"And then there's Lesbian Ethics"

Chapter two of About Philosophy and we're already talking about abortion. I feel at a bit of a loss, cuz it seems that so many others know more about Immanuel Kant than I. Although Kant was a Pietist, he believed that morality is founded by rationality, not religion. Chapter two is all about Ethics.

Three main concerns were covered in the chapter.
1. The search for absolutely certain universally valid first principles of conduct that can stand against the challenges of the skeptic and the relativist
2. The search for a method or process of reasoning to help us in deciding hard cases and other real-world moral choices
3. The search for the good life, the life that combines virtue and happiness in true human fulfillment.

I'm sure we've all run across people who believe in ethical relativism. Namely, the belief that whether an act is right or wrong depends on the society in which one lives. Kant, however, believed in a categorical imperative which says "Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end."

Then there's utilitarianism which says we should seek to make as many people as happy as possible. Been there, done that. It doesn't work.

And then there’s lesbian ethics. Yep…an entire book dedicated to lesbian ethics, written by none other than Sarah Lucia Hoagland for the Institute of Lesbian Studies. This is turning out to be a rather fun book.

----------------
Now playing: Misty Edwards - Garden
via FoxyTunes