the law as it evolved from cultic ritual observances to a more
humanitarian community law, the prophets and their refining of Yahweh’s judgment and mercy, finally to Jesus’
unique understanding of God – centered moral living that moved beyond his Old Testament heritage to an
exemplification of hope for the righteous rule of God in a redeemed community for this world and the next.

Brief description of the facts

The judeochristian ethics are guided by the ten commandments of Judaism and the law of Love initiated by
Jesus.

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue, are a set of biblical laws relating to ethics and
worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity.

The commandments include instructions to worship only God, to honour one's parents, and to keep the sabbath,
as well as prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, dishonesty, and coveting.

Below is the order of the Ten Commandments

 YHVH is the LORD your God. You will not worship any other god.
 You will not use the name of the LORD your God in vain.
 You will not profane the Sabbath day, but keep it holy.
 You will not dishonor either your father or your mother.

45
  You will not kill.
 You will not commit adultery
 You will not steal.
 You will not lie.
 You will not envy another man's wife.
 You will not envy another man's property.

Their application to Public Life

Throughout history, the Ten Commandments have been used as a framework for expounding all of our ethical
responsibilities.

1. Placing Priority—“no other gods,” provides prophetic resistance to anything that would make itself into a
god, such as the totalitarian state.

2. Saying no—“no idols.” Christians must have no physical or mental images that we worship; they must resist
idols and uphold the truth. At the same time, tolerance is a Christian invention. It follows that we must defend
both legal and social tolerance.

With regard to legal tolerance, leaders cannot and should not coerce religious belief. Freedom of religion is
America’s first freedom. Christians should defend the rights of people to believe and practice any religion,
regardless of whether that belief system teaches the truth.

Social tolerance is just as important. Jesus calls us to love not only our neighbors but everyone—up to and
including our enemies. Christ’s love has a centrifugal force that thrusts us over the deepest divides of race,
ethnicity, religion, and moral beliefs.

Tolerating others’ beliefs both legally and socially does not mean that we agree with those beliefs, or that
differences do not matter. There are times we must take a stand. There are times when Christians must say “no”
to the world and proclaim Christ’s truth to a fallen culture.

3. Complete Conviction—“not in vain.” We should not take God’s name in vain with respect to his worship, in
language, in oaths, or in promises. Perhaps the worst sin is not profanity, but lip service. Luther once said that
God is sometimes more pleased with the curses of the wicked than the “hallelujahs” of the pious.

4. Time—“remember the Sabbath.” We must set aside time for our Lord for worship, fellowship, and devotion.
When one’s output exceeds his input, it leads to his downfall. Christians must take the time to renew themselves
and invest in the church, weak as it may be. There will be no rebuilding of the culture without the church.

5. Respect for Inheritance, Heritage and Succession—“honor your father and mother.” Let those who come
behind us find us faithful.

6. Dignity—“you shall not murder.” The image of God is the only adequate basis on which murder can be
condemned. There are no ordinary people—“you have never met a mere mortal.” People dare not get used to
the taking of life lightly. With this in mind, Christians must help the poor not only because God commands it, but
because people are made in the image of God. We want to give the poor an opportunity to flourish.

46
7. Fidelity—“you shall not commit adultery.” Sexual beauty comes not by repression, nor by unlimited
expression, but by discipline. Marriage and family are at the core of society. If they fail, society will become
poorer economically and spiritually.

8. Ownership—“you shall not steal.” Stealing is evil because private property and ownership are good. God
wants everyone to have the joy of sitting under their own vine and fig tree 7The best protection for our economy is
the rule of law which guards private property and character that allows trust to form between people.

9. Veracity—“you shall not bear false witness.” In today’s culture, “truth has fallen in the street.” Truth is
replaced by rhetoric and “spin.” Individuals are to be truthful because God is truthful. Above all, Christians
must uphold the veracity of God’s Word.

10. Desire Versus Greed—“you shall not covet.” One can condemn greed and envy without prohibiting a
healthy desire for relationships and things. “An argument against abuse is not an argument against use,” says
an ancient proverb. Justly decrying greed does not negate the value of serving people through business and free
markets. You can have one without the other. One can distinguish the fall from Creation.

The Ethics of Jesus

The primary and final authority for Christian ethics is found in the life, teachings, ministry and death of Jesus
Christ as the revelation of God. He clarified the ethical demands of a God-centered life by applying obedient
love or agape to all human situations, both personal and social, and insisted this included the earthly as well as
the eternal, and required our best actions amid the relativities of the present world.

Ethical Perspectives of the Early Church

Expanding from a Jewish to a Gentile world the early church concluded that no legalism, Judaic or Gentile, was
adequate to fulfill the gospel standard of agape, that the Kingdom of God was already present and yet to come,
and that in living the gospel in this world with its political, economic and social challenges would require
faithfulness and patience.

God, Sin, and Christian Character

Christian ethics begin with the assumption that Christian character is founded, not on naturalism or humanism,
but on Jesus as the supreme revealer of God, that Christian virtues are not the exclusive possession of Christians,
that sin is not a state of being but rebellious self-love and self-exaltation that leads to failure to be adequately
responsive to the love commandment of Jesus, that humans are created free to make moral choices, and
Christians are called to make these choices in light of the love commandment.

Duties to Self and Society

Jesus’ love commandment assumes we will love ourselves and calls us to expand beyond self-realization to
devotion to God, and concern for others. Brotherly love should not be restricted to interpersonal relations,
however primary they may be, but extend to wider service, including social service and social action to those
persons and institutions not known to us directly, where social sin calls for our best response in the light of the
gospel.

Marriage and the family

47
Christian ethics establishes the family as primary in all social relations based on the explicit teachings of Jesus
and their implications that monogamy is the standard, agape the controlling factor, divorce a compromise, and
our relation to God the foundation.

The Ethics of Economic Life

The ethics of economic life is second only to family life and covers the Christian vision of property, work and
vocation, and economic justice, all stemming from the position that all things belong to God and we are to be
faithful and loving stewards in managing God’s world and ourselves in it.

Christianity and the Race Problem

While there is agreement in principle among Christians that all persons are equal before God, the reality of racial
prejudice, whether based on biology, geography, education, economics, color, nationality or any other
discriminating factor, must be addressed by the church in proclaiming its gospel and putting its own house in
order.

The Christian Conscience and the State

Since the Christian’s ultimate loyalty is to God and not the state in its demand for obedience to the law, the
Christian always tempers his loyalty with insistences on justice with love that calls for equality and liberty that
holds the state’s necessary powers of coercion under restraint and accountability to God.

War, Peace, and International Order

Christian ethics starts from the position that God created the world for good and that war involves great evil, and
calls us to a stewardship that enjoys much convergence based on agape as redeeming love, but also significant
divergences over the best strategies to establish peace with justice.

Christian Ethics and Culture

For twenty centuries the Christian faith has struggled to come to terms with culture, and with the Christian ethic
of love has both informed and challenged the various expressions of civilized culture, particularly in the areas of
science, art and education.

MAJOR CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

Its main points include:

 Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.
 The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ.
 The holiness of the Church and the communion of saints.
 Christ's second coming, the Day of Judgement and salvation of the faithful.

