Misconceptions about Ethics
It is often supposed that the sole purpose of ethical principles is to enable us to get along in society. Such principles, however, are perhaps even more crucial in nonsocial situations. For a man marooned on a desert island, scrupulously moral action may be essential to his very survival. The last portion of this section will examine moral principles that should govern our actions toward one another in society. As we have already determined, however, the basic function of ethics—namely, providing principles by which an individual can act to maintain and improve his or her life—extends much deeper than the mere preservation of social order.

As was noted in Section 1 (pp. 1.4:35-6), the concept life does not refer merely to the avoidance of death or to a subsistence level of existence. The life of a human being or other organism properly includes constant growth and striving for an ever higher level of optimal function and integration. For this reason, ethics should be concerned with more than the mere avoidance of evil and of fatal errors. If ethics is to serve its function properly, its primary focus must be positive, not negative. Although traditional ethics often focuses on sin, punishment, and the dispensation of guilt, here we shall be concerned primarily with how human beings can better their lives and fulfill their needs more effectively.