Assignment Code: MPYE-002/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: MPYE-002

Assignment Name: Ethics

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Note:

v) Give answer of all five questions.

vi) All five questions carry equal marks.

vii) The answer of questions no. 1 and 2 should be in about 500 words each.

1. What is discourse ethics? Evaluate the rules of argumentation in discourse ethics given by Habermas’s. 20

Ans) In his work on discourse ethics, Habermas tries to explain how communicative rationality affects normative validity and moral insight. Reformulating the core ideas of Kantian deontological ethics in terms of the examination of communicative structures is a challenging theoretical endeavour. By evoking the universal obligations of communicative rationality, it is an attempt to explain the universal and obligatory nature of morality. It also holds that moral norms can be justified in a way similar to how facts can be justified, which makes it a cognitivist moral theory. The entire endeavour, though, is framed as a logical reconstruction of moral insight. It only makes the modest claim that it can reconstruct the implicit normative orientations that underlie human behaviour, and it asserts that it can do so by studying communication.

The underlying assumptions that underlie all arguments and discourse can be expressed in terms of rules. These rules define discourse, i.e., they specify how someone whose interests could be impacted by the adoption of a certain norm might consent to it freely and only on the basis of the stronger argument. The first rule simply states that anyone who engages in communicative action is required to justify the various types of claims they make and to apply any norms they propose equally to themselves and to others. This responsibility is seen as the essential normative component of communicative action. The remaining guidelines are the result of reconstructing our intuition for what it would be like to settle disputes over normative rightness solely on the basis of the stronger argument. These rules provide the formal characteristics of a situation in which a rationally motivated agreement could be reached, and this reconstruction is known as the "ideal speech situation."

Discussions about ideas in civic or community contexts marked by diversity of viewpoints necessitate thoughtful public engagement under this type of ethics. Different perspectives that make up this discourse help to shape how the public interacts with one another. The goal of this discourse is to safeguard and advance the common good. In order for public discourse ethics to be successful, there needs to be a sufficient amount of decency among the parties concerned. The quote by Sigmund Freud that "civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock" is still relevant in today's society is his.

The Harvard Law Review examines public discourse objectively and provides a suitable and conceptually sound explanation. Every man who publishes a book submits himself to public judgement, and anyone is free to critique his work. Whatever their merits, others have the right to judge them, to condemn them if they are condemnable, and to make fun of them if they are ridiculous. As the Harvard Law Review questions, there must be accountability on the public stage for the public discourse on ethics to be fruitful. The ethicality of the discourse is no longer valid and cannot continue in the absence of any act of accountability. The three main components of public accountability are as follows.

2. What are the objections of Karl-Otto Apel against previous moral theories? Discuss. 10+10= 20

Ans) According to cognitivist ethics, moral standards can be proven to be true by using logic. It is widely believed that values are treated differently from objective facts and the laws of logic and mathematics, despite the fact that they are all intersubjectively valid. No possibility of a universal ethics. The rehabilitation and transformation of practical reason seem particularly urgent today, so this would be a great conundrum. Ethics must be rethought on a larger scale rather than remaining a topic only for in-person interactions; whether we like it or not, globalisation is the new situation we find ourselves in today. This includes all issues affecting humanity as a whole, such as ecological issues and the ongoing threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, but it also includes strong global trade connections and global communication.

Globalization, in Apel's opinion, is "an irreversible fact" that happened "before our reflection" and is "a challenge." Though "it's fashionable to be modest as a philosopher," he contends that in this case, boldness is necessary, and philosophy "should take the lead" in responding to this challenge.

Apel's philosophy, which includes eminent learning and in-depth familiarity with a wide range of philosophical literature, is a defining feature of his work. He draws inspiration from a variety of philosophers, including Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Kant, and Pierce, in his main work, The Transformation of Philosophy. He converses with a lot of other thinkers, though, throughout the book. This results in a philosophically dense work that is, regrettably, also rather challenging to read because the author expects the reader to follow him through a dense web of technical jargon and footnotes. Apel appears to be at ease using these other authors' terminology while incorporating it into his own. He does this not only to express his main ideas, but also to put them into practise. Inspired by Pierce,

Apel is convinced that philosophy does not result from a thinker's lone pursuit of truth, but rather from the "argumentative discourse" between thinkers in a "community of communication" of philosophers. Even those philosophers who intended their work to be a monologue, in his opinion, should be included in this never-ending conversation. Philosophy can only take on its proper form through such a "transformation," in which it can accurately reflect the discursive nature of the human context in which we live: Humans are forced to use language in order to try to come to an agreement through argumentation as long as our environment discloses itself to us through language. Philosophy, as it is practised within the community of philosophers, may also act as a model for scientific and political discourse.