Ten Things You Should Know about Christian Ethics

1. Christian ethics teaches us how to live.

48
Christian ethics asks what the whole Bible teaches us about which acts, attitudes, and personal character traits
receive God’s approval and which ones do not.

This means that Christian ethics teaches us how to live. It is important to study Christian ethics so that we can
better know God’s will, and so that each day we can “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to
him” (Col. 1:10).

2. The ultimate basis for Christian ethics is the moral character of God.

God delights in his own moral character, which is supremely good, unchanging, and eternal. His moral standards
for human beings flow from his moral character, and therefore they apply to all people in all cultures for all of
history.

 God is love, so he commands us to love (1 John 4:19).

 He is holy, and he commands us to be holy (1 Peter 1:15).
 He is merciful, and he commands us to be merciful (Luke 6:36).
 He is truthful, and he commands us not to bear false witness (Titus 1:2; Exodus 20:16). God’s moral
character and the historical fact that he has given us moral commands provide the basis for a Christian
answer to the question of how we can move from “is” statements to “ought” statements in ethics.

3. Christian ethics is based on the Bible.

 One of the purposes of the Bible is to teach us how to live a life that is pleasing to God (Col. 1:9–10; 1
Thess. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:17).
 Because it is the Word of God, the Bible is a higher authority in ethics than tradition, reason, experience,
expected results, or subjective perceptions of guidance.
 While these other factors can never override the teaching of Scripture, they can still be helpful for us in
making a wise decision.

4. Christian ethics is essential to the proclamation of the gospel.

 Some Christian speakers today downplay or omit any call for unbelievers to repent of their sins, but
evangelism in the New Testament clearly included a call to repentance. Just before he returned to
heaven, Jesus told his disciples “that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his
name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47).
 Similarly, Paul proclaimed the need for repentance to pagan Greek philosophers in Athens, warning
them that the final judgment was coming: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he
commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world
in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising
him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31; checkActs 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18; Hebrews 6:1).
 “Repentance” in the New Testament is not merely a “change of mind” but includes both sorrow for one’s
sins and a sincere inward resolve to turn away from sin and to turn to Christ in faith (Hebrews 6:1; Acts
16:31).
 Therefore gospel proclamation today must include an element of teaching about God’s moral standards,
which means teaching about Christian ethics.

5. Christian ethics teaches us how to live for the glory of God.

The goal of ethics is to lead a life that glorifies God (“do all to the glory of God,” 1 Cor. 10:31).

49
Such a life will have (1) a character that glorifies God (a Christ-like character),

(2) Results that glorify God (a life that bears abundant fruit for God’s kingdom), and

(3) Behavior that glorifies God (a life of obedience to God, lived in personal relationship with God).

Although we are justified by faith in Christ alone and not by works, extensive New Testament teachings about
living the Christian life show that our day-by-day obedience as justified Christians is an important part of the
Christian life. Understanding obedience correctly requires that we avoid the opposite errors of legalism.

6. Obeying God brings numerous blessings to our daily lives.

The New Testament teaches at least seventeen specific kinds of blessings that come to us in connection with
living in obedience to God’s commands in Scripture. These blessings include:

 the joy of deeper fellowship with God (John 15:10);

 the joy of pleasing God (2 Corinthians 5:9; Colossians 1:10);
 the joy of becoming a vessel for “honorable use” by God (2 Timothy 2:20-21);
 the joy of being an effective witness to unbelievers (1 Peter 2:12; 3:1);
 the joy of increased answers to our prayers (1 Peter 3:10-12; James 5:16; 1 John 3:21-22);
 the joy of closer fellowship with other Christians (1 John 1:7);
 the joy of a clear conscience (1 Timothy 1:5, 19); and several other blessings.

God intended that obedience to him would not be burdensome (1 John 5:3) but would bring us great joy. For this
reason, when Christians are not “conformed to this world” we discover that following the will of God is a path of
life that is for us “good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

7. Willful sin brings several harmful consequences to our daily lives.

It is not too popular to talk about sin today, but it is a huge topic in the Bible. Searching for the English word
“sin” (and other words with the same root such as “sins” or “sinner”) shows that it occurs 440 times in the New
Testament alone.

The copy of the Bible in the English Standard Version (ESV) has 235 pages in the New Testament. This means
that the topic of sin is mentioned in one way or another, on average, nearly two times per page through the entire
New Testament. We would neglect such an important topic at our peril.

The New Testament mentions several harmful consequences that come from willful sin in the life of a Christian.
These consequences include:

 a disruption of our daily fellowship with God (Ephesians 4:30; 1 John 3:21)
 the awareness of God’s fatherly displeasure and the possible experience of his fatherly discipline (1 Cor.
11:30; Hebrews 12:5-11; see also Ephesians 4:30; Revelation 3:19)
 And a loss of fruitfulness in our ministries and in our Christian lives (John 15:4-5).

Christians should pray daily for forgiveness of sins (Matthew 6:12; 1 John 1:9), not to gain justification again
and again, but to restore our personal fellowship with God that has been hindered by sin.

50
8. Christian ethics teaches us to consider four dimensions of any action, and nine possible sources of
information.

Christian ethics is not concerned only with our right and wrong actions. We are complex people, and life itself is
complex. Therefore, in studying Christian ethics, God wants us to consider not only:

(1) The action itself but also

(2) a person’s attitudes about the action

(3) The person’s motives for doing the action, and

(4) the results of the action.

In seeking to know God’s will, sometimes we must make a decision instantly, with no time to ponder the
situation (see the story of Joseph in Genesis 39:12). But at other times, we are able to ponder a decision at some
length. When we have more time to ponder a decision, we can consider as many as nine possible sources of
information and guidance:

(1) The Bible (2) knowledge of the facts of the situation

(3) Knowledge of ourselves (4) advice from others

(5) Changed circumstances (6) our consciences (7) our hearts

(8) Our human spirits, and (9) guidance from the Holy Spirit. We need wisdom from God in order to evaluate
these factors rightly in making a decision.

9. We should never think that God wants us to choose a “lesser sin.”

Although several evangelical ethics books claim that, from time to time, we face situations of “impossible moral
conflict” where all our choices are sinful and we must simply choose to commit the “lesser sin,” this idea is not
taught in Scripture. It is contradicted both by the life of Christ, “who in every respect has been tempted as we
are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15), and by the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says that God will always
provide a “way of escape.”

The “impossible moral conflict” view easily becomes a slippery slope that in actual practice encourages
Christians to sin more and more.

10. Using the Old Testament for ethical guidance requires an understanding of the history of redemption.

Many Christians have read the Old Testament and wondered how we should understand the detailed laws that
God gave to the people of Israel under the leadership of Moses. This requires an understanding of the “history of
redemption”—the overall progress of the main storyline of the Bible.

The Mosaic covenant, which began at Exodus 20, was terminated when Christ died. Christians are no longer
directly subject to the laws of the Mosaic covenant but now live instead under the provisions of the new
covenant. However, the Old Testament is still a valuable source of ethical wisdom when understood in

51
accordance with the ways in which the New Testament authors use the Old Testament for ethical teaching, and in
light of the changes brought about by the new covenant.

