(work in progress)

MORAL SCIENCE... (also 'biology of ethics' ... 'science of ethics'... 'scientific ethics'... 'evolutionary ethics'... 'science of value'... 'natural ethics'... 'metaethics'...)

The unique feature of the human species is its moral faculty... the concern for the welfare of others... The human moral faculty promotes both individual and community survival and cooperation.

Moral science deals with human relationships - not only within the human species but also with other animal species and even with the living planet 'earth'.

theme: Ethics is usually considered in terms of the branch of philosophy which is deals with problems of life and how it should be lived i.e. 'moral philosophy'. Moral philosophy is concerned with 'human values' as philosophical principles prescribed by the various organised religions as 'guiding values'. Human values are biological values... natural values to be found in human consciousness... of human existence... natural intrinsic social values which are operational in the actualisation of the organism's inherent tendency for mature growth or 'self-actualisation'. In the process of 'self-actualisation', ethical values or 'norms' for excellent living are discovered according to the laws of nature. Human values by which the organism operates ... 'operative values'... do not involve any cognitive or conceptual thinking. The operative human values function in the maintenance of personal integrity during the process of adaptation to changing social conditions or 'adaptability'. Human adaptability depends on moral knowledge or 'morality' which is a function of the development of moral consciousness of developed 'conscience'. The human conscience is an instinctive valuing process based on the unconscious perception of the nature of the human personality or 'human nature'. Human nature is defined in terms of human motives for behaviour or 'human needs'. Human needs are biologically based 'lower' psychological needs for self-esteem or 'ego-needs' and higher psychological needs for spiritual growth or 'spiritual needs'. During the normal process of human growth and moral development, human potentialities unfold and become actualised... the individual discovers the spiritual values which are natural values Development of conscience or 'rational conscience'... source of 'rational ethics' is a part of the human genetic heritage and is therefore a concern for biology i.e. the 'science of value' or 'moral science'. Moral science is directly related to the formulation of educatioal policy which is humane because it is based on the understanding of the biological basis of morality as a defining characteristic of the human organism as a social organism.

"Scientists and humanists should consider together the possibility that the time has come for ethics to be removed temporarily from the hands of the philosophers and biologicized... ...the full exploration of the neural machinery of ethical judgement is desirable and already in progress." (Edward O. Wilson Sociobiology: The New Synthesis Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, l975b p.562)

......................................................................................................................................................................................

MORALITY is a function of social intelligence of the mature mind... maturity... moral development... moral consciousness or moral knowledge of rational conscience... biological mechanism biological function is preservation of integrity required for adaptation and survival... SO-CALLED 'HIGHER' VALUES... NATURAL VALUING PROCESS OR ORGANISMIC VALUING PROCESS ... HUMANISTIC MORALITY, 'FREE' MORALITY... AS A FUNCTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN CONSCIENCE ... HUMAN DEVELOPMENT... HUMAN NATURE AS

Biology of Ethics... moral development... development of moral consciousness or 'conscience' as rational conscience... the divine nature of the human personality... the mature mind... or 'human nature'.

study of natural valuing process as a part of normal human development... moral faculty or conscience directs human actions in accordance with natural moral law... law of human nature

"...one does not need to know philosophy to know how ethics have come to be. Ethics is best described in scientific terms". (See http://www.evolutionaryethics.com/)

Moral integrity comes naturally with wholehearted interest and willingness to explore new experiences.

home

aims of moral science

origin and meaning of the word 'ethics'...

traditional systems of ethics... traditional mistrust of human nature... 'evil'...

Philosophers have attempted to formulate a science of ethics - and failed...

In the great philosophical tradition the so-called 'problem of ethics' what is the source of guiding values?

( the problem of ethics is a question of individual freedom and moral consciousness or 'conscience'.)

evolutionary approach to study of ethics evolutionary significance of human values...

Scientifically objective approach to formulate a 'science of ethics...' the formulation of a rational ethical system... is based on understanding of 'human nature' and human motivation

human organism as social organism... human nature in terms of motivation for behaviour or 'human needs'... spiritual needs or 'metaneeds'... 'enlightened mind'...

evolution of ethics as a function of evolution of moral consciousness or 'conscience'...

conscience is the source of human values...

function of conscience... development of conscience as rational or free' conscience... humanistic conscience.

natural ethics is a function of rational 'conscience'...

morality morality as a function of freedom: 'free morality'... morality as 'moral intelligence' or 'social intelligence'...

values rooted in the 'human condition'... values are not the same as value judgements...

there are three categories of 'values':

operative values,

conceived values

objective values...

instinctive responsibility for mature growth or 'self-actualisation...

biological function of values as 'virtues'... virtue as source of happiness...

creative intelligence...

function of human motivation...

rational ethics as 'humanistic ethics'... 'natural ethics'...

authoritarian ethics codes of ethics of American culture... - 'authoritarian' conscience morality vs. moralism...

moral consciousness or 'conscience'... Intelligence of developed conscience or 'intuition'...

implications for education: education for human development and construction of conscience.

Moral science is concerned with the real nature of the human organism as a member of a social species. with instincts for sociability.Effective socialisation depends on ethical behaviour which originates in a natural valuing system intrinsic to the human organism ... the science of morality... .. study of intrinsic valuing process of the human organism.... naturalistic valuing process....the full definition of human nature includes the intrinsic values which are instinctoid in nature... to achieve fullest humanness ... growth... avoid illness...scientific analytical approach... study of human nature....people as best specimens of the human organism living under the best conditions of human existence...values by which they lead their lives... with suitable conditions in the psychological environment, innate motives for human behaviour emerge to the surface of human consciousness in a predetermined order..

Origin and meaning of the word 'ethics'? The term 'ethics' implies external moral codes... norms for ethical conduct... ethical norms... codes of ethics ...ethical codes... codes of morality based on external authority... ethical system or philosophy of ethics... a fixed philosophical system a logical system built on the foundations of given premises which may or may not be true... devised for application of moral standards to be applied to groups of individuals. In 'aristotelian' fashion, the philosophical ethical system is intrinsically logical despite the fact that the given premise might be false...

The terms ‘ethics’ and ‘morality' have come to be treated as almost identical in meaning. The words tend to be interchanged although they have different derivations. The word 'ethics' which is sometimes translated as custom’ or ‘usage’ comes from the Greek word 'ethicos' derived from the root 'ethos' which originally meant both 'custom' and 'character'. In its original sense, the 'ethics' of a group was determined by its character and its customs... social mores or customary social behaviour. The 'ethics' of a group or community formed an 'ethos'. In its original broad sense, ethics was concerned with positive human excellences or virtues (See Aristotle's 'Ethics'). This original broad meaning of the word 'ethics' came to refer to the formation and perfection of human character and human 'virtues'. Later the word was used to define the virtues... behaviour of a virtuous character is described as ‘ethical behaviour’. Eventually the term was used to describe the philosophy or 'science' of dealing with the ideal of human relatedness. The word 'ethics' is defined in Webster's dictionary as both 'the science of moral values and duties' and as 'the study of the ideal human character, actions, and ends'. The confusion between custom and ideal character still exists. Sometimes the word 'ethics' is used to refer to a code of behavior - code of ethics - which is valid and desirable for a particular person or a particular situation. There is a code of medical ethics, business ethics, military ethics and so on. A code of ethics for a specific situation can easily degenerate into a code which serves the interests of those within that situation. 'Medical ethics' can become a code of ethics which serves the interests of those in the medical 'profession'. 'Business ethics' can become a code of ethics serving the interests of those in business.

