When we talk about ethics today, it may seem as if we’re referring to moralizing, a Sunday sermon, or rigid rules that prohibit what we like to do… however, nothing could be further from the truth. This article aims to contribute to an appreciation of the role that ethics, even unconsciously, plays in our lives and how it contributes to our happiness.

Currently, we are witnessing what might be called a certain breakdown of ethics, or at least a lack of application; one might even speak of a crisis of values. On the one hand, one could say there is a clouding of the moral conscience of many human groups, but, above all, a lack of ethical integration into life.

Regarding human nature, we can say that we attribute the origin of many current problems to the lack of ethics in life.

To this end, and without wishing to bore you with philosophical dissertations, it should be noted that ethics is a science; it is not dependent on religion. Its principles and postulates are valid for everyone at all times. When making decisions, we behave ethically, and it suggests the path to inner peace.

Let’s look at each of these topics briefly:

It’s a science

The word ethics is used to refer to the philosophical study of morality (Gómez Pérez, 1993). It is part of philosophy, which is a science, and is therefore supported by arguments. For example, it doesn’t limit itself to saying “one should not lie,” but rather argues that lying is wrong because lying is contrary to truthfulness, and truthfulness is necessary for social coexistence, which is a fundamental human good.

But since it is not an exact science, as mathematics or physics can be, its postulates are easily questionable.

No one in their right mind would think of arguing that they disagree with the law of gravity. However, the conclusions of ethical laws, such as: it is wrong to kill, steal, etc., are subject to debate with different arguments for and against. It is true that there is a general ethics that deals with the study of the principles of behavior, and an applied ethics that indicates, depending on the circumstances, the practical implementation of these general principles. The latter is what some philosophers call morality.

It is independent of religion

Because it is a science, its conclusions are valid for all people, regardless of their religious beliefs, that is, not just for Christians. Knowledge of ethics helps us properly guide our lives. Ethics studies human behavior as it should be so that it is in accordance with our human nature. Human beings are the same in Peru as anywhere else in the world; anything that harms our nature, that damages us as individuals, occurs everywhere.

We must recognize, however, that although ethics has a scientific status independent of religion, many ethical laws coincide with religious principles and norms, for example, the Ten Commandments, or Buddhist morality.

Its principles are valid for everyone

Ethics is not solely the heritage of the West; it appears in all major cultures, because the human problems it addresses are universal, and its solutions are also based on a global inspiration. The great guiding principles of human conduct are shared by all humanity and are formulated in every social sphere. Although, as a branch of philosophy, ethics is a Greek invention. Aristotle was the first to systematize ethics. Its laws are valid for all people, regardless of their place, time of birth, or religious beliefs.

We are all ethical when we make decisions

If we stop to analyze what each of us does in our daily lives, we’ll realize that we spend our days making decisions: from the moment we wake up (what clothes I wear, what I have for breakfast, how I start the day, what route I take, etc.) until the end of the day. And although we can say we make many of these decisions automatically, they are still free and voluntary.

This is important because, being free, we have to accept the consequences that arise from them, that is, we must be responsible for our actions. Furthermore, we cannot ignore the fact that when we act (and before action, there is a decision), we acquire a series of habits that, over time, will make us better or worse people.

Many times in life we ​​encounter situations that seem bad to us, but we realize that if those actions were not within our control, we would not call them good in a moral sense, but rather we would call them good or bad according to fortune: good luck or bad luck.

As Leonardo Polo pointed out, strictly and properly, we define good and bad in relation to what we do based on our free will. We cannot say, “How wonderful it is that I won the lottery,” because it is something beyond our control. We do not decide whether we win the lottery; it happens, it happens, with great fortune, of course. But using the word “good” for something beyond our capacity for action is not ethically correct. Good and bad acquire meaning insofar as we choose, freely, hence their ethical character. Therefore, we must later assume responsibility for the consequences of our actions or decisions (Sellés 1999).

This is closely related to the existence of a rule: do good and do not do evil.

The good, the moral, is what is due, and the bad is what is not due, but not insofar as it happens to me, but rather insofar as I decide, that I have the possibility of fulfilling it and doing it, or of not fulfilling it and not doing it.

According to Leonardo Polo, ethics is not an ornament, an addition to humankind, but rather a form, and that is the very essence of human action. Everything humankind does has to do with ethics (Polo, 1996). We cannot forget that when we act, we do so seeking to achieve something, to obtain a goal. Classical philosophers call this good, goods. In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle points out that the good is that toward which all things tend (Sellés, 1999). Thus, Polo argues that there are two types of ends: those that exist for their own sake, which are sought and loved for their own sake, in the first place; and useful, or intermediate, goods, which lead to the aforementioned goods. Useful goods are sought with a view to other things, to achieve other things. Money is an example of a useful or intermediate good, since people usually do not want money for itself, but rather for what it can buy.

What is the good that man ultimately seeks? Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics, points out that it is happiness, because we always choose it for its own sake and never for anything else (Aristotle, 2004).

It suggests the path of inner peace to achieve happiness

Human behavior is always governed by a purpose, which is what one intends to achieve with one’s actions. The end one pursues when acting may be subordinate to another, and this to another, and so on, but there is always an end beyond which no other is pursued, but rather one that is desired for its own sake. This end is called the “ultimate end.” We can conclude that it is happiness, and that ethics helps us conduct our lives in such a way that we achieve happiness (Ayllón, 2012).

Finally, let us not forget that man is an intelligent being who, unlike animals, shapes his own destiny, and therefore makes free decisions, since he is obliged to choose (our behavior is not instinctive), and ethics is a guide that, through moral norms and laws, helps us make correct decisions, with a positive impact on others and on the surrounding society, making us better people and therefore helping us find happiness.

Ana Isabel Rapún Ruiz

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Literature. 

Aristotle. (2004).  Nicomachean Ethics  (WD Ross, Trans.). Penguin Classics. (Original work published in the 4th century BC)

Sellés, J.F. (1999). Leonardo Polo, The Will and Its Acts (II). Philosophical Yearbook Notebooks. University Series, No. 60, Publications Service of the University of Navarra, Pamplona, ​​1998, 68 pp. Studia Poliana , (1), 122-12

Polo, Leonardo (1996), Ethics Toward a Modern Version of Classical Themes. Madrid, AEDOS

Ayllón, José Ramón (2012) Reasoned Ethics. Madrid, Palabra.

Gómez Pérez, Rafael (1993). Moral Problems of Human Existence. Madrid, Magisterio Casals.