The New Testament authors explicitly reaffirm all of the moral standards found in the Ten Commandments,
except they do not reaffirm observance of the Sabbath as a requirement for new covenant Christians.

Understanding the progressive development of the Bible from the old covenant (under Moses) to the new
covenant (inaugurated by Christ) is especially important when thinking about the Bible’s teaching regarding civil
government today. It is important to remember that God’s wise laws about crimes and punishments that he gave
to the civil government of Israel as a nation then are in many ways different from God’s wise purposes for the
civil governments of secular nations now.

Advantages and Benefits of the Christian Life

Here are ten precious gifts from God to those who trust in Jesus Christ

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are
many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who
find it." (Mat 7.13, 14)

1. Reconciliation, Forgiveness and Freedom

God promises forgiveness for following the wrong path in life. We have all done this and we need to be
reconciled to God and re-directed. We need freedom from a troubled conscience, freedom from wrong thought
and actions against God and against our fellow man.

This gift leads to real freedom in life - something we have never yet experienced. In short, a fresh start. All we
have to do is come to God our Father in prayer through Jesus His Son, acknowledge our wrong ways, and let
Him be Lord of our lives.

(John 8.36 - Acts 13.39 - Acts 16.31 - Romans 3.10,23 - Colossians 1.22 - Hebrews 10.19-22)

2. Assurance that God knows us and Cares for us.

From birth to death, God knows all our thoughts and all our actions. God assures us of His unfailing love for us,
and of everlasting life going beyond physical death.

(Deut 33.27 - Ps 34.15 - Ps 139.1-18 - John 3.16 - John 14.23 - Romans 8.38,39)

3. A Reliable Friend

Once on the right path in life, God becomes our most reliable friend. Once on the true path we walk with God
and His risen Son Jesus Christ through life, death, and beyond. He never leaves us. He is completely reliable.
Through prayer we can have an intimacy with God the Father even to the point of respectfully calling Him 'Dad'!

(John 14.23 - Mat 28.20 - Matthew 6.6 - Romans 8.15 - Hebrews 10.19)

4. Freedom from Fear and a Healthy Awesome Fear of God

52
God gives us freedom from fear: fear of loneliness, fear of man, fear of death, fear of hell. Once on the correct
path in life God gives us an awe and reverence (many translations call it 'fear') for Him which we never had
before. We start to recognise the one true God.(Matthew 10.28-31 - Rom 8.15 - Hebrews 2.14,15 - Rev 4)

5. A True Aim and Purpose in Life

God will give us a new and extraordinary aim in life; namely, to know Him (the Father) and His Son Jesus Christ
whom He sent. In doing this we glorify, love and serve God, and love and serve our fellow man. This starts now
and goes on past death into everlasting life. (Isaiah 43.7 - Matthew 10.39 - John 10.10 - John 17.3)

6. Inner Peace and Joy

God gives us an inner stillness and a peaceful spirit in the midst of noise, turmoil and life's natural stresses.(John
14.27 - John:15.11 - Phil 4.6,7 - Col 3.15 - 1 Jn 1.4)

7. Strength, Power and Steadfastness

God will give us the extraordinary ability to live a stable, God-centred life, and extraordinary strength and power
when circumstances dictate it.(Deut 8.9 - Ps 46.1 - Isaiah 40.29-31 - John 14.12 - Matthew 7.24,25)

8. Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom

God gives us His 'Spirit of truth' to provide us with knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The Spirit reveals
truths about major issues in life (purpose, morality, destiny etc.) and the reasons behindcertain major world
events. He also gives the ability to discern truth and error and to recognise deception. Such understanding is
unavailable to those on the wrong path in life.(Prov 9.10 - Luke 21.15 - John 14.16, 17, 26)

9. God's Guidance along Life's Path

Life is complex. How do we know the right decisions in life? For those who trust in Jesus, the indwelling Holy
Spirit guides us at those difficult times in life - we are not alone. He gives us Godly wisdom to know the right
thing to do. He opens the right door and closes the wrong one if we acknowledge Him in our plans.(Ps 32.8 - Ps
37.5,23 - Prov 16.3,9 - Prov 20.24)

10. A Healthy Body and Mind

Our health suffers when we worry or cover up our wrong actions. But once on the correct path in life there is
often a physical spin-off. Our bodies can benefit from improved health, and even dramatic healing can occur
when we put our faith in Him and use His authority over sickness.

Christian ethics world views in perspective

Christian Ethics explained

Ethics is the study of good and evil, right and wrong. The task of Christian ethics is to determine what conforms
to God’s character and what does not.

The uniqueness of Christian ethics: “One of the distinctions of the Judeo-Christian God is that not all things are
the same to Him.

53
  He exists.
 He has a character.
 And not all things are the same to Him.
 Some things conform to His character, and some are opposed to His character.”
 Muslims believe that moral norms are arbitrary, a product of God’s decree, and therefore can change as
God chooses.
 M
 Marxists and Secular Humanists rely almost exclusively on their economic or naturalistic philosophy to
determine ethics.

We know that God’s ethical order is the only true source of morality, and, in fact, the only possible morality;
there can be no other.
With this in place, the human mind, has no more power of inventing a new value than of imagining a new
primary color, or, indeed, of creating a new sun and a new sky for it to move in.”

For the Christian, the moral order is as real as the physical order—some would say even more real. The Apostle
Paul says the physical order is temporary, but the order “not seen” is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). This eternal
moral order is a reflection of the character and nature of God Himself.

Christian Ethics – Our Common Moral Heritage

 Christian ethics, in one sense, is simply an expansion of a moral order that is generally revealed to
everyone.
 Despite some disagreement regarding the morality of specific actions, Calvin D. Linton comments on the
consistency of the moral code within all people everywhere.
 [T]here is a basic pattern of similarity among [ethical codes]. Such things as murder, lying, adultery,
cowardice are, for example, almost always condemned.
 The universality of the ethical sense itself (the ‘oughtness’ of conduct), and the similarities within the
codes of diverse cultures indicate a common moral heritage for all mankind which materialism or
naturalism cannot explain.”
 We may define this common moral heritage as anything from an attitude to a conscience, but however
we define it, we are aware that some moral absolutes do exist outside ourselves.
 According to this universal moral code, whenever we pass judgment we are relying upon a yardstick
that measures actions against an absolute set of standards.
 Without a standard, justice could not exist; without an ethical absolute, morality could not exist.

Christian Ethics – A Common Moral Standard

a) this objective, absolute standard is apparent throughout humanity’s attitudes toward morality.

 According to a secular philosophy, we should treat all morals as relative

 But in practice; even secular society treats some abstract values (such as justice, love, and courage) as
consistently moral.
 Secular society also recoils at the Nazi holocaust, the Russian prison system of Siberian gulags, and the
abuse of children. We cannot explain this phenomenon unless we accept the notion that certain value
judgments apply universally and are somehow inherent to all mankind.

b) Christian morality is founded on the conviction that an absolute moral order exists outside of, and yet

54
 somehow is inscribed into, our very being. It is a morality flowing from the nature of the Creator through
the nature of created things, not a construction of the human mind.

c) It is part of God’s general revelation. “At the core of every moral code,” says Walter Lippman, “there
is a picture of human nature, a map of the universe, and version of history.

