Copenhagen Summit Essays - Philosophy Of Life, Belief, Axiology

The study of ethics has been part of the human condition for centuries. Ethics, by nature, is a moral and philosophical concept. This concept, ancient in origin, tries to help humans understand the best way in which to live in a group, participate in cultural values, and understand the manner in which the individual interacts with the group. Ethics also helps us make material and conceptual judgments regarding behavior, approach to others, and even approach to group norms (politics, etc.). However, when one looks at the history of any philosophical subject, it is important to note that differing concepts of philosophy often arise ?out of? that very historical and cultural fabric of the time ? and then evolve so that they become more acceptable to future generations rather than contemporaneous ones (MacIntyre, 2006). For western philosophy, the basis for the study of ethics arose in Ancient Greece. Socrates, for example, believed that the pinnacle action of anything that makes one hum an is the ultimate goal of happiness, and virtue (morality) is the manner to reach that. Since all humans intrinsically seek happiness, it must mean, then, that all humans are moral and just, and any evil is nothing more than ignorance. Socrates? student, Plato, took this view and expanded on it by indicating that virtue is not just the absence of ignorance, but in such moral virtues like justice, fortitude, temperance, and harmony. Aristotle, taking both ideas, used his observation of the world to show that it is really only happiness that all humans strive; and everything else is simply a part of that ultimate activity (Cahn and Markie, 2008; Roochnick, 2004).