Application of ethical theories

Question 1

what is the definition of theft?

Answer 1

a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it

Question 2

what is the case study for theft?

Answer 2

Heinz steals the drug

• drug that MIGHT save a woman
• Cost $200 to make it and sells it for $2000 a dose
• the husband says he only has $1000
• the druggist doesn’t allow to sell it for that price, “I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it”
• So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store and stole the drug for his wife

He could face a prison sentence
Consequences are not predictable, she may die even when having the drug

PRIMARY PRECEPTS

• ordered society
• worshipping god (‘thou shalt not steal’)
• preservation of life

Question 3

explain theft according to situation ethics

Answer 3

• is it right to steal? can the action be justifiable? what are the foreseeable consequences?
• pragmatism- puts you before the law which says do not steal
• If a student takes a book without permission and returns it after the test it is good for you but then it deprives others and so isn’t good for others, “love is justice distributed” as it doesn’t obey “love wills the neighbour good”, positive for us but negative for others
• Fletcher would allow theft if a group of starving people needed to steal bread from a bread van and distribute it among themselves
• you must put the idea of love first, this determines whether an act is good or not

Question 4

what are positives and negatives of the use of NML on the issue of theft?

Answer 4

positives:

• Allows for a lesser evil. The theft is the lesser evil. Kohlberg’s example of Heinz
• Takes a pragmatic and realistic approach, using reason you would commit theft if you were starving
• He doesn’t allow theft entirely, not allowed to steal a phone to make money, this would be selfish, focuses on good intentions
• Allows for some flexibility as Aquinas is Summa Theologica does talk about the issue of theft, clear guidance is given

Problems:

• Seems to go against his absolutist approach, contradictory, allowing theft and not lying
• Goes against the legalism of the bible, 10 commandments, “you shalt not steal”

Question 5

what are the positives and negatives on the use of situation ethics for the issue of theft?

Answer 5

Positives:

• Shows personalism. Takes into account the person and their situation.
• Pragmatic. If the situation dictates theft then it would allow it, positive
• Focuses towards Jesus’ approach to love our neighbour rather than the commandment “do not steal”, puts people before rules/principles

Negatives:

• In Fletcher’s example he does not reach a conclusion. This is not helpful to a moral agent as there is no specific guidance.
• Too vague. Doesn’t give clear guidance on theft, it depends on the situation.
• Love could be used to justify any act of theft

Question 6

explain the use of virtue ethics towards the issue of theft

Answer 6

• we must develop and allow our character to develop in order to always do virtuous acts, habituation
• In the issue of theft, Aristotle would encourage the moral agent to use their practical wisdom (phronesis) in the situation of theft
• In Nichomachean ethics he talks about the issue of theft, base actions are wrong (adultery, theft, murder), theft is a deficiency of honesty, this is dishonest, deficient of justice (unjustified) in stealing anothers property
• Aristotle is not as open to theft as Aquinas (Aquinas allows a starving man to steal to save his life)

Question 7

what are positives and negatives of the use of virtue ethics for the issue of theft

Answer 7

Positives:

• promoting a virtuous society where people don’t allow the act of theft as it is not a virtuous act
• not contradictory like Aquinas’ usual absolutist approach, clear

Negatives:

• Aristotle is unflexible, no emotionalism
• unclear whether aristotle would allow theft in a particular situation (starvation)
• his writings on theft are limited, outdated and culturally-bound as when he discusses theft he is talking about theft between people of the same class, upper-class aristocrats

Question 8

what is lying?

Answer 8

lying is giving some information while believing it to be untrue, intending to deceive by doing so.
lying is a form of deception but not all forms of deception are lies. It is to deceive somebody.

Question 9

what are the three essential features of a lie?

Answer 9

1) a lie communicates some information
2) the liar intends to deceive or mislead
3) the liar believes that what they are ‘saying’ is not true

a lie does not have to be told with a bad intention. for example, white lies are an example of when a lie is told with a good intention.

Question 10

what does Sisella Bok define a lie as?

Answer 10

“an intentionally deceptive message in the form of a statement”

Question 11

what do some philosophers stretch the definition of lying to?

Answer 11

• doing nothing in response to a question, knowing that this will decide the questioner
• ‘living a lie’, where someone behaves in a way that misleads the rest of us as to their true nature. For example, living a double life. Canoe couple (£1 million form insurance policy, faked death)

Question 12

why is lying morally wrong?