"The word 'ethics' comes from a root which means, originally, custom, and eventually, ethics comes to mean the science dealing with the ideal of human relatedness. This confusion between custom and ideals still exists in the minds of many people... Sometimes the term 'ethics' is used to refer to a code of behavior which is desirable for a given situation. There is a code of medical ethics, business ethics, military ethics. In the great philosophical tradition, "ethics is not a code of behavior valid in reference to this or that person or to this or that situation but to all human beings and for everything that is alive... There is only universal human ethics applied to specific human situations... Separated from universal human ethics, a 'code of ethics' for a specific situation can easily degenerate into a code which serves the interests of those within that situation. 'Medical ethics' can become a code of ethics which serves the interests of those in the medical 'profession.' 'Business ethics' can become a code of ethics serving the interests of those in 'business.' Ethics is a matter of 'conscience' - (See Man for Himself) not the authoritarian 'conscience' or 'superego,' the internalized power of the father and 'society.' Ethics is a matter of "humanistic conscience" - "an inner voice that calls us back to ourselves." "Ourselves' refers to the "inner core common to all men" or 'human nature.' (Erich Fromm The Dogma of Christ, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco1963 pp 169-171)

In the great philosophical tradition of ethics,the so-called 'problem of ethics'... what is the source of guiding values?... is stated in the form of a question which in its very asking renders the question meaningless... makes the assumption that the source of values is external to the human individual. So what is the question for the 'science of ethics'... of 'moral science? The question "Can science discover the values by which men should live?" is a moralistic question. The question for science is "Can science discover the values by which people can live if they are fully developed? The question for moral science is "What are the natural origins of human values?' The answer lies within the framework of the fact that human values are operative values which unfold in the natural process of cognitive-developmental growth of the human oganism as a social organism (... an earthworm will prefer a smooth path if given the choice between that and a path paved with sandpaper. The preference for smoothness is an operative value.)

The problem of ethics is a matter of individual freedom and moral consciousness or 'conscience'. The human conscience is the unconscious perception of human nature and human motives i.e. 'human needs'. Human needs are human values and they include spiritual values for spiritual growth - the 'metaneeds'.

The 'moral problem' of today is 'how to make people virtuous'... answer lies in education for human development or 'holistic education'. Human development depends on education which fosters the individual's instinctive responsibility to themselves... their own needs. It depends on the creation of an environment which fosters self-discipline,and the full development of natural ethical core or 'humanness'... self-actualisation. The 'self-actualised' individual is capable of making decisions in his own 'true' interest in the process of successfully adapting to a changing social environment and at the same time makes decisions which are in the 'true' interest of the society in which he functions thus living in accordance with natural biological laws and the evolutionary process.

Humanistic ethics a natural value system formulated on the basis of natural laws of human nature and human existence.

For proper growth and development, an individual's instinctive primary needs must be respected.

For centuries the attempts to formulate a system of ethics have been based on the dichotomous concept of ethics in terms of the contrast between 'what is' and 'what ought to be'... a perception of reality described in terms of concepts which are mutually exclusive - selfish-unselfish, kind-cruel, good-bad etc.

"ethics is but to all human beings...and for everything that is alive.

According to the great philosophical tradition there is only universal human ethics applied to

specific human situations... Ethics is a matter of 'moral consciousness' or 'morality' of 'conscience' - not the authoritarian conscience ... or 'superego' (internalised authority of father or society) but developed conscience -humanistic conscience. the "inner voice that calls us back to ourselves, the inner core which is common to all human beings, our 'human nature'." (Erich Fromm 1963. The Dogma of Christ 171) Developed conscience is 'humanistic conscience' the basis for 'humanistic ethics' applied science of the 'art of living' based upon 'laws of human nature'. Living as an art is living by the laws of human nature... the process of developing into that which one is potentially i.e. 'freedom'. Inner freedom of 'morality' translates into 'outer freedom' of moral behaviour i.e. social responsibility or 'peace'.

"In the great philosophical tradition, ethics is a code of behaviour which is valid for all human beings and for every living thing... ethics is not a code of behaviour valid in reference to this or that person or to this or that situation but to all human beings. Ethics is but to all human beings...and for everything that is alive. There is only universal human ethics applied to specific human situations." (Erich Fromm Man For Himself p.170)..

Throughout human history theologians and philosophers have sought the same basic guiding values... theology depending on the authority of dogma and philosophy denying it. They have tended to look for guiding values from some external authority... some sort of god, sacred book, ruling elite, ruling individual or some set of universal principles. The age-old axioms of ethics perceive reality in terms of classes and concepts which are mutually exclusive - male-female, adult-child, selfish-unselfish, good-bad and so on. The dichotomous concept of ethics is based on the assumption that the instinctive human impulses... intrinsic human instincts of 'human nature' are not to be trusted because they are immoral and bad or 'evil'. The misrust in human nature is the false premise... . upon which philosophers have tried to formulate systems of morals in terms of universally fixed systems of ethics based on the premise that ethical values belong to a domain which is external to human nature... built in the style of Aristotelian logic.deduction. Although they are intrinsically logical, such systems of ethics give rise to fallacies and pseudoproblems which are impossible to resolve. One such fallacy is that the interests of the individual and of the society are mutually exclusive and must therefore be antagonistic... and the function of civilisation understood in terms of the control and policing of natural human impulses. The pseudo-problem how can the interests of the individual be reconciled with the interests of society? gives rise to a real problem: teaching people to despise their human nature ("I am only human") prevents them from respecting their own intrinsic motives for behaviour or 'human needs'. Lack of respect for their own needs leads to lack of respect for the needs of others and the emotional forces which determine their own thoughts and actions as well as those of others i.e. 'intrinsic motivation'.

Some of the age-old philosophical questions could be resolved if asked on the basis of the new premise and within the framework of the new paradigm. education and ethics formulated in terms of the natural unfolding of human nature during proper psychological development of self-actualisation and full 'humanness.' At this stage of development, the autonomous individual engages in the productivity which defines his full individuality and 'true' freedom. Leading his life according to the 'Being-values' of freedom, love, truth, justice etc. the individual is responsible to himself and simultaneously responsibile to the rest of humanity.

The age old teaching of mistrust in human nature will never resolve the problem of ethics.

The guiding values which have been prescribed by religions and philosophies can be found within a person's consciousness.

no single set of moral standards can be applied to all human populations... Imposition of a uniform code creates complex, intractable moral dilemmas

"Humanists for thousands of years have attempted to construct a naturalistic, psychological value system that could be derived from man's own nature, without the necessity of recourse to authority outside the human being himself. Many such theories have been offered throughout history. They have all failed." (Maslow Psychology of Being 149)

Traditional systems of ethics as guiding precept... 'moral codes'... based on mistrust of human nature... American culture... The modern meaning of the term is based on the American concept of morality in terms of ethical conduct dictated by external authorities i.e. 'moralism'. Moralism is concerned with how life should be lived. The moralistic view of fixed philosophical systems of values or 'ethics' is based on mistrust of human nature... belief in the innate wickedness of human nature or 'evil'. According to the dictates of moralism, a social community is possible only if all the individuals are united by a communally fixed moral order or 'system of ethics'.

Philosophers have attempted to formulate a science of ethics on the method of natural science - and failed.

"Traditionally, philosophy had been a struggle to discover and to live the good and virtuous life. Socrates is probably the best example of this quest...." (Purpel)

For centuries in the religions of Western cultures, people have been taught that 'human instincts' are equivalent to 'animal instincts'... that human nature and instinctive human needs are immoral, bad, corrupt, and evil and not to be trusted.... not allowed to respect their biological needs ... including the spiritual needs for growth....result is a dichotomous concept of ethics...

For centuries the attempts to formulate a system of ethics have been based on the mutually exclusive contrast between 'what is' and 'what ought to be.' This dichotomous concept of ethics... This is the false premise upon which many seemingly insoluble social problems are based. It has led to the mistaken idea that the interests of the individual and of the society are mutually exclusive and antagonistic, that civilisation is primarily a mechanism for controlling and policing human instinctive impulses. But when people are taught that they should despise their human nature ("I am only human") then they cannot have respect for their own needs and the impulses towards their gratification. Without respect for their own needs, they cannot have respect for the needs of others...

Codes of ethics are based on the assumption that human nature is bad, corrupt, and evil. They are built on the premise which states that instinctive human needs and impulses are evil - unaware of the instinctive needs for growth... biological needs include the spiritual needs for growth. People have been taught that the divine is 'good' but they have not been taught that they have 'divine instincts'.

