Baron Max said:
Hmm, I'm going to have to disagree with that statement. Even the most vicious, hardened criminals and psychopaths and sociopaths have some form of ethics. Perhaps not ethics that you'd agree with, but ethics nonetheless.
I'd also say that it's impossible for a group of more than one human to even exist without some form of ethics ...if it's only "Do not Steal", it's ethics. Ethics is a simple (or complex) system or understanding that allows two or more people to co-exist. Even roommates in a college dorm form their own system of ethics.
Baron Max
You are correct it is impossible for a group of humans to exist without ethics.
Now you see why humans can't exist, we aren't the most ethical species.
Ethics are vital to the continued existance of our species, without ethics, humans will slaughter each other out of existance. It took the invention of the bible and religion to scare humans into being ethical (you sin and you burn in hell for eternity). Ethics for perhaps most humans, is not a natural trait, and it's more that a lot of humans simply do what they are told to do because they fear what would happen if they don't do it. That is not ethics, that is obedience.
Ethical ability, is the ability to calculate cause and effect, and to find out what not only is in your best interest as a singular entity, but also what is in your best interest as a group entity. Each one of us exists both as a singular cell entity, and as a group entity. The most ethical among us are masters of the calculus of logical decision making, based on cause and effect, based on game theory, and in some cases experience and wisdom. Culture has little to do with innate or natural ethical ability just as culture cannot make someone a math genius, or a writing genius. Ethics are like physics, if you get it wrong, you'll damage your future self, you'll damage your future environment, you'll damage your reality, so if you want a certain reality, and a certain life, you have to live in a way which allows you to function in the wheel of life.
Sociopaths or Psychopaths, have manners, polished manners, cultural based rules, but they cannot feel right and wrong, so this is similar to how you can learn calculus and not remember any of it a year later because you aren't good at that math stuff. Some people are not good at making ethical decisions, or at predicting the results of their decisions, or understanding cause and effect. Some people are good at it and deliberately try to damage themselves, and these people are not psychopaths or sociopaths, but simply people who live in apathy and self hatred.
It's complicated, too complicated for someone like me to describe, but if you look at the writing of Hobbes, you'll understand that ethical ability is not universal, it's not even normal, it's a rare ability, very much like math ability is rare, or musical ability is rare, or writing.
Most people, only care about winning. Macheiveli wrote in the prince the perspective that many winners have. Perhaps not all of us, or even the majority of us, function in a win at any cost sorta way, but I'm sure each of you have met this sort of competitive individual, who will do anything to win.
What I'm saying is, if you'll do anything to win, you'll be more likely to win. It's not a mystery, if you are willing to do anything for a million dollars, you'll have a million dollars,as most people make a decision that there is something they'll refuse to do, due to ethical concerns, or just their conscience.
