Introduction to Ethics Social Sciences Essay Paper

Introduction to Ethics
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Introduction to Ethics
Ontology and Epistemology
Both ontology and epistemology are critical components of philosophy. However, the two differ in that while ontology is the field that deals with the study of being, epistemology deals with the study of knowledge. Ontology helps to understand the existence or non-existence of things. Epistemology seeks to explain the nature and limits of knowledge. Ontology and epistemology are particularly important in the maintenance of ethics in research.
The relationship between Science and Ethics
Various theories have been used to discuss the relationship between science and ethics. The continuity theory suggests that ethics is a science or rather has deep similarities with the workings of science. Discontinuity theorists disregard this and advance that ethics is not equal to science. They claim that ethics does not deal with universalizable statements and objective truths in the same as way as science. The objectivity of truth can be expounded using the naturalistic fallacy. It states that explaining something that is good reductively is fallacious.
Psychological Egoism
This is a view that holds that human beings are usually motivated by self-interest and selfishness. It further claims that when people choose to help others, they do so because they are bound to benefit either directly or indirectly. Those who criticize the view argue that there is no explanatory power for various human actions. The claim also exhibits circularity since its conclusion is similar to the hypothesis.
The exchange between Socrates and Tharasymachus
In Plato’s Republic One, Socrates and Tharasymachus disagree about the nature of justice. In his argument, Tharasymachus claims that injustice is stronger and freer and results in a happier life as compared to justice. In his argument, he completely diverts from what justice is and rather concentrates on its disadvantages. In his rebuttal, Socrates argues that Tharasymachus lacks consistency in his claims and that morality is not always necessarily the stronger party’s advantage (Plato).
The Euthyphro Dilemma
The Socratic question can simply be framed to read if at all moral authority comes from the gods, it need not be good, and if moral authority must be good, it need not come from the gods. In entirety, Socrates’ argument seems to imply that when something is moral, it does not necessarily come from the gods. While something becomes god-beloved when God's love it, things are made moral by something entirely different.
Aristotle’s Doctrine of Means
According to the Doctrine of Means, every virtue in a person lies between two vices. To achieve excellence, one must consistently seek to suppress the vices and enhance the virtue. For example, failure to flee in the presence of danger is termed as rash while fleeing in the presence of danger is termed as cowardly. Courage, therefore, lies between the two. Likewise, temperance lies between excessive enjoyment of pleasures and the deficiency in the enjoyment of the pleasures.
Virtue of Ethics
According to Aristotle, ethics should focus more on how we act rather than on the effect...