Codes of ethics are philosophical systems built on the premise

The so-called 'scientific' tool for understanding moral nature has been called 'axiology' from the Greek word 'axos' meaning valuable. The explication of value in terms of the system of logic is called scientific axiology ... the framework for the explication of value phenomena just as mathematics is the framework for the explication of natural phenomena.

People have been taught the false notion that scientific investigation is objective and devoid of values... that values are subjective valuations... evaluations and that emotions distort the world of objective fact and so cannot be trusted. This is true of people whose emotions are immature, who cut themselves off from the most real aspects of the 'reality' of the world by denying the reality of human feelings.

Many of the 'problems' of philosophy - the 'problem' of ethics and values, the 'problem' of evil, the 'problem' of education and many other 'philosophical problems' result from the incomplete knowledge of human origins and the biological basis of human divine-nature: total physiological, psychological, spiritual human nature.

The reason is that mathematical and empirical methods cannot be applied to values... attempts to formulate a science of values..moral science..a science of ethics ...within the paradigm of objective science... objective 'scientific' study of values in the framework of the 'scientific worldview' of objective science, as a purely 'intellectual' enterprise of logical explanation of value ... of precise and exact knowledge...with axioms and definitions... rules of deduction, dimensions, measurements, and calculations...

...According to the so-called 'scientific' study of values in the framework of the 'scientific worldview' of objective science, ... orthodox science and orthodox religion have been institutionalized and frozen into a mutually excluding dichotomy..tasks has been assigned to either one or the other...one consequence is that they are both pathologized ...ripped apart into a crippled half-science and a crippled half-religion...the most important parceling out of jurisdictions is that science has nothing to do with values. Orthodox science has been defined as 'value - free'. The situation is even worse than it was during the Renaissance, because more recently all the value fields - humanities and arts - have been included in this world of nonscience i.e. of the unscientific. Science began originally as a determination to rely on one's own eyes instead of on the ancients or upon ecclesiastical authority or pure logic. It was originally just a kind of looking for oneself rather than trusting anyone else's preconceived ideas. Orthodox science today attempts to be free not only of values but of emotions... The unquestioned assumption that 'cool' perceiving and neutral thinking (without emotion) are best for discovering any kind of scientific truth...An important by-product of this dichotomizing is the desacralizing of science, the banishment of all the experiences of transcendence from the realm of the respectably known and the respectably knowable, and the denial of a systematic place in science for awe, wonder, mystery, ecstasy, beauty, and peak experiences.The orthodoxy of of the Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm... the overemphasis on intellect... reason is divorced from emotion. ...in western cultures, it is an old and widely held notion that values are subjective evaluations and therefore belong to the realm of 'emotions'...as emotions they cannot be trusted...they are the enemy of true perception and good judgement... distort the world of objective fact.... they are only disrupting... they counteract sagacity ...that they must be exclusive of truth.... both values and emotions should not be taken into account in descriptions of 'reality'... the orthodox institution of objective science has created a desacralized science...denies the reality of these feelings of humility, reverence, mystery, wonder, and awe. ... very real aspects of the 'reality' of the world...dichotomous perception of reality ultimately results from conflicting forces in the social environment.

.. ethics is 'an elusive game' because values cannot be studied objectively ...they have no objective existence of their own....outside the nature of the human organism ... human values do not exist outside of human existence...they are rooted in the very conditions of human existence... knowledge of human conditions and the 'human condition' - human situation- leads us to estabishing values which for the human organism have objective validity which exists only with regard to the existence of the human organism...there are no objective values outside the human organism...to study values in the framework of objective science is like trying to see your eye with your own eyes...a knife cannot cut itself...values cannot see themselves...we cannot see values objectively as they are part of us...it is necessary to approach the question of values using a methodology which destroys the dualism subject vs. object...a study of values requires a different framework...knowledge of reality is a question of consciousness...the only way to study human values is with the wholistic approach... and contemplation and intuition...to rid the conscious of illusory distortions of reality...human values which include the values of the 'divine' are the essential nature of our being ...they exist beyond ...transcendant to illusory dichotomy and dichotomizing of incomplete cognition - to constrictive identifications...an understanding of human values is impossible in the framework of dualistic knowledge which separates the knower from the known....another mode of knowling -intimate- is necessary because the knower and theknown are intimately united in the cognition process... symbolic knowledge is illusory...separation of the object - values -from the subject is illusory...and the symbolic knowledge which result is in effect just as illusory... in the case of the study of human values and ethics, a dualistic knowledge is the blind spot of the philosophical interpretation... which remains a picture or a shadow of reality and not the reality itself... akin to a map of a teritory which rmains only a map, no matter how sophisticated and analyticcal the map might be.

Values are no-values like electrons are not electrons... Uncertainty principle in physics:"When you look at an electron it is not there, and when it is there you cannot look"

Very often a philosophical problem remains insoluble if it is phrased in the form of a question which in its very asking makes assumptions which render the question meaningless.

It was primarily the physicists and the astronomers who created the Weltanschauiung and the subculture known as Science (including all its goals, methoids, axiomatic values, concepts, languages, folkways, prejudices, selective blindnesses, hidden assumptions). ...the impersonal model failed with the personal, the unique, the holistic.... the fully human person... fatal weakness of science is its inability to deal impersonally with the personal, with the problems of value, of individuality, of consciousness, of beauty, of transcendance, of ethics ... Why the problem defining values in western cultures... In western philosophies, the word 'value' is used to designate choice of action. A value is a 'value choice'.

the study of ethics in the framework of objective science... SCIENCE OF ETHICS cannot be formulated within the framework of objective science...

Modes of conceptualization

'ethics' as guiding precept... The most well known is the theory of the 'social contract' (Locke, Rousseau and Kant). The precept has been rewoven into a solid philosophical system based on the imperative that justice should be the object of the original contract as well as being integral to a system of government (John Rawls A Theory of Justice l97l). The principles of 'justice as fairness' are the same as those of free and rational persons who wish to define the fundamental rules of an association for positions of equal advantage. Another mode of conceptualization called 'ethical behaviourism' holds that moral commitment is entirely learned and the dominant mechanism is children's internalisation of the behavioural norms of the society i.e. 'operant conditioning'. (J.F. Scott Internalization of Norms: A Sociological Theory of Moral Commitment. l97l) Opposing this theory is the'developmental-genetic conception' of ethical behaviour... a structuralist viewpoint which is based on the studies of Piaget who used the expression 'genetic epistemology'. The termis used to label the general concept which can be incorporated into a broadened developmental biology and genetics. According to the 'cognitive-developmental' model the child progresses through six sequential stages of ethical reasoning ('sociocognitive stages') in a process of mental maturation... moves from a primary dependence on external controls and sanctions to an increasingly sophisticated set of internalized standards. (Lawrence Kohlberg Stage and Sequence: the Cognitive-Develomental Approach to Socialization. l969)

Evolutionary approach to the study of ethics makes it possible to resolve the age-old philosophical question 'what is the source of guiding values? The real problem is to formulate a 'science of ethics' in terms of the real nature of the human organism as a social organism with instincts for sociability i.e. 'human nature'. 'evolution of ethics'.

'developed conscience... wisdom of creative intelligence or 'intuition' i.e.'ethical intuition'. Intuition is the emotive judgement of the developed mind. The mind must be developed, mature, i!ntelligent... 'emotional intelligence' of the transpersonal level of consciousness... 'enlightened mind'. The enlightened mind has a direct awareness of true right and wrong that it can formalize by logic and translate into rules of social action...'humanistic ethics'

"The guiding values which have been prescribed by religions and philosophies can be found within a person's consciousness." (Lowry, Richard J., "A.H. Maslow: An Intellectual Portrait" Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., Monterey, California, l973)

"Human values originate in the genetic makeup of the human species. Parental love is ingrained in the mammalian genetic make-up of man. Parental care of progeny is a characteristic of all mammals. As a social animal, man benefits more from amicable disposition than pugnacious disposition and behavior". Dobjansky in Maslow(ed) New Knowledge in Huamn Values. NY Harper Bros 1959)

study of ethics in the framework of wholistic science...

