ETHICS

According to Idealism, any process must obey to a goal because the thought cannot be a random superposition of mental events. In the previous lesson, we have seen that the transcendental subject tends to sensations and pain and pleasure. With human, he brings also reason, and knowledge. Considering this trend, we deduce that the transcendental subject tends to a goal.

Our first task is to define this goal: What is it? The second task is to discover how this goal is or must be realized.

With Ethics, Idealism demonstrates its absolute superiority compared to other theories. It opens roads towards a meaningful universe while Materialism only tells reasonless stories(1).

1-WHAT IS THE GOAL?

Societies, religions and philosophies have never clearly defined the goal of the universe. They have only tried to define some empirical conducts called moral laws that do not have a real logical ground.

According to religious, the goal is goodness and the means to get it are described as ethics and morality. Unfortunately, goodness is not clearly defined here and now. On the contrary, the commandments are very detailed: To love other people just like yourself or to do not to other people what you do not like other people do to you, are certainly generous maxims but they have only a meaning if you know the God goal. Without such a goal, all these commandments are not grounded and can be interpreted at random just like the history shows that they have been.

Most of philosophies are also unable to define a goal. According to Kant a good action comes from a will which could be established as an universal rational law. But a will must be defined and judged by a goal and not by an empty formalism. On the other hand, materialists profess that there is no God, no goals, no real commandments, and finally no meaning.

As a result, the global history shows that the societal laws come from random experiences accumulated through time. Anyway, most people think that the "moral laws" are only relatives to societies and are deprived of any universal ground just like the materialists say.

Idealism has not the need to invent a supernatural God. We just have to deduce the goal of the transcendental subject.

As the evolution tends to individual subjects with reason, it could mean that the ultimate goal must be found in the the individual modalities of the transcendental subject. It means that we may discover it just in scrutinizing our own self and more precisely our own will.

This examination shows that happiness is the goal. You can ask a person why he wants to be rich or famous but you never ask him why he seeks for happiness because that is obviously the final goal of any human activity. In short, we can say that all subjects tend to happiness. This observation is not a wish. It's a fact that exists in the individual modalities and consequently in the transcendental subject.

Our problem was to look for the transcendental subject goal. According to his evolution, we have deduced that his goal must be found in his individual modality. Then scrutinizing the goal of this individual modality, we have found happiness.

We know that this definition will bring a lot of critics: Some philosophers may say that happiness is just an utilitarian or egoist goal and that it does not fit with morality and " human dignity". When we ask them what is morality, their answer is always connected to pain and a lot of "must do" grounded in nothing. Our problem is not to look for morality. Our problem is to look for the transcendental subject goal. You can say that pain, misfortune and so on are the goal of your God assigns to men for paying their original guilt but you cannot say that happiness is not the goal of men.

Other people say that assimilation of happiness to a common goal is not obvious : In history module, we have seen that the happiness of noblemen was based on the pain of slaves and serfs. It is the same in nature: The sensation of pleasure of a predator is balanced by the pain felt by the prey. But once again, it is not the problem. Our problem is "What is the goal?". The means to realize it is another problem.

How can we define happiness? Some philosophers like Kant state that happiness is quite impossible to define. For example, a man suffers of poverty. He establishes a very logical planning and he becomes a millionaire. Then he realizes that his wealth brings him a lot of troubles and he becomes more unhappy than in his previous situation!

However, it is obvious that any living creature tends to pleasure and tries to alleviate pain. Of course a pleasure can be transformed in pain but on the other hand I have never met a man who had for goal to accumulate pain. The Kant observation just means that pleasure must be guided. Aristotle says that to act according to your own nature tends to a perfect happiness. Since Reason is the man property, it means that pleasure must be guided by reason.

In fact, happiness is always a proportion between pleasure and reason. This proportion is relative to individuals and it's impossible to bring happiness to people without their free will. You only can propose some models of happiness and people thanks to their free will can choose or invent the model that is convenient for them.

Since we have defined the goal, we can say that there is a real truth in ethical matter. The process which leads to truth is knowledge. Ethics become a Science instead to be a catalogue of relative principles only fitted to an epoch or a geographical place.

