Welcome, dear students of Class 12, to a complete and reliable study companion for Logic and Philosophy Chapter 7 — Ethics and Purusarthas, prepared in accordance with the latest ASSEB (Assam State School Education Board) syllabus for the English medium. This chapter is one of the most rewarding sections of the H.S. Second Year Philosophy course because it addresses the deepest questions of human existence — what is right and what is wrong, what makes an action good or bad, and what is the ultimate goal of human life. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that examines the moral dimension of human conduct and supplies the principles by which actions can be evaluated. The Indian tradition of ethics, summarised in the doctrine of the four Purusarthas, complements the Western standards such as Hedonism, Rigorism, Perfectionism and Intuitionism. In this article you will find a careful summary, every textbook question with model answers, additional MCQ-style and short-answer practice items, plus a glossary and well-organised tables. Read each section slowly, take notes, and revise the tabular material before your examinations.
Chapter Summary — Ethics and Purusarthas
Ethics, also called Moral Philosophy or Moral Science, is the systematic study of human conduct from the standpoint of its rightness and wrongness, goodness and badness. The English word “ethics” comes from the Greek word ethos, which means “custom” or “character”, while the word “moral” is derived from the Latin mores, meaning “habit” or “manner”. Both root-words point to the same idea: ethics is concerned with the customary, habitual and voluntary behaviour of human beings as judged against an ideal of conduct. Different thinkers have defined ethics in slightly different ways. According to Mackenzie, “Ethics is the study of what is right or good in conduct.” Muirhead defined it as “the science of the highest ideal involved in human conduct.” William Lillie called it “the normative science of human conduct in societies.” J.S. Mackenzie further clarified that ethics gives us the knowledge of the guiding principles of life but does not tell us how to apply them in particular cases.
Ethics is regarded as a normative science, not a positive or descriptive one. Positive sciences such as physics, chemistry or psychology describe what is the case; ethics, by contrast, prescribes what ought to be the case. It seeks an ideal — the supreme good — and evaluates actions according to that ideal. Along with Logic (the science of truth) and Aesthetics (the science of beauty), Ethics (the science of goodness) forms the three classical normative sciences. Ethics is also distinguished from a practical science: a practical science teaches us how to do something, but ethics gives us guiding principles only and leaves their application to the moral agent.
The scope of ethics covers three broad branches in modern discussions. Normative Ethics investigates the standards or norms by which conduct is judged right or wrong, e.g. the doctrines of Hedonism, Utilitarianism, Kantian Rigorism and Perfectionism. Descriptive Ethics studies how people actually behave morally, often overlapping with anthropology and sociology. Metaethics examines the meaning of ethical terms such as “good”, “right” and “ought” and the logical structure of moral arguments — G.E. Moore’s Principia Ethica is a classic metaethical work. Applied Ethics handles concrete moral problems such as bioethics, business ethics and environmental ethics. ASSEB Class 12 syllabus mainly emphasises normative ethics and Indian ethics.
The subject-matter of ethics is human conduct, but only that part of it which is voluntary. A voluntary action is one performed by a rational agent with deliberation, foresight and free choice. It involves three stages — the mental stage (spring of action, end or motive, desire, conflict of desires, deliberation, decision), the bodily stage (physical execution) and the external stage (consequences in the world). Non-voluntary actions, such as reflex actions, the actions of small children, the insane, or those done under compulsion or in ignorance, fall outside ethical evaluation. Habitual actions which are formed by repeated voluntary acts also come under ethics, because they spring from the agent’s character.
A central distinction is that between motive and intention. The motive is the inner end or desire which sets the agent in motion. The intention is the whole purpose, including both the end and the chosen means. Since the means used are themselves morally evaluated, intention — not bare motive — is the proper object of moral judgment. Consequences are relevant only so far as they were foreseen and intended. Moral judgment is the act of mind by which a voluntary action, character, motive or end is pronounced right or wrong, good or bad. Its essential characteristics are that it is categorical, universal, impersonal, and presupposes the freedom of the will.
The chapter then surveys the principal Standards of Morality:
(1) Hedonism, from the Greek hedone (pleasure), holds that pleasure is the highest good. Egoistic Hedonism (Cyrenaicism, Aristippus) seeks the agent’s own pleasure of the moment; Epicureanism prefers calm, lasting pleasure. Universalistic Hedonism or Utilitarianism (Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill) holds that the right action is that which produces the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Bentham measured pleasure quantitatively (his “felicific calculus” used intensity, duration, certainty, etc.); Mill introduced a qualitative distinction, declaring that “it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
(2) Rigorism or Kantian Ethics: Immanuel Kant rejected pleasure as the moral standard. The only thing good without qualification is the Good Will. An act is moral only if done from a sense of duty, in obedience to the moral law given by reason itself. Kant’s Categorical Imperative has several formulations — “Act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law,” and “Act so as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never merely as a means.”
(3) Perfectionism or Self-Realisation: this view sees the highest good in the full development of human personality. Aristotle called it eudaimonia (well-being or flourishing). T.H. Green and F.H. Bradley argued that the moral life consists in the realisation of one’s true or “best” self in harmony with society.
(4) Intuitionism: Joseph Butler, Henry Sidgwick and G.E. Moore held that we know moral truths directly by intuition, not by inference. Moore famously argued that “good” is a simple, indefinable, non-natural quality, and to define good in terms of any natural property (such as pleasure) is to commit the naturalistic fallacy.
The chapter’s distinctive Indian section centres on the Purusarthas — the four supreme ends of human life recognised by classical Hindu thought: Dharma (righteousness, moral law), Artha (wealth and material means), Kama (legitimate desire and enjoyment), and Moksa (liberation, the highest spiritual goal). Dharma, Artha and Kama together form the Trivarga, the threefold pursuit of worldly life; Moksa is the Apavarga, the supreme release. Other key Indian ethical ideas include Karma (the law that every action produces a corresponding result), Niskama Karma (the Bhagavadgita’s doctrine of disinterested action — performing one’s duty without attachment to fruits), and Ahimsa (non-violence in thought, word and deed, central to Jainism, Buddhism and Gandhian ethics).
Allied themes include the Summum Bonum or Highest Good (the ultimate end which is sought for its own sake), the perennial debate between Free Will and Determinism (without freedom, moral responsibility is impossible), and the cardinal virtues of Justice, Virtue, Duty and Truthfulness. The chapter as a whole equips students with both the Western analytical tools and the Indian spiritual vision necessary for reflection on the moral life.
Textbook Questions and Answers
A. Very Short Answer Type Questions (1 Mark)
1. From which Greek word is the word “Ethics” derived?
Answer: The word “Ethics” is derived from the Greek word ethos (also written as ethica), meaning custom, character or habit.
2. From which Latin word has the word “Moral” been derived?
Answer: The word “Moral” is derived from the Latin word mores, which means custom or habit.
3. What is the other name of Ethics?
Answer: Ethics is also known as Moral Philosophy or Moral Science.
