Zain's Guide to Overthinking Everything

Aristotelian Ethics Explained     Aristotle, one of the most influential philosophers in Western history, developed a comprehensive ethical theory in his work, Nicomachean Ethics . Aristotle distinguishes two kinds of virtue. There are those that pertain to the part of the soul that engages in reasoning and those capable of following reason. Intellectual virtues are in turn divided into two sorts which are those that pertain to theoretical reasoning, and those that pertain to practical thinking. He organizes his material by first studying ethical virtue in general, then moving to a discussion of particular ethical virtues, and finally completing his survey by considering the intellectual virtues such as practical and theoretical wisdom. Virtue is the proper function of a thing and people as rational creatures; their function is fulfilled through reason which informs good character and this is finalized through eudaimonia which will be explained later. This is why his ethics ar...

Notes on the Basics of Kant 4: Kantian Ethics Explained According to Kant, in his, Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals , there is only one thing that is good in itself which is The Good Will. Everything else has to be qualified, The Good Will is the only good without qualification. While other things can be good, The Good Will is good in itself. Being intelligent can be a good thing but one could also use their intelligence for evil if The Good Will is not present. Courage can be good to save someone out of a burning building but a thief can have courage when robbing a bank. Being healthy can be good but without having a Good Will they can spoil the individual with pride. Having good virtues such as moderation is a step in the right direction but they need to be directed by having a Good Will. Jeremy Bentham would say that the Good Will is that which leads to the best consequences or utility for the greatest number of people. However, according to Kant it is not about the effect b...

Ibn Taymiyya on Ethics Utilitarianism as propagated by Jeremy Bentham states that an act is good when it produces the maximum happiness and benefit for the greatest number. Then religious utilitarianism would be maximizing happiness and benefit for this world and for the hereafter. For Ibn Taymiyya, worship of God alone is the ultimate purpose of humanity and leads to the ultimate happiness and benefit of humans. Therefore, Ibn Taymiyya thought in terms of religious utilitarianism. He applied this framework to understand God’s actions as well. Furthermore, in his ethics, “The Book and justice are inseparable. The Book explicates the law. The law is justice, and justice is the law. Anyone who judges with justice judges with the law… The entire revealed law is justice’ (MF 35:366). Law and human benefit are equivalent such that there is no benefit outside of the law as benefit is the law and law is benefit. “The principle overall is that the law never neglects a benefit. Indeed, God – Ex...

Exploring Kantian Ethics: The Moral Implications of Lies of Omission Recently, I've been contemplating a philosophical dilemma revolving around lies of omission, or  when someone intentionally withholds relevant information, leading the other person to believe something untrue , and whether they align with Kant's principles of deontological ethics (read my blog post on Kant for background information). As per lying, Kant believes one can never lie no matter the time or circumstance due to the categorical imperative: Act according to the maxim that you would wish all other rational people to follow, as if it were a universal law. If lying is made a universal law then society would collapse and therefore lying is immoral. Therefore, when the axe murderer asks Kant for his prey, Kant would have to tell the murderer (but maybe this is a gross oversimplification that will be explained later). However, what would Kant's position be on lies of omission (if it is even a thing?)? On...

The Euthyphro Dilemma       If God commanded murder tomorrow, would the believer do it? If goodness is synthetic rather than analytical, the question is in virtue of what is the causal explanation for why God is good? If one appeals to God’s nature, goodness is either a standard that is external to God or it is arbitrary. If it is the former and God adheres to the standard of goodness but the theist provides and internal explanation for the standard coming from within God, is this enough to escape the dilemma? Is it possible for there to be a state of affairs in virtue of the good being external to God? Rather, it is within God’s nature to always be in accordance with that standard. There is an inherent primitive goodness in God as in His nature and that is the causal explanation for God’s moral commandment as good. Therefore, God’s nature is what sets the standard of goodness and God’s nature is the causal explanation. Why does goodness have to be an external proper...

 Basics of Kant part 2      Kantian metaphysics is based on the distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments, as well as between a priori and a posteriori knowledge. According to Kant, analytical judgments are those in which the predicate is contained in the subject, and their truth is known by definition. Synthetic judgments, on the other hand, add something to the subject that is not contained in it, and their truth is not immediately evident from the concept alone. A priori knowledge is independent of experience and is known through reason alone, while a posteriori knowledge is derived from experience. Moral judgments, according to Kant, are a priori. Morality is concerned with practical questions - not with the ways things are, but with the way things ought to be. Since experience tells us only about the way things are, it cannot by itself provide an answer to our practical questions. Moral judgments are also synthetic rather than analytic, for if they we...

Notes on Immanuel Kant      Kant developed a reason-based ethical theory i.e. not based on emotions. Ethics and morality are two things that one can discern from correct and proper reasoning. In divine command theory, one may act good according to the will of god to reach heaven or because of the fear of punishment. At the same time, if one proposed heaven for the one who murdered and hell for the saint, people would become murderers. Kant would disagree with this mode of ethics as one’s allegiance is given to the highest bidder. For deontology, intention is everything. Kant’s ethics begins with having a good will. Furthermore, a good will is the only good thing that is good in and of itself in this world. Everything else is contingently good such as strength, it can be used for good or evil. To have good will in a Kantian paradigm can be defined as having a pure practical reason. Once good will is established, the next step is the categorical imperative, to will that you...