Module 1 reflection and looking even further back in History to unravel 'Ethics'

Reflecting on Module 1, I have taken it upon myself to delve deeper into Ethics. I feel I only touched the surface previously and need to make a concerted effort to understand the topic better and what implications this has on my practice. (And how it will play a role in my later inquiry). To do this I feel I need to go back to the roots, literally. 

I have centered my first part of reading and research process in 'Theatre & Ethics'.

A study that moves through History taking an academic approach to the works of Playwrights and their subjects. What has shaped the ethics of the time, and how the ethics of that time shaped the play. I think it already sounds interesting! But there's a lot to take in and analyse. For anyone else who struggled applying the ethical considerations to their Module 1 reflection, I can recommend this as a bit of extra reading.

  

Here I have added a picture of the city of Hamburg , my former home. This was after the horrific air raids of WW2

This is Hamburg today. You may be wondering why these pictures are relevant...see what you think?

What I am about to post is really only a very minimal indication of what 'Theatre & Ethics' explores, but I am in my early stages and thought I would share what I have so far discovered and it may open up new areas for others to pursue.

The book is divided into three parts: Ancient, Modern and Post Modern. Firstly the legacy of Ancient Greek theatre and philosophy is examined.  'Just like theatre and philosophy today, the theatre and philosophy of the ancient Greeks concerned themselves with ethical and political issues, as well as with the relationships between these real-life activities and the fictions'

At this time the Ethics are determined strongly by how an individual acts under the strict regulations of someone above. In most cases this is a religious authority.

As the book moves into the second part,  it takes a huge leap forward in time 'to examine the origins – social, political, philosophical and theatrical – of the ethical frameworks with which most people in the modern Western world are most familiar'. These are the ethical frameworks that take shape when individuals and the societies they form are no longer bound to ethical codes imposed from outside or above (by kings or gods).

In Part Three, specifically an ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas is dissected (1906– 95). It arose in response to the atrocities committed by the Nazis in the 1940s. It 'represented the logical extension of a kind of rationality that had turned both irrational and unethical.' 

It argues 'that the ethical dimensions of theatrical production and spectatorship cannot be separated from the specific historical circumstances in which they take place.'

Like I said above, that really is it in a nutshell. It ventures into detail about specific writing and the role of the performer, the performance and the spectator in an ethical context. My head is reeling now!  But I am now really looking forward to (and a little overwhelmed by the prospect) of digging a little deeper.

Has anyone else found anything related to this research that may be worth looking into? I find it fascinating to think that for many people throughout history, so many decisions that they had to make in terms of how to respond to situations and react to a certain moment were in a way pre determined. Did this make their lives simpler?  How did they differentiate their character under the watchful eye of the gods?

Ridout, Nicholas. Theatre and Ethics, Macmillan Education UK, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mdx/detail.action?docID=4763730.