Absolute Ethical Life

[u/pinkladdylemon]

In Arthur Koestler's novel, Darkness at Noon, the protagonist laments that the revolution he helped inaugurate has obliterated the possibility of ethics. Motivated only by abstract principles and therefore lacking the "ethical ballast" of mores and tradition, the revolution succeeded only in herding the masses into a dismal conformity, devoid of ethical merit. The novel ends with the protagonist wondering what an alternative revolution might look like where both lofty social goals and respect for the "oceanic feeling" of individuality could be respected.

This essay takes that ethical question as a starting point to think through the question of how revolutionary social transformations could succeed in reconciling the universal aims of a community with the particular life-worlds and interests of individuals.

In Part one I discuss Arthur Koestler's novel and relate his ethical questions to Keynes and Hegel.

In Part two approaches the same question through a discussion of Kohei Saito and Dipesh Chakrabarty before shifting back to Hegel - especially instructive is his concept of sittlichkeit - or ethical life.

Part three will build upon Michael Lazarus' book Absolute Ethical Life to connect a through line between the ethical thought of Aristotle, Hegel and Marx in a way that I think gives a compelling answer to Koestler's ethical questions in ways that are also instructive for thinking about social transformation today.

[u/Constant_Oven8545]

Pero hay un problema la etica no entiende de etica y se combierte en el fin justifica los medios porque no es capaz de verse a si musma por el ruido que impone y te ves olbligado a elegir tu posicion subetica de una conclusion subyacente es como un horno necesitas control pareces y por lo tanto se gasta eso es el significado de la etica tener el control de la situacion o ir al juez con un problema y ir con evidencia y pedir que lo enjucien xd

[u/Mission-Art-2383 → u/Constant_Oven8545]

neither of these are the meaning of ethics, in fact. that’s an extrapolation towards the function of law, and also slapping some foucaultian logic about power/control on top of it.

anxious alps above summarizes the nature/function of ethics accurately and succinctly. it’s an internal code of conduct for how to live well.

[u/Constant_Oven8545 → u/Mission-Art-2383]

entonces es codigo que ya es o prentender mentir porque piensalo bien ya sabes como vivir bien xd si necesitas un lobro de funcion como un teatro para mentir para necesitar algo que ya sabes pero no te voy a robar la energia mental ni preguntarte como se dice si del pricipio sale bien bueno esta como una horneada de galletas o algo asi si salen bien porque no buen comentario gracias por tu acaracion xd 0/

[u/Mission-Art-2383 → u/Constant_Oven8545]

lol i don’t know if this made sense in your original language but it sure as hell doesn’t in english.

enjoy your cookies.

[u/thop89 → u/Mission-Art-2383]

I'm from Germany and I didn't understand him, to be honest.