4. Is Ethics a positive science or a normative science?
Answer: Ethics is a normative science.
5. Name the three classical normative sciences.
Answer: The three classical normative sciences are Logic, Ethics and Aesthetics.
6. Who defined ethics as “the science of the highest ideal involved in human conduct”?
Answer: J.H. Muirhead gave this definition.
7. Who said, “Ethics is the study of what is right or good in conduct”?
Answer: J.S. Mackenzie made this statement.
8. What is the subject-matter of Ethics?
Answer: The subject-matter of Ethics is the voluntary actions of rational human beings.
9. What is meant by a voluntary action?
Answer: A voluntary action is an action performed by a rational agent deliberately and intentionally to realise a foreseen end.
10. Give one example of a non-voluntary action.
Answer: A reflex action such as the involuntary closing of the eyelid when an object suddenly approaches the eye is a non-voluntary action.
11. What is motive?
Answer: Motive is the inner desire or end that prompts a person to act.
12. What is intention?
Answer: Intention is the entire purpose of an action — it includes both the end aimed at and the means deliberately chosen to attain it.
13. What is moral judgment?
Answer: Moral judgment is the judgment by which we pronounce a voluntary action, character or motive to be right or wrong, good or bad.
14. What is Hedonism?
Answer: Hedonism is the ethical doctrine that pleasure is the highest good of human life.
15. From which Greek word is “Hedonism” derived?
Answer: “Hedonism” is derived from the Greek word hedone, meaning pleasure.
16. Who is the founder of Cyrenaicism?
Answer: Aristippus of Cyrene founded Cyrenaicism.
17. Who is the founder of Utilitarianism?
Answer: Jeremy Bentham is regarded as the founder of modern Utilitarianism.
18. Who introduced the qualitative distinction of pleasure?
Answer: John Stuart Mill introduced the qualitative distinction of pleasure.
19. State the basic principle of Utilitarianism.
Answer: The basic principle is “the greatest happiness of the greatest number.”
20. Who propounded the Categorical Imperative?
Answer: Immanuel Kant propounded the Categorical Imperative.
21. According to Kant, what alone is good without qualification?
Answer: According to Kant, only a Good Will is good without qualification.
22. Who is the chief representative of Self-Realisation in modern Western thought?
Answer: T.H. Green is the chief modern representative; F.H. Bradley is also closely associated with the doctrine.
23. What did Aristotle call the highest good?
Answer: Aristotle called it eudaimonia, meaning happiness or human flourishing.
24. Who wrote Principia Ethica?
Answer: G.E. Moore wrote Principia Ethica in 1903.
25. What is the “naturalistic fallacy”?
Answer: The naturalistic fallacy is the mistake, identified by G.E. Moore, of defining the simple non-natural property “good” in terms of any natural property such as pleasure or desire.
26. What is Summum Bonum?
Answer: Summum Bonum is a Latin term meaning the Highest Good or the supreme end of human life.
27. How many Purusarthas are recognised in Indian ethics?
Answer: Four Purusarthas are recognised — Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksa.
28. What does the word “Purusartha” literally mean?
Answer: “Purusartha” literally means that which is sought or desired by a purusa (person) — i.e., the ends of human life.
29. What is Dharma?
Answer: Dharma means righteousness, moral law or the code of right conduct.
30. What is Artha?
Answer: Artha means wealth and the material means necessary for life, acquired by lawful and ethical methods.
31. What is Kama?
Answer: Kama means legitimate desire and enjoyment of life’s pleasures, regulated by Dharma.
32. What is Moksa?
Answer: Moksa means liberation or the highest spiritual freedom from the cycle of birth and death.
33. What is Trivarga?
Answer: Trivarga is the group of three Purusarthas — Dharma, Artha and Kama — pursued in worldly life.
34. What is Apavarga?
Answer: Apavarga is the fourth and highest Purusartha, namely Moksa.
35. What is Niskama Karma?
Answer: Niskama Karma is the doctrine, taught in the Bhagavadgita, of performing one’s duty without attachment to its fruits.
36. Which scripture preaches Niskama Karma?
Answer: The Bhagavadgita (Srimadbhagavadgita) preaches Niskama Karma.
37. What is Ahimsa?
Answer: Ahimsa is non-violence — abstaining from causing harm to any living being in thought, word or deed.
38. Who emphasised Ahimsa as a way of life in modern India?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi emphasised Ahimsa as a way of life and as a political weapon.
39. What does the law of Karma teach?
Answer: The law of Karma teaches that every action — good or bad — produces a corresponding result that the doer must reap in this life or another.
40. Name two Indian schools that emphasised Ahimsa.
Answer: Jainism and Buddhism strongly emphasised Ahimsa.
B. Short Answer Type Questions (2–3 Marks)
41. Define Ethics and state its etymology.
Answer: Ethics is the normative science of human conduct that determines the rightness or wrongness, goodness or badness of voluntary actions. The word “ethics” is derived from the Greek ethos, meaning custom, character or habit. The corresponding Latin word mores, meaning custom, gives us the English term “moral”. Hence ethics, etymologically and historically, is the science of customary or habitual conduct as judged against an ideal.
42. Why is Ethics called a normative science?
Answer: A positive science describes what is — facts and their causal relations. A normative science prescribes what ought to be — it sets up an ideal and judges things by it. Ethics does not merely report how people behave; it lays down the standard of right conduct and pronounces judgment on actions. Like Logic (the science of truth) and Aesthetics (the science of beauty), Ethics (the science of goodness) is a normative science.
43. Distinguish between moral and non-moral actions.
Answer: Moral actions are voluntary actions performed by a rational adult agent with knowledge, deliberation and free choice; they possess the quality of rightness or wrongness. Non-moral actions are those that lack this quality — for example, reflex actions, actions of infants, lunatics or animals, actions performed in ignorance, or under irresistible compulsion. Only moral actions fall within the scope of ethics.
44. Distinguish between motive and intention.
Answer: Motive is the inner desire, feeling or end that moves the agent to act — it is the subjective spring of action. Intention is the whole purpose of the action, including both the end aimed at and the means selected to reach it. Because the means employed have moral significance of their own, intention — not motive alone — is the true object of moral judgment. For example, two persons may give money to a beggar with the same motive of compassion but with different intentions if one gives honestly earned money and the other steals to give.
45. State the three stages of a voluntary action.
Answer: A voluntary action passes through three stages: (i) the mental stage, comprising the spring of action, the end or motive, desire, conflict of desires, deliberation and final decision or choice; (ii) the bodily stage, in which the chosen decision is executed through bodily movements; (iii) the external stage, in which the action produces its consequences in the outside world. Ethics is mainly concerned with the mental stage, as that is where freedom and choice reside.
46. Mention the characteristics of moral judgment.
Answer: Moral judgment has the following characteristics: (i) it is categorical — its commands are unconditional; (ii) it is universal — what is right for one is right for all in similar circumstances; (iii) it is impersonal — it does not change with the person judging; (iv) it presupposes the freedom of the will; (v) it carries with it a feeling of obligation or oughtness; and (vi) it is followed by approval or disapproval and by feelings of merit or remorse.
