The modern ethics It is the philosophical discipline through which morality, duty, happiness, virtue and what is right or wrong in human behavior are studied. It is represented by various philosophers located temporarily from the beginning of the 17th century to the end of the 19th century..
When reference is made to modern ethics, it is not from the point of view of philosophical concepts, but from a temporal point of view, since in those three centuries there were many philosophical theories that came to light..
Some of the most important currents are: the materialist of Hobbes, the empiricism of Hume, the deontological or duty ethics with Immanuel Kant, the utilitarian with Bentham and Mill and the nihilist of Nietzsche.
However, one cannot fail to mention within modern ethics Safstesbury, initiator of the school of moral sense, nor the philosophers of intuitionist tendency: Ralph Cudworth, Henry More and Samuel Clarke, as well as Richard Price, Thomas Reid and Henry Sidgwich.
The importance of the Dutch Jewish philosopher Benedict de Spinoza and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz cannot be ignored either. In addition, it is important to remember two figures whose philosophical development had a great later repercussion: the French Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the German Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
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The fact that there are so many theories of modern ethics makes it impossible to enumerate characteristics that define them all. However, certain themes that have been addressed by most of the philosophers of this time can be specified:
-Concern to delimit good and evil in man and in society.
-Opposition or concordance between desire and duty, and desire and happiness.
-Choice of ethical description based on reason or feeling.
-Good of the individual and social good.
-Man as a means or an end.
Some of the most prominent philosophers of modern ethics are the following:
This British-born philosopher was an enthusiast for the New Science represented by Bacon and Galileo. For him, both evil and good are related to the predilections and desires of the individual because there is no objective goodness.
For this reason, there is no general good, since the individual fundamentally seeks to satisfy his desires, to preserve himself against an anarchic nature..
The fact that each individual satisfies their desires generates conflict, and so that this does not end in war, a social contract must be established.
Through this contract, power is transferred to a political authority called "sovereign" or "Leviathan", to enforce the provisions. His power must be sufficient to keep the peace and punish those who do not respect him.
Bishop of the Church of England, he was in charge of developing Shaftesbury's theory. He stated that happiness appears as a by-product when desires are satisfied for everything that is not happiness itself..
Thus, whoever has happiness finally does not find it. On the other hand, if you have goals in a place other than happiness, it is more likely that you will achieve.
On the other hand, Butler also introduces the concept of conscience as an independent source of moral reasoning..
Together with David Hume, Hutcheson developed the school of moral sense that had begun with Shaftesbury.
Hutcheson argued that moral judgment cannot be based on reason; that is why it cannot rely on whether an action is kind or unpleasant for someone's moral sense.
He thus conceives that it is disinterested benevolence that gives foundation to the moral sense. From there he declares a principle that will be taken later by the utilitarians: "This action is the best because it provides the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.".
Continuing the work of Shaftesbury and Hutcheson, he proposed an ethical description based on feeling rather than reason. Thus, reason is and must be the slave of passions, and must only serve and obey them.
Since morality is linked to action and reason is static from the motivational point of view, Hume deduces that morality must be a matter of feeling, rather than reason..
Likewise, it emphasizes the emotion of sympathy, which is what allows someone's well-being to be a cause for concern for others..
Kant raises "good will" as the only unconditional good, which in all circumstances is considered the only good thing, in addition to being the one that guides towards the categorical imperative.
This categorical imperative is the highest good of morality and from which all moral duties derive. In such a way that it orders that the person must act only based on principles that can be universalized. That is, principles that all rational persons or agents, as Kant calls them, could adopt.
It is through this categorical imperative that Kant enunciates the "formula of humanity." In accordance with this, one must act by treating oneself and other people as an end, never as a means..
As each human being is an end in himself, he has an absolute, incomparable, objective and fundamental value; he calls this value dignity.
Consequently, everyone is respected because they have dignity, and this is done through treating them as an end in themselves; that is, recognizing it and making it recognized in its essential value.
This English economist and philosopher is considered the founder of modern utilitarianism. His thinking starts from the fact that man is under two masters that nature has given him: pleasure and pain. Thus, everything that seems good is pleasant or is believed to avoid pain..
It is from there that Bentham argues that the terms "correct" and "incorrect" are significant if they are used according to the utilitarian principle. So what increases the net surplus of pleasure over pain is correct; on the contrary, what diminishes it is the wrong thing.
Regarding the consequences of an action in front of others, he argues that the pains and pleasures for all those who are affected in the action must be taken into account. This should be done on an equal footing, no one above no one.
While Bentham considered that the pleasures were comparable, for Mill some are superior and others are inferior.
So the higher pleasures are of great value and are desirable; These include imagination and appreciation of beauty. The lower pleasures are those of the body or simple sensations.
With regard to honesty, justice, truthfulness and moral rules, he considers that utilitarians should not calculate before each action if said action maximizes utility.
On the contrary, they should be guided by analyzing whether said action is part of a general principle, and whether adherence to this principle promotes increased happiness..
This German poet, philologist and philosopher criticizes the conventional moral code because it postulates a slave morality that is linked to the Judeo-Christian code of morality..
For him, Christian ethics considers poverty, humility, meekness and self-sacrifice as a virtue. That is why he considers it an ethic of the oppressed and weak who hate and are afraid of strength and self-assertion.
The fact of transforming that resentment into concepts of morality is what has led to the weakening of human life.
That is the reason why he considered that the traditional religion had ended, but instead proposed the greatness of the soul, not as a Christian virtue, but as one that includes nobility and pride in personal achievements.
It is through this reevaluation of all values that he proposes the ideal of the "superman." This is a person who can overcome the limitations of ordinary morality by helping himself by his will to personal power..
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