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ETHICS & SPIRITUALITY

Dr. Jerry Fischer

Professor, Counseling & SchoolPsychology

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Defining Spirituality

What is the role of spirituality in

mainstream US culture today?

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Religion & Spirituality

Spirituality Religion

Religion Spirituality

Spirituality Religion

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Philosophy, Ethics, and Spirituality

A Short Historical Overview

Africa, the Americas, Australia, and other

places: family, kinship, communal life, no

beginnings and ends, animism, nature is

spiritual.

Middle East

Judaism-monotheism, law, blame and

responsibility

Zarathustra-monotheism, fire, evil, and Satan

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History Continued

India Hinduism-faces of one God, Brahma (creator),

Vishnu (sustainer), Shiva (destroyer),

mysticism, yoga (spiritual self-discipline), andliberation from suffering.

Buddism, life is suffering, suffering comesfrom selfish desire, desire can be eliminated,

enlightenment and Nirvana, reality is a seriesof momentary existences, everything is linkedthrough a causal chain.

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History Continued

China

Confucianism-harmonious community, jen

(social virtue) [virtue vs. law], li (observing

ceremonial forms), disciplined exercise toachieve spiritual mastery over oneself, chi

(energy).

Taoism, tuning the inner person to therhythms of nature, the Way of the universe,

life and death are a part of the yin and yang.

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History Continued

The Greeks

What is reality? Thales-water, Anaximander-

earth, air, fire, and water, Pythagoras-

mathematics, Heraclitus-fire, Parmenides &Zeno-reality and appearance (no change),

Democritus-atoms.

Socrates & Plato-innate goodness,idealism (world of forms & ideas),

material world is a shadow.

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History Continued

Aristotle-people have a purpose (and end)

Happiness (virtuous activity in accordance

with reason), virtue involves an optimum

balance and measure in ones behavior

(the mean between extremes), realism,

substance and essence.

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History Continued

Christianity-mercy and forgiveness, love

God with ones whole heart and love ones

neighbor as oneself, sacrifice of Jesus,

redemption for mans sins, individualsalvation.

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History Continued

Islam-monotheism, Allah, justice (reward goodand punish evil), jihad (war against evil), peoplehave an inner jihad, Allah distributes justice inthe afterlife.

The Middle Ages-proof of Gods existence,ethics relies on Gods existence.

Plotinus, the Great Chain of Being, all of reality

is connected, from lower sense reality to thehigher spiritual reality. World of Sense Soul Divine Mind The Absolute Source.

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That Man Kant

Modern World-Galileo, Newton, Kepler, Bacon (ourexperienced universe obeys laws), Kant, Critique of PureReason, we experience (organize and constitute) realitythrough our minds, but we can sense objects in space and

time and in causal relationships, Critique of PracticalReason, because we reason we can reach the sameconclusions regarding universally obligatory laws. We arenot controlled by the physical world because our mindsare constructed with free will. Pure and Practical reason

point to God but our minds cannot prove God. We havefaith

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Reactions to Modernism

Utilitarianism-(industrial revolution)

greatest good for the greatest number.

Romanticism-return to a more simple and

integrated world.

Existentialism-we create our own world-

Nietzsche (God is dead)-Kierkegaard-

(leap of faith).

Marxism-dialectical materialism

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More Reactions

Unconscious-Freud, irrationality

Pragmatism-learn by doing, what works, Dewey

Logic-mathematics (Russell, Husserl and

Whitehead) Mysticism-transforming our consciousness to

access higher orders of reality

Unified Field Theory-Cosmos, Newtonian,

Quantum Post Modernism-feminism (Gilligan) and social

constructionism

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What Can We Say?

Looking back on the historical

developments of philosophy, spirituality,

and ethics, what does it mean?

Where have we come from? Where are

we going?

What does it mean for us as counselors?

What does it mean for our clients?

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Principle Ethics Revisited

Can we apply ethical principles without

virtue or spirituality?

What about cultural relativism?

Is social constructionism the answer?

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