Importantly, Apel's reformulation of philosophy deals with the conditions necessary for knowledge to exist; this is referred to as a reformulation of "transcendental philosophy." Kant related this issue to human consciousness, but Apel saw it as a fundamental and necessary aspect of communication and language in general. A "transcendental language game" in an ideal "communication community" beyond all concrete language games must be assumed in order to establish the viability and validity of communication. A "communicative ethics" principle is acknowledged by this theory.

3. Give answer of any two questions in about 250 words each. 2*10= 20

c) What do you understand by Right to Life? Discuss the idea of dignified life in the context of cultural relativism and realism. 10

Ans) In the sense that if one were to deny it, all other fundamental rights would be rendered meaningless, this is arguably the most fundamental of all human rights. It is one of the most fundamental practical first principles that Aquinas believed humans possess; after all, the urge to protect oneself is a metaphysical drive that all other beings share. Inasmuch as human life is, in a unique way, a product of God's own creative act, it is something sacred, and no one, for any reason at all, has the right to arrogate to themselves the power to systematically kill an innocent person. This right should be respected by everyone, including atheists, because it serves as the cornerstone for all the others and would be meaningless without it.

On the one hand, this school of thought affirms the veracity of all moral claims and accepts both the ontological and semantic versions. On the other hand, they assert that all moral claims are false and accept the ontological version while rejecting the semantic version. As a result, any moral assertion could be true or false. This school adopts a relativist stance in which each group asserts that what they believe is true in their eyes.

According to the former, a subject's desire is where values come from (individual). Therefore, values follow from desire, which comes first. Subjectivism is another name for this. The latter holds that values come first and that desires are made in accordance with values. Objectivism is another name for this. Realists contend that contrary to what subjectivists assert, objective values actually exist and are not the invention of any one person. They are real without reference to the subject.

d) Compare human order with moral order. 10

Ans) We emphasised numerous times in our analysis of the immediate evidence of moral consciousness that we weren't referring to any specific and concrete human good or bad action. However, if we think about the actions that we and people in general deem to be morally good or bad, we find that by far the majority of them have to do with men's interpersonal relationships, whether directly or indirectly. Historical, ethnological, and sociological studies amply confirm this.

In fact, there are some behaviours that, at least on the surface, have nothing to do with how human beings relate to one another but that we categorise as good or bad because we know they should be carried out or avoided. And in this regard, they may also be regarded as moral deeds. These actions have to do with a person's relationship to God (or an Absolute, regardless of how it is conceptualised in terms of religion), a person's relationship to oneself, or a person's relationship to the world beyond humans (animals).

We will consider actions that reflect a person's relationship with God to be in a separate category all by themselves. These express religious values that are distinct from (and, in the eyes of believers, superior to) moral values, according to the terminology of the philosophy of values, so for the time being we exclude them from our discussion. We'll check their relationship, if any, with the latter when we go back to that time later. It is true that kindness toward animals, for instance, can be viewed as a morally right quality, even a virtue, and its opposite cruelty to them, a morally wrong quality, with regard to actions expressive of a human person's relation to the infra-human world.

4. Give answer of any four questions in about 150 words each. 4*5= 20

a) Write a note on the D. Ross’s idea of human duties. 5

Ans) There may be conflicts between various values. D. Ross thus acknowledges virtue, knowledge, and pleasure as three intrinsic values (the fact of acknowledging multiple intrinsic values is known as pluralism). But he also acknowledges that there are seven primary obligations: loyalty (keeping your word), restitution (repairing wrongs done to others), gratitude (returning favours received), justice (redistributing pleasure and happiness in ways that aren't commensurate with merit), generosity (making the world a better place for others), self-improvement (improving your virtues and knowledge), and no ill will (do not do evil to others).

There is no immediate and direct connection between the three values and the seven obligations. Mulligan lists three additional reasons in his book From Appropriate Emotion to Value for not conflating norms and values on the basis of the distinctions between normative statements and axiological statements. Comparative expressions exist for values (e.g., "better than" "worse than") but not for norms. In normative expressions, there is no distinction between determinate axiological predicates (courageous, cowardly) and determinable axiological predicates (good, bad).

b) Write a note on Cultural Relativism.

