Essay about Ethics and Moral Rules

Submitted By berryoli
Words: 486
Pages: 2

Bertrand Russell’s Science and Ethics, he writes that the study of ethics consists of two parts, the first part has to do with moral rules while the other part has to do with what is considered ‘good’. The formation of what we believe ethics to be, according to Russell, is man’s tendency to give more emphasis on the state of mind, rather than putting more stress on rules. Philosophy and mystical religion are the two sources that Russell claims is the reason for this tendency. One of the reasons why external rules are not stressed is because the notion of conscious. Russell says the belief in a conscious means that there is a supposed God who reveals to each human heart what is right and wrong so in order to avoid doing wrong, we must listen to our inner voice, our conscious to keep us on the path which what we believe to be right. There are two problems, Russell says, with the belief consciousness. The first is different people have different conscious, which tells them different things and gives them different senses of right and wrong; secondly, the study of unconscious has given way to understanding of conscious feelings. An example Russell gives is: conscious leads to some to condemn the spoliation of the rich by the poor as felt by communists, while the exploitation of the poor by the rich is frowned upon according to the beliefs of capitalists. The diversity of conscious beliefs is better understood when the origin of the beliefs are explained. Russell states that in early youth certain acts were either met with approval or disapproval, and by normal process of association, pleasure and discomfort gradually attached themselves to said acts. So over time, even after the association of pleasure and discomfort fades, there is still a