Page 126 - Bodhayanti Parasparam Vol 8

principles advocated aim at absolute good. That is they are Virtue Oriented. Similarly Aristotle‟s central question was „What is the good life for a human being?‟ In contrast for Kautilya (Chanakya) morals are dictated by the society and the duty of a person to fellow beings and the State for example Kautilya‟s Artha Sastra. This position is what characterises the theory of Kant also. (Critique of Practical Reason). Social good has been ruling till recently the thinking of philosophers but there appears to be trend to take the question of what is the good life, and how can I go about living it? In reasserting the importance of the realm of judgments concerning our flourishing, excellence and happiness, the ancient thinking on morality reclaims for us this neglected half of our ethical lives for intelligent, philosophical consideration.
Morality and moral values appear at first glance to be equivalent expressions. Both go back to a Latin term from which we derive the word “mores”, which means customs or usages. In other words,
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