Answer 12

• a generally truthful world is a good thing, lying diminishes trust between human beings
• many people think that something should only be accepted as an ethical rule if it can be applied in every case (Kant- you can not universalise lying)
• it is a basic moral wrong, some things are fundamentally wrong- lying is one of them.
• it misuses the god-given gift of human communication

Question 13

explain lying in the context of NML

Answer 13

• based on interior and exterior act and so aquinas strongly condemns lying. must follow the synderesis rule. he clearly says that lying is a sin “lying is in itself evil and to be shunned” although in the ST he says that helpful lies could be forgiven
• ordered society. society built on trust, theological virtues, secondary precept ‘do not lie’., lying in a relationship
• worship god. to worship god one must follow the 10 commandments, one is “do not bear false witness” and this law in modern society is that it now a criminal offence to lie in court. to break this law is not fulfilling god’s laws or our telos
• proportionalism. Hoose and McCormick would look at the intention of the moral agent. if the intention is to save another life then it is morally acceptable to tell a lie.also morally acceptable if value is larger than disvalue (save a life)

Question 14

what are the positives and negatives of using NML for lying?

Answer 14

positives:
- due to deontological nad absolutist approach it means a moral agent is given consistency and clarity when it comes to moral decision making
- Aquinas argued it is ok to tell a misleading truth. Axeman scenario by Kant. It is is an exact truth without revealing the truth of where your friend actually is.
- one would agree with the proportionalist view with value and disvalue. if it means saving a life then surely it is the better thing to do.

negatives:

• it seems illogical not to tell a lie especially if someone’s life is in danger. you must be able to tell a lie in order to save one’s life due to the precept of self-preservation. as without fulfilling this yo will not be able to fulfil the other precepts.
• some would criticise the proportionalist view as it leads to the reliance on consequentialism and moral guesswork. someone would say it is dangerous to base morality on consequences as they are un predictable. tell labile to the axeman and he may not believe you so kill you both.

Question 15

explain the idea of theft in accordance with NML

Answer 15

1) ordered society- theft contributes to this order and chaos, example of Tottenham riots, shops raided and looted causing significant damage to business
2) biblical teaching- 10 commandments to “do not steal”, god clearly prohibits theft, it is a sinful act, follow the synderesis rule
3) Cardinal/theological virtues- justice and truth

When does Aquinas allow theft?

• Summa Theologica, If you’re in imminent danger or your life is at risk then it is morally acceptable to steal according to Aquinas
• Aquinas allows it for another person, if a person is in need of it and their life is at risk, you cannot take more than you need, cannot steal from someone in the same situation as you.

Question 16

what is the roman catholic church’s view on abortion?

Answer 16

• In the first 14 days, the embryo can divide into two and then reunite to form one, Does this mean that there is one person, two people?
• The Catholic Church errs on the side of caution and argues that from contraception, the embryo is a person
• As a result, the catholic church prohibits abortion, embryo research, freezing of embryos..

Question 17

explain Judith Jarvis Thomson’s comparison to the violonist (abortion)

Answer 17

• She is an extreme pro-choice feminist
• In the violinist analogy, you are kidnapped and surgically hooked up to a violinist and your blood can save his life if you stay connected to him for the next 9 years
• Arguably, this is comparable to pregnancy from rape because the person did not consent to having sex
• Assuming that a foetus constitutes as a life from the moment of conception:
  1) A woman still has a right to decide what happens to her body
  2) A human (including the foetus) has a right to life
  3) She argues that the right to life does not outweigh the right to decide what happens to your body- (right to autonomy)

Question 18

why would someone disagree with what Thomson has said?

Answer 18

they would say the right to life is the most fundamental human right

Question 19

what was Thomson’s second example of the intruder? (abortion)

Answer 19

• In the intruder example, a person enters a house via an open window and then claims the right to stay because he managed to get in- but you have taken reasonable precautions (contraception)
• Thomson concludes that abortion can be granted because a woman who takes reasonable steps to avoid pregnancy does not have to take responsibility for an unwanted pregnancy

Question 20

what did Mary Ann Warren say on abortion?

Answer 20

Warren asks the question: “What characteristics entitle an entity to be considered a person (in the moral sense)?

Warren’s criteria:
1) Consciousness (of objects and events external and/or internal to the being), and in particular the capacity to feel pain

2) Reasoning (the developed capacity to solve new and relatively complex problems)
3) Self-motivated activity
4) The capacity to communicate
5) The presence of self-concepts and self-awareness

• Any being that does not possess most of 1-5 is not a human being in the moral sense.
• The more like a person a being is, the stronger is the case for regarding it as having a right to life, and the stronger its right to life is.
• There is no stage of foetal development at which a foetus resembles a person enough to have a significant right to life
• A foetus’ potential for being a person does not provide a basis for the claim that it has a significant right to life. Even if a potential person has some right to life, that right could not outweigh the right of a woman to obtain an abortion, since “the rights of any actual person invariably outweigh those of any potential person”

Question 21

what are the criticisms of Warren’s work? (abortion)

Answer 21

If you apply Warren’s criteria this would allow you to justify the killing of new-borns, infants and coma patients.

