Quote:
Originally Posted by limey
I know what the writer had in mind from the context, but wonder if that's really so for the majority of youse.
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Ethics or ethical is only an emotion IF you do not first define the principles upon what it is based. For example, Nazis defined ethids in terms of the superior race. Spinning the advancement of Germans into Germans are the masters of and responsible for leading the world. Their actions were ethical based upon the principles that defined their lives and justified their existance.
What are you principles? For example, what is the purpose of life in general; and your's in particular? If you cannot answer that, then you really do not know what is ethical.
In a parallel example, Descarte justified the existance of the world starting with a basic supposition. "I think, therefore I am." From this, he built a large and complex philosphy.
Socrates did something similar by asking damning questions; by exposing contradictions. In every case, these are great philosophers because they demanded underlying reasons for every conclusion. If asking what is ethical, then first define the underlying principles and reasons why that define your conclusion; to say what is ethical.