Following
Aristotle (Nichomachian Ethics),
ethics might be thought of in terms of a craft (te,cnh) practised by a guild
(think: a particular community). This brief
essay will follow this analogy and expand the thought with additional consideration
of ethics in terms of 'narrative'.
Ethics may be understood, in part, as virtues that are acquired through the
formation of particular habits and that are aimed at achieving certain ends. These virtues and ends are understandable
against the narratives by which people frame their lives. Examples will be offered for mission and ministry practice by Christian communities.
1. Ends.
We need ends or goals (te,loj) to guide our actions if we are to have purposeful lives. (Craftsmen who make things out of wood—carpenters—need
to have specific goals, such as that they are making chairs and not wardrobes.) For ethics, the end that moral ‘craftsmen’ need
to pursue is the highest good, for this end gives meaning to all other
ends. Aristotle spoke of this highest
good as 'pleasure' (not Hedonism, but the life that brings satisfaction); the
Westminster Catechism spoke of the chief end of humanity as 'to glorify God and
enjoy Him forever'. A narrative ethic
might phrase the chief end in terms of 'faithful living within the narrative by
which we live' (as opposed to effectiveness, e.g.). Jesus' said that the chief among all Moses’ laws
was to love of God, and the second was to love one’s neighbour' (Mt.
22.37-40). One way of expanding the idea
of 'end' in ethics is to speak of 'moral
vision'--the way we see the world through our unique community and
tradition.
*If development work has the more immediate ends of 'caring for
fellow human beings' and 'self-empowerment of vulnerable people by meeting
their basic needs', how will these ends relate to the ‘chief’ end of
humans? How will these ends affect other
aspects of development work, such as the development of character and practices?
*Is the language of ‘human rights’ sufficient to explain the moral
life?
2. Virtues. A craft involves certain virtues. 'Areth, (virtue) means 'that quality of a thing
which helps it accomplish its purpose (‘end’) well.' If we are making knives, the virtues of the
knife might be: sharpness, a good weight, good grip, the right blade for the
right task (serrated or not), pricing, etc.
Aristotle defines a virtue as the mean between two extremes (deficiency and
excess, which are vices). Neither a dull
knife nor a razor will be helpful in eating steak. The virtues define a person’s character (h;qoj). The practice of the craft itself also
involves certain virtues: virtues associated with a business ethic and work
ethic.
*What 'common virtues' apply to all involved in a certain practice? (E.g., for the practice of communication
[such as being a reporter or writer], virtues might involve accuracy,
truthfulness, clarity, conciseness, balance, relevance, being interesting,
etc.) What about Development practices?
*What 'specific virtues' apply to Christian mission practice? Development work?
*How will ethics understood as development of character within a given tradition and community be different
from ethics understood in terms of making decisions
in light of particular principles?
(Moral decisionism focusses on choosing the right course of action by
applying the right principle rather than exploring how to develop a virtuous
character. Western ethics in Modernity
tried to identify a principle for making decisions: Kant’s categorical
imperative of being able to universalise an action [if it is right for me, it
has to be right for everyone], the Utilitarian’s principle of doing the
greatest good for the greatest number of people, the Situation Ethicist’s claim
that one will know the ‘loving thing’ to do when in the situation, without
being told.)
*What individual virtues apply to Christians? Paul speaks of 'gifts' rather than virtues,
implying (a) human fallenness requires God's grace and (b) the development of human
virtue requires God's grace.
*How should we rank the virtues (which are primary and which
secondary)? Classical Greek philosophy
spoke of ‘cardinal’ virtues (prudence, courage, temperance, and justice) that
headed the list of virtues. Aquinas
added the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love. How do different societies rank the virtues
and define them?
3. Tradition. Different crafts have different ends, values,
virtues, obligations, rules, and actions.
There are even secrets kept by craftsmen for how they produce their
craft (hence the title 'mister' [mystery] for a craftsman). Similarly, many ethicists argue, ethics are
not universal but pertain to a certain tradition (cf. Alisdair MacIntyre’s
asking ‘Whose Justice?’). Ethics is not first a question of what we
should do but of who we should be. This
different way of doing ethics opens up new ways to speak about the use of
Biblical authority for the Christian tradition: emphasis is placed not simply
on rules for what we should do, as important as these are for all defined
communities, but also on how Scripture defines our tradition and community (rules/norms,
actions, goals, virtues, principles, values, paradigms and narratives, and
worldview, etc.).
