Absolute And Relatice Morality Flashcards
What is morality?
How people understand the difference between between good and bad behaviour.
How do people approach morality?
Some people think what is right or wrong depends on the situation and other people believe right and wrong are fixed.
What is absolutism?
Some actions are always wrong.
What is right or wrong never changes.
E.g abortion or murder as it is taking a life .
What is evidence for absolutism?
“Do not kill” the Ten Commandments
What is an example of absolutism?
There are some actions that can never be justified such a rape. There are clearly no circumstances in which this action would be the right thing to do.
Laws might change from one country to another but there are some actions that will always be morally wrong. All people have a natural moral law and conscience and should follow this. When Nazi’s followed orders to murder millions of Jews in the Holocaust they ignored this conscience.
How will absolutism affect a Catholics life?
Catholics will campaign for people to be supported with their pregnancies nd children through better parenting support like parenting classes or for adoption to be encouraged as an alternative to those thinking about abortion.
What is relativism?
What is right and wrong can change depending on the situation and circumstances like abortion in situations as to save the mother’s life or if the child has a genetic disease.
What is evidence of relativism?
“Love thy neighbour” - The Gospels
How can this change a Catholics life?
Humanists would campaign to maintain the current UK laws on abortion in England making abortion safe and legal to those who want it.
Examples of relativism?
We cannot know the inside of a persons heart and mind, so should never rule any crook to be wrong in all circumstances.
For example, abortion is considered a sin, but a woman who has been raped may feel ending the pregnancy is better than having an unwanted child.
How can the bible show that relativism could be accepted?
The Ten Commandments say “do not kill” but the bible also justifies the use of death penalty through “an eye for an eye” which shows killing someone can sometimes be accepted. - they have shown they haven’t respected life.
How does Jesus warn us about being too strict?
This is shown in the Bible when Jesus says “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” which means that we are all human and make mistakes and sin.
Jesus tells a woman who has committed adultery “to go and sin no more”
