Discourse on Ethics

About the Book

There are two ways we might approach the question of truth: in the first place, by adopting an approach that is wholly objective; and in the second place, by adopting an approach that is partly subjective. So far as concerns the first, we are quite familiar with the physical sciences, that is, the question ‘from whence does something originate or in what does it consist?’ So far as concerns the second, the question becomes ‘how do we appraise something according to a certain set of standards, norms or rules?’ Aesthetics deals with the objects, in this case perceptual or audible, that we call beautiful or ugly; logic deals with the objects, in this case statements or arguments that we call true or false; and ethics deals with the objects, in this case the conduct of men, that we call good or bad. What distinguishes the normative from the descriptive also concerns the validity or propriety with which we judge that such and such is the case and not merely state that such and such is the case. An anthropologist is someone who may record the different morés and customs that exist in different societies, but it is not the job of an anthropologist to say whether they are good or bad, or which are better and which are worse: likewise for a botanist who classifies various plants, or a psychologist who classifies various mental states

About the Author

Paul O’Hara, the second of five children, was born and educated in Perth, Western Australia. During his formative years his enquiring mind has caused him to focus on the deeper questions of life. His interests include poetry, chess, astronomy and genealogy.