Philosophical Concepts: Action, Ethics, and Materialism

Defining Action and Intent

Action is defined as doing anything deliberately.

Involuntary Actions

Involuntary actions occur when the agent acts unwillingly, meaning the origin of the action is outside ourselves, and we do not contribute to it. These are typically categorized as:

• Forced Actions: Actions where the agent is unwilling. Example: A person is dragged by the wind.
• Actions by Ignorance: Actions resulting from a lack of knowledge regarding the circumstances. Example: A driver hits someone because they have not seen them.

Types of Intent

Intent can be categorized into two types:

1. Spontaneous Intent: When something happens to me, even if I am not actively seeking it (e.g., an unexpected desire).
2. Consciously Assumed Intent: A deliberate choice or plan (e.g., buying a book).

The means (or methods) leading to the action are desires that we intend to pursue in a conscious way.

Theoretical vs. Practical Knowledge

Knowledge is generally divided based on the type of reason employed:

• Theoretical Knowledge: Pertains to contemplative or scientific reason.
• Practical Knowledge: Pertains to right or deliberative calculative reason. This includes:
  • Morality: Seeks the ultimate good.
  • Technical Knowledge: The human ability to master the art of applying appropriate means to an end, regardless of whether that end is good or not.

Ethics and Morality: Definitions

While often used interchangeably, these terms have distinct philosophical meanings:

• Ethics: Refers to the way of being, disposition, or character (ethos).
• Morality: Refers to the usual character or lifestyle (mores).

Both terms refer to how a human being acquires, over time, a set of habits resulting from the choices made.

The Moral Dimension of Human Life

Morals represent a dimension of human life related to freedom of choice and the ability to recognize that some ways of being and living are closer to being good than others. Living morally means striving to be a good person.

Ethics is the philosophical reflection on morality, placing moral concepts onto a plane of thought and analysis.

Moral Status Classifications

Immoral

An action is judged as moral or immoral in relation to a specific code or context. Example: To Judaism, a Jew who works on Saturday is considered immoral.

Amoral

A being that lacks a moral structure—the necessity to choose between different possibilities and justify those choices. An amoral being does not possess the features required to choose between behaving well or badly.

Monist Materialist Theories of Mind

Monist materialist theories assert that mental processes are explained solely by the material base, located in the brain. There are three primary types:

• Materialist Physicalist: States that mental activities are simple neurophysiological or physical-chemical processes.
• Materialist Cybernetic: Posits that the brain functions as a complex computer.
• Materialist Emergentist: Defends the idea that the mind is not reducible to what is physical, but rather emerges from the physical structure through evolutionary fitness.