Ethics

Ethics (or moral philosophy) is the systematic study of how we ought to live, what we ought to do, and what makes acts right or wrong. It is conventionally divided into:

1. Meta-ethics — the nature and meaning of moral judgements.
2. Normative ethics — substantive theories of right action and good character.
3. Applied ethics — moral issues in specific contexts (medicine, environment, war, business).

Meta-ethics

Meta-ethics asks what we are doing when we make moral judgements.

Position	Claim
Cognitivism	Moral statements express beliefs that can be true or false
Non-cognitivism	Moral statements express attitudes, not beliefs
Moral realism	Moral facts exist independently of us
Anti-realism	Moral facts depend on us / do not exist
Naturalism	Moral properties reduce to natural properties (well-being, etc.)
Non-naturalism	Moral properties are sui generis (G.E. Moore, Principia Ethica 1903)
Emotivism	Moral statements express emotion (Ayer, Stevenson)
Prescriptivism	Moral statements are universalisable imperatives (R.M. Hare 1952)
Error theory	Moral statements are systematically false (J.L. Mackie, Ethics 1977)

G.E. Moore's "naturalistic fallacy" (1903) argued that "good" cannot be defined in terms of natural properties — the open question argument.

Normative ethics — three major families

1. Virtue ethics

Focuses on character traits that make a flourishing life.

• Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (c. 340 BCE) — eudaimonia through virtuous activity; doctrine of the mean.
• Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue (1981) — modern revival.
• Philippa Foot, Natural Goodness (2001).
• Rosalind Hursthouse, On Virtue Ethics (1999).

Key concepts: eudaimonia, arete, phronesis (practical wisdom), telos.

2. Deontology

Focuses on duty and rules, regardless of consequences.

• Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) — categorical imperative.
• W.D. Ross, The Right and the Good (1930) — prima facie duties.
• Christine Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity (1996).

Kant's three formulations of the categorical imperative:

1. Universal law: act only on maxims you can will to become universal laws.
2. Humanity as end: treat humanity always as an end, never merely as a means.
3. Kingdom of ends: act as if you were a legislator in a universal kingdom of ends.

3. Consequentialism (Utilitarianism)

Right acts are those producing the best consequences.

• Jeremy Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789) — felicific calculus.
• John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (1861) — higher and lower pleasures.
• Henry Sidgwick, The Methods of Ethics (1874).
• R.M. Hare, Peter Singer (preference utilitarianism).

Key distinctions:

Type	Claim
Act utilitarianism	Each act evaluated by its consequences
Rule utilitarianism	Acts evaluated against rules whose general following maximises utility
Hedonistic	Utility = pleasure
Preference	Utility = preference satisfaction
Welfare	Utility = well-being

Contractualism and rights-based ethics

• John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971) — veil of ignorance generates two principles of justice.
• T.M. Scanlon, What We Owe to Each Other (1998) — moral rightness as reasonable agreement.
• Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) — libertarian rights-based ethics.
• Amartya Sen, The Idea of Justice (2009) — capability approach.

Applied ethics

Bioethics

• Beauchamp & Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics (1979): autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice.
• Abortion, euthanasia, organ donation, genetic engineering, COVID-19 triage.

Environmental ethics

• Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac (1949) — land ethic.
• Deep ecology (Næss), animal ethics (Singer 1975, Regan 1983).

Just war theory

• Augustine, Aquinas, Grotius — origins.
• Jus ad bellum (right to go to war): just cause, legitimate authority, right intention, proportionality, last resort, reasonable prospect of success.
• Jus in bello (right conduct in war): discrimination, proportionality, military necessity.
• Jus post bellum (justice after war).

Business and professional ethics

• CSR, stakeholder theory (Freeman 1984), integrity-based vs. compliance-based approaches.

Islamic ethics

Islamic ethics integrates revelation and reason. Sources: Quran, Sunnah, Sharia and the akhlaq tradition.

Key figures:

• Al-Mawardi (d. 1058) — Adab al-Dunya wa al-Din.
• Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) — Ihya' Ulum al-Din; Mizan al-Amal; integration of revelation, reason and Sufism.
• Ibn Miskawayh (d. 1030) — Tahdhib al-Akhlaq; Aristotelian-influenced virtue ethics.
• Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (d. 1274) — Akhlaq-i-Nasiri.
• Allama Iqbal — dynamic ethics of khudi.

Core concepts:

• Adl — justice.
• Ihsan — beneficence; doing the beautiful.
• Taqwa — God-consciousness.
• Amanah — trust.
• Maqasid al-Shariah — preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, property.

Contemporary debates

• AI ethics — algorithmic bias, autonomy, accountability.
• Climate ethics — intergenerational justice, climate refugees.
• Global justice — Peter Singer (Famine, Affluence, and Morality, 1972), Thomas Pogge.
• Feminist ethics — Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice (1982); care ethics.
• Animal ethics — Singer (1975), Regan (1983); animal welfare and rights.
• End-of-life decisions — physician-assisted death, palliative care.

Modern ethics is interdisciplinary — drawing on psychology (Haidt's moral foundations), economics (behavioural economics), neuroscience (Greene), law and political theory. The CSS examiner expects familiarity with at least the major frameworks, key thinkers and dates, and ability to apply them to contemporary Pakistani issues — corruption, women's rights, religious tolerance, environmental degradation, and counter-terrorism.