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What are the biggest ethical debates in the history of philosophy?

Hermina Lillecrap

The history of philosophy is full of ethical debates that still resonate in modern times. From the arguments surrounding the nature of good and evil to the more practical discussions concerning justice, these debates have shaped the way people view morality. Here are just a few of the biggest ethical debates in the history of philosophy.

One of the earliest ethical debates goes all the way back to ancient Greece, and concerns the nature of virtue. The question is simply this: what traits make a person virtuous? Socrates essentially argued that knowledge of what is good or right would naturally lead people to behave in a virtuous manner. Plato took this idea further, suggesting that there are certain “forms” or abstract concepts that exist in a realm beyond the physical world. These forms represent objective ideals of things like beauty, justice, and goodness, and are what people should strive for in order to be virtuous.

Aristotle disagreed somewhat with this viewpoint. He felt that it was possible to cultivate virtues through practice and habituation, rather than simply possessing knowledge of them. He identified two types of virtues: “intellectual” virtues like wisdom and knowledge, and “moral” virtues like courage, generosity, and self-control.

Another big ethical debate that emerged in the medieval period concerns the relationship between faith and reason. Some philosophers, like Thomas Aquinas, believed that faith and reason could work together in pursuit of God’s truth. Others, like William of Ockham, held that faith must always take precedence over reason. He argued that some truths simply cannot be grasped by human reason alone, and so faith must be relied upon.

The Enlightenment era brought with it a renewed focus on reason and evidence. This sparked a debate about the nature of morality itself. Many Enlightenment philosophers were skeptical of traditional moral frameworks that relied on religious doctrine or divine commandments. Instead, they sought to establish a secular basis for morality. Immanuel Kant famously argued that moral principles should be based on reason alone, and that ethics should be grounded in a respect for the inherent dignity of every human being.

Finally, one of the biggest ethical debates of the modern era concerns the concept of morality itself. Some philosophers, like Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre, argue that morality is ultimately a human invention rather than an objective fact. Others, like Immanuel Levinas, held that morality is grounded in our relationships with other people. He argued that we have an ethical responsibility to care for and recognize the humanity of others, even if we do not fully understand or agree with them.

In conclusion, these debates show how ethics has been defined by different philosophers across different periods of human history. But regardless of the differences between these theories, it is clear that the enduring nature of ethical questions is due to the fact that they touch on some of the most fundamental aspects of human existence, such as the nature of the self, the purpose of life, and the meaning of morality itself. These are questions that will always be relevant, as they speak to the human experience in a way that transcends any particular time or place.