South 고등학교 3학년 Classics and Ethics
Chapters: 4
1. Relationship with oneself
Living as a moral agent · Cultivating the mind · The categorical imperative
- Self-Identity: Who Am I, and How Do I Live It? – Identity is your sense of who you are: your roles, values, strengths and dreams. We know ourselves through reflection. Self-esteem is how much we value ourselves. A strong moral identity means our actions match our values.
- Ethics: How to Decide What Is Right – Ethics (moral philosophy) asks what we ought to do and why. Values such as honesty, kindness, fairness and respect guide choices. Three main theories help: consequences (utilitarianism, Bentham and Mill: most good for most people), duty (Kant: act on rules you could want everyone to follow; treat people as ends, never only as means) and virtue (Aristotle: build good character; virtue is the mean between extremes). Conscience is our inner sense of right and wrong. Freedom brings responsibility. Meta-ethics asks what "good" means and whether values are universal or relative. Applied ethics deals with the environment, animals, work, friendship and peace.
2. Relationships with others
Happiness as ultimate end · Ren (benevolence) · Humans as relational beings
- Virtue Ethics: Becoming a Good Person – Virtue ethics asks "What kind of person should I be?" rather than only "Which rule should I follow?". An action has an intention, means, the act and consequences. Socrates taught that virtue is knowledge. Plato linked the three parts of the soul (reason, spirit, desire) to four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice. Aristotle said every aim points to a final end, eudaimonia (living well), and that each moral virtue is a golden mean between two vices, learned by habit and guided by practical wisdom.
- Confucianism – Confucianism is a way of living taught by Confucius (about 551–479 BCE, China). Its heart is ren (kindness toward others) and li (respectful behaviour). People grow good by practising these in five key relationships: ruler and citizen, parent and child, spouses, elders and youngers, and friends. Mencius said human nature is born good, like a sprout; Xunzi said it needs shaping by learning and rules. Neo-Confucianism (about 11th–12th century) joined these ideas with a theory of the universe and self-improvement.
3. Society and community
Just state and just person · Integrity in public office · Outcome vs procedural justice
- Social Justice: Fair Shares for All – Justice means giving each person their due. Social justice is about fair sharing of goods, services and chances in society. Three principles guide fair sharing: equal treatment for equals, reward in proportion to effort and skill, and extra help for special needs. They must be balanced. John Rawls suggested choosing society's rules from behind a 'veil of ignorance', not knowing what position we would get; a rational person would then protect the worst-off. Pursuing social justice means first securing basic needs (food, water, housing, health, education, minimum wage) for everyone. People disagree on how: free-market supporters want open competition with a small state; others want the state to provide welfare. India uses a mix.
- Civic Ethics: Common Good, Citizens and the State – Civic ethics asks how we should act as members of a community. My own good and the common good can clash, as with a shared well. Fair sharing keeps the resource alive for everyone. Citizens owe duties to neighbours and to a fair state; officials must be honest; and people may peacefully refuse an unjust law, which is called civil disobedience.
4. Nature and transcendence
Greatest happiness principle · Non-action and nature today · Ethics within religions
- Ethics: How to Decide What Is Right – Ethics (moral philosophy) asks what we ought to do and why. Values such as honesty, kindness, fairness and respect guide choices. Three main theories help: consequences (utilitarianism, Bentham and Mill: most good for most people), duty (Kant: act on rules you could want everyone to follow; treat people as ends, never only as means) and virtue (Aristotle: build good character; virtue is the mean between extremes). Conscience is our inner sense of right and wrong. Freedom brings responsibility. Meta-ethics asks what "good" means and whether values are universal or relative. Applied ethics deals with the environment, animals, work, friendship and peace.
- Taoism (Daoism) – Taoism is an old Chinese way of thinking about living in harmony with the Dao, 'the Way' of nature. Laozi (the Tao Te Ching) taught softness, simplicity and wu wei, acting without forcing. Zhuangzi added stories showing that ideas like big and small, good and bad depend on your point of view, so we should be free and flexible. Yin and yang show how opposites balance each other. Today wu wei is read as working with nature and with our own limits instead of fighting them.