47. What is Hedonism? State its forms.
Answer: Hedonism (Greek hedone = pleasure) is the ethical theory that pleasure is the highest good and the standard of moral conduct. Its main forms are: (i) Egoistic Hedonism, including Cyrenaicism (Aristippus), which seeks the agent’s own immediate pleasure, and Epicureanism (Epicurus), which seeks lasting personal pleasure; (ii) Universalistic Hedonism or Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill), which seeks the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
48. What is Cyrenaicism?
Answer: Cyrenaicism is the earliest Greek school of Egoistic Hedonism, founded by Aristippus of Cyrene, a pupil of Socrates. It taught that the present, intense, bodily pleasure of the individual is the highest good. The Cyrenaics did not consider future pleasures or others’ pleasures and made no qualitative distinction among pleasures. The famous slogan “Eat, drink and be merry” expresses their spirit.
49. State the central principle of Utilitarianism.
Answer: Utilitarianism, the universalistic form of hedonism, holds that the right action is the one which produces “the greatest happiness of the greatest number.” It is the moral duty of every agent to maximise the net balance of pleasure over pain not for himself alone but for all sentient beings affected by his action. Bentham and Mill are its chief exponents.
50. Distinguish Bentham’s and Mill’s Utilitarianism.
Answer: Bentham’s utilitarianism is purely quantitative; he held that pleasures differ only in quantity (intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, extent) and that “pushpin is as good as poetry” if the quantity of pleasure is equal. Mill’s utilitarianism is qualitative; he distinguished higher (intellectual, moral) pleasures from lower (sensual) pleasures and declared that “it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
51. State Kant’s Categorical Imperative.
Answer: Kant’s Categorical Imperative is the supreme principle of morality and is unconditional, in contrast to a hypothetical imperative which is conditional. Its first formulation is: “Act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” A second formulation, the Formula of Humanity, is: “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never merely as a means.”
52. What is Good Will according to Kant?
Answer: By Good Will, Kant means a will that acts purely out of respect for the moral law, that is, out of a sense of duty, not from inclination, fear or hope of reward. According to Kant, “Nothing in the world — indeed nothing even beyond the world — can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a Good Will.” Good Will is good in itself and is the only thing of unconditional moral worth.
53. What is Perfectionism or Self-Realisation?
Answer: Perfectionism is the ethical theory that the highest good is the full realisation of the human self — the harmonious development of all the rational and moral capacities of human nature. Aristotle’s eudaimonia, T.H. Green’s “self-realisation in society” and F.H. Bradley’s “my station and its duties” are versions of this view. The standard of right conduct is whatever promotes the perfection of the true or best self.
54. What is Intuitionism?
Answer: Intuitionism is the ethical doctrine that we know moral truths immediately and directly through a faculty of moral intuition, without reasoning from consequences. Joseph Butler taught that conscience is the supreme moral faculty; Henry Sidgwick defended rational intuitionism; G.E. Moore argued that “good” is a simple, indefinable, non-natural property known by intellectual intuition alone.
55. What is the naturalistic fallacy?
Answer: In Principia Ethica (1903), G.E. Moore identified the “naturalistic fallacy” as the error of identifying or defining the property “good” with any natural property such as pleasure, desire or evolutionary fitness. Moore held that “good” is a simple, indefinable quality; any attempt to give a natural definition leaves the question “but is that good?” still open — this is his “Open Question Argument.”
56. What are the four Purusarthas?
Answer: The four Purusarthas are: (i) Dharma — righteousness or moral duty; (ii) Artha — wealth and material well-being; (iii) Kama — legitimate desire and enjoyment; (iv) Moksa — liberation or supreme spiritual freedom. Together they cover the complete range of human aspiration.
57. What is Niskama Karma?
Answer: Niskama Karma, taught in the Bhagavadgita by Sri Krishna, means desireless action — performing one’s duty (svadharma) sincerely and skilfully but without attachment to its fruits or results. The famous verse karmanyevadhikaraste ma phalesu kadacana sums up this doctrine: “Your right is to action alone, never to its fruits.”
58. What is Ahimsa?
Answer: Ahimsa, literally “non-injury” or “non-violence”, is the ethical principle of refraining from causing harm to any living being in thought, word or deed. It is the highest virtue (ahimsa paramo dharmah) in Jainism and a central principle in Buddhism, Hinduism and Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of life and politics.
59. What is Summum Bonum?
Answer: Summum Bonum is a Latin term meaning “the Highest Good.” It is the ultimate end of human life, sought for its own sake and not as a means to anything else. Different ethical schools identify it differently — Hedonists with pleasure, Kantians with the union of virtue and happiness, Perfectionists with self-realisation, and Indian thinkers with Moksa.
60. Why is freedom of the will important in ethics?
Answer: Moral judgment, moral responsibility, praise and blame all presuppose that the agent could have acted otherwise. If every action were strictly determined by prior causes, no one could be held responsible. Hence freedom of the will is the indispensable postulate of ethics. Determinism, if rigidly applied, would destroy the very basis of morality.
C. Long Answer Type Questions (5–6 Marks)
61. Define Ethics. Discuss the nature of Ethics as a normative science.
Answer: Ethics, also called Moral Philosophy, is the systematic study of human voluntary conduct from the standpoint of its rightness or wrongness, goodness or badness. Its etymology — Greek ethos and Latin mores, both meaning custom or habit — shows that it deals with the customary, habitual conduct of human beings. J.S. Mackenzie defined it as “the study of what is right or good in conduct”; Muirhead, as “the science of the highest ideal involved in human conduct”; William Lillie, as “the normative science of the conduct of human beings living in societies.”
Ethics is a science because it organises its knowledge systematically and applies general principles. But it is a normative science, not a positive one, for the following reasons: (i) Positive sciences such as physics or psychology study what is the case; ethics studies what ought to be the case. (ii) Positive sciences are descriptive and explanatory, ethics is prescriptive and evaluative. (iii) Positive sciences seek causal laws; ethics seeks an ideal — the supreme good. (iv) Positive sciences are value-free; ethics is value-laden. Along with Logic (the science of truth) and Aesthetics (the science of beauty), Ethics (the science of goodness) constitutes the trio of normative sciences. Ethics is also distinct from a practical science: a practical science teaches us how to do something step by step, but ethics merely supplies the guiding principle and leaves its application to the conscience of the moral agent. Hence Mackenzie rightly observed, “Ethics gives us the knowledge of the guiding principles of life but does not tell us how to apply them.”
62. Discuss the scope of Ethics.
Answer: The scope of Ethics is determined by its subject-matter, which is the voluntary actions of rational human beings. Its scope includes:
(i) The nature and standard of moral conduct — what makes actions right or wrong, the analysis of voluntary action, motive, intention and consequence.
(ii) The Highest Good (Summum Bonum) — the ultimate end of human life and the various theories about it: Hedonism, Rigorism, Perfectionism, Intuitionism.
