No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
----- Meditation XVII, 1624, John Donne
Last time, I used the full work from which the above excerpt comes to argue for humanity being essentially relational, and that Relationality is developed prior to both Reason and Faith. Here, I lay out some key features of an Ethic of Relationship, as well as show the similarity of those features to other ethical systems and perspectives:
1) Homo Sapiens is a strongly social species (an argument similar to those used in both Natural Law and Virtue Ethics, namely: that which is "hard-wired" into us is part of our essential nature and should inform what is morally good)
2) Our well-being is enhanced through healthy (read: mutual, balanced) relationships (an argument from consequences, similar to Descriptive Egoism and Utility Theory, plus a definition of "healthy" drawn from the Golden Mean of Virtue Ethics)
3) Relationships often result in a collective benefit as well as an individual benefit (an argument often used in Relational Altruism - one gains personally from caring for others, due to the quid pro quo received in return)
4) The closer (more secure & intimate) the relationship, the greater the mutual benefit (Ethical Egoism argues for positive impact on self and our loved ones being the primary goal of ethics)
5) Therefore, the best moral choice in a given situation is that which most improves (least damages) my relationships, especially the closest ones.
In a future post, I'll expand on these, but for now, that's the concept: a blend of the major ethical systems, taking cues from each, but with a central focus on our relationships.
No comments:
Post a Comment