2-WHAT IS THE LAW?

As we have defined the goal, we have to examine the process that conducts to get it. We could say that we have just to act in accordance with the logical laws that are displayed by the transcendental subject. However, these laws only apply to the creation of forms and not to the individual subjects actions.

The logical laws are written in the nature with their constant ratios. These laws are displayed and we have just to discover them through reason and knowledge. Indeed these laws are neutral regarding pain and pleasure. For example among animals and through the ecological chain, any pleasure of a predator has for counterpart a pain in a prey.

Could we suppose that these laws tend to a balance of pain and pleasure? In fact, such a balance does not seem a fruitful concept because pain and pleasure are intensive. For example, let’ suppose that four individuals suffer the same pain graded 5. The collective intensity is then 5°. Now suppose that one of these men sacrifices himself to alleviate the pain of the others: His own pain raises to 30 degrees and his fellows see their pain get down from 5 to 2°. As a result the collective pain is now: 30 + 2 + 2 + 2 / 4 = 9°. It means that from a collective point of view, pain has raised in the universe despite the sacrifice done by a very good man!

We can observe that in the case of pleasure, the weighting is the same. At first glance, it could mean that the growing happiness of a singular individual raises the global intensity of pleasure in the whole community. This absurd result shows that we cannot expect a method based on a balance.

The logical laws only apply to the creation of forms and to the appearance of sensations. They only show that the world is orderly and tends to a goal. Since pain and pleasure, although being dependent of the sensations, are mainly relative to the subject intuition, the ethical law must be found in the individual subjects.

It means that beside the logical laws, there is an hidden law that is not displayed in the nature. The transcendental subject contains the logical laws and displays them but he contains also an ethical law that must be displayed by men. It means that our mission is to be the operator of this ethical law. We have thus to discover it and then to establish it.

Firstly, the goal of the transcendental subject is happiness through his individual modalities (individual subjects); Secondly, since each subject choose his way to happiness, it is obvious that all the subjects must benefit of freedom. Thirdly, since all the subjects tend to happiness through different ways, it means that each individual way must reinforce the other ways: It is the only method to maximize happiness and then to perform the transcendental subject goal.

Now when we organize these principles, we can easily discover the hidden law. The ethical law states that each action tending to happiness in a free subject brings happiness to other free subjects. We must underline that this law is not a wish or a commandment. I do not write "must bring" but "bring" because it is the real law existing in the transcendental subject. More precisely it's a transcendental law because we cannot experience it since it is not displayed in the nature.

As this law is not displayed in the nature, it is obvious that the fact to be happy does not bring happiness to other subjects! It means you have to establish some societal or moral laws stating that each action tending to happiness in a free subject must bring happiness to other free people. I expect that you see the difference between the ethical law engraved in the transcendental subject and the moral laws that you have to establish.

From the logical laws the global subject displays laws of nature in the world. From the ethical law, you have to display the moral laws in the world. As long as these moral laws are deduced from the ethical law, they have the same universal value as the scientific laws. As a result, there is no more room for dissertations about the relativity of morality and habits. The absolute truth of our conducts becomes engraved in the heavens and the fact to realize them tends to unify the logical and ethical laws in an absolute law that you can call the ultimate good.

1-THE GOAL 2-THE LAW 3-ADVICES 4-CONCLUSION

3-ETHICAL ADVICES

The ethical law states that each action tending to happiness in a free subject brings happiness to other free subjects. We have to show how men can display it through their actions.

Firstly, the law implies that every subject has a freewill. In our world, we observe that many subjects cannot behave according to their freewill. Indeed, we can certainly state that such a situation shows a strong distortion with the basic ethical Law.

31-How to implement freewill

We have to return towards the real world. Where is this basic condition fully realized? The answer is easy: It is only realized in liberal democracies. As happiness is the final goal of any human activity, and as freewill is its condition, it results that liberal democracy is the collective framework of happiness and that the democratic laws are no more relative: They represent always the best practices whatsoever the individual or collective points of view you adopt.(2)

Science discovers natural laws and provides with technology. In turn, ethical Science provides with democratic laws and consequently ethical conducts. It also means that among the global evolution, human history is a key component. In short, the freedom odyssey must be a continuation of the spiritual odyssey (3)

As a result, there is a first golden rule:

1-Men do good when they fight for liberal democracy and obey to its laws.

