Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim. But a certain difference is found among ends; some are activities, others are products apart from the activities which produce them. Where there are ends apart from the actions, it is the nature of the produce to be better than the activities. Now, as there are many actions, arts, and sciences, their ends also are many; the end of the medical art is health, that of shipbuilding a vessel, that of strategy victory, that of economics wealth. But where such arts fall under a single capacity – as bridle – making and the other arts concerned with the equipment of horses fall under the art of riding, and this and every military action under strategy, in the same way other arts fall under yet others – in all of these the ends of the master arts are to be preferred to all the subordinate ends; for it is the sake of the former that the latter are pursued. It makes no difference whether the activates themselves are the ends of the actions, or something else apart from the activities, as in the case of the sciences just mentioned.
R. McKeon, ed., The Basic Works of Aristotle (New York: Random House, 1941).
VALUE THEORY
Value theory is the branch of philosophy that studies values. It can be subdivided into ethics, aesthetics, and social and political philosophy.
In broad terms ethics concerns itself with the question of morality. What is right and what is wrong in human relations? Within morality and ethics there are three major areas: descriptive ethics, normative ethics, and met a ethics. Descriptive ethics seeks to identify moral experience in a descriptive way. We consider the conduct of individuals, or personal morality; the conduct of groups, or social morality; and the culture patterns of national and racial groups. Descriptive ethics is in part an attempt to distinguish what is from what ought to be.
A second level of inquiry is normative ethics (what ought to be). Here philosophers try to work out acceptable judgments regarding what ought to be in choice and value. “We ought to keep our promises” and “you ought to be honorable” are examples of normative judgments of the moral ought, the subject matter of ethics. From the time of the early Greeks, philosophers have formulated principles of explanation to examine why people act the way they do, and what the principles are by which people ought to live; statements of these principles are called ethical theories.6
Third, there is the area of critical or met a ethics. Here interest is centered on the analysis and meaning of the terms and language used in ethical discourse and the kind of reasoning used to justify ethical statements. Met a ethics does not propound any moral principle or goal (except by implication), but rather consists entirely of philosophical analysis. What is the meaning of ”good?” and Can ethical judgments be justified? are typical problems for met a ethics.
Philip Wheelwright has written a clear and precise definition of ethics: “Ethics may be defined as that branch of philosophy which is the systematic study of reflective choice, of the standards of right and wrong by which it is to be guided, and of the goods toward which it may ultimately be directed.”7
Broadly speaking, aesthetics concerns the theory of art and beauty. Questions of art and beauty are considered to be part of the realm of values because many philosophical problems in aesthetics involve critical judgments. There are wide differences of opinion as to what objects call forth the aesthetic response, and what beauty really is. Our concepts of beauty may differ not because of the nature of beauty itself, but because of varying degrees of preparation in discerning beauty. Therefore, if we cannot perceive beauty in objects that others find beautiful, it may be wise to withhold judgment until we are capable ourselves of making a competent analysis of the aesthetic experience.
Social and political philosophy investigates value judgments concerning society, the state, and the individual’s relation to these institutions. The following questions reflect the concerns of social and political philosophy: Why should individuals live in society? What social ideals of liberty, rights, justice, equality and responsibility are desirable? Why should anyone obey any government? Why should some individuals or groups have political power over others? What criteria are to be used in determining who should have political power? What criteria are to be used in determining the scope of political power, and what rights or freedoms should be immune from political or legal control? To what positive goals should political power be directed, and what are the criteria for determining this? Conflicting answers and applications of these philosophical questions permeate human history; the values and moral convictions of human beings are reflected in our daily social and political life.
Philosophical Methodology-Socratic Dialectic
Because philosophy begins with wondering, questioning, and reflecting about our fundamental assumptions, we need to consider how it proceeds to answer questions. Philosophical problems cannot be resolved by appealing exclusively to the facts: how then does philosophy solve the problems it raises? What method does philosophy employ?
We have defined philosophy as a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most deeply held beliefs. To achieve that end, we believe that the basic method of philosophical inquiry is dialectical.
