"I would like to say 'This book is written to the glory of God', but nowadays this would be the trick of a cheat, i.e., it would not be correctly understood."--Ludwig Wittgenstein
"OH JESUS OH WHAT THE FUCK OH WHAT IS THIS H.P. LOVECRAFT SHIT OH THERE IS NO GOD I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS—Popehat
Monday, February 02, 2009
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant....
Entirely as a thumbnail (and, not coincidentally as a post, a placeholder), and partially as a codicil to what I was trying to get at here, let's posit this distinction between "ethics" and "morality."
Ethics, from Aristotle through utilitarianism, is aimed at "me" and my class; that is, my place in society, my peers, the sociological group I identify myself as a member of; what have you.
Morality is directed toward the "other," and so directs me (if we must start with "me"; not as necessary a given as is often presumed) toward the other.
So we can say that "ethics" is about changing me to suit the world, and "morality" is about changing the world.
It's not a perfect distinction, but it may prove a useful one.
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