(iii) Moral judgment and moral consciousness — the nature of conscience, moral obligation, and the feelings of approval, disapproval, merit and remorse.
(iv) Virtues and duties — courage, justice, temperance, truthfulness, and the duties to self, family, society, country and humanity.
(v) Free will, moral responsibility and punishment.
(vi) Modern subdivisions: Normative Ethics formulates and defends standards of right conduct; Descriptive Ethics studies how moral views actually exist in different cultures; Metaethics analyses the meaning and logical status of ethical terms (Moore’s Principia Ethica); Applied Ethics deals with concrete problems such as bioethics, environmental ethics, professional ethics and business ethics.
(vii) Indian Ethics — the doctrine of Purusarthas, Karma, Niskama Karma, Ahimsa and the moral teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavadgita, Buddhism and Jainism.
The scope of ethics is therefore very wide, embracing both the theoretical analysis of moral concepts and the practical evaluation of conduct.
63. Explain the three stages of a voluntary action with examples.
Answer: A voluntary action is one performed by a rational agent deliberately to realise a foreseen end. It passes through three connected stages — mental, bodily, and external.
(1) Mental Stage: This is the inner stage where the action is shaped. It includes (a) the spring of action, an instinct or natural tendency that prompts activity; (b) the end or motive, the idea of an object that the agent thinks will satisfy his desire; (c) desire, the felt want for the end; (d) conflict of desires, when several desires arise together; (e) deliberation, the weighing of alternatives in the light of consequences; and (f) decision or choice, the resolve to act on one of them. Example: a student feels hungry (spring), thinks of buying samosa (end), desires it, but also wants to save money (conflict), weighs both (deliberation), and chooses to buy (decision).
(2) Bodily Stage: The decision is now translated into bodily movement. The student walks to the shop, hands over money, takes the samosa.
(3) External Stage: The action produces consequences in the world — hunger satisfied, money spent, the shopkeeper earning. These consequences extend beyond the agent.
Ethics chiefly concerns itself with the mental stage because that is where freedom, choice and moral character lie.
64. Discuss the objects of moral judgment.
Answer: The “object of moral judgment” means that on which moral predicates such as right, wrong, good or bad are properly attached. Different ethical thinkers have proposed different objects:
(i) Consequences — the Utilitarians say that the moral quality of an act lies in its consequences (the amount of happiness produced). Objection: many consequences are unforeseen and accidental; we cannot judge an agent by them.
(ii) Motive — Kant emphasises that moral worth lies in acting from duty alone, that is, from the right motive. Objection: a good motive may use bad means; a man stealing to feed the poor has a good motive but does wrong.
(iii) Means — some say only the means used should be judged. Objection: means cannot be judged apart from the end they serve.
(iv) Intention — the most accepted view is that the proper object is intention, which combines the motive (end) and the chosen means together with foreseen consequences. Mackenzie writes, “Intention is the proper object of moral judgment.” Intention reveals the agent’s whole moral attitude.
(v) Character — beyond a single act, moral judgment may extend to the agent’s settled character, of which the act is an expression.
Hence the foreseen and chosen content of a voluntary act — its intention — together with the character it expresses, is the proper object of moral judgment.
65. Explain Hedonism. Discuss its different forms.
Answer: Hedonism (Greek hedone = pleasure) is the ethical doctrine that pleasure is the highest good of life and the standard of right conduct. Whatever produces pleasure is right; whatever produces pain is wrong. Its different forms are:
(1) Psychological Hedonism holds that human beings are so constituted that they always seek pleasure and avoid pain. (2) Ethical Hedonism holds that one ought to seek pleasure as the highest good. Ethical Hedonism is further divided into:
(a) Egoistic Hedonism — the agent’s own pleasure is the supreme end. Two main schools are: Cyrenaicism founded by Aristippus, who valued only the present, intense, bodily pleasure of the individual; and Epicureanism, founded by Epicurus, who preferred lasting, peaceful and intellectual pleasures (ataraxia).
(b) Universalistic Hedonism or Utilitarianism — the pleasure of all sentient beings is the supreme end. Bentham gave it the maxim “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” and a quantitative calculus. Mill refined it by adding the qualitative distinction of higher and lower pleasures.
(c) Altruistic Hedonism seeks the pleasure of others before one’s own.
Hedonism is criticised because pleasure is too subjective and variable to be the moral standard, because the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake often defeats itself (“the hedonistic paradox”), and because it cannot account for moral heroism, sacrifice and duty.
66. Explain Utilitarianism. Distinguish Bentham’s and Mill’s views.
Answer: Utilitarianism is the universalistic form of Hedonism. It declares that the right action is that which produces “the greatest happiness of the greatest number,” or, equivalently, the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for all affected sentient beings. Its founders are Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873).
Bentham’s Quantitative Utilitarianism: Bentham held that all pleasures are alike in kind and differ only in quantity. He proposed seven dimensions for measuring pleasure — intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity (nearness), fecundity, purity, and extent — known as the felicific calculus. He famously remarked that “quantity of pleasure being equal, pushpin (a children’s game) is as good as poetry.”
Mill’s Qualitative Utilitarianism: Mill accepted the basic utilitarian principle but rejected Bentham’s purely quantitative measurement. He argued that pleasures differ in quality as well as quantity. Higher pleasures (intellectual, moral, aesthetic) are intrinsically superior to lower (sensual) pleasures. The competent judge — one who has experienced both — will always prefer the higher. Mill’s celebrated saying is: “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
Difference: Bentham measures only the amount of pleasure; Mill measures both amount and kind. Bentham’s view is mathematically simpler; Mill’s view is morally richer but less easy to calculate.
67. Explain Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Discuss its formulations.
Answer: Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), the great German philosopher, propounded a moral theory called Rigorism. He rejected pleasure, consequences and inclinations as the basis of morality, and held that the only thing good without qualification is a Good Will — a will that acts from duty in obedience to the moral law given by reason itself. The supreme principle of this moral law he called the Categorical Imperative.
An imperative is a command. A hypothetical imperative is conditional (“If you want X, do Y”). A categorical imperative is unconditional (“Do Y”) — it commands absolutely and applies to every rational being.
Kant gave several formulations of this imperative:
(i) Formula of Universal Law: “Act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law of nature.” Test of morality: ask whether the maxim of your act could be universalised without contradiction. Lying fails the test, because if everyone lied, the very institution of speech would collapse.
(ii) Formula of Humanity (End-in-itself): “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never merely as a means.” Persons have intrinsic worth and must never be used merely as instruments.
(iii) Formula of Autonomy / Kingdom of Ends: “Act as if you were through your maxim a law-making member of a kingdom of ends” — every rational agent is at once author and subject of the moral law.
Kant’s ethics is rigorous, dignified and based on reason, but it is criticised for being too abstract, formal and indifferent to consequences and human emotions.