Firstly, you have to preserve you own freedom. Secondly be a freedom fighter and improve liberty for other people. The defense of liberty is your highest duty. It's not a political duty, it's a moral duty in accordance with the Law. All these tasks require a strong quality: Courage. Do not turn the other cheek to those who beat you. You have to struggle against human cruelty and tyrannies of societies. In this context, Pacifism and no violence cannot be ranked among the moral values. Of course, the fact to act in order to reduce freewill and to transform others subjects in objects is a perfect evilness.

32-How to extend happiness

Happiness is pleasure guided by reason. It means that happiness is always a proportion between pleasure and reason. This proportion is relative to individuals. You only can propose some models of happiness. Of course, you have to be happy by yourself. How could you bring happiness to other people if you are an unhappy person? how could you bring to other something that you do not experience by yourself?

Regarding the extend of pleasure, you cannot do much because pleasures are relative. In contrast, pain is an absolute threat for every man whatever his age, social condition, geographical position and so on (4). In this domain, Science and technology enable us to eradicate painful sensations. The real trend in global history shows undoubtedly that there is a strong relationship between the development of technology and the fall of pain in the global world: Look at the drawing 1.

On the other hand, you may observe that technology is neutral, brings new weapons and has not prevent a wide extend of crime during the last century. It means that we have to focus on science and technologies which alleviate the pain. We must also underline the role of education, as a mean to transmit these knowledge's to other people

As a result, we may write our second golden rule:

-Men do good when they extend Science, technology and education to alleviating pain.

I think that the best examples are the scientists who invent new remedies to alleviate the suffering people. Pasteur or Fleming have more extended happiness than most of the moralists of the old times.

To those who could say that our ethics is just an utilitarianism and has no moral value, I would ask: What is your morality? Where is it grounded? It's because you are so obviously unable to answer these questions that there is today an increase of Nihilism. Do you really think that it is a petty fact to expose your life for freedom? In fact you are too much influenced by the religious values based on the idea that the world is a valley of pain! Read again Aristotle and you will see that our own conception looks like the famous " Nicomachaen Ethics "(5).

1-THE GOAL 2-THE LAW 3-ADVICES 4-CONCLUSION

4-CONCLUSION

The transcendental subject contains the logical laws and displays them but he contains also an ethical law which must be displayed by men. The ethical law states that " Each action tending to happiness in a free subject brings happiness to other free subjects".

From the ethical law, we have deduced two moral laws:

1-Men do good when they fight for liberal democracy and when they obey to its laws.

2-Men do good when they extend Science, technology and education to alleviating pain

Since these moral laws are deduced from the ethical law, they have the same universal value as the scientific laws.

In the last lesson , we shall see that our actions are integrated by the transcendental subject and hence impact our human destiny.

1-THE GOAL 2-THE LAW 3-ADVICES 4-CONCLUSION

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

2-All the famous "Republic" of Plato is dedicated to an examination of the links between a social organization and goodness.

3-This Idea of a link between the absolute spirit and history had notably been expressed by Hegel in " Phenomenology of mind". Go to www.hegel.org

4-Always remember that death is nothing by itself. On the contrary pain can be dreadful. Nobody can resist to physical pain. Kant said that it's shameful to cry or to complain when you endure a physical pain notably when you have merited it! What a strange ethics! Certainly Kant had never endured real physical pain. His remark is inspired by the religious motto which describes pain as a beautiful redemption. In fact, pain and notably physical pain is ugly. It means that when pain is irreversible and that you cannot relieve of it through medicine, the best guess is to practice euthanasia but it's depend only on your free choice.

6-Go to: www.omp.org.pl . A very good site about Ethics and its influence on politics and civil society.

ETHICS

INTRODUCTION

1-WHAT IS THE GOAL?

2-WHAT IS THE LAW?

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS