What Are Ethics and Social Philosophy?

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    There are many different types of philosophy along with many different philosophical perspectives and problems within them along with many questions about them. Philosophy as a whole is a study of critical thinking and knowledge. All of the fields of philosophy have been studied by philosophers and even scientists. Two of the most commonly studied forms of philosophy are ethics and social philosophy. A feature of the enterprise of philosophy is that it illuminates a wide array of possible responses to its questions. Unfortunately, in practice, certain philosophical positions have been the object of undue object and criticism. I will argue that philosophy ought to be an inclusive realm of free inquiry, where all perspectives are fairly considered according to their merits. In order to carry out its work of seeking truth, philosophy, as far as possible, must be free from bias. There are both many biased and unbiased views about these philosophical fields that could have solutions for inclusion of all perspectives.

    There are many controversial perspectives about the philosophy of ethics, which is the study of right versus wrong behavior. Ethical theories are typically "divided into three subject areas: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics" (Fieser N.d.). Metaethics is the study of problem-solving right and wrong behaviors. Applied ethics is a divided part of ethics meaning several ethics, which involve analyzed "specific, controversial moral issues" (Fieser N.d). In order for applied ethics to be an issue, it must be a moral issue. This includes many sensitive, controversial issues that are all moral issues. Theoretically, applied ethical issues should be easy to resolve. Unfortunately, they are not easy to resolve though due to a variety of different controversial opinions about these issues. The issues of ethics are controversial and then there is a theory that there should be solutions of what to do to resolve these issues.

    Social philosophy is a social science that can be described as having two purposes. "First, it seeks to produce a rational reconstruction of social science. This entails describing the philosophical assumptions that underpin the practice of social inquiry, just as the philosophy of natural science seeks to lay bare the methodological and ontological assumptions that guide scientific investigation of natural phenomena" Gorton N.d.). In philosophy, this purpose means that the science of social philosophy creates a set of many social and behavioral rules caused by logic and reasoning. "Second, the philosophy of social science seeks to critique the social sciences with the aim of enhancing their ability to explain the social world or otherwise improve our understanding of it. Thus, the philosophy of social science is descriptive and prescriptive" (Gorton N.d.). This second purpose means that the science of social philosophy also analyzes social and behavioral observations to improve their explanations and everyone else's understanding of the way that the world works socially and behaviorally. Therefore, social philosophy is very detailed with rules that we expect others to conform to based off of our interactions with others. There is a philosophical debate on whether social philosophy should have the same purposes and rules, which is the main issue in this type of philosophical study. "No single approach to social inquiry seems capable of capturing all aspects of social reality. But a kind of unification of the social sciences can be posited by envisioning the various methods as participating in an on-going dialogue with each other" (Gorton N.d.). This means that there is not one way to see all parts of social life along with however, the sciences of social philosophy can be joined together by visualizing the variety of possible solutions with communicating with others. There is a common belief that social science figuring out the detailed and hypothetical control of natural science could help to resolve social issues.

    When it comes to the different perspectives of ethics, there is a concept known as comparative ethics. This type of philosophy is "the study of moral beliefs and practices of different peoples and cultures in various places and times" (Britannica 1998). To gain comprehension of this matter, social scientists conduct observations regarding different ethical perspectives. The practice of comparative ethics can be a potential effective way to be inclusive of all points of view to maintain being unbiased through understanding the information found through conducting these observations. According to some of these observations conducted by social scientists, every community has a set of norms while not every community has the same set of norms due to varying beliefs. For example, "some social scientists concentrate their attention on the universality of basic moral rules, such as those forbidding murder, theft, and infidelity. Others are more concerned with the diversity of moral practices---e.g. monogamy versus polygamy; caring for the aged versus parricide; the forbidding of abortion versus voluntary feticide" (Britannica 1998). This examples shows that everyone takes stronger different interests in varying issues and topics than others as a representation of having different point of views. According to further research, "The question then arises whether similarity or diversity is more fundamental, whether similarity supports the validity of the practice, and whether diversity supports a relativism and skepticism" (Britannica 1998). The research further states the idea that if all people came to a general agreement about a moral perspective, that would not be accepting of the entitlement to different opinions. This supports the cause while debates can be healthy, it is also important to accept and keep an open mind about diverse opinions instead of expecting full conformity.


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    In addition, there are also a variety of wide variety of interesting and valid perspectives in the field of social philosophy. According to social scientific studies, people assume and insist that individuals are behaving in a certain way based off of their observations of people's actions. However, research from interpretivism advocates suggests that the functions of behaviors should not be automatically assumed one way since any actions could mean different things in different scenarios. The following example can support this claim: "Suppose that there is an action by an individual we wish to explain - voting at a school board meeting for a particular proposal. Imagine that the individual votes for a measure by raising his hand. The act of voting entails more than a particular physical movement, however. In fact, in different situations the same physical behavior of hand raising could indicate different things - posing a question, pointing to the ceiling, yawning, and so forth. Thus, to adequately explain the person's behavior, it is not enough to explain the physical processes that caused the hand raising" (Gorton N.d.). Therefore, this example explains and supports how actions can have a variety of different meanings while supporting all thoughts about the possible functions of behaviors.


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    There are a variety of interesting perspectives in all philosophical fields, especially ethics and social philosophy. Besides these two fields, philosophy covers a wide spectrum of topics and questions such as but not limited to religion, science, business, advocacy, activism, politics, and even wisdom. In addition, philosophy can be used in various ways including influencing thoughts about anything and drawing conclusions to problems and questions. Some of the most notable greatest thinkers have even contributed to philosophy with their knowledge, insights, and perspectives. Philosophy entails strong critical thinking from knowledgeable people with deep, broad and even scientific mindsets. It has made a very strong influence throughout the world.





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                                 Citations

1. "Comparative ethics." Britannica Academic. Encyclopædia Britannica, 20 Jul. 1998. academic-eb-com.brynathyn.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/comparative-ethics/25011. Accessed 29 Sep. 2021. https://academic-eb-com.brynathyn.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/comparative-ethics/25011

2. Fieser, James. "Ethics." N.d. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/ethics/

3. Gorton, William A. "The Philosophy of Social Science." N.d. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/soc-sci/

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