To human nature (of the sort conceived), in a universe (of the kind imagined), after a history (so
understood), the rules of the code apply.”

This moral light is what the Apostle John refers to as having been lit in the hearts of all men and women
—”The true light that gives light to every man” (John 1:9, ). It is what the Apostle Paul calls “the work
of the law written in their hearts, their conscience” (Romans 2:15).

d) This morality is not arbitrarily handed down by God to create difficulties for us. God does not make
up new values according to whim. Rather, God’s innate character is holy and cannot tolerate evil or
moral indifference—what the Bible calls sin.

e) Therefore, if we wish to please God and prevent sin from separating us from Him, we must act in
accordance with His moral order. Christians are assured of these truths about God’s nature and judgment
as a result of special revelation.

f) Whereas general revelation has informed all people of the existence of a moral order, special
revelation—the Bible—discloses specifics regarding that order. In the final analysis, Christians rely on
God and His Word for a full explanation of the moral order.

Conclusively:

 Christian ethics and the Christian ethical system is both like and unlike any other system ever
postulated/assumed.
 Every ethical system contains some grain of the truth found in the Christian code, but no other system
can claim to be the whole truth, handed down as an absolute from God to humanity.
 Christians, who recognize the truth of God’s law, must dedicate their lives to obeying it. This dedication
is far too rare today.

The question is “Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his
conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and
responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God—the responsible man, who tries to make his whole
life an answer to the question and call of God.

Where are these responsible people?”5

Such Christians are those who are willing to treat God’s moral order with the same respect they show His
physical order; who love God with their whole body, soul, spirit, mind, and strength; that treat others as they
desire to be treated.

55
They may be in the halls of government, standing firm against tyranny and slavery, or in the mission field,
sacrificing everything for the sake of the gospel. More often they are quite ordinary Christians living
extraordinary lives, showing the world that Christ’s truth is worth believing and living.

Historical development of Christian ethics

Sources

The four sources of Christian morality are scripture, tradition, reason, and Christian experience.

According to D. Stephen Long, Jewish ethics and the life of Jesus figure prominently in Christian ethics, but

"The Bible is the universal and fundamental source of specifically Christian ethics",
"Christian ethics finds its source in diverse means, but it primarily emerges from the biblical narrative."
"Many Christian ethicists have claimed that Jesus Christ is the center of the biblical message in its
entirety and the key to scripture".

Although Christians today do not follow the Old Testament Law, the Ten Commandments often figure
prominently in Christian ethics.

"The Prophets ground their appeals for right conduct in God's demand for righteousness.

" On the other hand, "It is not... true to say that for the OT writers righteousness is defined by what God does;
i.e., an act is not made righteous by the fact that God does it.

New Testament

Much of Christian ethics derives from Biblical scripture and Christians have always considered the Bible
profitable to teach, reprove, correct, and train in righteousness.

The New Testament generally asserts that all morality flows from the Great Commandment, to love God with all
one's heart, mind, strength, and soul, and to love one's neighbour as oneself.

In this, Jesus was reaffirming teachings of Deut 6:4-9 (You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart….)
and Lev 19:18(Do not seek revenge….You shall love your neighbor as yourself). Christ united these commands
together and proposed himself as a model of the love required in John 13:12, known also as The New
Commandment.

The Council of Jerusalem,(The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep
most of the Law of Moses, including the rules concerning circumcision of males. The Council did, however,
retain the prohibitions on eating blood, meat containing blood, and meat of animals not properly slain, and on
fornication and idolatry, sometimes referred to as the Apostolic Decree.

Virtues and principles in Christian ethics

The seven Christian virtues are from two sets of virtues. The four cardinal virtues are:

Prudence, Justice, Restraint (or Temperance), and Courage (or Fortitude).

56
 The cardinal virtues are so called because they are regarded as the basic virtues required for a virtuous
life.

 Prudence: also described as wisdom, the ability to judge between actions with regard to appropriate
actions at a given time
 Justice: also considered as fairness, the most extensive and most important virtue [20]
 Temperance: also known as restraint, the practice of self-control, abstention, and moderation tempering
the appetition
 Courage: also termed fortitude, forebearance, strength, endurance, and the ability to confront fear,
uncertainty, and intimidation

The three theological virtuesare:Faith, Hope, and Love (or Charity).

 Faith: belief in God, and in the truth of His revelation as well as obedience to Him (cf. Rom 1:5:16:26).
 Hope: expectation of and desire of receiving; refraining from despair and capability of not giving up.
The belief that God will be eternally present in every human's life and never giving up on His love.
 Charity: a supernatural virtue that helps us to love God and our neighbors, the same way as we love
ourselves.

Principles of Judeochristianity

1. The basic text of Judeochristianity is the Bible as preserved in Jewish and Christian tradition. It consists
of two parts: the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

2. The Bible is the divinely inspired word transmitted through human understanding over many times and
places. The Bible must be understood as a whole, without picking and choosing only those parts that
serve one’s interests.

Nevertheless, the human process of transcription and transmission is fallible. Therefore the Bible cannot
always be taken literally and must be understood within the context of its original time and place.

3. Biblical criticism must be considered and can provide valuable insights concerning the Bible’s historical
context and the meaning of the text itself. However, it cannot be an exclusive guide since many of its
insights rely upon educated speculation. One must struggle with scripture, sifting its eternal truths from
their time-bound expressions, and understanding these truths through faith and with the heart.

4. The Hebrew Bible must be understood in its own right and in its original order. It is the story of the
discovery of God’s intimate relationship with human beings through the history and experience of the
Hebrew People. The Biblical term for this relationship is “Covenant”.

5. The New Testament represents the continuation and culmination of Hebrew prophecy. Through Jesus’
life and teachings we learn that God’s intimate relationship with human beings extends to every
individual member of every nation on earth. It was Jesus’ prophetic vocation to bring this message to the
world. The New Testament extends the Hebrew covenant to all of humanity.

57
6. Judeochristianity is not a substitute for either Judaism or Christianity. It is a way of seeing both that
emphasizes the continuity of these two traditions. As such Judeocchristianity makes no commitment to
either Jewish or Christian religious doctrine.

It is equally applicable whether one believes Jesus to be the Son of God, the Messiah, or the last of the
Hebrew prophets. Christians need not suspend their belief in Jesus’ divinity, nor need Jews accept this
belief, in order to appreciate and benefit from this approach. Judeochristiacnity is a unifying approach
that accepts both Jews and Christians (and others as well) exactly where they are.

7. The central idea in Judeochristianity is non-self-interested love. Non-self-interested love is defined as

the awareness of others’ individually. Jesus’ central message was to teach this love, which is the natural
culmination of Hebrew prophecy. By his complete willingness to embrace his suffering and by his faith
in redemption in spite of it, Jesus became a representative of all human suffering and by his suffering
became a prophetic demonstration of his message of God’s redemptive love.