68. Explain the doctrine of Self-Realisation or Perfectionism.
Answer: Perfectionism, also called the doctrine of Self-Realisation, holds that the highest good of human life lies in the full and harmonious realisation of the rational, moral and spiritual capacities of the human self. The standard of right conduct is whatever conduces to such self-realisation; the wrong is whatever frustrates it.
Aristotle laid the foundation of this view by identifying the highest good with eudaimonia, the activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue throughout a complete life. Each thing has its own function (ergon); the function of human beings is rational activity, and excellence of rational activity is virtue. Happiness is realised in the practice of virtue.
In modern Western thought, T.H. Green argued that the moral end is the realisation of one’s “best self,” which is at once individual and social — true self-realisation requires the realisation of others. F.H. Bradley, in Ethical Studies, defended the doctrine through the chapter “My Station and its Duties”: the self realises itself by fulfilling the duties of its station in family, society and state.
Perfectionism is appreciated for its high view of human nature, for harmonising individual and social good, and for accommodating duty, virtue, and happiness within one principle. It is criticised for vagueness — what is the “true self”? — and for the difficulty of measuring degrees of perfection.
69. Explain Intuitionism. What is the naturalistic fallacy?
Answer: Intuitionism is the ethical theory that we know basic moral truths immediately and directly through a faculty of moral intuition, not by inference from non-moral facts. Right and good are perceived as self-evident, just as we perceive that 2 + 2 = 4.
Joseph Butler held that the human mind has a hierarchy of faculties — appetites, desires, principles of self-love and benevolence, and above all conscience, the moral faculty that immediately approves or disapproves of actions. Henry Sidgwick defended a more rationalist intuitionism, arguing that certain ethical axioms (such as the principle of impartiality) are self-evident to reason. G.E. Moore, in Principia Ethica (1903), gave the most influential modern statement: “good” is a simple, indefinable, non-natural property, known only by intellectual intuition.
Moore’s naturalistic fallacy is the mistake of identifying or defining “good” with any natural property — pleasure, desire, evolutionary fitness, or social approval. The fallacy is exposed by his “Open Question Argument”: if “good” meant “pleasant”, then “Pleasure is good” would be an empty tautology and the question “Is pleasure good?” would be meaningless; but the question is clearly meaningful. Hence “good” is not identical with “pleasant” or with any natural property; it is a unique, simple quality known by intuition.
Intuitionism is praised for protecting the autonomy of moral discourse, but criticised for offering no method to settle conflicting intuitions.
70. Discuss the four Purusarthas of Indian Ethics.
Answer: The Purusarthas are the four supreme ends or values of human life recognised by the classical Hindu tradition. The word Purusartha means “that which is sought by a purusa (person)” — the goals worthy of human pursuit. They are Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksa.
(1) Dharma — Righteousness, moral law, the code of right conduct. It is the regulating principle of life, derived from the scriptures and moral reasoning. Dharma includes truthfulness, non-violence, charity, self-control and the duties of one’s station (varnasrama-dharma). It is fundamental, for Artha and Kama must be pursued in accordance with Dharma.
(2) Artha — Wealth, property and the material means of life, acquired by lawful and ethical methods. Without Artha, life cannot be sustained and Dharma cannot be practised; hence Artha is a legitimate end.
(3) Kama — Legitimate desire and enjoyment, including aesthetic, emotional and physical pleasures within the bounds of Dharma. Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra is its classical text.
(4) Moksa — Liberation, the final release of the soul (atman) from the cycle of birth and death (samsara) and union with or realisation of the supreme reality (Brahman). Moksa is the highest of the four, for it is sought for its own sake; the other three are also instrumental to it.
Dharma, Artha and Kama together form the Trivarga, the threefold worldly pursuit; Moksa is the Apavarga, the supreme spiritual end. Indian ethics thus harmoniously integrates the worldly and the spiritual, the material and the moral, in a complete vision of human flourishing.
71. Explain the doctrine of Niskama Karma in the Bhagavadgita.
Answer: Niskama Karma, literally “desireless action,” is the central ethical teaching of the Bhagavadgita, given by Sri Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna refuses to fight on seeing his kinsmen on the opposite side; Krishna corrects him and teaches the path of selfless action.
The doctrine has three essential elements:
(i) Performance of duty (svadharma): One must perform one’s prescribed duty, however difficult. Inaction is impossible and harmful. “Better is one’s own duty though imperfectly performed than another’s duty well performed.”
(ii) Detachment from fruits: While performing duty, one must give up attachment to its results. “Karmanyevadhikaraste ma phalesu kadacana” — “Your right is to action alone; never to its fruits. Let not the fruit of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.”
(iii) Equanimity (samatva): Success and failure, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, must be received with equal mind. Such equanimity is yoga: “Samatvam yoga ucyate.”
Niskama Karma combines the highest activity with the deepest peace. It rejects both selfish action (motivated by reward) and inaction (motivated by escape). It liberates the doer from the bondage of karma and leads to Moksa. Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak and Sri Aurobindo all drew their ethical inspiration from this doctrine.
72. Discuss the importance of Ahimsa in Indian Ethics.
Answer: Ahimsa, “non-violence” or “non-injury,” is the supreme ethical principle of the Indian tradition. The word literally means abstaining from himsa (harm) to any living being. The classical maxim is ahimsa paramo dharmah — “non-violence is the highest virtue.”
Ahimsa has both a negative and a positive aspect. Negatively it means refraining from causing harm in thought, word or deed. Positively it means active love and compassion for all living beings (maitri and karuna). It is to be practised at three levels — physical, verbal and mental.
(i) In Jainism, Ahimsa is the very heart of religion and the first of the five great vows (mahavratas). The Jaina monk practises it with the utmost rigour, even to the extent of filtering water and sweeping the path before walking.
(ii) In Buddhism, Ahimsa is the first precept and an essential part of the Noble Eightfold Path; karuna (compassion) is the highest virtue.
(iii) In Hinduism, the Manusmriti, Yogasutra and Bhagavadgita all praise Ahimsa as a cardinal virtue.
(iv) In Modern India, Mahatma Gandhi made Ahimsa the foundation of his life and the basis of Satyagraha, the moral and political weapon by which India won independence. For Gandhi, Ahimsa and Truth (Satya) are the two sides of the same coin.
Ahimsa promotes social harmony, ecological balance and inner peace, and remains India’s greatest moral contribution to world civilisation.
73. Explain the law of Karma.
Answer: The law of Karma is one of the most distinctive doctrines of Indian thought. The Sanskrit word karma literally means “action” or “deed”. As an ethical-metaphysical law, Karma teaches that every voluntary action — physical, verbal or mental — produces a corresponding result that the doer must reap, in this life or in a future life. Good actions produce good fruits (sukha) and bad actions produce bad fruits (duhkha).
Three kinds of Karma are usually distinguished: (i) Sanchita Karma — the accumulated karma of all past lives; (ii) Prarabdha Karma — that part of accumulated karma which has begun to bear fruit in the present life and determines its general circumstances; (iii) Kriyamana or Agami Karma — the karma being done in the present, whose fruits will be reaped in future.
