Ethics

Ethics is the study and evaluation of human conduct in light of moral principles. The present book deals with ethics in various religions of the world.

Ethics is the study and evaluation of human conduct in light of moral principles. Many theories regarding man’s conscience and responsibility for his actions have developed. Intuitionists like Rousseau argued that conscience is innate and intigates moral action. Conte, Cocke, John Stuart Mill and other Empiricists explained ethics as a by product of experience. Idealists like Plato and Kant considered metaphysics as the basis of ethics.

Philosophers consider ethics as a philosophy. Some philosophers seek an absolute ethical criterion in religion. Major religions have stressed the importance of ethics. Religion, ethics and philosophy are interconnected. According to Hinduism, moral, philosophical and religious activities have the same goal - liberation/moksha. Religious vision gives necessary guidance to all other pursuits. Also ethical conduct and philosophical knowledge help the development of spirituality. Without ethics and philosophy religion becomes empty and in the same way without religious guidance, ethical and philosophical endeavours became meaningless. Buddhism lays many rules to conquer temptations. Chastity, non- possession and non-violence are the three main rules of Buddhist ethics. All cultures stress moral values or ethics. Materialists, Hegel, Marx and others say that the state is the arbiter of morals. Yet others believe that the individual controls himself. In short ethics seeks to establish man’s ' essential nature based on his moral judgments of right and wrong and of good and bad. It has been defined as the branch of philosophy which examines human conduct and tries to answer the question. What is the aim of man’s life? What is the Chief goal of man’s activities? All religions recognise the importance of ethics.

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