W3-Response

Week 3, Reading Section 3.1: Introduction

I. Introduction

In Week 3, there will be three foci. First,  you will revisit the theoretical discussions of Week 2, regarding the various forms of Egoism. As indicated, above, Egoism is not a single theory, but a collection of related ones, with different sources and roots from Ancient to Modern Times. Second, you will examine the sources and conduits of your own moral belief systems, against the backdrop of religion and secular society. In doing so, you should try to identify how your beliefs are similar to the beliefs of other cultures, not your own. Third, you will be required to discuss the first, substantive issue area, to formulate an Argument regarding that issue area, Global Warming and the Environment, applying the ethical/moral theories you have studied so far, and to defend your position.

Please remember that this is a Secular Morality and Ethics course, rather than a Comparative Religions or Theology course. As a result, using religious sources, per se, and claiming adherence to any particular religion will not be sufficient to support whatever philosophic arguments you make during the upcoming weeks. Here is one very important reason: invoking your own religious beliefs and their tenets will not demonstrate that you understand and can use the secular moral/ethical theories that you will be studying, thus undermining the purposes of the course. 

Resource:  Egoism, Morality, and Religion  [PDF]

Resource:  Ethical Egoism

Resource:  Peter Singer's The How and Why of Altruism  [VIDEO]

Week 3, Reading Section 3.2: Sources of Ethical/Moral Systems

II. Sources and Conduits of Ethical/Moral Beliefs  

Before you address the foci of this week, please do an exercise. Take some time and reflect/analyse from where your ethical and moral beliefs originate. For most people, their ethical views come to them from two primary conduits: family background/informal socialization and religion in which they were reared.  These are often only conduits of the views, because those two sources often trace their passing on of those ideas, from their own social and individual origins and developments.

In doing such an exercise, you will probably soon see that many, if not most, of the world’s religious cultures share some fundamental views and rules. For example, most if not all condemn the killing of a fellow human being, without right/just cause.  Moreover, some go so far as to condemn all killing of fellow human beings. However, keep in that the reasons a particular culture might have embraced or continues to embrace certain values might vary from cultures that have the similar values and views.

A. Religion

A fascinating subject. Along with Politics,  some of us have been admonished since childhood, not to discuss those two subjects with others, since verbal fights, or worse, can and often do result. The reasons for such disagreements are many, varied, personal, and societal, and not the subject of the current narrative.

 Rather, we should reflect that religion/theology and spirituality, as social phenomena, represent our human desires to understand our positions in the Universe and to address questions of Life, possibilities following Life, and the existence of Deity or Deities. Every culture on the Planet has one or more religious sub-cultures within it. Some cultures tolerate only one religion’s existence, while other cultures tolerate a plethora of religions.

As systems of  mass communications and transportation have “shrunk” the Planet, religious tolerance has become even more important than in the past.  Keep in mind the admonition at the end of the Introduction: we are briefly examining the social and personal positions of religions, against the backdrop of a very culturally diverse Planet.        

As noted, many people receive their first moral/ethical exposure from the religion or religions in which they have been reared. The further conduit of those values is often their families. In many cultures around the Globe, the secular and religious worlds remain inextricably intertwined. Consider Islamic sects in different cultural settings, for example in the Middle East/Persian Gulf versus in Indonesia. Or consider the various sects of Buddhism in the World.

Resource:  Religion and Egoism  [PDF]

B. Secular Society

A curious thing happened in Western societies between the Fourteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. As a result of the Plagues of the Fourteenth Century, the Renaissance of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries along with the Protestant Christian Reformation of the latter Century, and the Enlightenment of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, a secularization of everyday life took place. Separate spheres and secular, social institutions, such as government, emerged, such that Secular Society and Religions had diverged. 

That is not to say Western societies became atheistic or collectively renounced religion. But it is to say those societies compartmentalized the every-day and the spiritual worlds, separately.  Increasing cultural diversity, within the same geographic regions, especially in the wake of the Second World War, as we saw last Week, resulted in Cultural Relativism and Subjectivism, as strong themes in Moral Philosophy and Ethics. It is now the role of secular authorities to balance the interests of different religious subcultures and to treat each fairly, not favoring any one sub-culture over another.

As you consider the role of religion, or lack thereof, in your own lives, do reflect on the fact that: (1) there is not one, single, human religion encompassing all peoples, and (2) many, as noted, share basic and important values.

Week 3, Reading Section 3.3: Poverty--Home and Abroad

III.  Poverty--Home and Abroad

This short narrative in no way pretends to be a thorough treatment of the related subjects of World and Domestic Poverty. These issues are omni-present in our cultures today, around the World. You have your views of those issues and your positions. Poverty is not a new problem, whether within our society or around the World. Sub-humane living conditions plague billions of people. Inadequate food and water supplies, jobs/income sources, no housing, no medical care, little or no education are all conditions pandemic among the poor.

We are confronted with these issues in Moral Philosophy and Ethics every day. Do we have a duty to help the poor, if we can? Or don’t we? What might be ways to alleviate poverty and deprivation? Can poverty be eliminated?

As you will see from the readings, below, commentators are divided over whether there is a solution to World and Domestic Poverty. Chronic conditions persist, they argue, despite efforts by governments, charities, and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations). Other writers, such as Peter Singer suggest that there are solutions to the problems of Poverty. Please approach this issue as openly as possible, and park pre-conceived, or uninformed, notions “at the door.”

Resource:  ​​​​​​The Singer Solution to World Poverty by Peter Singer

Resource:  Poverty  [PDF]

Resource:  Living on a  lifeboat, by Garrett Hardin

Resource: 25 Sobering Statistics on Global Poverty That Might Upset You [VIDEO, BELOW]