The law of Karma upholds moral responsibility: every individual is the author of his own destiny. It explains the apparent inequalities of life as the consequence of one’s own past deeds, removing the charge of injustice from the cosmic order. It is closely connected with the doctrine of rebirth (samsara) and with the path of liberation (Moksa). Niskama Karma — selfless, desireless action — releases the soul from the bondage of karma altogether.
74. What is Summum Bonum? Discuss the different views about it.
Answer: Summum Bonum is a Latin term meaning “the Highest Good” — the ultimate end of human life, sought for its own sake and not as a means to anything else. The search for the Summum Bonum is the central problem of ethics, since the moral standard depends on it.
Different ethical schools have given different answers:
(i) Hedonism: Pleasure is the highest good. Cyrenaicism — present bodily pleasure of the agent. Epicureanism — lasting peaceful pleasure. Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill) — the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
(ii) Rigorism (Kant): The highest good is a Good Will acting from duty; the complete good is the union of virtue and happiness in proportion to virtue.
(iii) Perfectionism (Aristotle, Green, Bradley): The highest good is self-realisation or eudaimonia, the harmonious development of human personality.
(iv) Intuitionism (Moore): The highest good consists of intrinsically valuable states such as friendship and the contemplation of beauty.
(v) Indian Ethics: The highest good is Moksa, liberation from samsara and union with the Supreme. The Bhagavadgita identifies it with God-realisation through Niskama Karma.
Most modern thinkers admit that the Summum Bonum cannot be reduced to a single element; it is the harmonious realisation of virtue, knowledge, happiness and spiritual freedom.
75. Discuss Free Will and Determinism in relation to morality.
Answer: The problem of free will and determinism is one of the oldest in philosophy and is fundamental to ethics. Determinism is the doctrine that every event, including human action, is the necessary effect of antecedent causes. Free Will is the doctrine that the human agent has the power of genuine choice — he could, at the moment of decision, have chosen otherwise.
If strict determinism is true, then no one is morally responsible for his actions: praise, blame, reward and punishment are unjust, since the agent could not have done otherwise. The whole structure of moral judgment, conscience, duty and obligation collapses. Hence ethics presupposes the freedom of the will.
The chief arguments for free will are: (i) Direct consciousness — at the moment of decision we feel free; (ii) Moral consciousness — feelings of obligation, remorse, merit are inexplicable without freedom; (iii) Social practices — law, education and morality assume freedom.
The chief arguments for determinism are: (i) Causal uniformity — every event has a cause; (ii) Predictability of behaviour; (iii) Heredity and environment shape character.
The reasonable view, accepted by most modern philosophers, is Self-Determinism: the agent is determined, but determined by his own self — by his character, reason and values. Such self-determination is genuine freedom and provides a sound basis for moral responsibility.
76. Discuss Virtue, Duty and Justice as cardinal moral concepts.
Answer: Virtue is a settled disposition of character to do what is right — it is moral excellence. Aristotle defined virtue as a “mean between two extremes” of excess and deficiency: courage, for example, is the mean between rashness and cowardice. Plato listed four cardinal virtues — wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Indian thought emphasises truthfulness, non-violence, self-control, compassion and purity (the yamas and niyamas).
Duty (Sanskrit: dharma; German: Pflicht) is what one ought to do — the moral demand placed on the agent by the moral law, regardless of inclination or reward. Kant made duty the very heart of morality: an act has moral worth only if done from duty. Duties are classified as duties to self, to others, and to God or society. Indian ethics speaks of svadharma, one’s own duty according to station and stage of life.
Justice is the virtue of giving each what is due to him. Aristotle distinguished distributive justice (fair distribution of goods according to merit) from corrective justice (rectification of wrongs). Plato called justice the harmony of the parts of the soul and of the parts of the state. Modern thinkers such as John Rawls have developed sophisticated theories of social justice. In Indian ethics, justice is part of Dharma and is upheld by the king and the community.
Virtue, duty and justice are the three pillars of the moral life. Virtue is the inner character; duty is the outward demand; justice is the social order in which both are realised.
Additional Important Questions
D. Multiple Choice Questions (1 Mark Each)
77. The word “ethics” is derived from the Greek word —
(a) eudaimonia (b) ethos (c) logos (d) nomos
Answer: (b) ethos.
78. The Latin word for custom is —
(a) mores (b) persona (c) natura (d) animus
Answer: (a) mores.
79. Ethics is —
(a) a positive science (b) a normative science (c) a practical science (d) a natural science
Answer: (b) a normative science.
80. The founder of Cyrenaicism was —
(a) Epicurus (b) Aristippus (c) Bentham (d) Mill
Answer: (b) Aristippus.
81. Bentham measured pleasure —
(a) qualitatively (b) quantitatively (c) intuitively (d) spiritually
Answer: (b) quantitatively.
82. “Better Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied” was said by —
(a) Bentham (b) Mill (c) Kant (d) Moore
Answer: (b) Mill.
83. The Categorical Imperative was given by —
(a) Hegel (b) Kant (c) Hume (d) Locke
Answer: (b) Kant.
84. The naturalistic fallacy was identified by —
(a) Sidgwick (b) Butler (c) G.E. Moore (d) Russell
Answer: (c) G.E. Moore.
85. Eudaimonia means —
(a) duty (b) flourishing/happiness (c) pleasure (d) liberation
Answer: (b) flourishing/happiness.
86. The four Purusarthas are —
(a) Sat-Cit-Ananda-Brahman (b) Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksa (c) Yama-Niyama-Asana-Dhyana (d) Sattva-Rajas-Tamas-Guna
Answer: (b) Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksa.
87. Niskama Karma is taught in —
(a) Ramayana (b) Bhagavadgita (c) Manusmriti (d) Arthasastra
Answer: (b) Bhagavadgita.
88. Ahimsa paramo dharmah means —
(a) Truth is the highest virtue (b) Non-violence is the highest virtue (c) Knowledge is the highest virtue (d) Love is the highest virtue
Answer: (b) Non-violence is the highest virtue.
89. The highest Purusartha is —
(a) Dharma (b) Artha (c) Kama (d) Moksa
Answer: (d) Moksa.
90. Trivarga consists of —
(a) Dharma, Artha, Kama (b) Artha, Kama, Moksa (c) Dharma, Kama, Moksa (d) Dharma, Artha, Moksa
Answer: (a) Dharma, Artha, Kama.
91. The chief modern advocate of Self-Realisation in England was —
(a) T.H. Green (b) David Hume (c) John Locke (d) Bertrand Russell
Answer: (a) T.H. Green.
92. The book Principia Ethica was written by —
(a) Russell (b) Whitehead (c) Moore (d) Bradley
Answer: (c) Moore.
93. Conscience as a moral faculty was emphasised by —
(a) Kant (b) Butler (c) Mill (d) Bentham
Answer: (b) Butler.
94. The proper object of moral judgment is —
(a) consequence (b) motive (c) intention (d) means
Answer: (c) intention.