Warren replies:
“It is certainly wrong to kill such beings just for the sake of convenience, or financial profit, or sport”
“the deliberate killing o viable new-borns is virtually never justified”

Question 22

what do singer and Gallagher say on abortion?

Answer 22

• Singer agrees with Tooley- a human being is the subject of experiences of other mental states.
• Singer argued: “Human babies are not born self-aware, or capable of grasping that they exist over time. They are NOT PERSONS, the life of a new-born is of less value than the life of a pig, dog or a chimpanzee.”
• John Gallagher: An embryo is at one time x and at one time James. The change is gradual- x is not James.

Question 23

what does sanctity of life mean? what are the implications of the view?

Answer 23

• Human life is valuable-above all other forms of life
• Human life is intrinsically valuable (i.e. without exception and regardless of the quality of life- this is the opposite of instrumental value, which is based on your contribution to society)
• It is an absolute concept.

Implications of this view:

• The idea that all human life is sacred and should be respected
• The belief in the preservation of human life

Question 24

what is sanctity of life argument on religious grounds?

Answer 24

• Human life is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27)
• God is the author of human life
• Part of tradition theism- especially Judaeo-Christian tradition is the 4th commandment. “thou shalt not murder”

Question 25

what is the sanctity of life argument on philosophical grounds? (Glover)

Answer 25

• J. Glover wrote a book called ‘Causing death and saving lives’
• There are two planets, on one of which, there is nothing and on the other there is a growing vegetable
• Glover says in this scenario, you must choose to destroy one of the planets
• He argues that those who chose the planet with a vegetable do so because they think any life is valuable
• He believes that any life should be chosen over non-life.

Question 26

what would rejecting the sanctity of life argument mean?

Answer 26

• To reject the Sanctity of Life argument is a slippery slope because it could lead to genocide and ethnic cleansing (the Holocaust)
• It could lead to a situation where killing becomes okay because life is not seen as special
• Human life can be argued as sacred due to evolutionary grounds because we are the dominant species-biological and socio-cultural reasons.

Question 27

is the life of a foetus sacred?

Answer 27

• Scott lee Peterson from California was charged with the murder of his wife and unborn son; so under law, the foetus is seen as a person and therefore sacred
• UK law permits embryo research up to 14 days, this means there is some sort of protection after 14 days

Question 28

is the SoL argument convincing?

Answer 28

• Peter Singer- argues that it causes speciesism
• Abandoning the SoL is warrant enough to err on the side of caution and uphold it
• Glover’s analogy of the planets, it is not a convincing argument as he shows that life is sacred, but not necessarily human life.
• Kant believes that life is so sacred that the only appropriate punishment for taking away the life of another is if you were to lose your life in the first place. (“an eye for an eye”)

Question 29

what are the views of abortion by NML?

Answer 29

• abortion is intrinsically wrong- direct abortion (deliberate) contravenes NML. Pope John Paul II referred to abortion as ‘a grave moral disorder’
• One of the primary precepts- to preserve human life- would argue that life begins at contraception and abortion is the same as killing a person (secondary precept would not allow abortion)
• Breaks another PP- worship of God- God alone is the creator of life. Job: “God gives and God takes away”
• Breaks ordered society- it threatens the basis of a stable society. It discriminates against the most vulnerable in society.
• The doctrine of double effect may be applied to allow for an abortion to save the life of the mother when otherwise neither the mother nr the foetus will live (for example, an ectopic pregnancy or cancerous womb). This is termed as an indirect abortion.

Proportionalism

• The idea of value and disvalue, more lenient than NML, if the mothers life is at risk then they would believe the value is larger
• Having an abortion for the continuation of a career or studies would have more disvalue

Question 30

what are the positives and negatives of the use of NML for abortion?

