This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. German to English
  3. Philosophy

Ethik tut Not?

English translation: Is/ Are ethics necessary?/ Do we need ethics?

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Ethik tut Not?
English translation:Is/ Are ethics necessary?/ Do we need ethics?
Entered by: David Hollywood

20:03 Dec 6, 2004
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Philosophy
German term or phrase: Ethik tut Not?
Wenn Ethik verloren geht, dann ist alles erlaubt. Deshalb: Ethik tut Not? ist keine Frage sondern eine permanente Aufgabe, der wir uns alle stellen müssen.

What exactly does "Not tun" mean in German? TIA.
martineh
Are ethics necessary?/ Do we need ethics?
Explanation:
"not tun" means "to be necessary"

ist ja noch eine Weile, aber Frühjahrsputz tut not. ... its quite a while, but spring
cleaning is necessary. ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2004-12-06 20:19:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I would put \"Are ethics necessary?\" like this and say something like.... Consequently: \"Are ethics necessary?\" is not an issue/ question but an ongoing obligation/ task etc

Good luck :)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2004-12-06 20:19:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

and \"Not tun\" of course :)


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 31 mins (2004-12-06 21:34:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

and \"Not tun\" of course not .... just checked with the \"Dudenstilwörterbuch\" to be sure and it\'s definitely \"not\" as in \"etwas ist/tut not\" (i.e. etwas ist nötig/ erforderlich) but I will will still go with my rendering :)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 33 mins (2004-12-06 21:37:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

this is certainly among the the most interesting questions we\'ve had for a while :)
Selected response from:

David Hollywood
Local time: 07:57
Grading comment
Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5Are ethics necessary?/ Do we need ethics?
David Hollywood
4 +1Do we need ethics?
Marnen Laibow-Koser
4ethics in jeopardy?
Johanna Timm, PhD
3‘the need for ethics’
Kieran McCann
3 -1ethics are important / necessary
Valeska Maier-Wörz
3 -1Ethics are a must?
murat Karahan
1Does ethics oblige?
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
1 -1ehtics are mandatory
Ellen Zittinger


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
ethics are important / necessary


Explanation:
"Tut Not" means "ist notwendig", "muss sein", "ist wichtig"

Valeska Maier-Wörz
Local time: 12:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Marnen Laibow-Koser: But it's a question, not a statement.
5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

44 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
‘the need for ethics’


Explanation:
‘the need for ethics’ is not the title of a debate but a constant challenge to which we must all respond

just trying to find a way to keep the same phrase as question and statement, as in the original

maybe '...not a matter for debate but...'

Kieran McCann
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:57
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

51 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Ethics are a must?


Explanation:
I would humbly suggest here this version and point out that the question would look better if it stands alone as an argument as well. The German sentence has this, both "Ethik tut Not?" as question and "Ethik tut Not." as an argument are correct in syntax and I infer that the style of the sentence would require it this way.

murat Karahan
Türkiye
Local time: 13:57
Native speaker of: Turkish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Marnen Laibow-Koser: Not really, at least to me. As a native speaker, I would be willing to write "'Do we need ethics?' is not merely a question but a constant ***".
4 hrs
  -> you're right about the singular use, unless it's about a profession (which doesn't seem to be the case here) even in that case singular can be used as well.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5 peer agreement (net): -1
ehtics are mandatory


Explanation:
(without ethics life would not be civil) would it?

Ellen Zittinger
Local time: 03:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Marnen Laibow-Koser: "Mandatory" is perhaps the wrong shade here. Also, "ethics" is as much a singular noun as "mathematics".
4 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
ethics in jeopardy?


Explanation:
If we don’t have ethics, anything goes. Therefore: Are our ethics in jeopardy? This should not be a question but rather a constant appeal.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 17 mins (2004-12-06 21:20:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

BTW, the phrase \'...tut Not!\' used today in different variations originally dates back to the novel \'Seefahrt tut Not!\' written by Gorch Fock in 1913; Just google for \"tut Not!\"


Johanna Timm, PhD
Canada
Local time: 03:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 28
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Are ethics necessary?/ Do we need ethics?


Explanation:
"not tun" means "to be necessary"

ist ja noch eine Weile, aber Frühjahrsputz tut not. ... its quite a while, but spring
cleaning is necessary. ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2004-12-06 20:19:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I would put \"Are ethics necessary?\" like this and say something like.... Consequently: \"Are ethics necessary?\" is not an issue/ question but an ongoing obligation/ task etc

Good luck :)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2004-12-06 20:19:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

and \"Not tun\" of course :)


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 31 mins (2004-12-06 21:34:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

and \"Not tun\" of course not .... just checked with the \"Dudenstilwörterbuch\" to be sure and it\'s definitely \"not\" as in \"etwas ist/tut not\" (i.e. etwas ist nötig/ erforderlich) but I will will still go with my rendering :)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 33 mins (2004-12-06 21:37:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

this is certainly among the the most interesting questions we\'ve had for a while :)


David Hollywood
Local time: 07:57
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Marnen Laibow-Koser: "Ethics" is singular.
5 hrs
  -> I very much doubt that my dear :)
agree  Francis Lee (X): for what its worth; my ethics is (oooouuuuuch!!!!!) not to be doubted
12 hrs
  -> can be used with a singular according to Random House but do you really want to go there?
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
Does ethics oblige?


Explanation:
"Does ethics oblige?" is no question but a permanent task, which we shall/must put upon all of us.

Also, lieber, daß Ethik not tut, als, daß sie weh tut.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 43 mins (2004-12-06 21:46:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\"Aufgabe\" can be translated as \"duty.\"
But I prefer \"task\" in this context with the same reason as Walter Benjamin\'s \"Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers\" is translated as \"The Task of the Translator.\"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 59 mins (2004-12-06 22:02:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Eigentlich wollte ich sagen: Lieber, daß Ethik not tut, als, daß wir uns ohne sie gegenseitig weh tut. Dann ist es völlig in dem Sinn des befragten Satzes.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs 44 mins (2004-12-06 22:48:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ach, Quatsch!
Manchmal rede ich wie der Salvatore in \"Der Name der Rose\".
Was ich meine ist eigentlich das Folgende:
Lieber, daß Ethik not tut, als, daß wir uns ohne sie weh gegenseitig tun.
Oder, lieber, daß Ethik not tut, als, daß es uns ohne sie weh tut.

Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Taiwan
Local time: 18:57
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Do we need ethics?


Explanation:
Or "is (not "are"!) ethics necessary?", but I think "do we need ethics?" fits better into the syntax here.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs 22 mins (2004-12-07 04:25:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Regarding the grammatical number of \"ethics\", see http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/e/e0227900.html (from the American Heritage Dictionary).

Marnen Laibow-Koser
United States
Local time: 06:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Wenjer Leuschel (X): Do we need ethics? It is out of question and ethics is surely singular.
5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search