Narrative ethics emphasises the relation between the tradition and
the ethic that derives from within that tradition. E.g., 'abortion' under discussion in America
(women's rights), Russia (worker, community), and China (over population).
Communication practised in the Christian Tradition:
* Reporting is not only reporting news; it is uncovering a
tradition's assumed narrative and understanding how its virtues operate within
that narrative and tradition. Christian
reporting will uncover the assumed tradition of society and challenge this with
Christian tradition.
*How will being a member of a Christian community guide one to
pursue certain stories/information and not others? Tradition establishes agenda for enquiry.
*How will being a member of a Christian community guide one to
communicate material a certain way?
How does our Christian tradition determine how we engage in development
work?
4. Community. Even the same craft might be
practised differently by different guilds.
'This is how we do things here.'
Ethics involves being shaped by and for a given community. Aristotle's ethics (cf. Plato's Republic) prepares people to live within
the Greek city state; his virtues are those befitting such a society.
*What does it mean to practice Christian development work within a
Christian community, and how does development work with its virtues play a role
in larger society?
*What does it mean to practice development work as a member of a
Christian community while living in larger (supportive, hostile, indifferent?) society? H. Richard Niebuhr spoke of five models for
the relation of Church and State: Christ against culture, Christ of culture,
Christ and culture in paradox, Christ over culture, and Christ transforming
culture. What socio-political and theological
factors come into play to direct our Christian involvement in society?
*What does it mean to practice one's craft within a
guild/community? Paul speaks of
different gifts within the community, and seeking the good of the church
community in practising one's gifts (1 Cor. 12-14). Stanley Hauerwas says that the Church does
not have a social ethic, it is a social ethic. Many Christian ethicists like to speak of
Kingdom ethics to capture the socio-political nature of Christian ethics (over
against simply a personal ethic). What
is the correct understanding of the Kingdom of God, and how does it form a
particular community? (Cf. the Sermon on
the Mount in Mt. 5-7.)
5. Friendship. Aristotle discusses ethics primarily in terms
of 'virtues' (Nichomachean Ethics, 2
- 7) and 'friendship' (8 - 9).
(Friendship is another aspect of life in community, and so it is
mentioned here. As an approach to
ethics, it overlaps with a virtue ethic.)
Aristotle discusses three types of friendship: friendship for utility,
pleasure, and of good people. Virtue and
friendship are related in the last instance of friendship: 'complete friendship
is the friendship of good people similar in virtue' (NE, 9.35). Aristotle also
discusses friendship in families (cf. the NT's household codes). Obligation
derives from the friendships (relationships) we have.
Components of friendship (Aristotle): (1) doing things for the other's good (goodwill, concord, active
and unselfish benevolence, self-love [loving a friend who is most a friend, a
basis for making costly sacrifices for others]; (2) wishing the friend to be
and live for his/her own sake; (3) spending time together; (4) making the same
choices; (5) sharing in each other's distress and enjoyment (NE, 11.11). Cf. Rom. 12.1-18.
*Some cultures emphasise friendship as a basis for relationships of
all sorts: political leaders are 'benefactors' and parent figures; contracts
are more oral than written and friendship is the basis of the relationship more
than legal documents; tipping and bribery are aspects of relationships rather
than legality.
*How does mission practice relate to 'friendship' and 'community'
with respect to the church and society as a whole?
6. Apprenticeship. Those being initiated into a craft undergo an
apprenticeship. There is a need for a
teacher or mentor. Apprentices need
models of good craftsmen and crafstmenship.
There is much to learn, although knowledge counts for little in ethics
(it counts for much in crafts). Rather,
ethics has more to do with desiring and deciding to do the virtuous thing and
with shaping one's character (h;qoj). Character is shaped by a certain collection and hierarchy of virtues, and virtues are gained through habits ((e;qoj), which are gained
through repeated action (Aristotle, NE, 2.1). In addition, there is also an artistic feel, gained over time, for a
given trade. Virtues of character are
acquired through early habituation of one's desires, feelings, pleasures and pains
(NE, 1104b11, 1179b24). To a large extent, ethics is like a craft in
requiring these features of an apprenticeship.
