In the new paradigm for Ethics one special assumption is made. It asks you to assume that human life is valuable.
Assume that human life is valuable. Then that is why murder is wrong. And that is why slavery, exploitation, manipulation, defrauding, deception, cheating and conning are wrong: they do harm to human beings. They desecrate value instead of enhancing value. They thus are to be avoided.
As we discuss human relations, human development, and ethics, let us make one more assumption: ethical individuals want to make things morally better. This suggests an imperative: Make things better!
The above two assumptions are the axioms for Ethics – just as transformations of energy are axioms for Physics. It is imperative to regard each conscious individual’s life as highly valuable and to make things better. Ethics teaches us to create value in our human interactions.
Hence something else to be avoided is having a double standard, one for yourself and another for others. Also it is wrong to use any means, take any steps, to get to your end-in-view – even if those means are immoral.
To be moral is to live by adherence to moral principles, and over time to be adding more of them to those that you live by. In this new paradigm for Ethics the concept “morality” implies moral development; you are to be making yourself better.
And transparency is a high value in this system for ethics. Have nothing to hide! Be transparent. A person of good character would want that for his government too. The barest minimum of government data is to be stamped “confidential.” Aim to maximize transparency!!! That is true Democracy.
To get further details about the system being proposed for consideration, feel free to consult the essays and papers linked to below.
Comments? Questions? Bright ideas?