2.8 Law

The terminological distinction between ethics and morals also touches on the notion of law. This is because the law of a community, in the sense of a state, also has the function of regulating the behaviour of the members of this community. The special feature of law compared to morality is that the norms of a legal community are laid down in binding laws. In contrast to morally binding commandments or prohibitions, legally binding commandments or prohibitions can be enforced by the state. Thereby a legally desirable behaviour can be brought about. Instead, moral behaviour is enforced through praise and disapproval, through respect and disregard for people in a community; or in the sense of morality, i.e. a person's unconditional will to do good, through their individual conscience.

Legally binding norms must be followed in order to avoid the consequences of legal sanctions. Whether the person acting is ultimately convinced of the meaningfulness and the fundamental, including moral, justification of these laws is irrelevant. Legal norms are enforceable in court, moral norms are not. For a person acting in accordance with their conscience, this can lead to problems if it is no longer acceptable for them to comply with a law that they recognise as wrong. In this sense, a person would violate applicable law and, on the basis of their moral convictions, incur the legal sentences and punishments that can be imposed by state force. Taking these considerations further, one enters the realm of civil courage or even terrorism, which will not be pursued here.

Moral values and ethical reflections play a role in the law and especially in legislation.

Example

A simple example of this is the punishment for making false statement in court, which corresponds to the ethical commandment "Thou shalt not lie".

Last but not least, ethical insights and moral reflections have a strong influence on the law, especially at very fundamental levels. This is because the aforementioned human rights and the reference to human dignity, for example, arise from ethical reflection. In the words of the philosopher Jürgen Habermas, the ethically based fundamental rights provide a kind of "ethical impregnation" of the constitution. Through social discourse and processes of understanding and negotiation, moral ideas and ethical insights are incorporated into the laws of a legal community and, in addition to being morally binding, become legally binding and find their way into the sphere of legal liability.

New technological and social developments, such as those brought about by digitalisation, pose a particular challenge to law and legislation. This is because the new conditions may require a reflection and adaptation of the existing understanding of the law and the regulating statutes. The fluid nature of the search for morally and ethically sound and appropriate regulations is evident at contemporary crossroads such as these.

Example

Take, for example, the discussions surrounding the securing of critical raw materials.

In the course of these societal search processes, so-called ethics committees or ethics councils are often set up, whose expertise is intended to advise and support legislation and whose proposals can be incorporated into legal standards.

Example

Example: In the field of critical raw materials, for example, the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Critical Raw Materials, for example, analyses the supply of raw materials regarding human rights

Over time, moral ideas from society, combined with ethical reflection and expertise, can find their way into legislation through the discursive debate on new developments. The fluid becomes (at least temporarily) solid. In a figurative sense, one could therefore say that the laws are something like congealed moral concepts; however, these are scrutinised and rendered fluid by new moral and ethical questions and are solidified anew in the process described.

We have pointed out many connections between ethics, morality and law. Here ethics has an important and central task. Ethics helps to reflect and justifiy what should be recognised as good and evil, right and wrong in a fundamental and resilient way. Ethics offers us a cognitive and decision-making aid for what we should do and must take responsibility for. In contrast to law and morality, it is based on a principle of freedom to which we can decide and behave as acting persons.

So why do we need ethics? It gives us guidance for our thoughts and actions on the basis of good reasons and helps us to make reflected and well-founded judgements and assessments. Basic ethical knowledge is indispensable for the new, dynamic and still unknown challenges of mining in general and for the responsible application of mining technologies in particular.

Exercise

 Task 2.6: Relativism, ethics, morality (knowledge exercise)

Please explain:

• What is moral relativism?
• What does the statement mean: Laws are coagulated moral ideas?
• What is ethics?
• What is the difference between or the connection between ethics and morals?
• What is the difference between law and morals?
• How can the European Commission’s Expert Group of Critical Raw Materials, for example, incorporate ethical findings and moral concepts into law concerning the mining sector?

Please explain your answers.

Time to complete approx. 45 min.