8. God can neither be defined nor grasped with the intellect, but may be described as Absolute Goodness.
Created in God’s image, we are endowed with a sense of goodness, which enables us to distinguish good
from evil. This sense is limited, is not infallible, and may encounter difficulty evaluating competing
goods. We must therefore use it with caution and self-awareness; nevertheless, it is our most reliable
means to knowledge and guide to action. We may try to ignore or suppress this sense of goodness, or
dismiss it from fear of facing ambiguity; nevertheless, we are responsible for cultivating it to the best of
our ability. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26); if we are genuinely devoted to
understanding goodness, we will receive aid from beyond ourselves.

9. We cannot comprehend the whole of goodness, but we can discern its many specific expressions, such as
love, beauty, honesty, integrity, generosity, patience, compassion, truth and justice. The highest good of
all is non-self-interested love, and is the standard by which other goods are judged. We can develop our
sense of goodness. Self- examination is important, lest we substitute our own prejudices or desires for
what is truly good.
10. Keeping all this in mind, it is possible to speak of the reason for which we were created. We were
created to reveal the goodness of God. We do this by expressing goodness directly in all its different
forms, and by choosing goodness over its alternatives. Our highest purpose and the greatest good we can
manifest is to learn to love without self-interest. Therefore this principle can serve as a guide to action in
difficult situations. We can ask ourselves: of all the choices available, which most enables God’s nature
to be known?

11. We can even speak of a specific reason for the creation of each one of us. This individualized reason is
called our destiny. It is unique way in which we are each called to express goodness in our own lives. It
may have to do with the talents we were given, the jobs we must perform, or with entirely different
things, including our network of relationships and the ways we express love through them. We may
think of the spiritual journey that orders our lives as the search to find fulfill our destiny. We cannot
know it in advance. We discover it by devoting ourselves to God’s will which is the expression of

58
 goodness. To practice this we listen for and follow the cues that point us toward the ways of expressing
goodness that best fit our individual constitution and life circumstances.

Areas of applied Christian ethics

Abortion

 A Christian view on abortion has a complex history as there is no explicit prohibition of abortion in
either the Old Testament or New Testament books of the Christian Bible. While some writers say that
early Christians held different beliefs at different times about abortion, others say that, in spite of the
silence of the New Testament on the issue, they condemned abortion at any point of pregnancy as a
grave sin, a condemnation that they maintained even when some of them did not qualify as homicide the
elimination of a fetus not yet "formed" and animated by a human soul.
 The Didache, a Christian writing usually dated to sometime in the mid to late 1st century, prohibits
abortion in Ch 2.
 The Roman Catholic Church teaches that abortion is evil and that "human life must be respected and
protected absolutely from the moment of conception." Accordingly, it opposes procedures whose
purpose is to destroy an embryo or fetus for whatever motive (even before implantation), but admits acts,
such as chemotherapy or hysterectomy of a pregnant woman who has cervical cancer, which indirectly
results in the death of the fetus, is morally acceptable.
 The Church holds that "the first right of the human person is his life" and that life is assumed to begin at
fertilization. Since the first century, the Church has affirmed that every procured abortion is a moral evil,
a teaching that the Catechism of the Catholic Church declares "has not changed and remains
unchangeable".
 Since the twentieth century Protestant views on abortion have varied considerably, with Protestants to be
found in both the "anti-abortion" and "abortion-rights" camps.
 Conservative Protestants tend to be anti-abortion whereas "mainline" Protestants lean towards an
abortion-rights stance. African-American Protestants are much more strongly anti-abortion than white
Protestants.
 Even among Protestants who believe that abortion should be a legal option, there are those who believe
that it should nonetheless be morally unacceptable in most instances.
 Although scripture is mostly silent on abortion, various elements of scripture inform Christian ethical
views on this topic, including Genesis 4:1; Job 31:15; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1, 5; and Jeremiah 1:5, among
others.

Alcohol: Christian views on alcohol

 Current views on alcohol in Christianity can be divided into moderationism, abstentionism, and
prohibitionism.
 Prohibitionists abstain from alcohol as a matter of law (that is, they believe God requires abstinence in
all ordinary circumstances), while abstentionists abstain as a matter of prudence (that is, they believe
total abstinence is the wisest and most loving way to live in the present circumstances).
 Some Christians, including Pentecostals , Baptists and Methodists, today believe one ought to abstain
from alcohol. Fifty-two percent of Evangelical leaders around the world say drinking alcohol is
incompatible with being a good Evangelical.
 Evangelicals in Asia, Africa, and also in Muslim-majority countries are decidedly against drinking.

Divorce: Christian views on divorce

59
  Christian views on divorce are informed by verses in Matthew, Mark, Deuteronomy, and others and
political developments much later.
 In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus emphasized the permanence of marriage, but also its integrity. In the book
of Matthew Jesus says "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but
from the beginning it was not so.
 When Jesus discusses marriage, he points out that a certain talent is needed to live together with another
human being. Not having assets of their own, women needed to be protected from the risk of their
husbands' putting them on the street at whim. In those times marriage was an economic matter.
 A woman and her children could easily be rejected. Restriction of divorce was based on the necessity of
protecting the woman and her position in society, not necessarily in a religious context, but an economic
context
 Paul concurred but added an exception for abandonment by an unbelieving spouse.
 The Catholic Church prohibits divorce, but permits annulment (a finding that the marriage was never
valid) under a narrow set of circumstances. The Eastern Orthodox Church permits divorce and
remarriage in church in certain circumstances.
 Most Protestant churches discourage divorce except as a last resort, but do not actually prohibit it
through church doctrine.

Sexual morality and Celibacy

 Modern Christian sexual morality rejects adultery, extramarital sex, prostitution, and rape.
 Christian views on the moral benefits of celibate and marital lifestyles have varied over time.
 In his early writings, Paul described marriage as a social obligation that has the potential of distracting
from Christ. Sex, in turn, is not sinful but natural, and sex within marriage is both proper and necessary.
 In his later writings, Paul made parallels between the relations between spouses and God's relationship
with the church. Paul encouraged both celibate and marital lifestyles.
 While Jesus made reference to some that have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven,
there is no commandment in the New Testament that Jesus' disciples have to live in celibacy. The
general view on sexuality among the early Jewish Christians was quite positive.
 During the first three or four centuries, no law was promulgated prohibiting clerical marriage. Celibacy
was a matter of choice for bishops, priests, and deacons.
 Today, the Roman Catholic Church teachings on celibacy uphold it for monastics and priests.
 Protestantism has rejected the celibate (unmarried) life for preachers since the Reformation. Many
evangelicals prefer the term "abstinence" to "celibacy." Assuming everyone will marry, they focus their
discussion on refraining from premarital sex and focusing on the joys of a future marriage. But some
evangelicals, particularly older singles, desire a positive message of celibacy that moves beyond the
"wait until marriage" message of abstinence campaigns.
 They seek a new understanding of celibacy that is focused on God rather than a future marriage or a
lifelong vow to the Church.[

Homosexuality

Christianity and homosexuality

 Within Christianity there are a variety of views on the issues of sexual orientation and homosexuality.
The many Christian denominations vary in their position, from condemning homosexual acts as sinful,
through being divided on the issue, to seeing it as morally acceptable. Even within a denomination,
individuals and groups may hold different views.
 Further, not all members of a denomination necessarily support their church's views on homosexuality.
In the Bible, procreative marriage is presented as "the norm" ] and homosexuality is discussed in the New

60
 Testament, but in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries whether or not the Bible condemns
homosexuality, and whether the various passages apply today, have become contentious topics.

