Ethics is the section of philosophy devoted to problems of morals and morality. Ethics history including its emergence, dough is connected with the general history of philosophy.
Instruction
1. Though rudiments of the philosophical ideas can be found both in Sumer, and in Ancient Egyptian literature, in modern understanding it is possible to speak about origin of philosophy and ethics only since Ancient Greece. The early Ancient Greek philosophy was closely connected with mythology therefore also the first questions considered by philosophers had ontologic character. Thinkers were interested first of all that, as appeared surrounding the world and the person. Later the interests of philosophers extended.
2. Ethics originates from works of sophists. Representatives of this philosophical school opened that laws of the nature are not identical to laws of human society. Also sophists emphasized that public laws are various depending on the state, so, are not unconditional and are not universal. Aristotle expanded a range of the questions studied by ethics, having added to them a problem of understanding of the benefit, virtue and expediency.
3. Since Ancient Greece the ethical questions became an integral part of the considerable directions of philosophical thought. However with development of ethics interest in its various areas changed. If within ancient philosophy concepts of the benefit, happiness and misfortune, then of Christian ethics for the first time were the major concepts the important place is taken by a question of justice. In particular, theodicy - an explanation and justification of injustice of the world on condition of existence of Almighty and all-good God was especially debatable question.
4. In Renaissance the philosophers began to concentrate on search of sources of ethical principles of human societies more and more. In the 19-20th centuries within ethics, questions of meaning of life more often began to be brought up. Thus, it is possible to draw a conclusion that ethics as the section of philosophy, having arisen in Ancient Greece, does not remain invariable, continuing to change depending on the problems and questions, the most interesting to society during the concrete historical period.