Ans) Since they hold the subjectivist stance, they also benefit from respect for cultural context differences, which is a subjectivism benefit. Due to the cultural diversity, there is respect for difference, which highlights the idea of tolerance. However, they are secretly clinging to objectivity. According to various fundamental and derived cultures, there are various moral norms and practises. If this is true, there are no objective values. Cultural relativism is valid as a result. These variations and contrasts result from superficial beliefs, but across almost all cultures, the same universally accepted values exist. In various cultures, the same objective value can be carried out in various ways. Fathers of the families, for instance, are murdered in one of the African nations when they are in their 50s or 60s. They think that if their fathers pass away young and in good health, they will also be in good health when they are reborn. Therefore, out of a greater sense of love and respect for their fathers, they kill them before they are struck by old age-related diseases.

c) Write a note on the social responsibility of media. 5

Ans) A more expansive definition of social responsibility is given to media ethics. The Media is expected to have certain obligations built into or imposed upon them when reporting on events around the world, specifically obligations to the society it serves. Every time certain controversies are reported without considering the repercussions that would follow, the issue of social responsibility is brought to light. Everyone has a right to information. Media professionals can present their own viewpoints when the information is spread. The presentation of certain facts may have an adverse effect in some circumstances. Consequently, the issue of social responsibility arises. The definition of social responsibility and the rules governing its components need to be carefully considered. The theoretical foundation of the idea of social responsibility can be discussed. But applying these theoretical principles in the real world of practical journalism may be particularly challenging. It is difficult to achieve a more thorough understanding of social responsibility.

d) Write a note on MacIntyre’s virtue ethics. 5

Ans) Alasdair MacIntyre is a key figure in the modern era's recent resurgence of interest in virtue ethics as well as the ethics of care, which places emphasis on the body with regard to human conduct. He states that morality cannot be thought outside of biology insofar as the human person is an embodied being and not just a pure rational mind, as is presented within the framework of dualistic philosophy, in Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues? (1999). According to him, virtues can vary depending on the situation. Therefore, MacIntyre's philosophy of ethics focuses more on understanding moral choices than it does on establishing a set of unbreakable rules for deciding how to act in a given situation. It is relativistic in terms of morality and thinks it is pointless to try to establish unchanging moral standards, whether through the utilitarian calculus of utility maximisation and welfare or the categorical imperative of Kant.

5. Write short notes on any five in about 100 words each. 5*4= 20

a) Panchasila 4

Ans) One of the most significant relationships that India and China built to advance their economic and security cooperation was the panchsheel agreement. Zhou Enlai, who received the Indian delegation to the Tibetan trade talks on December 31, 1953, enunciated the Panchsheel principles as "five principles governing China's relations with foreign countries," according to V. V. Paranjpe, an Indian diplomat and expert on China. The principles were then emphasised by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, and Premier Zhou Enlai in a joint statement on June 18, 1954, in Delhi. This was during a broadcast speech given at the Asian Prime Ministers Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, just a few days after the Sino-Indian treaty was signed in Beijing.

b) Svadharma 4

Ans) By using this term, we mean that each person must develop to their full potential in accordance with his or her own dharma, or Svadharma, which is the term for the principle of personal development. Based on varna and asrama, svadharma refers to a person's temperament, stage in life, and responsibilities. Three gunas, or qualities, are used to create it: sattva (purity), rajas (virility), and "tamas" (darkness). Each person possesses these three qualities in varying amounts, so it is believed that this variable proportion of qualities serves as the foundation for various types of behaviour and the four caste systems. The idea of Svadharma is heavily based on these three categories, and the Indian ethical code strongly supports the idea that for society to run smoothly, there must be a hierarchy of roles and responsibilities.

c) Distributive Justice 4

Ans) Most, if not all, social institutions place a strong emphasis on distributive justice because those who occupy those roles are typically those who receive and provide benefits (such as wages and consumer goods) as well as those who bear burdens (such as assigned tasks) and are, as a result, governed by distributive justice principles. Furthermore, it can be argued that some institutions, such as governments, have as one of their primary goals or objectives ensuring that the larger society abides by the distributive justice principles. Distributive justice does not, however, seem to be a distinguishing trait, goal, or purpose of all social institutions.

d) Situation Ethics 4

Ans) The kind of moral philosophy we might anticipate from an existentialist, who tends to reject the very notion of human nature—or any nature or "essence," for that matter—is situation ethics. The classic Situation Ethics was published in 1961 by Joseph Fletcher, a former dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in Cincinnati and professor of social ethics at the Episcopal Theology School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. His position is initially presented as the morally repugnant middle ground between the two extremes of legalism and antinomianism. He assures us that, in contrast to the latter, "the situationist enters into every situation of decision-making armed with the ethical maxims of his community and its heritage."

e) Deontology 4

Ans) Deontology is the moral code of duty or the ethics of duty. It includes a theory of duty and ethical commitments. Deontology's name derives from the Greek word "Deon," which means "duty," "obligation," or "that which is necessary, thus moral necessity." Deontology, in moral philosophy, is the theory that morality, through moral norms, either forbids or permits actions. Simply put, an action's correctness lies within it, not in the results of the action. This is in opposition to teleology. A deontological moral theory, for instance, might contend that character assassination is immoral and inhumane, even if it results in positive outcomes.