Ethics of consciousness: Philosophy Forums

Ethics of consciousness
Is consciousness the only thing that can cause the possibility of ethics?

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Ethics of consciousness

voyaging
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Posted 10/01/09 - 12:24 PM: Subject: Ethics of consciousness	#1
Consciousness essentially causes ethics. There is no possibility for ethics without consciousness. What makes consciousness so special that we can from it determine good and bad? How did something such as consciousness even evolve? My main question is this: is there any possible other quality of something that could create a possibility for ethics without consciousness? Or is consciousness a sort of "axiom" in a way, in that it is the ONLY quality that could ever theoretically occur to create the possibility of ethics?
A witty saying proves nothing.

rigelrover
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Posted 10/01/09 - 12:29 PM:	#2
Take a look at A Natural Basis for Ethics I think that sufficient conscious public awareness implies morality.
I am more interested in questions than answers; dialog than dictation. If we can reasonably believe that there is not just a breach, but a fundamentally unclosable gap between the individual mind and the ultimate nature of the reality; the primordial thing in itself, then 'true' mystery does exist.

jy
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Posted 10/01/09 - 04:48 PM:	#3
It is not merely consciousness alone, assuming you are not confusing it with a conscience. In order for ethics to arise we must be able accept that other beings are like us and have feelings like us and will be hurt in ways that we will be hurt when we do bad unto them.
Death is the only certainty of life. Birth is the only unaccountable requirement of life. Within these boundaries may we choose wisely and prosper.

voyaging
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Posted 10/01/09 - 05:29 PM:	#4
jy wrote: It is not merely consciousness alone, assuming you are not confusing it with a conscience. In order for ethics to arise we must be able accept that other beings are like us and have feelings like us and will be hurt in ways that we will be hurt when we do bad unto them. Are you to say if I were to fall upon a conscious being who has an entirely different physiological makeup and brain function from me, that if I were to do something that is good for him and would not be good for myself, that wouldn't be acting ethically?
A witty saying proves nothing.

unenlightened
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Posted 10/01/09 - 07:05 PM:	#5
It seems to require something more than a straightforward awareness, or even an awareness of other beings. It needs an idea of myself as having separate interests, and thence the idea of another's separate interests. To put it more simply, to be unselfish presupposes a self-conscious selfish self. This reflexive image is the knowledge of good and evil that we 'fell' into according to Genesis, out of the paradise of innocent nature. I assume that this is what jy means by "...accept that other beings are like us and have feelings like us..."; I am just breaking that down to clarify.
...most of our actions are the result of the past, or according to a future ideal. That's not action, that is just conformity. J Krishnamurti "Philosophy, to the Philistine, is an evolutionary process, watched over by some sort of brisk dynamic Providence, and culminating in the supreme insight of modern thought." John Cowper Powys

swstephe
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Posted 10/01/09 - 08:07 PM:	#6
Like my signature says, ethics is based on values, which are derived on consequences and emotional content. I think it is possible for the evolution of an ethical system even from mathematics, (look at game theory applied to ethics, for example). All that would be required of living beings is basic emotional reactions, in the broadest sense. Even the cooperating and competition of single-celled organisms.
Ethics is the measuring of morality. Morality is the measuring of good. Good is the measuring of benefit. Benefit is the measure of values.

bjolly
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1 of 1 people found this post helpful Posted 10/01/09 - 09:38 PM:	#7
Without consciousness there could be no freewill. Without freewill there could be no responsibility. Without responsibility there could be no ethics.

Desidude666
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Posted 10/02/09 - 12:12 AM:	#8
Consciousness is not a priori to ethics, it is in fact the cause of judgment. You can only be able to judge and thus accumulate knowledge through judgment. And thus, judgment will eventually lead to ethics after knowledge.
What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven. - Ludwig van Beethoven

voyaging
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Posted 10/03/09 - 08:37 AM:	#9
swstephe wrote: Like my signature says, ethics is based on values, which are derived on consequences and emotional content. I think it is possible for the evolution of an ethical system even from mathematics, (look at game theory applied to ethics, for example). All that would be required of living beings is basic emotional reactions, in the broadest sense. Even the cooperating and competition of single-celled organisms. This clarifies everything, thanks!
A witty saying proves nothing.

reincarnated
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Posted 10/04/09 - 02:14 AM:	#10
voyaging wrote: Consciousness essentially causes ethics. Only accidentally (ie ethics is accidentally associated with consciousness simply because the only known entity we know of which studies ethics, the human, also possesses consciousness). Ethics is an attempt to answer questions about morality, and morality is the distinction of right from wrong, or good from bad. There is no a priori need for consciousness as a pre-requisite for the study of right and wrong - in theory a non-conscious machine (computer) could be constructed to address such questions.
crumpled bits of paper, filled with imperfect thoughts... we all talk a different language, talking in defence... and if you don't give up, and don't give in, you may just be ok... (Mike & The Mechanics, "The Living Years")

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