95. Mahatma Gandhi made Ahimsa the basis of —
(a) Sarvodaya (b) Swaraj (c) Satyagraha (d) all of these
Answer: (d) all of these.
E. Fill in the Blanks
96. Ethics is the science of __________ . Answer: human voluntary conduct.
97. Pleasure in Greek is __________ . Answer: hedone.
98. The author of the felicific calculus is __________ . Answer: Bentham.
99. Kant’s only unconditional good is the __________ . Answer: Good Will.
100. Moore’s “Open Question Argument” exposes the __________ fallacy. Answer: naturalistic.
101. The Sanskrit term for liberation is __________ . Answer: Moksa.
102. The doctrine of desireless action is called __________ . Answer: Niskama Karma.
103. The accumulated karma of past lives is called __________ . Answer: Sanchita Karma.
104. Aristotle’s term for highest good is __________ . Answer: eudaimonia.
105. “My station and its duties” is a chapter in Bradley’s __________ . Answer: Ethical Studies.
F. True or False
106. Ethics deals with involuntary actions. Answer: False — it deals with voluntary actions.
107. Bentham distinguished higher and lower pleasures. Answer: False — Mill did.
108. Kant’s ethics is based on consequences. Answer: False — it is based on duty and Good Will.
109. Moksa is the highest Purusartha. Answer: True.
110. Ahimsa was central to Mahavira’s teaching. Answer: True.
111. Niskama Karma means selfish action. Answer: False — it means desireless action.
112. Intention is the proper object of moral judgment. Answer: True.
113. Ethics is purely descriptive. Answer: False — it is normative.
114. G.E. Moore was an intuitionist. Answer: True.
115. Trivarga includes Moksa. Answer: False — it includes Dharma, Artha and Kama only.
G. Short Practice Questions
116. Why are the actions of children and lunatics not subject to moral judgment?
Answer: Children and lunatics lack full rationality, deliberation and free choice. Moral judgment presupposes a rational agent who can foresee consequences and choose between alternatives. Since these conditions are absent in children and the insane, their actions are non-moral and not subject to ethical evaluation.
117. State two arguments against Egoistic Hedonism.
Answer: (i) Egoistic Hedonism cannot account for moral acts of self-sacrifice and concern for others, which are universally admired. (ii) The exclusive pursuit of one’s own pleasure is self-defeating — the “hedonistic paradox” shows that pleasure is best obtained when not directly pursued.
118. Distinguish between hypothetical and categorical imperatives.
Answer: A hypothetical imperative is conditional — it commands a means to a desired end (“If you want health, exercise”). A categorical imperative is unconditional — it commands absolutely, irrespective of desires (“Do not lie”). Only categorical imperatives express moral obligations.
119. Why is “good” indefinable, according to G.E. Moore?
Answer: Moore argued that “good” is a simple, non-natural property that cannot be analysed into anything more basic. Any attempted definition in natural terms (pleasure, desire) leaves the meaningful “open question” — “But is that good?” — unanswered. Hence “good” is known only by intellectual intuition and is indefinable.
120. Why is Dharma considered the foundation of all Purusarthas?
Answer: Artha and Kama must be pursued only in accordance with Dharma, otherwise they degenerate into greed and licentiousness. Moksa is reached by following Dharma. Hence Dharma is the regulating principle of the whole moral life and is rightly called the foundation of all Purusarthas.
121. What is the “hedonistic paradox”?
Answer: The hedonistic paradox is the observation that the direct pursuit of pleasure tends to defeat itself. The more anxiously one chases pleasure, the more it eludes one. Pleasure is best obtained when one engages in worthwhile activities for their own sake. Hence pleasure cannot be the ultimate moral end.
122. Why does Kant call lying always wrong?
Answer: Because the maxim of lying cannot be universalised without contradiction. If everyone lied whenever convenient, the very practice of speaking truth would lose meaning, and no lie could even succeed. Hence lying contradicts itself when made a universal law and is always morally wrong.
123. State the difference between Trivarga and Apavarga.
Answer: Trivarga consists of Dharma, Artha and Kama — the three worldly Purusarthas pursued in everyday life. Apavarga consists of Moksa alone — the supreme spiritual Purusartha which is liberation from worldly existence. Trivarga is preparatory; Apavarga is the final goal.
124. Discuss conscience as an inner moral guide.
Answer: Conscience is the inner faculty by which a person immediately approves or disapproves of his own and others’ actions. Joseph Butler called it the supreme principle of human nature, naturally fitted to govern. It carries authority and gives feelings of merit, remorse, guilt and obligation. Conscience may be informed by reason, religious teaching and culture, but its judgments are felt as authoritative.
125. Mention three duties of a citizen.
Answer: (i) To obey the laws of the country and to pay taxes honestly; (ii) to defend the country and serve its institutions truthfully; (iii) to promote the common good and respect the rights and dignity of fellow citizens.
Comparative and Reference Tables
Table 1 — Etymology and Definitions
| Term | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ethics | Greek ethos | Custom, character, habit |
| Moral | Latin mores | Custom, manner |
| Hedonism | Greek hedone | Pleasure |
| Eudaimonia | Greek | Flourishing, happiness |
| Summum Bonum | Latin | The Highest Good |
| Purusartha | Sanskrit | Goal of human life |
| Dharma | Sanskrit | Righteousness, moral law |
| Karma | Sanskrit | Action and its result |
| Ahimsa | Sanskrit | Non-violence |
| Moksa | Sanskrit | Liberation |
Table 2 — Positive vs. Normative Sciences
| Aspect | Positive Science | Normative Science |
|---|---|---|
| Question asked | What is? | What ought to be? |
| Method | Description, explanation | Prescription, evaluation |
| Concern | Facts and causes | Ideals and standards |
| Examples | Physics, Chemistry, Psychology | Logic, Ethics, Aesthetics |
| Value | Value-free | Value-laden |
Table 3 — Three Stages of Voluntary Action
| Stage | Components | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mental | Spring, end, desire, conflict, deliberation, decision | Student decides to study before examination |
| Bodily | Physical execution of decision | Opens book, reads, writes notes |
| External | Consequences in the world | Knowledge gained, examination passed |
Table 4 — Motive vs. Intention
| Aspect | Motive | Intention |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The end or desire prompting action | End plus chosen means together |
| Inner / Outer | Inner subjective | Inner + chosen outer means |
| Moral significance | Partial — goodness of motive does not justify wrong means | Complete — proper object of moral judgment |
| Example | Compassion for a poor man | Compassion + giving him one’s own money honestly |
Table 5 — Schools of Hedonism
| School | Founder / Exponent | Central Idea |
|---|---|---|
| Cyrenaicism | Aristippus | Present, intense, bodily pleasure of the agent |