Philosophy proceeds through the dialectic of argument. The term dialectic refers to a process of thinking that originated with the philosopher Socrates. In Plato’s dialogues, Socrates (See biography and excerpt from Plato’s writings, pp. 12 and 13) is the main character-the protagonist. Socrates employs the method of dialectic; he engages in argumentation, in a relentless analysis of any and every subject. Socrates was convinced that the surest way to attain reliable knowledge was through the practice of disciplined conversation, with the investigator acting as an intellectual midwife; we call the method he used dialectic. This is a deceptively simple technique. It always begins with a discussion of the most commonly accepted aspects of any problem. The dialectical process is a dialogue between opposing positions. Socrates, and many later philosophers,8 believed that
Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim. But a certain difference is found among ends; some are activities, others are products apart from the activities which produce them. Where there are ends apart from the actions, it is the nature of the produce to be better than the activities. Now, as there are many actions, arts, and sciences, their ends also are many; the end of the medical art is health, that of shipbuilding a vessel, that of strategy victory, that of economics wealth. But where such arts fall under a single capacity – as bridle – making and the other arts concerned with the equipment of horses fall under the art of riding, and this and every military action under strategy, in the same way other arts fall under yet others – in all of these the ends of the master arts are to be preferred to all the subordinate ends; for it is the sake of the former that the latter are pursued. It makes no difference whether the activates themselves are the ends of the actions, or something else apart from the activities, as in the case of the sciences just mentioned.
R. McKeon, ed., The Basic Works of Aristotle (New York: Random House, 1941).
VALUE THEORY
Value theory is the branch of philosophy that studies values. It can be subdivided into ethics, aesthetics, and social and political philosophy.
In broad terms ethics concerns itself with the question of morality. What is right and what is wrong in human relations? Within morality and ethics there are three major areas: descriptive ethics, normative ethics, and met a ethics. Descriptive ethics seeks to identify moral experience in a descriptive way. We consider the conduct of individuals, or personal morality; the conduct of groups, or social morality; and the culture patterns of national and racial groups. Descriptive ethics is in part an attempt to distinguish what is from what ought to be.
A second level of inquiry is normative ethics (what ought to be). Here philosophers try to work out acceptable judgments regarding what ought to be in choice and value. “We ought to keep our promises” and “you ought to be honorable” are examples of normative judgments of the moral ought, the subject matter of ethics. From the time of the early Greeks, philosophers have formulated principles of explanation to examine why people act the way they do, and what the principles are by which people ought to live; statements of these principles are called ethical theories.6
Third, there is the area of critical or met a ethics. Here interest is centered on the analysis and meaning of the terms and language used in ethical discourse and the kind of reasoning used to justify ethical statements. Met a ethics does not propound any moral principle or goal (except by implication), but rather consists entirely of philosophical analysis. What is the meaning of ”good?” and Can ethical judgments be justified? are typical problems for met a ethics.
Philip Wheelwright has written a clear and precise definition of ethics: “Ethics may be defined as that branch of philosophy which is the systematic study of reflective choice, of the standards of right and wrong by which it is to be guided, and of the goods toward which it may ultimately be directed.”7
Broadly speaking, aesthetics concerns the theory of art and beauty. Questions of art and beauty are considered to be part of the realm of values because many philosophical problems in aesthetics involve critical judgments. There are wide differences of opinion as to what objects call forth the aesthetic response, and what beauty really is. Our concepts of beauty may differ not because of the nature of beauty itself, but because of varying degrees of preparation in discerning beauty. Therefore, if we cannot perceive beauty in objects that others find beautiful, it may be wise to withhold judgment until we are capable ourselves of making a competent analysis of the aesthetic experience.
Social and political philosophy investigates value judgments concerning society, the state, and the individual’s relation to these institutions. The following questions reflect the concerns of social and political philosophy: Why should individuals live in society? What social ideals of liberty, rights, justice, equality and responsibility are desirable? Why should anyone obey any government? Why should some individuals or groups have political power over others? What criteria are to be used in determining who should have political power? What criteria are to be used in determining the scope of political power, and what rights or freedoms should be immune from political or legal control? To what positive goals should political power be directed, and what are the criteria for determining this? Conflicting answers and applications of these philosophical questions permeate human history; the values and moral convictions of human beings are reflected in our daily social and political life.
Philosophical Methodology-Socratic Dialectic
Because philosophy begins with wondering, questioning, and reflecting about our fundamental assumptions, we need to consider how it proceeds to answer questions. Philosophical problems cannot be resolved by appealing exclusively to the facts: how then does philosophy solve the problems it raises? What method does philosophy employ?
We have defined philosophy as a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most deeply held beliefs. To achieve that end, we believe that the basic method of philosophical inquiry is dialectical.
Philosophy proceeds through the dialectic of argument. The term dialectic refers to a process of thinking that originated with the philosopher Socrates. In Plato’s dialogues, Socrates (See biography and excerpt from Plato’s writings, pp. 12 and 13) is the main character-the protagonist. Socrates employs the method of dialectic; he engages in argumentation, in a relentless analysis of any and every subject. Socrates was convinced that the surest way to attain reliable knowledge was through the practice of disciplined conversation, with the investigator acting as an intellectual midwife; we call the method he used dialectic. This is a deceptively simple technique. It always begins with a discussion of the most commonly accepted aspects of any problem. The dialectical process is a dialogue between opposing positions. Socrates, and many later philosophers,8 believed that
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