It is possible to formulate a 'science of ethics' using a scientifically objective approach. It requires an investigation into the real nature of the individual human being both as a member of the human species and as a unique specimen. As a memberof the human species, each human being has a biologically inherited 'intrinsic conscience' based on the unconscious perception of his own human nature. In addition to the conscience, each individual has a unique potentiality manifested in a personal decision making process which is based on his own will, responsibility, strength, courage and needs. Therefore a science of ethics constitutes a value system based on the natural laws of human nature and human existence.

Scientifically objective approach to formulate a 'science of ethics' is based on knowledge of 'human nature' and the understanding of human motivation. A science of ethics depends on investigation into the real nature of the human being as a unique social organism and member of the human speciesa social species. As a member of the species, each individual inherits an unconscious perception of human nature and human needs i.e. moral consciousness or 'conscience'. The conscience is the human 'soul'. Realisation of human potential for development of conscience. depends on education for 'moral development'. Each individual has a unique potentiality for growth to maturity and fulfillment or 'self-actualisation'. Self-actualisation depends on a balanced process of personal decision making based on the individual's will, strength, courage and sense of responsibility.

As the biological organismic valuing process is 'embedded' in the biologically based developmental process then the 'evolution of ethics' is a part of the evolution of growth and psychology of normal human development. If morality is a function of intelligence and intelligence is a function of adaptation and survival in human evolution, then the 'evolution of ethics' is a term which refers to a significant part of human evolution generally - individual psychological development in terms of survival vlaue. Evolution of 'ethical' behavior could be explained in terms of a natural selection process.

There is an important aspect missing form the study of moral development, that is an explanation of the 'genetic evolution of ethics'. "What is missing is the 'evolution of ethics'!" (Wilson. Sociobiology 564)

"The crucial question to be asked is: can science discover the values by which men should live? I think it can and I have advanced this thesis in various places supporting it with whatever data I could muster". (Maslow : New Knowledge in Human Values, Toward a Psychology of Being, Notes on Being-Psychology, "Fusions of Facts and Values" American Journal of Pschoanalysis XXIII, 1963, 117-131; Religions, Values and Peak Experiences, "Criteria for Judging Needs to be Instinctoid", in Human Motivation: A Symposium, ed. M.R. Jones. Lincoln, Nebraska: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1965; Eupsychian Management: A Journal. Homewood , Illinois: Irwin-Dorsey, 1965) Valid ethical norms of a naturally human ethics is based on the respect for the dignity of human existence.

An inquiry into human nature forms the basis for a valid theoretical construction of a rational ethical system. This is revealed in the so-called 'productive' character which values the affirmation of the truly human self. As the ideal human potentialities naturally unfold and become actualized, ethical norms for excellent living are discovered according to the laws of nature and human existence. The actualization of an individual's particular potentiality and disposition reveals a core of human qualities which are common to all members of the human species. Valid ethical norms of a naturally human ethics is based on the respect for the dignity of human existence.

The science of values investigates the natural origins of human values and the human conscience. makes value choices and decisions in accordance with ...according to ...its own organismic valuing process, living by values which facilitate its own survival, adaptation and self-enhancement as well as the enhancement of the human species.. Like other animal species, the social human animal behaves in accordance with an organismic valuing process enabling it to adapt to a changing social environment... value judgements of the human organism ...operative values... criteria for good and bad - 'ethics' - are derived from the meaningfulness of human existence

Self-actualisation

The objective study of fully developed and healthy individuals reveals information about the end result of normal human growth and provides a basis for the formulation of a natural 'science of ethics.' A 'science of ethics' can be formulated on the basis of the discovery of those highest values which people yearn and strugglefor as they grow and improve themselves. The 'higher' values are those biologically based constitutional ethical impulses revealed during the proper development of psychological health. They enable the individual to adjust to the realities of a social environment. A healthy culture can provide the necessary conditions for fostering proper human growth and development if the individual's human needs are recognized and respected. As the result of a culturally fostered human development, the individual becomes 'self-actualized,' living according to the 'higher' Being values which comprise his natural system of ethics. The definition of a healthy culture as one which fosters universal self-actualisation is revolutionary in its implications for ethics. In the style of Aristotelian logic (A and not-A), age-old axioms maintain the 'deficiency motivated' perception of reality in terms of classes and concepts which are mutually exclusive (male-female, selfish-unselfish, adult-child, kind-cruel, good-bad etc.).

A 'science of ethics' can be formulated on the basis of the 'higher' human values by which the self-actualised individual lives. In this way the so called 'science of ethics' becomes a natural value system which is formulated on the basis of the natural laws of nature and human existence

An earthworm will prefer a smooth path if given the choice between that and a path paved with sandpaper. (Unnatural values or 'conceived values' are those conceived as being symbolically desirable... based on symbolized concepts such as 'honesty is the best policy'.)

The mature mind has a direct awareness of true right and wrong that it can formalize by logic and translate into rules of social action... the 'enlightened mind' of Buddhism...'ethical intuitionism'... depends on inner freedom...

"Acting out of freedom does not exclude the moral laws; it includes them, but shows itself to be on a higher level than those actions which are merely dictated by such laws. Why should my action be of less service to the public good when I have done it out of love than when I have done it only because I consider serving the public good to be my duty? The mere concept of duty excludes freedom because it does not acknowledge the individual element but demands that this be subject to a general standard. Freedom of action is conceivable only from the standpoint of ethical individualism." (Steiner, Rudolph. The Philosophy of Freedom. London: Rudolph Steiner Press. 13)

Very important to a 'science of ethics' is the study of the correlation between character orientation and social structure.

The study of a specific character orientation which is common to most members of the culture explains some of the causes for the formation of character... and indicates which powerful emotional forces are instrumental in molding the social character and the functioning of the society. The personality of the average individual is determined by the socioeconomic and political structure of the society in which he lives

The human conscience is the natural expression of a biologically based interest in the properly integrated functioning of the whole personality - the guardian of the individual's true self-interest. "Conscience is a reaction of ourselves to ourselves. It is the voice of our true selves, which summons us back to ourselves, to live productively, to develop fully and harmoniously- that is to become what we potentially are. It is the guardian of our integrity... of our love for ourselves". (Erich Fromm Man For Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics p.159)

An inquiry into human nature forms the basis for a valid theoretical construction of a rational ethical system. This is revealed in the so-called 'productive' character which values the affirmation of the truly human self. As the ideal human potentialities naturally unfold and become actualized, ethical norms for excellent living are discovered according to the laws of nature and human existence. The actualization of an individual's particular potentiality and disposition reveals a core of human qualities which are common to all members of the human species. The individual human being is instinctively responsible to himself for his own potential development or 'self-actualization.' This natural responsibility to his own biological and psychological existence and self-actualization constitutes the ethical value called 'virtue.' Sharing the existential dichotomies inherent in the human situation, all human beings have a natural sense of responsibility for their self-actualization, virtue and happiness. Depending on the unchangeable constitutional temperament and the changeable acquired character, each human being has a unique way of solving his human problems. Significant to a science of ethics are the conscious and unconscious motivating factors which determine the individual's character, based on the mode of relatedness to the world. Akin to the animal's instinctive apparatus for self-preservation, the individual's character orientation has a biological function. Each human being is instinctively motivated to acquire the things he needs ('assimilation') and to relate to other people for defense and for work ('socialization'). An individual's character is expressed by the mode of orientation by which he relates to the world - loving, hating, competing, cooperating. Character is formed by social and cultural patterns and constitutes the basis of the individual's adjustment to society. The child develops in response to the character of the parents and their cultural background, becoming adjusted and adapted to a particular social structure. The individual's uniqueness of character is the result of the combined effects of his constitutional temperament, the different personalities of his parents, and the specific social environment in which he grew up as a child. The individual's specific character determines the way he feels, thinks and acts - his 'behaviour.' Fundamental change in behaviour only occurs with fundamental change in character. (Fromm, Erich. Man for Himself: an Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics. Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, New York, l947)

