Class 12 Logic And Philosophy Chapter – 7 Ethics & Purusarthas The answer to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse throughout different chapter Assam Board Class 12 Logic And Philosophy Chapter – 7 Ethics & Purusarthas and select needs one.
Class 12 Logic And Philosophy Chapter – 7 Ethics & Purusarthas
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E) Long type answers :- 5 marks each.
1) What is Ethics ? Describe the nature of Ethics.
Ans:- Ethics is a science which is systematic explanation of the cause and effect of things. A positive science deals with what it is. It deals with facts and explains them by their causes. It tries to know what a thing really is by discovering its relations to other things, especially its causal relation. It is concerned with judgement upon conduct, its rightness or wrongness. It passes judgement of value upon human actions with reference to the moral ideal. It is not concerned with judgements fact, but with judgements of value. Thus Ethics is not a positive science but a normative science.
A positive science is also called a natural science. A normative science is also called a regulative science. Positive sciences are concerned with facts or events and investigate certain uniformities or laws which govern them. They describe the ways in which certain classes of objects are found to exist or the ways in which certain classes of events are found to occur in nature. They have no direct reference to any and or ideal by reference to which facts are judged. But normative science are not concerned with actual facts a or their laws but with norms which regulate human life.
Normative sciences seek to determine Norms, Ideals or Standars. There are three Ideals of human life viz. Truth, Beauty and Good. These are the supreme values in human experience. They correspond to the three aspects of our life – knowing, feeling and willing. Ethics is concerned with what is right in human action in the pursuit of Good. It interprests and explains our judgements of moral value. Ethics interprets and explains our judgements of moral value. Logic, Ethics and Aesthetics are normative sciences. Logic is the science of Truth. Ethics is the science of Good. Aesthetic is the science of Beauty. Truth is the ideal of knowledge. Good is ideal of will. Beauty is the ideal if feeling or emotion.
Ethics is not Practical science. A science teaches us to know, and an art to do. But a practical science teaches us to know how to do. It lies midway between science and art. Ethics tries to ascertain the moral ideal but does not lay down rules for the attainment of it. It does not teach us how to live a moral life. Ethics gives us a knowledge of guiding principles of life. But does not tell us how to apply them. So, Ethics though a normative science, is not a practical science. But the study of Ethics has a bearing on our moral life. It is a theory of morality and theory is bound to action practical life.
2) Describe the different sub – stages of mental stage of voluntary action.
Ans:- The different sub-stages of mental stage of voluntary action are :-
a) The spring of action :- Every voluntary action springs out of some want or need. This feeling of want may be actual or ideal. The feeling of want is always painful. But it is usually mingled with pleasure which arises from the anticipation of satisfaction of the want in future.
b) End or motive :- The feeling of want leads the rational agent to think out some appropriate object which is necessary to relieve the want. The object itself to remove the want, is said to be the end of the action. The idea or thought of the object which excites the state of desire for its attainment is called the motive.
c) Desire :- The spring of action or the feeling of want is converted into a desire. Desire is a craving to satisfy a feeling of want by attaining its proper object. In desire there is the idea of the object or end or motive which will satisfy the feeling of want. There is also the idea of the means for realising the end.
d) Conflict of desires :- In a complex many wants demand satisfaction. If one is satisfied, the other has to be rejected altogether. Thus, there arises in the mind a competition, rivalry or conflict between the different motives and desires.
e) Deliberation :- When there is a conflict of motives, the self arrests action and deliberates upon the merits and demerits of the different courses of action suggested by different motives. The self weighs them in the balance and considers the pros and cons. This is called deliberation.
f) Decision or choice :- After deliberation, the self chooses particular motive and identifies itself with it. It chooses a particular course of action and rejects the rest. This act of selection of one motive to exclusion of other is called choice or decision.
3) What is the object of moral judgement ? Discuss fully.
Ans:- Voluntary actions and habitual actions are objects of moral judgements. Habitual actions are objects of moral judgements, because they are results of repeated voluntary actions. Thus ultimately only voluntary actions are judged to be right or wrong. Whatever is not willed has no normal worth. Voluntary actions imply the freedom of the will.
A voluntary action consists of three main steps :-
i) The mental stage of spring of action, motive, intention, desire, deliberation, choice and resolution.
ii) The organic stage of bodily action,
iii) The external stage of consequences.
Now the question arise :-
i) Do we judge an Act by its motives or its consequences ?
There is a hot controversy between Hedonists and Intuitionists. The Hedonists maintain that the rightness or wrongness of an action depends upon the consequences, while the Intuitionists maintain that it depends upon the motive. Then which of them determines its moral quality, when there is a harmony between the inner motive and the outer consequences, both are objects of moral judgements. Motive and consequence are not really opposed to each other. The motive is the inner idea of the outer consequence as foreseen and desired. The consequence is the outer manifestation of the inner motive. The motive or the idea of the end aimed at is undoubtedly the object of moral judgement. The consequence also is the object of moral judgement in so far as it realizes the inner motive.