Slavery

Christian views on slavery. In modern times, Christian organizations reject any permissibility of slavery, but
Christian views on slavery did vary both historically. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century debates in the UK
and the US, passages in the Bible were used by both pro-slavery advocates and abolitionists to support their
respective views. However modern human rights activists have influenced the common practice of slavery as
evil.

Violence

Christianity and violence

Blessed are the peace makers……..

Christian pacifism is the position that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Christian
pacifists state that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism, and that his followers must do
likewise. Notable Christian pacifists include Martin Luther King, Jr., Leo Tolstoy, and Ammon Hennacy.

Jesus opposed use of violence in his statement that "all who will take up the sword, will die by the sword", which
suggested that those who perpetrate violence will themselves face violence.

In the first few centuries of Christianity, many Christians refused to engage in military combat. In fact, there
were a number of famous examples of soldiers who became Christians and refused to engage in combat
afterward. They were subsequently executed for their refusal to fight.

The commitment to pacifism and rejection of military service is attributed by Allman and Allman to two
principles: "(1) the use of force (violence) was seen as antithetical to Jesus' teachings and(2) service in the
Roman military required worship of the emperor as a god which was a form of idolatry."

Wealth and Poverty: Christian views on poverty and wealth

There are a variety of Christian views on poverty and wealth. At one end of the spectrum is a view which casts
wealth and materialism as an evil to be avoided and even combatted. At the other end is a view which casts
prosperity and well-being as a blessing from God. Some Christians argue that a proper understanding of
Christian teachings on wealth and poverty needs to take a larger view where the accumulation of wealth is not
the central focus of one's life but rather a resource to foster the "good life

According to this rubric, Protestants have variously viewed wealth as: (1) an offense to the Christian faith (2) an
obstacle to faith and (3) the outcome of faith.

Principal theories that inform ethics

Ethical theories
Ethical theories:
 Provide part of the decision-making foundation for Decision Making When Ethics Are in Play
 These theories represent the viewpoints from which individuals seek guidance as they make
decisions.

61
  Each theory emphasizes different points – a different decision-making style or a decision rule
—such as predicting the outcome and following one’s duties to others in order to reach what
the individual considers an ethically correct decision.
 In order to understand ethical decision making, it is important for us to realize that not everyone
makes decisions in the same way, using the same information, employing the same decision
rules.
 In order to further understand ethical theory, there must be some understanding of a common
set of goals that decision makers seek to achieve in order to be successful. Four of these goals
include beneficence, least harm, respect for autonomy, and justice.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Beneficence:
The principle of beneficence guides the decision maker to do what is right and good. This priority
to “do good ” makes an ethical perspective and possible solution to an ethical dilemma acceptable.

This principle is also related to the principle of utility, which states that we should attempt to
generate the largest ratio of good over evil possible in the world. This principle stipulates that
ethical theories should strive to achieve the greatest amount of good because people benefit from
the most good. This principle is mainly associated with the utilitarian ethical theory discussed later
in this set of notes.
Least Harm: Similar to beneficence, least harm deals with situations in which no choice appears beneficial. In
such cases, decision makers seek to choose to do the least harm possible and to do harm to the
fewest people.

Respect forAutonomy: This principle states that decision making should focus on allowing people to be autono-
mous—to be able to make decisions that apply to their lives. Thus, people should have control over
their lives as much as possible because they are the only people who completelyunderstands their
chosen type of lifestyle.
Are there limits to autonomy? Each individual deserves respect because only he/she has had those exact life
experiences and understands his emotions, motivations, and physical capabilities in such an
intimate manner. In essence, this ethical principle is an extension of the ethi-cal principle of
beneficence because a person who is independent usually prefers to have control over his life
experiences in order to obtain the lifestyle that he/she enjoys.

Justice: The justice ethical principle states that decision makers should focus on actions that are fair to those
involved. This means that ethical decisions should be consistent with the ethical theory unless
extenuating/mitigating circumstances that can be justified exist in the case. This also means that
cases with extenuating circumstances must contain a significant and vital difference from similar
cases that justify the inconsistent decision.

Types of ethical theories

Four broad categories of ethical theories include:
 Deontology
 Consequentialism( Utilitarianism)
 rights
 And virtues.
The deontological class of ethical theories states that people should adhere to their obliga- tions and duties when
engaged in decision making when ethics are in play.

62
Deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek δέον, deon, "obligation, duty") is the normative ethical theory
that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of
rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action.

It is sometimes described as duty-, obligation- or rule-based ethics. Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted
to consequentialism, virtue ethics, and pragmatic ethics. In this terminology, action is more important than the
consequences.

Deontology states that an act that is not good morally can lead to something good, such as shooting the intruder
(killing is wrong) to protect your family (protecting them is right). ... In our example, that means protecting your
family is the rational thing to do—even if it is not the morally best thing to do.

MoralAbsolutism

 Moral absolutism, the belief in absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged,
regardless of context
 Graded absolutism, the view that a moral absolute, such as "Do not kill", can be greater or lesser than
another moral absolute, such as "Do not lie"

 Moral absolutism is an ethical view that particular actions are intrinsically right or wrong. Stealing, for
instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done for the well-being of others (e.g.,
stealing food to feed a starving family), and even if it does in the end promote such a good.
 Moral absolutism asserts that there are certain universal moral principles by which all peoples’ actions
may be judged.
 The challenge with moral absolutism, however, is that there will always be strong disagreements about
which moral principles are correct and which are incorr.ect.For example, most people around the world
probably accept the idea that we should treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. But beyond that,
people from different countries likely hold varying views about everything from the morality of abortion
and capital punishment to nepotism and bribery.

While moral absolutism declares a universal set of moral values, in reality, moral principles vary greatly
among nations, cultures, and religions.

What are some examples of moral absolutes? Examples

No stealing. That’s wrong everywhere, that is, to everyone who is not in the thief's situation.

No cheating. You won’t like it if it happens to you.

No killing. Unless self-defense or army.

Moral absolutes are everywhere.Also common sense.

What is right and wrong is known by almost everyone but the choices you make depend on the situation.
For example a hungry person who steals food has done right for himself (if he had no optio n) but to the
seller it is wrong. If someone steals from you it may be deemed wrong to you until you know why they
stole, so in this case the wrong deed is right only for that moment however normally it is deemed wrong.

63
 Moral absolutism claims that “certain actions are right or wrong, regardless of the context of the act.
Thus, certain actions are inherently moral or immoral, regardless of the beliefs and goals of the
individual, society or culture that engages in the actions. It states that morals are inherent in the laws of
the universe, the nature of humanity, the will of God or some other fundamental source.”

Lying is immoral:-

There is a murderer at your door with a sharp knife asking whether your friend is there in your home.
Now if you speak truth, you are being immoral towards your friend.

Lying for a good cause can be moral.

Homosexuality is morally wrong:-

For heterosexuals, it is. For homosexuals it can never be wrong since this is what they are biologically
and psychologically born with.