The NT barely
uses the word 'virtue'. Paul speaks of
'righteousness' or 'fruit of the Spirit'.
Perhaps 'virtues' that one gains by oneself take too much emphasis off
of what God accomplishes by his grace in us through Christ and the Spirit. Jonathan Edwards spoke of this work of God in
terms of an 'awakening'. And yet
'righteousness' is not immediate: there is an 'already/not yet' aspect to
Christian living between the first and second coming of Christ (cf. Phl.
3.12ff). So, how do Christians 'train in
godliness' (1 Tim. 4.7--here: teaching, example, Scripture reading, use of a
gift for the church; cf. the 'theological virtues' of faith, love, and
hope--e.g., 1 Th. 5.8)? How do they
develop 'holy or religious affections' (Jonathan Edwards: 'If we take the Scriptures for our rule,
then the greater and higher our exercises of love to God, delight and
complacency in him, desires and longings after him, delight in his children,
love to mankind, brokenness of heart, abhorrence of sin, and self-abhorrence
for it; the more we have of the peace of God which passeth all understanding,
and joy in the Holy Ghost, unspeakable and full of glory; the higher our
admiring thoughts of God, exulting and glorying in him; so much the higher is
Christ’s religion, or that virtue which he and his apostles taught, raised in
the soul' (Thoughts on the Revival
I.II.I))?
Narrative ethics
emphasises the importance of living in
community to be able to visualise the embodiment of that narrative. Role
morality notes the importance of taking on a role within a community in
order to learn, improve, and be shaped by the community's expectations and
needs from one in that role. Paul
struggles with how to define his apostolic role, preferring to understand this
not in terms of 'leadership' but 'service', because the model for his ethic is Jesus Christ.
*What sort of apprenticeship is
required for mission practice?
*What sort of education in virtue is needed for our children? (Take faith, hope and love as the virtues for
discussion.) What action steps will we
need to take to train children and youth in Christian virtues?
*How do we learn to practice (as in craftsmanship) love,
forgiveness, reconciliation? How does
mission practice place us in the role of apprenticeship in these virtues (or
put us at odds with them!)?
7. Practices. Craftsmanship is about practice of a trade,
with the understanding that there is an art to each trade. When speaking of a Christian interest in
'reconciliation,' e.g., we may be concerned about troubled spots on the globe
or broken marriages and relationships.
Yet there is more than an interest in the same product at stake in
ethics: much of ethics is about the way in which this people practices what occupies them. Narrative ethicists such as Stanley Hauerwas
are concerned to describe the practices of those in the peaceable kingdom of
God. As Christians concern themselves
with reconciliation, how will Christian practice of this differ from what
others mean by the same term? One
example, whether lauded or derided today, is that of the medieval Catholic
penitentials laying out a way to practice reconciliation to God and the
church. This involved sorrow and
repentance, acts of contrition, forgiveness, absolution, restoration--more than
just saying 'sorry.' A Pauline
understanding of reconciliation involves one's relationship with God: he did
not expect those outside Christ to practice it (e.g., Tit. 3.3-7; Eph.
2.1-10). Ethics has to do with
understanding not only how a community's narrative outlines a unique virtue
ethic but also how a community's practices help develop and demonstrate these
virtues (e.g., love and the practice of forgiveness, reconciliation,
hospitality, humility).
*Mission practice is an
ethic: what sort of people are we becoming in the practice of our mission? How does this practice relate to the
narrative and virtues of our Christian community?
8. Rules.
Every society needs rules. This
removes the challenge to think and rethink ethics in the face of every decision
and challenge, and it allows the community to define character and ends in
terms of concrete rules (e.g., education, law).
*What rules define relationships so that they can work well in the
community (e.g., rules for children and their elders, injury, marriage,
property, truthfulness, greed, etc.)
*What rules will help the specific relationships in ministry and
missions?
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