Religion and Ethics (Mich term)

A priori

Knowledge not based off sense experience - logical and deductive

A posteriori

Knowledge based off observation/experience

Descriptive laws

Stating what must be done

Prescriptive laws

Recommending what one ought to do

Teleological

An ethical theory where good is something that fulfils its end purpose

Telos

Purpose

Eudaimonia (Aristotle)

Happiness through a general wellbeing

Essentialism

You are born with a purpose

Imago dei

Image of God

Natural Law

Concerned with the moral law of how human beings should behave

Divine Command Theory

the idea that something is right because God commands it - negates free will

The 4 Cardinal Virtues

Prudence, justice, temperance, courage

The Four Tiers of Law

Eternal law, divine law, natural law, human law

Ius

The principle of the law

Lex

The letter of the law

Five Primary Precepts

Preservation of life, to learn, to reproduce, to live in an ordered society, to worship God

Synderesis Rule (Aquinas)

Do good and avoid evil

What is Situation Ethics?

The method of ethical decision making that states that you must consider agape love

Agape

Unconditional, noble love

The Three Ethical Positions

Legalistic, situational, antinomian

Legalistic Ethics

Absolute, no exceptions, divine command theory

Situational Ethics

One absolute: agape, relativistic, consequentialist

Antinomian Ethics

Total autonomy, no rules, no absolutes

The 3 philosophers concerned with Situation Ethics

Joseph Fletcher, Robinson, Tillich

The Two Categeories of Fletcher's Principles

The Six Fundamentals, the Four Principles

The Four Principles (Fletcher)

Pragmatism, Relativism, Positivism, Personalism

The Six Propositions (Fletcher)

Embraces a form of relativism, actions are right or wrong depending on consequence

The First Proposition (Fletcher)

Actions are not intrinsically good or evil, actions are good/evil depending on how much love is produced

Extrinsic

Not part of the essential nature

The Second Proposition

The ruling norm of Christian decision is love - nothing else

The Third Proposition

Love and justice cannot be separated from each other

The Fourth Proposition

"Love wills the neighbour's good, whether we like him or not", agape love

The Fifth Proposition

The consequence determines whether something is good or bad

The Sixth Proposition

Love's decisions are made situationally; not prescriptively

What is conscience?

Christians argue that it is the voice of God inside of you, others argue that it is a sense given by God to help identify the correct moral action

Fletcher's view of conscience

A verb not a noun, the weighing up of possible actions

Non-normative

Not prescriptive/not telling others what to do and what is right or wrong

Situation Ethics is...

Non-normative, provides guidance, flexible, practical

Euthanasia

The painless killing of a patient - 'a good death'

Different types of Euthanasia

Passive, active, voluntary, non-voluntary

Active Euthanasia

The deliberate ending of someone's life directed by a doctor

Passive Euthanasia

The withholding of available treatment in order to end the patient's life

Voluntary Euthanasia

Ending a patient's life with their permission

Non-voluntary Euthanasia

Ending a patient's life without their permission

Personhood

the quality or condition of being a human being

Sanctity of Life

The belief that life is sacred (because it is God-given)

Palliative Care

Care for the terminally ill and their families, holistic approach - usually provided by an organised health service

Holistic approach

Deals with the 'whole' person rather than just one aspect of care

Ethical issues (euthanasia)

1. Question of rights

2. Intention and suffering

3. We all deserve a good death

4. Slippery slope

Christian arguments towards Euthanasia

Sanctity of Life - our lives are a gift from God, the Ten Commandments - thou shalt not kill, Jesus wished for us to have life

Ethical arguments towards Euthanasia

Weakens society's respect for sanctity of life, might not be in a person's best interests

Practical arguments towards Euthanasia

Palliative care makes it unnecessary, no way of properly regulating it, leads to less good care of the terminally ill, undermines the commitment of doctors and nurses to saving lives

Quality of Life principle (euthanasia)

Human life must possess certain attributes to have value

Utilitarianism

Normative, consequential morality, good is whatever produces beneficial consequences, no intrinsic goods, instrumental

Jeremy Bentham

Reductive empiricist, principle of utility, pleasure and pain determine how people act

Principle of Utility (Bentham)

Greatest good for the greatest number

Hedonism

The view that pleasure is the chief 'good'

Pleasure and Pain (Bentham)

All types of pleasure and pain can be measured on the same scale

Bentham's Hedonic Calculus

1. Duration

2. Intensity

3. Propinquity

4. Extent

5. Certainty

6. Purity

7. Fecundity

Qualitative nature (Mill)

Some pleasures worth more than others - quality is what counts

Mill's Higher Pleasures

Higher pleasures are intellectual, satisfy the mind.

Mill's Lower Pleasures

Lower pleasures satisfy the body, provide gratification but overindulgence can bring pain

Rule Utilitarianism (Mill)

General principles/rules are created, principle of utility is applied, following these rules will generally lead to greater happiness

Universalability (Mill)

Mill's justification of 'greatest good for the greatest number', demands that people put the interests of the group before their own, separates the motive and morality of the action

Preference Utilitarianism (R.M. Hare and P. Singer)

Judges moral action according to whether they fit in with the preferences of the individuals involved, minorities' views considered

Act Utilitarianism (Bentham)

Each act is right or wrong according to the maximising of pleasure and minimising of pain