SCIENCE OF ETHICS in the framework of :HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN VALUES... VALUE SYSTEM (ETHICS) IN CULTURAL CONTEXT... ORGANISMIC VALUING PROCESS... universality of organismic valuing process... there is an organismic base for an organized valuing process within the human individual. In accordance with the biological need for self-preservation and adaptation, the human organism has the natural capacity to adjust its behavior and reactions to a continuously changing environment... the operative values... the valuing process in the human being is effective in achieving self-enhancement to the degree that the individual is open to the experiencing which is going on within himself. The infant and the psychologically mature person are examples of individuals whose valuing process is in harmony with their own experiencing. A child's proper inner development to maturity depends on his/her being prized as a separate person with the freedom to experience his own feelings without feeling threatened. The freedom of self-expression insures development to maturity and inner freedom.

biological basis of 'virtue' and value sytems:

approach the study of ethics with a mature wholistic approach using the techniques of holistic science....first distinguish between morality as moral development and moralism as a system of morality to be imposed from an external authority.

the job of the scientist is to see reality for what it is... to experience reality.... The human organism understands the world mentally and through the natural intellectual and emotional powers which are inseparable... the power of emotion is love... the power of thinking or 'cognition' is reason..Love is inseparable from reason. The power of love combined with the power of reason results in understanding. The human faculty for understanding reality is based on a combination of love and reason.

any 'science' is a 'science' because it brings to our awareness an aspect of nature which has always existed but we were unaware of its existence before the 'science' discovered it and made us aware of it...so a science of ethics - moral science- brings to our awareness an aspect of human nature which has always existed but we were unaware of its existence before its discovery made us aware of it...

the only way to study human values is with the wholistic approach... and contemplation and intuition...to rid the conscious of illusory distortions of reality...human values which include the values of the 'divine' are the essential nature of our being ...they exist beyond ...transcendant to illusory dichotomy and dichotomizing of incomplete cognition - to constrictive identifications...an understanding of human values is impossible in the framework of dualistic knowledge which separates the knower from the known....another mode of knowling -intimate- is necessary because the knower and theknown are intimately united in the cognition process... symbolic knowledge is illusory...separation of the object - values -from the subject is illusory...and the symbolic knowledge which result is in effect just as illusory... in the case of the study of human values and ethics, a dualistic knowledge is the blind spot of the philosophical interpretation... which remains a picture or a shadow of reality and not the reality itself... akin to a map of a teritory which remains only a map, no matter how sophisticated and analyticcal the map might be.

Increasing the level of sophisitication does not make the map any closer to the 'truth' of the territory. The territory itself must be experienced. So in the study of the territory of values, the values must be experienced for complete understanding... and the person doing the experiencing must have reached the level of awareness at which those values being considered operational ... we cannot fully understand by becoming an object to ourselves...that is dualistic perception...and therefore incomplete...we can only understand ourselves from a wholistic perception of the human individual and the human species... The concept of universal ethical systems and philosophies is unrealistic and untruthful ......universal human ethics - study of the natural valuing process as a part of normal human development... morality as function of intelligence ...the autonomous nature of ethical values discovered in the lives of autonomous self-actualizing individuals who live and act in freedom ....act morally from a moral idea which belongs to the nature of the human organism... The understanding of human moral development depends on the understanding of the human being as a social organism... The survival of the human organism depends on its successful functioning as a social organism.. As a biological species, the human species is a social species. The individual of the species is an individual social organism...moral understanding is possible between individuals who are morally free, living in love and understanding of the will of the other - also morally free. Freedom in this sense means obedience to one's own conscience (fully developed and therefore fully 'human') Individuals who are not free in this sense submit themselves to control... the sources of norms for ethical conduct are to be found in human nature itself... moral norms are based on the inherent qualities of the human organism... the violation of natural moral norms results in ...the 'science of ethics' is a natural value system formulated on the basis of natural laws of human nature and human existence...the 'science of ethics' is formulated in terms of the natural unfolding of human nature during proper psychological development towards full 'humanness,' towards so-called 'self-actualization' ...the autonomous individual engages in the productivity which defines his full individuality and 'true' freedom. Leading his life according to the 'Being-values' of freedom, love, truth, justice etc. the individual is responsible to himself and simultaneously responsibile to the rest of humanity. The process of education for proper human development involves the fostering of an individual's instinctive responsibility to himself and his own needs. It therefore depends on the creation of an environment which fosters self-discipline, self-actualization and the full development of 'humanness,' the natural ethical core of every human being. In the process of successfully adapting to a changing social environment, the 'self-actualized' individual is apable of making decisions in his own 'true' interest. Simultaneously he makes decisions which are in the 'true' interest of the society. Thus he lives in accordance with natural biological laws and the evolutionary process. The source of all morality is the human individual... moral ideas of human individuals are the prerequisites of a moral world order. A necessary consequence of the life of the individual is the existence of a social order... society and state...which in turn can act favorably on the individual.

Knowledge of human values depends on a wholistic understanding of the integration of all aspects of the human personality, incorporating the biological need for unconditional love and the divine aspects of human nature. The human and the divine are one... what is humanly valuable is called 'divine'.(origin of word) As a biological species, the human species is a social species. The individual of the species is an individual social organism...moral understanding is possible between individuals who are morally free, living in love and understanding of the will of the other - also morally free. Freedom in this sense means obedience to one's own conscience (fully developed and therefore fully 'human') Individuals who are not free in this sense submit themselves to control... the sources of norms for ethical conduct are to be found in human nature itself... moral norms are based on the inherent qualities of the human organism... the violation of natural moral norms results in mental and emotional disintegration...the character structure of the mature and integrated personality, the 'productive' character, constitutes the source and the basis of 'virtue' and 'vice' in the last analysis is the indifference to one's own self and self-mutilation. 'Self-love' and the affirmation of one's true self are the supreme values of humanistic ethics. For the human organism to have confidence in values, he must know himself and the capactity of his nature for goodness and productiveness. ...the 'science of ethics' is a natural value system formulated on the basis of natural laws of human nature and human existence...the 'science of ethics' is formulated in terms of the natural unfolding of human nature during proper psychological development towards full 'humanness,' towards so-called 'self-actualization' ...the autonomous individual engages in the productivity which defines his full individuality and 'true' freedom. Leading his life according to the 'Being-values' of freedom, love, truth, justice etc. the individual is responsible to himself and simultaneously responsibile to the rest of humanity. The process of education for proper human development involves the fostering of an individual's instinctive responsibility to himself and his own needs. It therefore depends on the creation of an environment which fosters self-discipline, self-actualization and the full development of 'humanness,' the natural ethical core of every human being. In the process of successfully adapting to a changing social environment, the 'self-actualized' individual is capable of making decisions in his own 'true' interest. Simultaneously he makes decisions which are in the 'true' interest of the society. Thus he lives in accordance with natural biological laws and the evolutionary process. The source of all morality is the human individual... moral ideas of human individuals are the prerequisites of a moral world order. A necessary consequence of the life of he individual is the existence of a social order... society and state...which in turn can act favorably on the individual.

HOLISTIC ETHICS

perception of reality as a function of consciousness: Knowledge of human values depends on a wholistic understanding of the integration of the human ...including the 'divine' aspects of the human personality. Knowledge of human values depends on a wholistic understanding of the integration of all aspects of the human personality, incorporating the biological need for unconditional love and the divine aspects of human nature. The human and the divine are one... what is humanly valuable is valuable because it is divine...called 'divine'.(origin of word),Human nature incorporates the divine aspects of experience. 'human-divine nature': the 'wholeness' of human nature. The human includes the 'divine': In the Upanishads, we find the great questions of man, and the answers are summed up in two words: brahman (the 'truth' of the universe) and atman (inner truth of each human being). 'Atman'- the Self in each and every one of us is 'Brahman' the highest in us or 'God'. The nearest conception of Brahman ...it is a state of consciousness beyond time...when Being and Consciousness and Joy are One

The divine apsects of the human organism are manifest in the integrated personality of ego transcendance... human values are in the unconscious ... In terms of Taoism, or Mahayana Buddhism, the value is a value when it is a no-value... when all the values are shut up in the depths of the unconscious we have the values in their genuine form. nameless.(Tao or God) Every moment you say, "it is good", the good loses its goodness... saying "it is good"; detracts from the goodness. The really good is just so, and no more no less. The good is just-so-ness. So with the rest of human values...The human and the divine are one, for what is humanly valuable is so only because it is divine... ...value judgements - criteria for good and evil - are derived from the meaningfulness of human existence. ...fulfillment and happiness are found through love - the power by which the human organism relates to the world through his beings... a value is valueless when it is not subjectively free from an egoistic impulse... a value is a value when it is subjectively free from an egoistic impulse...a value is a value when it is a no-value...values are nameless...by naming a value one devalues the value ... ....approach the study of ethics with a mature wholistic approach using the techniques of wholistic science....first distinguish between morality as moral development and moralism as a system of morality to be imposed from an external authority. the study of ethics in the framework of objective science... study of ethics in the framework of wholistic science...the job of the scientist is to see reality for what it is... to experience reality...... any 'science' is a 'science' because it brings to our awareness an aspect of nature which has always existed but we were unaware of its existence before the 'science' discovered it and made us aware of it...so a science of ethics - moral science- brings to our awareness an aspect of human nature which has always existed but we were unaware of its existence before its discovery made us aware of it... People have been taught that 'values' are subjective evaluations and that 'emotions' cannot be trusted... subjective valuations and emotions distort the world of objective fact....(File MASLOW1)... devoid of feelings of humility, reverence, mystery, wonder, and awe.Denying the reality of these feelings is to cut oneself off from the most real aspects of the 'reality' of the world...that scientific investigation is objective and devoid of values... Many of the 'problems' of philosophy - the 'problem' of ethics and values, the 'problem' of evil, the 'problem' of education and many other 'philosophical problems' result from the incomplete knowledge of human origins and the biological basis of human divine-nature: the total physiological, psychological, spiritual human nature. Moral science.. the science of morality...is the investigation into the real nature of the individual human organism as a member of the human species.. study of intrinsic valuing process of the human organism.... naturalistic valuing process....the full definition of human nature includes the intrinsic values to achieve fullest humanness ... growth... avoid illness.... study of human nature....people as best specimens of the human organism living under the best conditions of human existence... values by which they lead their lives... with suitable conditions in the psychological environment, innate motives for human behaviour emerge to the surface of human consciousness in a predetermined order... human values do not exist outside of human existence...they are rooted in the very conditions of human existence... knowledge of human conditions and the 'human condition' - human situation- leads us to estabishing values which for the human organism have objective validity which exists only with regard to the existence of the human organism...there are no objective values outside the human organism...to study the values in the framework of objective science is like trying to see your eye with your own eyes...a knife canntot cut itself...values cannot see themselves...we cannot see values objectively as they are part of us...it is necessary to approach the question of values using a methodology which destroys the dualism subject vs. object...a study of the values requires a different framework... knowledge of reality is a question of consciousness...

A science necessarily values truth. Truth is central to science... The search for truth requires independence of mind which safeguards originality - the tool with which new discoveries are made. Independence of mind and originality must be allowed expression and thus 'dissent' must be valued. The high moments of dissent are monuments in our literature... Progress comes only when accepted values are challenged ...Dissent is an instrument of intellectual evolution...VALUES AS VALUE JUDGEMENTS...Man's value judgements - his criteria for good and evil - are derived from the meaningfulness of his own existence. ...values are rooted in the very conditions of human existence; hence our knowledge of these conditions, that is, of the 'human situation', leads us to estabishing values which have objective validity; this validity exists only with regard to the existence of the human organism... outside of the human organism there are no values... So what is the nature of the human organism? what are the special conditions of human existence, and what are the needs which are rooted in these conditions? human needs are human values... ethics is 'an elusive game' because values cannot be studied objectively ...they have no objective existence of their own..outside the nature of the human organism ... .

According to the so-called 'scientific' study of values in the framework of the 'scientific worldview' of objective science, the science of value is an intellectual, not a valuational, enterprise a matter of science, of precise and exact knowledge, the object of which happens to be value.In this respect the science of value is like any other science: it has its axioms, its definitions, its rules of deduction, and its dimensions, its measurements, and its calculations; what is measured is value and what is calculated is the value content of situations... whereas the precision and exactness of the science of nature is quantitative, the precision and exactness of the science of value is qualitative. The science of nature measure spatiotemporal being; the science of value measures meaning. The science of value will change the world as did the science of nature The modern American meaning of ethics is based on the modern American concept of morality... misconception of morality as external to the human organism... result is relativistic ethics of American culture... conflicts inherent in the culture necessitate the formulation of ethical systems. Conditioning influences of the culture are conflicting. Cultural conflicts include the faith in education and contempt for educated people, apathy and driving ambition, etc. Objective study of ethics implies the question... can science discover the values by which people should live?"

Is it possible to formulate a value system on the basis of natural laws of human nature and human existence? Is it possible to formulate a value system on the basis of natural biological 'laws' of human development?

Change the premise from 'the instinctoid needs of the human being are evil and bad' to the premise 'the instinctoid needs of the human being are good' then ask the same questions and resolve many problems. The basic right of a human being is the right to be human. An individual's responsibility to himself is to develop his humanness. By developing his own humanness the individual is being responsible to the rest of humanity. "The overemphasis of traditional psychology on the pathologies, neuroses, psychoses etc. has provided abundant evidence that men's bad and evil behavior results from frustration in his efforts toward self-actualization... human nature - not evil, bad etc. Feelings of 'natural dominance' or 'self-esteem' lead to beneficial and creative behaviour. Feelings of sham dominance lack of self-esteem etc. lead to destructive and evil behaviour. Premise for sience of ethics...The assumption that man is naturally unsocial makes no sense and is false to fact... as a false assumption, it creates a moral dilemma ...as a dilemma created as a product of logical deduction based on false premise, the dilemma becomes in fact a 'pseudo dilemma' ... the supposed impossibility of a civilized social life if each individual in the society is striving for their own self-actualization... the pseudo dilemma is based on the belief that a social community is possible only if all the individuals are united by a communally fixed moral order... a result of misunderstanding of true moralism (free morality...ignorance of the unity of the world of ideas.

The science of values is the study of the development of the individual's intrinsic value system. The inner nature of the human organism is delicate and subtle... easily overcome by habit, cultural pressures, and wrong attitudes towards it. It is best to bring out this human nature... encourage it...If it is permitted to guide our life, we grow healthy, fruitful and happy.The basic needs - for life, for safety and security, for belongingness and affection, for respect and self-respect, and for self-actualization, the basic human emotions and the basic human capacities, are upon their face either neutral, pre-moral or positively 'good'... Any experiences which reveal, foster, and fulfill the inner nature of the human organism are desirable experiences...contribute to a sense of achievement and ego strength and therefore with the sense of healthy self-esteem and self-confidence.....if this basic human nature is suppressed and repressed or frustrated in any way, the human organism reacts violently. Any experiences of discipline, deprivation, frustration, pain, suppression or denial of this inner nature in subtle ways leads to sickness sooner or later....The so-called 'evils' of human nature - destructiveness, sadism, cruelty, malice, etc. are the violent reactions against frustration of intrinsic human needs, emotions and capacities.

The so-called 'problem of ethics' is one of human consciousness and its biological basis. The study of the 'biology of ethics' is the concern of the 'science of value' or 'moral science'.

Formulation of a valid system of ethics or 'science of ethics' constitutes the 'problem of ethics'.

