Ethical
The most misused, overused, and ironic term of the modern technological age.
Most frequently employed by politicians and businesses as a tool to distort public perception. Ethical according to what standard, exactly? What is the character towards which we are aspiring?
Whether the claim is ethically sourced coffee and cocoa, ethical diets, or ethical non-monogamy, the specifics often remain unspoken. All of these claims suggest that the treatment of sentient animals should be guided in some sense by morality. The problem is that morality is rarely obvious, and when it is, it usually runs in one direction. Our understanding of morality, and whose interest it should serve, is likely to vary significantly from the CEO of a coffee company, a vegan, or a rational polyamorist.
The power of this word is clear: it infers a sense of transparent goodness. After all, we want to be ethical, because that makes us good, and we want to avoid being unethical, because that is bad. The problem is that the standards according to which we are adhering are often assumed. In order for ethics to possess any normative or relative value in ordinary life, they need to be articulated clearly and accessible by everyone. Otherwise, how do we know if we are being ethical? And what can I do if I am unable to meet the standard? Would I not be considered unethical by definition? How then will I be treated in society? Or how should I be treated?
The concerns flow from there and discussions will arise as to whether or not we are ethical as individuals or as a society. This is a particularly nasty insinuation that exploits our tribalistic nature and encourages us to views entire swaths of people as fit for culling; they are the bad people; we are the good people. While this view resides in the undercurrent of every civilization, people are neither good nor bad, and insisting that this is the case will evoke the devil in each of us. Thoughts, and by extension speech, are not substantive enough to warrant such an examination. Actions have the potential to be good or bad, but even then, establishing an ethos to guide and orient our conduct is trickier than our intuitions let on.
Regardless of the mutually agreed-upon abstraction, it needs to be coherent enough to be universally acknowledgeable. Without a formal description of a character that compels us as individuals to voluntarily embody its aspirational essence, any appeals to ethics or ethical conduct are functionally meaningless.
What is the code? Where did it come from? Why should I follow it?
Revised: 22 Mar 2023
