Axiology, Ethics, and Praxis: A Bungean Perspective

I offer the three essential concepts that guide our daily conduct. I want to clarify the basic terminology upon which they are based. I focus here on ethics as the practical technology driving our choices and actions.

At its core, #axiology is the study of values—what is good, pertaining to our needs, wants, and aspirations, which should guide us on our shared journey aboard the spaceship Earth, as Mario Bunge aptly describes. Ethics, in contrast, is a practical discipline—a technology, if you will—that equips us with the tools to discern the "right thing to do." If our ethical decisions are rooted in our chosen values, then they ultimately shape our #praxis—the actions we should implement in our lives.

Much like a political theory that guides us toward understanding the "good state" and developing the right policies, ethics guides us in determining the right course of action. The policies we choose reflect our ethical values, and the actions we take—our praxis—are the practical implementation of those policies.

While deeply rooted in philosophical traditions, ethical knowledge should reflect values derived from axiological understanding. Ethics involves techniques that help us decipher the good life, beginning with a value of "self-respect", and extending to resolving conflicts among humans, other sentient beings, and the environment, that is, in our ecosystem.

It is essential to distinguish ethics from morality. Morality refers to the customs and norms of a particular society, often studied by anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists. Ethics, however, is about the criteria we use to choose values and norms. While morality and ethics are on the same spectrum, the former is more descriptive, reflecting societal customs, whereas ethics is more prescriptive, guiding individual choices based on philosophical reasoning.

Lastly, #ethics is distinct from meta-ethics. While ethics focuses on resolving conflicts—whether between people, other sentient beings, or the environment—meta-ethics delves into the methodology behind these ethical decisions. I focus here on ethics as the practical technology driving our choices and actions.

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#MarioBunge. Treatise on Basic Philosophy Ethics: The Good and The Right. Vol. 8. 1989.

https://books.google.co.il/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0zTwCAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&ots=irHeIJOvMa&sig=6pXegnSGJ8-5jDR3x8irv57v30k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

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