"The greatest philosophers of the modern age have attempted to found a science of ethics on the method of natural science - and failed. The reason is that the world of value is of such a nature that mathematical and empirical methods cannot be applied to it. Ethics is thus an elusive game; unless you approach her just right she will change in your hands and vanish; like the princess in the fairy tale who, when 'caught' appears as a deer. This autonomous nature of ethics, which we will call 'nonnaturalistic', was seen by Plato, but the philosopher who established it in modern times was Kant... (p.16)... The true knowledge of value lies in the science of value... as natural science has changed the world, so moral science, once it is developed and fully known, is bound to change the world. There was no force that brought about the age of technology, other than the clarity of mind of people like Newton and Einstein. The only difference these men made in the world is that they gave us knowledge. All the rest followed by itself. All the difference that the new science is going to make to the world is that it gives us moral knowledge, and all the rest will follow by itself". (Hartman 'The Science of Value' in Maslow ed. New Knowledge in Human Values New York: Harper, 1959, p.34)

Systems of ethics are based on the dichotomous perception of ethics resulting from mistrust of the human personality or 'human nature'. Throughout the history of Western culture, people have been taught that their intrinsic instincts are animal instincts' and therefore immoral... bad... corrupt... antisocial etc. and not to be trusted. In order to control the so-called 'evil' aspect of human nature, civilization is perceived in terms of the control and policing of natural human impulses... social institutions are set up to control, inhibit, suppress and repress human expression.

In fact, the inner core of human nature is not in itself intrinsically dangerous or bad. But the natural constitution of human nature is subtle and fragile and can easily be overcome by cultural pressures, social conditioning and wrong attitudes towards it expressed with in language which implies mutually exclusivity of classes and concepts - man/woman, adult/child, selfish/unselfish, good/bad and so on. These age-old axioms of human nature are translated into a dichotomous perception of ethics in terms of the mutual exclusiveness between the reality of 'what is' and the reality of 'what ought to be'. Hence the perceived necessity for the search for guiding values to live by.

In a lifelong study, Abraham Maslow observed people whom he considered as mankind's 'best specimens' living under the 'best conditions' and described the values by which they led their lives. The results of his observations showed that the values which guided these people from within their consciousness were the same as the religious values of truth, goodness, and justice. Maslow criticised theology for its overdependence on dogma, revelation and supernaturalism and discredited theologians for trying to find guiding principles outside the human organism. He discredited philosophers for making arguments with no authorities or absolute criteria. Maslow arrived at the conclusion that man has a 'natural personality' which is basically good...

(From Lowry, Richard J., "A.H. Maslow: An Intellectual Portrait" Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., Monterey, California, l973)

Ethics in cultural context: the so-called 'problem of ethics' - the search for guiding values in the resolution of human problems - is peculiar to American capitalist culture...The study of a specific character orientation which is common to most members of the culture indicates which powerful emotional forces... cultural forces... explain the formation of social character. The personality of the average individual is determined by the socioeconomic and political structure of the society in which he lives.

The American social character is based on the scientific worldview which is justified by a combination of concepts and assumptions derived from Protestantism scientific reductionism, behaviourism, moralism and the traditional political ideals of 'democracy' (see American Constitution). These basic concepts and assumptions have formed the basis for educational policy in the American educational system which prevents the personal and psychological growth of the individual. Political ideals interfere with the true aim of education which is complete personality growth and moral consciousness or 'conscience'.

Capitalistic economic theories of modern technological society teach people that their aim in life is the successful fulfillment of their duty to work. They are made to believe that they need to work for money, prestige and power in order to achieve happiness. They are persuaded to make everything important except life and the art of living. While under the illusion that they act in their own self-interest they act against their basic instinct for self-preservation and growth. They lose sight of the fact that it is in their 'real' self-interest to live in harmony with themselves and their fellow human beings. While they value themselves (and others) on the basis of material success they ignore their true self-interest, their integrity and their intrinsic faith in human dignity and courage.

American capitalist culture is not concerned with personal growth and the development of the human conscience as the source of morality and rational ethics. The natural integrity of the human organism is devalued. Cultural values place severe limitations on human experience, the human potential for autonomy and responsibility, the desire for meaningful learning and emotional self-expression... they foster adult immaturity. As a result people are easily influenced by political rhetoric which encourages the pursuit of 'happiness' as material success. They become easy prey to the demands of capitalism and subscribe to irrational values of consumerism - the so-called values of money-making, obedience to authority, accumulation of knowledge, cleverness in cheating, love of neighbour, and remunerative leisure activities. Thought and behaviour patterns of deception and hypocrisy are considered to be corrupt animal traits waiting to be erased by further social evolution. The person who can suppress them to a minimum level is considered to be 'virtuous'. Mental dishonesty is promoted as 'common sense'.

"...intrinsic human values are not valued in a society which measures the individual in terms of material success. Focusing on the demands for adjustment to capitalism, the individual loses sight of his own intrinsic values which make him human. 'Adjustment' to the capitalistic 'society' is the cause for neuroses which result from the unsuitability of humanness in a materialistic society." (Erich Fromm. Man For Himself)

Coercive social system and 'authoritarian ethics'. A culture which does not foster growth must depend on codes of behavour which do not require reflective reasoning or 'intelligence'... 'Codes of ethics'... 'authoritarian ethics'... are moral codes or 'ethical norms' based on external authority such as the formulated on the premise that the individual is powerless and insignificant. Codes of ethics as codes of behaviour are codes of morality based on external authority... the anonymous authority of the 'market' in capitalistic culture. Because they are separated from human morality based on developed conscience... universal human ethics i.e. 'humanistic ethics' the codes of ethics for a specific situation easily degenerate into codes which serve the interests of those within that situation. 'Medical ethics' serves the interests of those in the medical 'profession.' 'Business ethics' serves the interests of those in 'business' and so on. As a result of the demands of the capitalistic economic system... people make efforts to retain the love and acceptance of others in the society. The individual who focuses on the demands for adjustment to the culture of capitalism loses sight of their own intrinsic values... their human values or 'virtues'.

The correlation between character orientation (marketing character orientation) and social structure points up the powerful emotional forces which are instrumental in molding the social character and explains the functioning of the society.

Authoritarian ethics is the product of irrational authoritarian conscience derived form the internalization of an external authority. The authoritarian conscience is the "voice of an internalized authority such as the parental authority, or state authority." (Fromm Man For Himself 143)

So-called 'evil' is a product of neurosis, 'psychosis' and other social pathologies.

"Feelings of 'compensatory dominance' become 'over-compensatory' when they are derived from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem. Such feelings of sham dominance leading to domineering or haughty behaviour can explain the wickedness of human behaviour or 'evil'." (Erich Fromm Man For Himself)

Each individual has a unique way of solving their human problems. The uniqueness of problem-solving depends on their unchangeable constitutional temperament and their changeable acquired character. Acquired character depends on conscious and unconscious motivating forces and varies with the individual's mode of relatedness to the world. In normal growth and development, both conscious and unconscious behaviour are based on the flexibility of the instinctive tendency to grow in the direction of self-actualization and self-transcendance. In pathological growth, conscious behaviour is based on the introjection of rigid and static cultural beliefs and values. In a process of social conditioning, conditioned behaviours are rewarded even though they are perversions of the natural tendency to grow in the direction of self-actualization. Socially conditioned individuals are dissociated and estranged from their own directional growth process.

The human organism behaves in accordance with an organismic valuing process which allows for self-preservation and also adaptation to changes in the environment. The human organism as a social organism lives by intrinsic values which facilitate self-enhancement and the adaptation to changing social conditions... conscience development

Mistrust of human nature as basis for relativistic concept of ethics or 'ethical relativism' Ethical relativism is based on the belief that there is no way to make objectively valid statements about ethics. Only those individuals who abide by the codes are considered to be ethical and only they can be made responsible for teaching and preaching the moral life. This notion is based on a mistrust of human nature derived from the assumption that human existence involves separate material and spiritual realms ('mind/body dualism'). The conceptual dichotomy between matter and spirit originated with the scientific revolution of the eighteenth century 'Enlightenment' and was incorporated into the so-called 'scientific worldview' based is on the apparent discontinuity between the natural and the 'supernatural'... the human and the divine or 'God'. (In fact 'human' in the sense of 'complete humanness' as a function of spiritual growth is equivalent to 'divine'.)

