Abstract

This thesis aimed to (1) study the theory of ethics, (2) study the concept of debt in Theravada philosophy, and (3) analyze the concept of ethics and debt in Theravada philosophy.

The results were found as follows

The  theory  of  ethics  referred  to  behavior  and  action  in  the  human society  which  were very necessary for human to learn and transfer cultural knowledge by teaching next generation about the symbols of ethics society. Philosophers divided the type of ethics in two sectors. They were (1) the utilitarianism ethics, and (2) intention.  The ethics consisted of three items. They were (1) doers, (2) moral doing, and (3) the results of doing.

Debt in Theravada philosophy consisted of two parts. They were (1) Dhamma debt which occurred naturally. All animals behaved to each other directly and indirectly, and (2) world debt which occurred from each person’s satisfaction. It was a loan from both government and private sectors. It was debt both in the system  and outside the system. Theravada philosophy considered that having the debt was the most distressful thing in the world because it accumulated desire in mind resulting in suffering for owning things according to their own needs.

The ethics of debt in Theravada philosophy was found that the debt was useful bringing happiness to the human if money and work were administrated with good disciplines by having responsibility to their own debt resulting in mutual benefit in accordance with the popular use which claimed that the rule to decide which was right, wrong, good, or bad, useful or not useful was upon the result from that behavior. In contrast, according to the theory of contention, good action referred to the action from good intention.  Thus, according to Kant theory, the good action referred the action from good intention.

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