What is ethics?
Realizing financial freedom early, there is not much trouble in life.
-talk to young friends about financial management.
Dostoevsky has an intriguing description in brothers karamazov, in which Dmitry is accused of killing his father Carla Matsov. Of course, this is not true. On the day before the trial, Dmitry wanted to discuss with his younger brother Alesha not his grievances or ways to get rid of guilt, but the definition of a discipline. He asked Alesha, "Ethics, do you know what ethics is?" Dmitry seems to be asking Alesha, but he is actually asking himself. Perhaps his life experience, moral intuition and common sense have been unable to solve all kinds of moral problems he faces, so he thought of ethics. We can boldly imagine that if Dmitry studies ethics seriously at ordinary times, why not? The key question is, what is ethics?
Object: the research object of ethics
The world presents us with infinite changes. We should observe and understand these phenomena, not only what it is, but also why it is like this. Therefore, we divide phenomena into different disciplines. Among them, ethics takes the moral phenomenon of human society as the research object. For example, blushing is not only a physiological phenomenon, but also a psychological phenomenon and a moral phenomenon. In this sense, Darwin called blushing "the most unique and human expression", and human beings are the only animals that can blush and feel ashamed. Why does a person blush because of lying? This is the scope of ethical research.
Two problems: the basic problems of ethics
Ethics is one of the oldest knowledge, with brilliant content and many theoretical schools, but in the final analysis, it answers two basic questions: goodness and appropriateness. What kind of people are good people, what kind of life is a good life, what kind of country is a good country and what kind of society is a good society, these are all "good" problems. What is the standard of right and wrong behavior, who will make the standard, why should such a standard be determined, what kind of behavior elements (motivation, process or result) are used to judge right and wrong behavior, and how to choose the "correct" behavior are all "should" problems. Different answers to these two basic questions have formed various ethical theories, such as deontology, utilitarianism and virtue theory.
Three characteristics: the basic characteristics of ethics
1, can go up and down. Dongguozi once asked Zhuangzi "Tao": Dongguozi asked Zhuangzi, "Is Tao evil?" Zhuangzi said, "Everywhere." Zhuangzi's answer is also a characteristic of moral existence. There is no pure morality in the world. Morality always exists in various specific activities, and transcends these specific activities to reflect and guide moral choices in specific situations. Therefore, ethics should not only explore the fundamental principle of being human, which is metaphysical, but also solve the problem of moral choice in real life situations, which is metaphysical.
2, can be near or far. Ethics takes "self" as the logical starting point and perfect man as the ultimate goal, and has gone through the logical process of family, civil society, group society, political society and human destiny. The same is true of the development of ethical thought. With the continuous development of human society, the form of ethics presents a development process of "from near to far", that is, the boundary of moral identity is expanding, the object of moral concern is expanding, and moral experience and knowledge are popularizing. If it is extended to the whole world, there will be global ethics. Extending to future generations, there is intergenerational ethics. Extending to the universe, there will be ecological ethics.
3, red and expert. Ethics is a profound knowledge and a knowledge system that needs long-term professional training. For example, the ethics major of China Renmin University has a training sequence of undergraduate, master's, doctoral and postdoctoral students to train specialized ethics talents, and social development also urgently needs such talents; Ethics is also a practical wisdom. Learning ethics requires not only life experience, but also feelings of home and country. The Research Center of Ethics Construction of Renmin University of China is the key research base of humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education. This name is exquisite. Ethics is not only learning knowledge, but also participating in social moral construction, being a planner, designer and architect of moral construction, and putting the knowledge of ethics on the land of the motherland, which is the "red" side.
Four steps: the basic method of ethics
In the learning process of ethics major, students will learn to build a theoretical building of ethics under the guidance of teachers. This process is full of challenges and hardships, but it is also full of spiritual pleasure and even brings a sense of loftiness.
Logically speaking, there are four steps:
The first step is to clean up the scene. Cleaning up those floating sand chips is done by philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology and other disciplines, such as whether human nature is selfish or altruistic, whether people have free will, whether morality is subjective or objective, relative or universal, and so on. This is a process of learning humanistic knowledge and accumulating humanistic quality.
The second step is to lay a solid foundation. This work should be done by meta-ethics. The task is to solve the definition of moral concept and the validity of moral reasoning. Learning at this stage requires metaphysical speculation, which is a difficult but extremely hard process to sharpen rationality and train thinking ability.