For conservative religious fanatics it is wrong, for the inclusive liberals of 21st century, it can never be.

Morality depends on your social position and experiences.

Domestic violence is immoral:-

This argument is based on the thought that “men and women enjoy equal rights.” But it can never be proven to
someone who denies this assumption.

For a woman (because of her upbringing and manipulation of views) who thinks that family honor and stability
is more important than her intrinsic happiness, domestic violence is just.A husband hits her wife who is going to
kill her baby in her anger. He did it so that he can save the child. Saving an innocent is moral.

Thus morality depends on social values and context.

Killing someone is immoral:-

It is not the case with Euthanasia which spares someone suffering from immense pain and suffering.

Killing is justified in the case of self-defense.

Shooting of a serial killer by police is moral.

MORAL RELATIVISM

Moral relativism may be any of several philosophical positions concerned with the differences in moral
judgments across different people and cultures

Moral Relativism

64
Moral relativism is the idea that there is no universal or absolute set of moral principles. It’s a version of
morality that advocates “ to each her own” and those who follow it say, “Who am I to judge?”

Moral relativism can be understood in several ways.

Descriptive moral relativism, also known as cultural relativism, says that moral standards are culturally defined,
which is generally true. Indeed, there may be a few values that seem nearly universal, such as honesty and
respect, but many differences appear across cultures when people evaluate moral standards around the world.

Meta-ethical moral relativism states that there are no objective grounds for preferring the moral values of one
culture over another. Societies make their moral choices based on their unique beliefs, customs, and practices.
And, in fact, people tend to believe that the “right” moral values are the values that exist in their own culture.

Normative moral relativism is the idea that all societies should accept each other’s differing moral values, given
that there are no universal moral principles. Most philosophers disagree however. For example, just because
bribery is okay in some cultures doesn’t mean that other cultures cannot rightfully condemn it.

Moral relativism is on the opposite end of the continuum from moral absolutism, which says that there is always
one right answer to any ethical question. Indeed, those who adhere to moral relativism would say, “When in
Rome, do as the Romans do.”

Other theories include:

(a) Consequentialism (and utilitarianism)

Whether an act is morally right depends solely on consequences or the goodness of consequences.

Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are
the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.

Consequentialism is primarily non-prescriptive; meaning the moral worth of an action is determined by its
potential consequence, not by whether it follows a set of written edicts or laws. One example would entail lying
under the threat of government punishment to save an innocent person's life, even though it is illegal to lie under
oath.

Consequentialism judges human practices, like actions or rules, based on their consequences. Human practices
that produce good consequences are morally right, while ones that produce bad consequences are morally wrong.

Roughly speaking, a consequentialist says that you should do certain things, because those actions produce
good consequences.

Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (or omission from acting) is one that will produce a
good outcome, or consequence.

Consequentialism is usually contrasted with deontological ethics (or deontology), in that deontology, in which
rules and moral duty are central, derives the rightness or wrongness of one's conduct from the character of the
behaviour itself rather than the outcomes of the conduct.

It is also contrasted with virtue ethics, which focuses on the character of the agent rather than on the nature or
consequences of the act (or omission) itself.

65
Types of Consequentialism

Some consequentialist theories include:

Utilitarianism, which holds that an action is right if it leads to the most happiness for the greatest number of
people ("happiness" here is defined as the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain).

Utilitarianism is a version of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only
standard of right and wrong. Unlike other forms of consequentialism, such as egoism, utilitarianism considers the
interests of all beings equally.

Hedonism, which is the philosophy that pleasure is the most important pursuit of mankind, and that individuals
should strive to maximise their own total pleasure (net of any pain or suffering).

 Hedonism argues that pleasure and happiness are the primary or most important intrinsic goods and the aim of
human life. A hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure (pleasure minus pain), but when having finally gained
that pleasure, either through intrinsic or extrinsic goods, happiness remains stationary.

Ethical hedonism is the idea that all people have the right to do everything in their power to achieve the greatest
amount of pleasure possible to them. It is also the idea that every person's pleasure should far surpass their
amount of pain.

Welfare hedonism: The good is the experience or sensation of pleasure and the absence of pain pleasure is the
only intrinsic good, and pain is the only intrinsic bad

Higher and lower pleasures: The good is what promotes the entire range of valuable valuable without being
pleasurable

Egoism is an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality. Egoism, holds that an action is
right if it maximizes good for the self. Thus, Egoism may license actions which are good for an individual even
if detrimental to the general welfare.

Egoism (or Ethical Egoism) is the ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-
interest. Egoism is a form of Individualism (an outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of
individual self-reliance and liberty

Individual Egoism holds that all people should do whatever benefits the individual.

Personal Egoism holds that the individual should act in his own self-interest, but makes no claims about what
anyone else ought to do.

Universal Egoism holds that everyone should act in ways that are in their own interest.

Egoism contrasts with ethical Altruism, which holds that moral agents have an ethical obligation to help or serve
others. However, it should be noted that Egoism does not actually require moral agents to disregard or oppose
the well-being of others; it merely holds that satisfying the self-interest of the agent is the prime consideration -
the action may turn out to be incidentally detrimental to, beneficial to, or neutral in its effect on, others.

66
Asceticism, in some ways, the opposite of Egoism in that it describes a life characterized by abstinence from
egoistic pleasures especially to achieve a spiritual goal.

Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their practices or continue to be part of their society, but typically
adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterised by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and
time spent fasting while concentrating on the practice of religion or reflection upon spiritual matters.

(b) Virtue ethics: Whether an act is morally right or good depends on whether it is in conformity or conflict with
certain virtues. Virtue Ethics (or Virtue Theory) is an approach to Ethics that emphasizes an individual's
character as the key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves (Deontology) or their
consequences (Consequentialism).

Virtue ethics names a type of ethical theory that takes virtues of character, rather than individual actions or
rules, as the most fundamental ethical concepts.

Moral virtues like honesty, courage, integrity, temperance and generosity are taken to be inherently good first,
and then actions are evaluated based on whether they express those virtues. That is, do the actions match what a
virtuous person would do in those circumstances?

Basically, a virtue ethicist says that you should do certain things, because they are examples of good character.

(c) Deontology names a type of ethical theory that judges human practices based on whether they are consistent
with certain duties that the theory holds as intrinsically moral. Consequences are irrelevant to a fully
deontological theory.

Deontological theories tend to focus on the motives of actions, and whether a given action was motivated by
duty or something else.

In many deontological theories, motivation by moral duty itself–rather than other factors, like self-interest–is
essential to an action’s being morally right. An advocate of deontology says that you should do certain things,
just because those things are the right things to do, (they “align with duty.”) 

Divine Command Theory: Divine command theory (also known as theological voluntarism) is a meta-ethical
theory which proposes that an action's status as morally good is equivalent to whether it is commanded by God.

The theory asserts that what is moral is determined by what God commands, and that for a person to be moral is
to follow his commands. Followers of both monotheistic and polytheistic religions in ancient and modern times
have often accepted the importance of God's commands in establishing morality.

It asserts that right and wrong come from the commands of God so we have the obligation to follow what is
commanded by God.

