Philosophy Nr.4 - Essay Example

Failing to do so may lead to social disintegration and chaos, which, in turn, devaluates the ethical system both individually as well as collectively. The codification of ethics has always been a prime requirement in the history of mankind. The key aspect to consider in this context is how human actions are triggered by what is thought. Now if one takes society as a whole and relates this postulate to its manifold ways of functioning, it would be clear as to why the role of ethics assumes a substantial dimension in the said context.

This paper is going to make a comparative analysis of the pros and cons of different ethical systems and their social consequences. The comparison will be made on the basis of works done by Jean-Paul Sartre, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Rene Descartes. The existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre revived the philosophical movement of the twentieth century by addressing the authenticity of the age-old moral astuteness. His commentaries on bad faith in particular develop a strong line of argument in relation to ethical studies.

Sartre never endorsed any ethical theory as he believed in ‘philosophy of freedom’ (Stewart 198). On one hand, his lifelong anti-establishment campaigns hardly pay any heed to social encumbrances and stereotyped dogmas. But at the same time, the negatives to come out of Sartre’s implied ethical system are also worth considering. Firstly, his motion of freedom challenges the all-important requirement to be responsible. Freedom can be used in various ways and most of those ways, needless to mention, can be erratic and irresponsible.

Even if one considers Sartre’s attribution to the self, there still remains a valid point that the self also needs to be disciplined and responsible to sustain itself. Secondly, one of Sartre’s main philosophical concerns in his magnum opus Being and Nothingness is how people within a society tend to judge themselves and the others in an