History of Ethics

Study Notes

• Ethics as a philosophical concept began in Ancient Greece, where philosophers like Plato and Aristotle deliberated on the subject, leaving their thoughts in their works. • The earliest humans understood the difference between right and wrong, and looked for ways to justify and determine their actions, but ethics as a philosophical matter didn't appear until later. • In Ancient Egypt, moral norms were collected in papyri, such as The Book of the Dead, while in Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi established the rights and obligations of society and doctors. • Ethics appeared at a time when society was transitioning from primitive to classical civilization, emphasizing morality and the development of abstract moral norms. • The nature of the Greek gods, who were violent and unscrupulous, made them unsuitable references for ethics, leading philosophers like Socrates to ignore their mythology. • The word "ethics" originated in Ancient Greece, initially meaning a common room or dwelling, later expanding to designate habit, character, or way of thinking. • Plato treated ethics from various points of view, overcoming the law of the strongest and hedonism, and dealing with individual and public ethics. • Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics was based on the premise that every individual seeks happiness, and that the good consists in fulfilling one's own functions. • Epicureans and Stoics developed their own theories on ethics, with the Stoics advocating for a moderate and virtuous life, and the Epicureans seeking pleasure. • In the Middle Ages, ethics was linked to religion, with medieval philosophers developing their theories from Christian moral doctrine, emphasizing charity as the ultimate goal of human behavior. • Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine of Hippo were prominent medieval authors who developed ethical theories, with Aquinas recovering part of Aristotelian thought. • In modern times, philosophers like Immanuel Kant, David Hume, and Karl Marx made significant contributions to ethics, with Kant representing a fundamental change in modern ethics. • Marxist ethics associated morality with social class, aiming for an egalitarian and just society, while 20th-century philosophers like Max Scheler and Alain Badiou developed new perspectives on ethics. • Recent research has focused on the role of emotions in the creation of ethical thinking, leading to a deeper understanding of the foundations and origins of ethics.