Single Idea 5919

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / c. Right and good]

Full Idea

Goodness in general runs out beyond the strict scope of ethics, if ethics be the philosophical study of good conduct; for some things that are good are neither conduct nor dispositions to conduct.

Gist of Idea

Goodness is a wider concept than just correct ethical conduct

Source

W. David Ross (The Right and the Good [1930], §IV)

Book Reference

Ross,W.David: 'The Right and the Good' [OUP 1930], p.102


A Reaction

This seems to be right, just as the Greek term 'areté' extended beyond moral virtue to excellence in athletics or pottery. Maybe philosophers are too interested in ethics, and have thus missed the philosophical core of the problem.