Foundations of Ethics and Social Justice Movements

Aristotelian Teleology vs. Kantian Deontology

Aristotle is considered a teleological philosopher because he states that, with respect to the good, it isn't merely a disposition. Something is good if it performs its proper function.

Kant is considered a deontological philosopher because he stated that to act in a morally right way, people must act from duty, and that a good will is still good even if one fails to achieve its intended outcome.

Defining Virtue: The Golden Mean

Virtue is defined as a mean between two extremes of excess and defect in regard to a feeling or action, as a practically wise person would determine it. This mean is relative to the individual's circumstances.

Understanding Key Social Liberation Movements

Feminism

Feminism began in the Western world in the late 19th century and has progressed through three distinct waves:

• First-wave feminism was primarily oriented around the status of middle- or upper-class white women and focused on suffrage and political equality.
• Second-wave feminism aimed to further combat social and cultural inequalities.
• Third-wave feminism continues to address financial, social, and cultural inequalities, expanding its scope to include diverse experiences.

The Gay Liberation Movement

The gay liberation movement of the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s urged lesbians and gay men to "come out," publicly revealing their sexuality to family, friends, and colleagues as a form of activism, and to counter shame with gay pride.

Black Liberation Theology

Black liberation theology focuses on Africans in general and African Americans in particular being liberated from all forms of bondage and injustice, whether real or perceived, and whether social, political, economic, or religious.

The Foundation of Freedom and Equality: Human Rights

We are all free and equal thanks to human rights, which are moral principles that set out certain standards of human behavior. These rights are inalienable, universal, and egalitarian. Human rights also significantly contribute to reducing societal differences.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was created on December 10, 1948, comprising 30 articles covering various aspects:

• Civil rights
• Economic rights
• Social rights
• Cultural rights

Categorical vs. Hypothetical Imperatives

• A hypothetical imperative is one we must obey if we want to satisfy our desires.
• A categorical imperative binds us regardless of our desires.

Deriving Duties from the Categorical Imperative

Applying the categorical imperative, duties arise because failure to fulfill them would either result in a contradiction in conception or a contradiction in the will.

Aristotle on Reason, Happiness, and Virtue

Aristotle distinguished between happiness and moral virtue:

1. Moral virtue is not the ultimate end of life, as it can coexist with inactivity, misery, and unhappiness.
2. Happiness, the true end of life and that to which all aims, is an activity in accordance with reason.