The ethical vacuum in society is caused by a value system without a solid foundation. These also cause people to ask questions like, “Is this behavior the result of values being communicated by society? Have the rules changed? And who makes these rules, God or men? The Christian and the theist turn toward the Creator of the Universe. The secularist or atheist alternatively turns toward himself. This distinction between theism and secularism has become the fundamental division in moral theory.

Very much related to the claim of theism or supernaturalism, we may bring to mind the Greek philosopher Plato’s contentions that there must be some universal or absolute under which the individual things (the particulars, the details) must fit. Something beyond the everyday must be there to give it all unity and meaning. Even the non-believer and existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre, realized that a finite point is absurd if it has no infinite reference point. [7]

In secularism, we may site as an early influence our knowledge of the seventeenth-century philosopher John Locke who claimed that all knowledge comes from sensation. In other words, the only reality is what we can see, hear, feel, smell, taste, or measure. Obviously, there is not much room for revelation here. Other philosophers have followed suit and concluded that man is shaped by evolutionary processes and the culture that surrounds him. The notion that man is born with some innate nature has been rejected. Men like Hegel, Darwin, and Marx believed that all living forms and social systems were nothing more than the result of progressive transformations over time. As the influence of the religious community began to wane in the nineteenth century, many began to search for a meaning to life totally apart from God. Man simply no longer believed he had a place in eternity. Therefore all he could do was hope to find his place in the movement of history.[8]

We may also recall Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species which catapulted the abandonment of God and revelation by attempting to show that God was not even necessary in the creation of living things. Friedrich Nietzsche then purposed to highlight the ethical implications of Darwinism. Nietzsche's "superman" concept transformed man into the maker of his own destiny. Man became the measure of all things. Nietzsche's "madman" said, "God is dead!" [9]

Then there is this power ethics or "political naturalism." Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a great voice in the revival of political naturalism in the sixteenth century. In his book The Prince, a ruler who wants to keep his post must learn how not to be good, and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires[10] . In other words, we are taught to do what we need to do to preserve our position and that we must not concern ourselves with what is ethical. We just have to preserve our power. We know that Machiavelli's ethical stance of whatever strengthens the state is right had a great influence on the thinking of Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872). Feuerbach's claim that God was merely a human invention, on the other hand, had a lot to do with the writings of Karl Marx (1819-1883) who took these ideas as validation of his own views. His ideas provided a foundation upon which Lenin and Stalin were able to build a society around the power ethics of political rationalism. Feuerbach and Marx rejoiced in the fact that the loosing grasp of religion had made it possible to create a city of man in an entirely human space [11]. In Russia there was consequently a concerted attempt to root out Christianity and substitute an extremely intolerant and militant form of the religion of the Enlightenment [12].

Adolph Hitler is another important figure here. So profound was Nietzsche's philosophy upon Hitler, that it provided the framework for Hitler’s tireless efforts to obliterate the Jews and the weak of this world [13]. Nietzsche had proclaimed the coming of the “Master Race”, and a “Superman” who would unify Germany and hopefully the world [14]. In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler clearly announced his intent to take Nietzsche's logic and drive the atheistic worldview to its logical conclusion. In Nietzschean terms, professor Ravi Zacarias holds, atheism will inevitably lead to violence and hedonism.[15]

Some contemporary ethicists nonetheless believe that secularism or Enlightenment thinking is not the answer to the problem of what should be the foundation of morality. Crane Brinton, for instance, in his book A History of Western Morals says, "the religion of the Enlightenment has a long and unpredictable way to go before it can face the facts of life as effectively as does Christianity."[16] An article in USA Today moreover illustrates a trend favoring theism as a moral foundation, specifically in Russia. It reports that:

 “Officials say up to 55% of Russian teachers, many of whom were former atheists, have made personal commitments to Christ. Many are using the New Testament in schools. "For ages, (Russia) was a country of believers and morality was very close to the people," says assistant principal Olga Meinikova, 32, of school No. 788. "For a short period 74 years we lost it all. All Russian teachers should teach this course; Americans too. The Bible is part of normal education. [17]

A ‘Scope and Limitation’ of the course

The course (Ethics 101) focuses on the two opposing theories concerned: Secularism and Supernaturalism. The subject therefore calls for the evaluation of the different secular ethical theories (they could be the most popular ones only, due to time constraint) vis-à-vis the theist or supernaturalist basis of morality.

One way to determine which between the two philosophical camps serves as the better foundation of morality is to enumerate and discuss some agreeable facts about morality and test afterward ‘moral secularism’ and ‘moral supernaturalism’ to discern which of the two better explains the facts about morality. Hence, topics like “objectivity/ relativity in ethics,” “cultural relativism,” “ethical subjectivism,” “moral accountability,” “sense of moral obligation,” and the likes would be part of the scope of the course.

Though the focus is very much related to the two (2) other controversies: about (a) whether or not morality is possible without God and (a) whether or not God exists, the subject needs not to particularly tackle the proofs and arguments siding any of the opposing stands in both topics. Therefore, Ethics 101 centers neither on debate on God’s existence nor on the unsettled possibility of being moral without believing in God, but on where morality should better be based – whether on something supernatural or secular.

Definition of some terms

The following are some simple working definitions of the terms usually used in the course:

Relativism

The view that there is no absolute knowledge, that truth is different for each individual, social group or historic period and is therefore relative to the circumstances of the knowing subject.

Duty

In moral philosophy, that which behooves us to do, either because it is laid down in some moral code, or because it imposes itself, through our moral consciousness ... (Continue reading)

© 2011 by Jensen dG. Mañebog    

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