The Basis of Ethics

In looking at human nature, one finds that our context is created by the social. From the moment of one’s conception, on through the birth and growth, the human is dependant upon others for survival, for love, for knowledge, for expression. A human is not only not truly human, but not even alive without another human. All else that a human needs is found to be necessary in society. To be secure in sleep, one must have another human to watch over one. To grow food, one must obtain seed from another human. And, for most of us, human society is so pervasive that we don’t even notice it anymore. All the benefits and all the ills we find in our lives are, for the most part, found in other human beings. Sometimes it is in the creation of humans, but it is all human. Surrounded by humanity, the context for beauty, then is other humans. For human nature is bound to other humans.

Thus, the foundation of ethics is not personal-- such as happiness, pleasure or duty-- but rather social. Ethics is all about relationship. One can do or not do any given action, but what makes that action right or wrong, good or bad is how it relates to others. That is the essence of human ethics-- how one's action effects others.

And this is not limited simply to other people, but to all that surround us with thought-- our family, friends and even people far away whose products we purchase, but also God and animals. Ethics relates to every action done in every relationship.

We may say then, "Well, if there is no relationship, then there is no ethical principle to follow." And, in theory, that may be true. But even alone our actions have ethical consequences. I can be by myself when I set my wife's personal letters on fire, but it is certainly an action that relates to ethics. And even what I think and meditate on, although in the seclusion of my own mind, if that meditation ever becomes an action, no matter how slight, then it enters into the realm of ethics. And since all of our actions are based on our thoughts, who is to say that any thought is not ethical?

And, on a theological basis, who is really alone? Angels and God watch us all the time-- there really is a big brother and its the spirit world! And so every action effects our relationship with the spirit world, like it or not. Thus, every action is ethical in some way.

For this reason, we must consider ethics carefully. It isn't some side philosophical subject. Rather, it is a practical, everyday human activity. One which many humans prefer not to consider at all, to their own demise.