INTRODUCTION

By and large, people take the tenets of common morality for granted. They seldom think critically about moral principles. Nor do they worry about the logical foundations of morality. Morality becomes an ingrained aspect of their mental processes. But this is not so in philosophy. One part of Ethics i.e. ethical theory or philosophical ethics is a part of philosophy. Philosophy (being concerned about foundations of human knowledge) subjects all its definitions, concepts, principles and doctrines to intense logical scrutiny.

Since the beginning of philosophical inquiry, some thinkers have expressed deeply sceptical views about Ethics. A sceptic is one who doubts the value of Ethics in human life or argues that ethical studies can have no logical foundations. Ethics in this view is devoid of logic. We may mention the ideas of Sophists of ancient Greece and of Charvakas of ancient India as examples of moral scepticism.

It is useful to begin our study of Ethics with the doctrines of secptical moral thinkers. It may seem that we are approaching the subject from a negative point of view. But anyone serious about study of ethics or concerned with morality has to first consider the secptical views on morality. It is difficult to proceed with the study of Ethics without addressing the main doctrines which raise doubts about its logical validity or utility.