Ethical Principles: Morality, Freedom, and Human Action

Understanding Ethical Theories and Moral Foundations

According to the motives that drive human beings to act, two fundamental types of ethical theory have developed: teleological and deontological.

Ethical Theory Fundamentals

Teleological Ethics

• State that action should produce a specific end.
• Aim to resolve conflicts between interests and standards.
• Moral action should pursue happiness and justice.

Deontological Ethics

• Do not share the vision of humanity as a seeker of happiness.
• What defines a human being and sets them apart is their legislative autonomy.
• Action must be based on the duty imposed by reason.

Bases of Morality: Types of Moral Norms

Moral norms are categorized by their origin:

External Foundation

• The origin of the rules lies in something external to the subject: natural laws, traditions, or laws given to humanity by divine grace.
• Rules are accepted without question because they offer unquestionable truths (often associated with teleological ethics).

Internal Foundation

• The operation of the rules is within the individual.
• The individual is recognized as a free being, endowed with reason and will to choose their actions responsibly and autonomously (associated with deontological ethics).

Intersubjective Foundation

• Relies on discourse and the public use of reason.
• Rules are established through concrete dialogue and agreement between different subjects.
• Aims to achieve a just society.

Exploring Concepts of Freedom in Ethics

Ethical Perspectives on Freedom

Ethical Indeterminism

• Postulates human freedom.
• States that freedom is a precondition for the moral act to be carried out.

Ethical Determinism

• Denies the possibility of human freedom.
• Argues that all events (including human actions) are inexorably linked by a relation of cause and effect.

Dimensions of Freedom

External Freedom (Freedom of Action)

Negative External Freedom

• Absence of obstacles.
• Defines a sphere of privacy.
• Entails specific freedoms.

Positive External Freedom

• Ability to act as chosen by oneself.
• Freedom to participate in policy.
• Defines the possibility of the individual in the public sphere.

Inner Freedom (Freedom of Will)

Negative Inner Freedom

• Absence of constraints on the decision of the will.
• Power to say yes or no.

Positive Inner Freedom

• Possibility of governing oneself.
• Self-determination.
• Can be limited or full freedom.

Legal Freedom

• Covered by law, its implementation, and enforcement.
• It is the right a person has to act for themselves, and no one can force them to act otherwise.
• The limits of action are given by law.

Freedom of Action (Execution)

• It is the execution of what the subject wants.
• Does not necessarily consider whether the individual is radically free.

Individual Freedom

• Implies that, in a society, there is the recognition that humanity is born free and endowed with intelligence and will.