This view of morality is known as Divine Command Theory. The upshot is that an action is right -- or obligatory
-- if God commands we do it, wrong if God commands we refrain from doing it, and morally permissible if God
does not command that it not be done..

67
Natural law: Is a philosophy asserting that certain rights are inherent by virtue of human nature endowed by
nature; traditionally God or a transcendent source, and can be understood universally through human reason. As
determined by nature, the law of nature is implied to be universal, existing independently of the positive law of
a given state, political order, legislature or society at large.

Communitarianism refers to a theoretical perspective that seeks to lessen the focus on individual rights and
increase the focus on communal responsibilities. The definition of community varies and can refer to anything
from the nuclear or extended family to the political state or nation. In this approach, ethical thought is grounded
in communal values, established social standards and traditions, and considerations of the larger society.
Communitarians emphasize the influence of society on individuals and contend that values are rooted in
common history and tradition.

Tam (1998) suggests that communitarianism is based on three principles. The first requires that any claim of
truth be validated through co-operative enquiry.

Second, communities of co-operative inquiry, which represent the spectrum of citizens, should validate common
values that become the basis of mutual responsibilities of all community members.

And third, all citizens should have equal access and participation in the power structure of society.

A central premise of communitarianism is the recognition of society as a web of intersecting communities with
differing moral values and standards

The three sources of determining or evaluating the morality of an act:

1. The object chosen

2. The person's purpose
3. The circumstances of the act

The Object Chosen: The object directly chosen by the will determines the basic morality (good or bad). The
person's intellect sees this as according to moral standards (good) or not according to moral standards (evil).

The Intention: The person also has an intention which determines the act's morality. An intention can guide
many acts or even a whole lifetime (as loving God). One act can have a multiplicity of intentions (Doing a favor
to help someone and also to receive a favor in return).However; a good intention can never turn an evil act into a
good one. A good purpose cannot justify evil means. However, an evil intention can make a good act into an evil
one, such as giving alms to gain praise.

The Circumstances: Only the act and the intention make an act good or bad. The circumstances can increase or
diminish the goodness or evil. For example, stealing a large amount of money increases the evil, while fear of
harm can lessen a person's responsibility. Circumstances can never make an evil act into a good one.

An act is good when the object, the intention, and the circumstances are all good. A good act is vitiated by an
evil intention (praying in order to be seen as good). Some acts are evil in themselves (as fornication) and are
always wrong to choose.

68
Therefore, the person's intention and the circumstances, such as pressure or duress, cannot change a morality of
evil act, such as murder, blasphemy, or adultery, into a morally good act. We cannot do evil so as good will
come from it.

The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the three "sources" of the morality of human acts.

The object chosen morally specifies the act of willing accordingly as reason recognizes and judges it good or
evil.

"An evil action cannot be justified by reference to a good intention" (The end does not justify the means.

A morally good act requires the goodness of its object, of its end, and of its circumstances together.

There are concrete acts that it is always wrong to choose, because their choice entails a disorder of the will,
i.e., a moral evil. One may not do evil so that good may result from it

Principle of Double effect

This doctrine says that if doing something morally good has a morally bad side-effect; it's ethically OK to do it
provided the bad side-effect wasn't intended. This is true even if you foresaw that the bad effect would probably
happen.

Euthanasia: Although euthanasia is illegal in the UK, doctors are allowed to administer potentially lethal doses
of painkilling drugs to relieve suffering, provided they do not primarily intend to kill the patient. This is known
as the doctrine of double effect.

This principle is commonly referred to in cases of euthanasia. It is used to justify the case where a doctor gives
drugs to a patient to relieve distressing symptoms even though he knows doing this may shorten the patient's life.

This is because the doctor is not aiming directly at killing the patient - the bad result of the patient's death is a
side-effect of the good result of reducing the patient's pain.

Many doctors use this doctrine to justify the use of high doses of drugs such as morphine for the purpose of
relieving suffering in terminally-ill patients even though they know the drugs are likely to cause the patient to die
sooner.

War and civilian deaths: In modern warfare it's difficult to ensure that only soldiers get hurt. Despite the
effectiveness of precision weapons, civilians are often hurt and killed.

The doctrine of double effect is sometimes put forward as a defense, but it does not always apply.For example, if
an army base in the middle of a city is bombed and a few civilians living nearby are killed as well, nothing
unethical has been done, because the army base was a legitimate target and the death of civilians was not the
intention of the bombing (even though their death could be predicted).

The doctrine of double effect can't be used to defend the use of weapons of mass destruction, such as non-
precision nuclear weapons, area bombing, or chemical or biological weapons used against a population in
general, since these are so indiscriminate in effect civilian casualties can't be regarded as a secondary result.

69
Abortions when the mother's life is in danger: In cases when saving the life of a pregnant woman causes the
death of her unborn child - for example, performing an abortion when continuing the pregnancy would risk
killing the mother - some people argue that this is a case of the doctrine of double effect.

By this argument, the death of the fetus is merely the side-effect of medical treatment to save the mother's life

An action that is good in itself that has two effects -- an intended and otherwise not reasonably attainable good
effect, and an unintended yet foreseen evil effect -- is licit, provided there is a due proportion between the
intended good and the permitted evil.

When there is a clash between the two universal norms of "do good" and "avoid evil," the question arises as to
whether the obligation to avoid evil requires one to abstain from a good action in order to prevent foreseen but
merely permitted concomitant evil effect.

The answer is that one need not always abstain from a good action that has foreseen bad effects, depending on
certain moral criteria identified in the principle of double effect. Though five are listed here, some authors
emphasize only four basic moral criteria (the fifth listed here further specifies the third criterion):

1. The object of the act must not be intrinsically contradictory to one's fundamental commitment to God and
neighbor (including oneself), that is, it must be a good action judged by its moral object (in other words, the
action must not be intrinsically evil);

2. The direct intention of the agent must be to achieve the beneficial effects and to avoid the foreseen harmful
effects as far as possible;

3. No other means of achieving those beneficial effects except this act are available;

4. The foreseen beneficial effects must not be achieved by the means of the foreseen harmful effect;

5. The foreseen beneficial effects must be equal to or greater than the foreseen harmful effects (the proportionate
judgment);

6. The beneficial effects must follow from the action at least as immediately as do the harmful effects.

Criticisms of the doctrine of double effect

 We are responsible for all the anticipated consequences of our actions.

 If we can foresee the two effects of our action we have to take the moral responsibility for both effects -
we can't get out of trouble by deciding to intend only the effect that suits us.
 Intention is irrelevant.Some people take the view that it's sloppy morality to decide the rightness or
wrongness of an act by looking at the intention of the person who carries it out. They think that some
acts are objectively right or wrong, and that the intention of the person who does them is irrelevant.

References

Beauchamp, T, and Childress,J.(1994) Principles of Biomedical ethics, New York:Oxford University Press.

70
Bujo .B.(1998) the ethical dimentions Of community the African model and dialogue between north and south.
Nairobi Collins Publications Africa.

Debelguh, P.(2006) United States outside ethics; learning to live . Nairobi: Focuss Publishers.

Gonzalves, M. A.(1985) Fagotheys Right and reason . 9th Ed. Ethics in Theory and Practice. Colombus; Merril
Publlishing Company.

71