| Epicureanism | Epicurus | Calm, lasting, intellectual pleasure (ataraxia) |
| Egoistic Hedonism | Hobbes (modern) | One’s own pleasure is the end |
| Utilitarianism (Quantitative) | Bentham | Greatest pleasure of greatest number, by quantity only |
| Utilitarianism (Qualitative) | J.S. Mill | Higher pleasures preferred to lower |
| Altruistic Hedonism | Comte | Pleasure of others above self |
Table 6 — Bentham vs. Mill
| Point | Bentham | Mill |
|---|---|---|
| Type of pleasure | Quantitative only | Quantitative and qualitative |
| Higher / Lower pleasure | No distinction | Sharp distinction |
| Famous saying | “Pushpin is as good as poetry” | “Better Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied” |
| Method | Felicific calculus | Judgment of competent judges |
Table 7 — Standards of Morality (Western Schools)
| School | Highest Good | Chief Exponent |
|---|---|---|
| Hedonism | Pleasure | Aristippus, Epicurus |
| Utilitarianism | Greatest happiness of greatest number | Bentham, Mill |
| Rigorism | Good Will and Duty | Kant |
| Perfectionism | Self-Realisation / eudaimonia | Aristotle, Green, Bradley |
| Intuitionism | Intuited goods (good itself) | Butler, Sidgwick, Moore |
Table 8 — Kant’s Categorical Imperative
| Formula | Statement |
|---|---|
| Universal Law | “Act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” |
| Humanity / End-in-itself | “Treat humanity always as an end and never merely as a means.” |
| Autonomy / Kingdom of Ends | “Act as if you were a law-making member of a kingdom of ends.” |
Table 9 — The Four Purusarthas
| Purusartha | Meaning | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Dharma | Righteousness, moral law | Regulates the other three |
| Artha | Wealth, material means | Sustains life and Dharma |
| Kama | Legitimate desire, enjoyment | Fulfils human emotional life |
| Moksa | Liberation | Final spiritual goal |
Table 10 — Three Kinds of Karma
| Kind | Sanskrit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Accumulated | Sanchita | Total karma of all past lives |
| Begun fruiting | Prarabdha | Karma now bearing fruit in present life |
| Currently produced | Kriyamana / Agami | Karma being made now, will fruit later |
Table 11 — Western and Indian Ethics Compared
| Point | Western Ethics | Indian Ethics |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Pleasure / Duty / Self-Realisation | Moksa (liberation) |
| Authority | Reason, conscience, intuition | Sruti, Smriti, conscience, reason |
| Central concept | Right action | Dharma |
| Law of action | Cause and effect of acts | Karma and rebirth |
| Highest virtue | Justice / benevolence | Ahimsa, truth, non-attachment |
| End of action | Happiness in this life | Liberation beyond samsara |
Table 12 — Free Will vs. Determinism
| Aspect | Free Will | Determinism |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | Agent could have acted otherwise | Every act is necessitated |
| Cause of action | Self / reason | Antecedent causes |
| Moral responsibility | Possible | Difficult / denied |
| Argument | Direct consciousness, conscience | Causal uniformity, predictability |
| Reasonable view | Self-determinism — the agent is determined by his own self | |
Glossary of Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ethics | Normative science of voluntary human conduct |
| Moral | Pertaining to right and wrong; from Latin mores |
| Normative Science | Science of what ought to be (ideal) |
| Voluntary Action | Action done deliberately by a rational agent |
| Motive | The end that prompts action |
| Intention | The end together with chosen means |
| Moral Judgment | Pronouncement of an act as right or wrong |
| Hedonism | Doctrine that pleasure is the highest good |
| Cyrenaicism | Egoistic hedonism of Aristippus |
| Epicureanism | Hedonism of calm, lasting pleasure (Epicurus) |
| Utilitarianism | Greatest happiness of greatest number |
| Felicific Calculus | Bentham’s method to measure pleasure |
| Rigorism | Kant’s strict ethics of duty |
| Categorical Imperative | Kant’s unconditional moral command |
| Good Will | Will acting from duty alone |
| Perfectionism | Ethics of self-realisation |
| Eudaimonia | Aristotelian human flourishing |
| Self-Realisation | Realising the true / best self |
| Intuitionism | Moral truths known by direct intuition |
| Naturalistic Fallacy | Defining good in terms of natural property |
| Open Question Argument | Moore’s test: “But is X good?” |
| Conscience | Inner moral faculty (Butler) |
| Summum Bonum | The Highest Good |
| Free Will | Power of genuine choice |
| Determinism | Doctrine that every act is necessitated |
| Self-Determinism | Action determined by the agent’s own self |
| Virtue | Settled disposition to do right |
| Duty | What one ought to do |
| Justice | Giving each what is due |
| Purusartha | Goal of human life (4 in number) |
| Dharma | Righteousness; moral and religious law |
| Artha | Wealth, material means |
| Kama | Legitimate desire, enjoyment |
| Moksa | Liberation, supreme spiritual freedom |
| Trivarga | Three Purusarthas — Dharma, Artha, Kama |
| Apavarga | The fourth Purusartha — Moksa |
| Karma | Action and its results |
| Sanchita Karma | Accumulated karma of past lives |
| Prarabdha Karma | Karma fruiting in present life |
| Kriyamana Karma | Karma being made now |
| Niskama Karma | Desireless action (Bhagavadgita) |
| Svadharma | One’s own duty |
| Samatva | Equanimity in pleasure and pain |
| Ahimsa | Non-violence in thought, word and deed |
| Satyagraha | Gandhi’s method of non-violent resistance |
| Maitri | Loving-kindness |
| Karuna | Compassion |
| Mahavrata | Great vow (Jainism) |
| Sruti | Revealed scripture (Vedas) |
| Smriti | Remembered scripture (e.g., Manusmriti) |
| Samsara | Cycle of birth and death |
| Atman | Self / soul |
| Brahman | The supreme reality |
Examination Tips
(1) Always begin with the etymology — Greek ethos and Latin mores — when defining ethics.
(2) Memorise at least one definition each from Mackenzie, Muirhead and William Lillie.
(3) For long answers, follow the structure: definition, explanation, examples, criticism (where applicable).
(4) Practise the comparison tables (Bentham vs. Mill, Western vs. Indian, Free Will vs. Determinism) — they often appear as direct examination questions.
(5) Quote one or two Sanskrit phrases — karmanyevadhikaraste, ahimsa paramo dharmah, samatvam yoga ucyate — to enrich answers on Indian ethics.
(6) For Kant, always remember the two key formulas of the Categorical Imperative.
(7) For Moore, remember the term “naturalistic fallacy” and the Open Question Argument.
(8) Never confuse Trivarga (three) with the four Purusarthas (which include Moksa).
(9) Distinguish carefully between motive and intention — this is a frequent two-mark question.
(10) Revise from the tables one day before the exam — they summarise the entire chapter.
This concludes the comprehensive ASSEB-aligned study material for Class 12 Logic and Philosophy, Chapter 7 — Ethics and Purusarthas (English Medium). May your study of moral philosophy not only earn you marks in the examination but also make you a wiser and more virtuous citizen of the country. Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, sarve santu niramayah — May all be happy, may all be free from suffering.