The third step is to build a building. This work is done by normative ethics. The main task is to put forward and demonstrate a reasonable and substantial moral standard system by studying and comparing different forms of moral standard theories in the history of ethical thought at home and abroad. Learning at this stage needs to cultivate multicultural comparative vision and independent critical spirit, which is a spiritual wealth that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.
The fourth step is the completion and application of the building. The main task of this step is to apply ethical theory and moral norms to real life and solve moral problems in real life. Wherever human activities go, there will be moral problems, including economic ethics, political ethics, legal ethics, scientific ethics and so on. It can be said that all fields of human activities have applied ethics in this field; On the other hand, with the development of society, especially the development of science and technology, some moral problems have emerged, such as human cloning ethics, ecological ethics, robot ethics, big data ethics and so on. These problems are difficult to be solved by traditional ethical theories, and people need to bravely and cautiously put forward new theoretical viewpoints and solutions. Learning at this stage requires both theoretical courage and practical caution. This kind of character is not only the virtue of learning, but also the virtue of being a man, which is commendable.
Professional FAQ
Why did you choose the ethics major of China Renmin University?
Ethics major of Renmin University is the birthplace of ethics discipline in New China, and Professor Luo is recognized as the founder and pioneer of ethics discipline in New China. Ethics major of Renmin University is an ethics discipline first established in the late 1950s in New China. 198 1 was granted the first master's degree in ethics, 1984 was granted the first doctor's degree in ethics, 1985 was granted the only undergraduate major in ethics in China, and 1988 was granted the only undergraduate major in ethics. In September 2000, it was evaluated as a key research base of humanities and social sciences by the Ministry of Education. Of course, the ethics major of the National People's Congress is not only a cow in the past, but also a cow now. Today, the ethics major of Renmin University is still stronger than Mazhuang, and it is the subject point with the largest teaching and research team, the strongest comprehensive strength and the most comprehensive disciplines in China.
What are the characteristics of students who are more suitable for studying ethics?
Ethics has a wide range of disciplines and diverse directions, and students with different characteristics can find something suitable for them in ethics. For example, students with speculative interest and ability can choose to study meta-ethics; Students with realistic care and practical character can choose to study economic ethics, legal ethics and so on. But as long as you study ethics, you have three basic characteristics: first, you must have humanistic feelings; Second, we must have a sense of problems; Third, we should criticize.
What are the misunderstandings about ethics in society?
Generally speaking, there are three main misunderstandings. First, moral knowledge is common sense that people can learn without learning, so why learn ethics? Yes, an illiterate old farmer is also moral. However, as common sense, morality is only a little bit from life experience, which is incomplete and often conflicts with each other. It can neither fully explain the moral world nor consistently guide people's moral choices. Moreover, many moral problems in contemporary society, such as organ transplantation and ecological ethics, are far beyond the boundaries of common sense. In short, we need to study ethics systematically and deeply in order to better understand and explain the world, decide our choices more freely and reasonably, and better predict and find the key to solving moral problems. Second, is ethics equal to ideological and political education?
No, the major of ideological and political education is awarded a law degree, which is a specific science. Ethics confers a degree in philosophy. What it seeks is ethical wisdom, an integrated understanding of the value of the world and life, and the ultimate questioning of what is "good" and "should". Of course, morality is practical reason, ethics has realistic concern, and ideological and political education also includes moral education. Third, it is difficult to find a job when studying ethics. Not to mention that the concept of professional choice behind this statement is short-sighted, this statement itself is difficult to establish. Ethics is the oldest knowledge, and it is also a prominent study in contemporary philosophy. It meets the eternal needs of human society for harmony and self-improvement, so it will never be a "sunset" major; At the same time, it is also a powerful tool to solve practical problems, with its own specific career orientation and extensive career adaptability. In this sense, a good career is only a by-product of ethical research.
What is the employment and further education situation of ethics graduates?
Ethics major has a wide range of employment channels and a positive promotion prospect. Many students have found ideal jobs in universities, government agencies, news publishing units and enterprises, and some students have chosen well-known universities at home and abroad to continue their studies.
The rate of going abroad for ethics majors is about 20%, and the rate of guaranteeing research is about 40%.