"It was primarily the physicists and the astronomers who created the Weltanschaung and the subculture known as 'science' ...including all its goals, methods, axiomatic values, concepts, languages, folkways, prejudices, selective blindnesses, hidden assumptions. The impersonal model failed with the personal, the unique, the holistic... the fully human person... The fatal weakness of science is its inability to deal impersonally with the personal, with the problems of individuality, of consciousness, of beauty, of transcendance, of value, of ethics. (Maslow Psychology of Science xiii)

The profound mistrust of human nature is derived from the 'Fall/Redemption' theology' of 'orthodox' Protestant Christianity which was adopted by the Protestant Calvinist and Puritan movements. According to the theology, as a result of the original 'fall' from God's grace - Adam and Eve's disobedience for eating from the 'tree of knowledge' - knowledge of 'good' and 'evil' - each individual is brought into this life tainted with sin and is therefore inherently corrupt or 'evil' and must suffer in this life. Even an afterlife without suffering depends on God's redemption. In this moralistic view, the individual is expected to be morally responsibile for restraining the evil impulses of their basic nature even though they are considered to be powerless and insignificant.

The coercive social system of American capitalist culture leads to confusion and a distortion of human values: 'freedom' is confused with licence, 'adaptation' with conformism, 'discipline' with submissiveness, 'independence' with anti-authoritarianism, 'equality' with uniformity, 'individuality' with selfishness.

The confusion of values leads to the mistaken idea that the interests of the individual and of the society are mutually exclusive and antagonistic... As a result the function of civilization is perceived in terms of controlling instinctive human impulses and this gives rise to insoluble pseudo-problems or 'problems of ethics' such as 'How can the interests of the individual be reconciled with the interests of the society?' 'How is it possible to formulate a philosophical system of ethics which can be applied to the teaching of values? How does one teach the virtues? 'How can people be made to lead ethical lives?' How does one formulate a system of values which could be applied to everyone... a so-called 'science of ethics'? Scientists have attempted to use the scientific method of the impersonal model of science as orthodox science... scientism'. Scientism is inadequate for dealing with the human problems of values and ethics.

The distortion of social values produces an infantile attitude toward the social system which is mirrored in the child's reaction to dominant authoritarian and intolerant parents and further cultivated by the demands of the system.

The confusion between custom and ideal character still exists in the belief that children simply internalize the behavioural norms of the society... that moral commitment is entirely learned through the mechanism of 'operant conditioning'... i.e. 'ethical behaviourism'.... 'ethical relativism'

Moral confusion and moral education as 'teaching of values' People are naturally bewildered by the irrationality of the cultural value system and they become morally confused. In their moral confusion they are forced to depend on ethical norms of behaviour or codes of ethics.

Authoritarian conscience is not the same as the intrinsically human conscience. The human conscience which is derived from reason is the source of natural value judgements.

American moral education, based on the premise that the individual is powerless and insignificant is concerned with teaching the conceived cultural values. Hypocrisy and deception become the human devices for coping with the complexities of a social life which is based on the irrational authoritarian ethics of a business civilisation.

Moral education as the teaching of 'values' fails because true moral education as education for personal growth and development of conscience - the basis for humanitarian ethics is not recognized

Norman development of conscience is a function of a natural reasoning process which is fluid and changing i.e. 'cognition'.

"Unable to resort to either revelation or reason, man adopted the 'relativistic' position which proposes that value judgements and ethical norms are exclusively matters of taste or arbitrary preference and that no objectively valid statement can be made in this realm. But since man cannot live without values and norms, this relativism makes him an easy prey for irrational value systems...the demands of the state, the enthusiasm for magic qualities of powerful leaders, powerful machines, and material success become the sources for his norms and value judgements." (Fromm Man For Himself p. 5)

People who are not valued for their intrinsic morality eventually become morally confused... since it is not possible to live without values and norms... in their confusion they learn to rely on the authority of strict codes of civil law and moral standards...'behavioural norms' or 'codes of behaviour' which are desirable for given situations.. 'codes of ethics' - 'medical ethics', 'business ethics', 'military ethics' and so on. Based on external authoritythe ethical codes are irrational codes of moralityor 'value systems' derived from a relativistic concept of ethics which makes value judgements and ethical norms a matter of arbitrary preference. The diffferent codes of ethics can degenerate into codes which serve the interests of those within that situation if they are separated from universal human ethics which is valid for all human beings and all living things. A code of 'medical ethics' serving the interests of those in the medical 'profession' and so on.

What are human values? What values are not... values are not values when they are objects of judgement... true human values are not the same as choices of action or 'value choices'...'value judgements' or 'conceived values'

discussion of 'ethics' depends on the meaning of the word 'value' which varies with cultural context. In the capitalist culture of American society, the word 'value' is used to designate 'choice of action'. A value is a 'value choice'. An individual makes a value choice on the basis of a symbolized concept which he has been taught to value such as 'honesty is the best policy'. The outcome of the value choice is considered to be symbolically desirable. Value choices which are made on the basis of symbolized concepts and in anticipation of desirable outcomes are 'conceived values'. Conceived values are taught values... incorporated, internalised or 'introjected' values. They are valued parental and social cultural concepts... such as the 'American values' of material success and so on. (American constitution)

In the philosophical analysis of the human value life, there is often confusion between 'values' as 'true values' and values as 'value judgements'. Values are not the same as value judgements. Value judgements are values attached to subjective judgements which are made from the perspective of self-centeredness as egocentrism or 'egotism' (as opposed to 'egoism' as natural motivation by healthy self-interest). Value judgements based on egotistic and therefore judgmental thought processes involve decisions about whether something is 'right or wrong', 'good or bad' and so on. The subjective criteria for right/wrong, good/bad are ultimately derived from the meaning attached to human existence - a function of the cultural context and its corresponding system of ethics. According to the ethical system of 'humanism' the affirmation of life and the unfolding of human powers is 'good'; the denigration of life and the represssion of growth is 'bad'; the sense of responsibility toward human existence and excellence of human achievement is the source of 'virtue'; the sense of irresponsibility toward human existence is the source of 'vice'. 'Good' 'bad' 'virtue' and 'vice' are value judgements. Human values which are conceived in terms of human attributes are value judgements or 'conceived values'.

A value is a true value only when it is not an object of judgement and is not attributed with objective validity. If the true value 'goodness' is made into a value judgement 'goodness is good' then the value of goodness is lost. True values are free from the perspective of egoistic judgement. They are perceived from the higher level of ego-transcendant consciousness i.e. 'ego-transcendance'. Human values are 'humanly valuable' or 'divine' in the depths of the unconscious where they are free from judgement. In this sense the 'human values' and the 'divine values' are the same. Lao-tze of Mahatyana Buddhism expressed it thus: "The good is just so and values are just-so-ness or 'tao'. And tao is nameless".

"A value is valueless when it is not subjectively free from an egoistic impulse... In terms of Taoism, or Mahayana Buddhism, the value is a value when it is a no-value. Psychologically when all the values are shut up in the depths of the the unconscious or in the limbo of oblivion, we have the values in their genuine form. Lao-tze says that what can be designated as this or that is not Tao. Tao is nameless. Every moment you say , "it is good" the good loses its goodness. The really good is just so, and no more no less. The good is just-so-ness. So with the rest of human values...The human and the divine are one, for what is humanly valuable is so only because it is divine." (Daisetz Teitoro Suzuki 'Human Values in Zen' Maslow A.H. (ed) New Knowledge in Human Values. New York: Harper Brothers 1959 p 95)

The problem of ethics is one which deals with the personal, the unique and the holistic. It deals with those aspects of human nature which give rise to the expanded consciousness of 'humanness' i.e. 'ego-transcendance'... 'human spirituality' or 'divinity' which defines the core of the human personality or 'human nature'. An inquiry into human nature forms the basis for a valid inquiry into the nature of value... 'moral science'. Valid ethical norms of a naturally human ethics is based on the respect for the dignity of human nature as revealed in the so-called 'productive' character which values the affirmation of the truly human self. As the ideal human potentialities naturally unfold and become actualised, ethical norms for excellent living are discovered according to the laws of nature and human existence. The actualisation of an individual's particular potentiality and disposition reveals a core of human qualities which are common to all members of the human species... Holistic education as education for moral devel