But sometimes it is found that the motive is good, but the consequence turns out to be bad. For example, a skillful surgeon performes an operation most carefully in order to cure a patient but in spite of his efforts the patient dies. The action of the surgeon can not be regarded as bad because his motive is good. Again, sometimes the motive is bad but the consequence turns out to be good. If I fling half – a – crown to a beggar with intention to break his head and he picks it up ans buys victuals with it the physical effect is good, but, with respect to me, the action is very wrong. Thus, when there is a conflict between the inner motive and the other consequence, the moral quality of an action is determined by the inner motive and not by the consequence.
ii) Is Motive or Intention the object of Moral judgement ?
We should not judge an action by motive alone. Sometimes the motive is good, but the means employed for the attainment of the end are bad. For example, a merchant adopts unfair means to gain wealth. His motive is gain which is not wrong. But he adopts wrong means. This makes his action wrong. If an act is judged by motive alone, we will thereby assume the dangerous principle that “the end justifies the means”. Which means that a good end justifies wicked means. Therefore, motive alone is not the object of moral judgement. The end never justifies the means.
Thus we conclude that “intention” is the object of moral judgement. It includes the “motive” or the idea of the “end” as well as the idea of the “means”. An action is good of intention is good. Intention = motive + means + foreseen conseqeunces. Thus, an action is right if both the end or motive and the means are good an action is wrong if either of them is bad.
4) What do you mean by non – moral actions ? What are they ? How can you distinguish them from moral actions.
Ans:- Non – moral Actions are those which are devoid of moral quality. We can not speak of the phenomena of nature, e.g. hurricanes, floods, famines etc. As either moral or immoral. The actions of animals are also neither moral nor immoral. Actions of children, insance persons and idiots, who are not capable of reflection and discrimination are devoid of moral quality. Actions done under coercion are non – moral, if they can not be resisted. Actions under hypnotic suggestion, which is irresistable, are non – moral actions. Actions under the pressure of irresistable “complexes” are non – moral. These are not normal actions and therefore devoid of moral quality. Non – voluntary actions of same human adults also are non – moral. The reflex actions, rendom actions, instinctive actions, ideomotor actions, spontaneous expressions of emotions and accidental actions are devoid of moral quality.
Moral Actions are those actions in which moral quality i.e. rightness or wrongness is present. Voluntary actions are performed knowingly and intelligently by self – couscious free agents with desire, provision and choice of ends and means. Therefore they are objects of moral judgement.
On the other hand, ‘non – moral’ action means action which is devoid of moral quality. For example, the phenomena of nature i.e. hurricanes, floods, famines etc, the actions of animals, actions of children insane persons and idiots etc, are non moral actions.
5) What is Moksa ? Write a note on it.
Ans:- Moksa consists in realizing the pure spiritual nature of the self beyond its physical, vital and mental or intellectual nature which are limited by time space and casuality. It consists in realizing the transcedence of body, life, mind and intellect and time, space and casuality. It consists in realizing the eternality and immortality of the self.
The different systems of Indian philosophy lay down the means to the attainment of liberation. The path of knowledge or Jnanamarga, path of karma or karmamarga, path of devotion or Bhaktimarga are some of them.
According to most of the schools of Indian philosophy, the success of human life lies in the attainment of Moksa. The ultimate end of Buddha’s philosophy is ‘Nirvana’. Extinction of suffering is called Nirvana. It is a state of perfect peace. The Nyaya and the Vaisesika look upon the existence of the self in its natural condition as liberation. It consists in absolute cessation of pain. The Mimamsa philosophy also considers complete destruction of merit and demerit and absolute extinction of pain as liberation. The Sankhya considers absolute negation of “three fold sufferings” as release. Sankara conceives it as the highest state of the self’s identity with Brahman or infinite and eternal bliss. Ramanuja and the Bhagavat Gita conceive it as the self’s essential community with God, the Supreme person. It is the realization of the infinite bliss of God.
6) Describe briefly ‘Artha’ a Purusarthas.
Ans:- There are four Purusartha in every person’s life. ‘Artha’ is one of these four. It has been given an important place in Indian culture. Kautilya has defined Artha in his Arthashastra as, ‘The livelihood of human beings in the Artha.’
Artha refers to wealth and power. Man is unable to conduct his life without the material means of living because the material aspect is as important as any other aspect of life. Man has a body that demands certain things. To satisfy the demands of the body we need not only the primary requirements but the items of luxuries at the time. To satisfy these demands we earn money. But to earn money or wealth, our conduct should be right. The Hindu thinkers give more stress on means rather than on ends. If the means for earning wealth are good the ends will be justified. Such wealth will give prosperity both to the individual as well as to society.
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