I see the entire branch of philosophy known as normative ethics(deontology, consequentialist, virtue) as emerging out a need to codify a right and wrong that we already know. “By what measuring stick are you measuring your measuring stick?” You must already know what is right and what is wrong otherwise you would have no standard by which to judge ethical systems. This “phenomenological ethics” emerges out of our encounters with other people who we, as socially defined beings, feel a moral call towards(Levinas). The true moral question, that that encounter asks is simply, what does love demand? We either respond to that call or we betray it and when we betray it we have created a need within ourselves to self-justify our actions. I think that’s where normative ethics originally arose. As a code to point to to justify our betrayals of the true moral of, “what does love demand”. It is as if we are saying, “I’m justified in not doing what love demands because… they broke this deonotological rule, or it serves a higher purpose(consequence), or I’m serving a higher virtue.” If we hadn’t betrayed our true internal moral sense we would have no need to codify it.
Ethical systems are judged according to different norms by different people. In particular, it’s common to say “System X has the consequence that doing Y is obligatory/good/bad/prohibited, which is obviously ridiculous” and use that as grounds for rejecting system X, and that sure looks like a moral norm to me.
I see the entire branch of philosophy known as normative ethics(deontology, consequentialist, virtue) as emerging out a need to codify a right and wrong that we already know. “By what measuring stick are you measuring your measuring stick?” You must already know what is right and what is wrong otherwise you would have no standard by which to judge ethical systems. This “phenomenological ethics” emerges out of our encounters with other people who we, as socially defined beings, feel a moral call towards(Levinas). The true moral question, that that encounter asks is simply, what does love demand? We either respond to that call or we betray it and when we betray it we have created a need within ourselves to self-justify our actions. I think that’s where normative ethics originally arose. As a code to point to to justify our betrayals of the true moral of, “what does love demand”. It is as if we are saying, “I’m justified in not doing what love demands because… they broke this deonotological rule, or it serves a higher purpose(consequence), or I’m serving a higher virtue.” If we hadn’t betrayed our true internal moral sense we would have no need to codify it.
Sorry for the bad summary of Levinasian/Buberian ethics. This book does an infinitely better job of explaining it than I can. http://www.amazon.com/Bonds-That-Make-Free-Relationships/dp/1573459194
Ethical systems a re judged right and wring by epistemic norms, not moral norms.
Ethical systems are judged according to different norms by different people. In particular, it’s common to say “System X has the consequence that doing Y is obligatory/good/bad/prohibited, which is obviously ridiculous” and use that as grounds for rejecting system X, and that sure looks like a moral norm to me.