Answer 30

positives:

• universal applied, creates a fair society, clarity and consistency, ordered society, protection of the vulnerable is supported
• upholds a strong sanctity of life argument, a key general belief, preservation of life, sacred life, personalist
• Pope John Paul II referred to it as ‘a grave moral disorder’. If the pope, the head of the church’ says it it means there must be some reason
• Proportionalist views are much better than aquinas’ rules as they take in the needs of the mother, value and disvalue

negatives:

• Not applicable to the very secular society we are in, not culturally relevant, cannot apply to non-religious people
• The strict approach taken by the catholic church is having a negative impact on the catholic church
• Teachings are outdated
• During to its strict approach, there is no emotion involved, instance of rape, there is compassion involved for the mother, black and white

Question 31

explain the use of situation ethics in abortion

Answer 31

• Situation ethics grew out of tradition that viewed abortion as an evil act. Fletcher said we should not get rid of rules- they are a useful guide in most situations.
• the only thing good in itself is love, and we may be required to ‘push our principles aside and do the right thing’.
• The CofE’s position, that abortion is evil but may be the ‘lesser of two evils’ is consistent with a situationist approach. If a woman has been raped, abortion may be an act of love
• However, both Singer’s Utilitarianism and Fletcher’s situation ethics say you should act in the ‘best interests’ of those affected.
• Seen in this light, Situation Ethics will start from the belief that it is generally in our interests to create families, nurturing and educating our children.
• However, in exceptional circumstances the situation might demand a different, loving response. Abortion would be an exception in extreme circumstances, not a method of birth control (as it has become in some countries)

Question 32

what are the positives and negatives of the use of situation ethics for abortion?

Answer 32

positives:

• Flexible, looks at consequences
• There is emotion in there- love, compassion
• Surely one would say that by doing what is most loving then we are doing the correct thing, the four presuppositions (pragmatic)
• Allows one to fully think about the situation, thought behind the act, use agapeic calculus, considering the desired outcome, the motive behind it and the foreseeable consequences

negatives:

• Lacking clear guidance, hard to distinguish what is most loving
• For some, it still allows murder, abortion justifies for some murder
• Very hard to determine what is right, can cause conflict, one may think one thing and the other differently, cannot relate to their situation of abortion and decision making

Question 33

explain the use of virtue ethics for abortion

Answer 33

• Rosalind Hursthouse clearly illustrates the use of virtue ethics for abortion
• Difficult to apply virtue ethics as it is concerned with the sort of people we should be, not clear what a kind and temperate person would do
• Vera drake shows courageous people performing abortions to help others. There must equally be kind people campaigning against abortion. Would a courageous person let someone kill a foetus? If the foetus wasn’t a person et, then yes they might. If the foetus was a person, it would surely be more courageous to prevent their death.
• Virtue ethicists see justice as a cardinal virtue. If justice includes the foetus, abortion is wrong. However, in the UK and USA, the foetus does not have the rights of a person. And justice doesn’t include them in this way. The status of the foetus affects the response you give.

Question 34

explain the positives and negatives of the use of virtue ethics for abortion

Answer 34

Positives:

• The use of the golden mean to decide on abortion allows for some adaptation, what we believe is the mean, all is different depending on the individual
• Phronesis is a perfect way of deciding on abortion, it is a perfect determination of what we should do
• Can be used for non-religious also
• Clearly shows the value of human life and dignity, through what Aristotle say it is made clear that this decision is a big one, determines life or death of a foetus

Negatives:

• Has no link to scripture, lack of guidance, very much dependant on the person
• Very unclear, how are we to determine whether an act is virtuous?, troubles the agent
• Aristotle says that if parents have too many children then abortion should be brought in, how many is too many? Surely this is going against what he believes? Uncertainty?

Question 35

what is voluntary euthanasia?

Answer 35

when a terminally person requests to die

Question 36

what are the 5 moral issues involved with euthanasia

Answer 36

1) Personhood
2) Consent/autonomy- The right of the individual to self-determination
3) Sanctity of Life (SoL) vs Quality of Life (QoL)
4) Rights (right to life, right to death)
5) Effects on society for allowing the practise of Active Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

Question 37

explain the issue of personhood for euthanasia

Answer 37

• What separates a human being from being a person?
• If someone is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) are they still a person? Thinkers like Warren and Singer would argue that they are not a person in this state.
• Some philosophers argue that someone in a PVS is still a human but not entirely a person so euthanasia is a logical conclusion.
• If we distinguish between human and person and permit euthanasia on this basis; if you are an incomplete person (i.e. can’t talk, walk, blink) does this mean you should be euthanised?

Question 38

explain the issue of consent/autonomy for euthanasia (the right of the individual to self-determination)

Answer 38

• Many people think that each person has the right to control his or her body and life and so should be able to determine at what time, in what way and by whose hand he or she will die.
• Behind this lies the idea that human beings should be as free as possible- and that unnecessary restraints on human rights are a bad thing.
  However, there are objections to this argument:
• Secular opponents argue that whatever rights we have are limited by our obligations. The decision to die by euthanasia will affect other people- our family and friends, and healthcare professionals- and we must balance the consequences for them (guilt, grief, anger) against our rights.
• We should also take account of our obligations to society, and balance our individual right to die against any bad consequences that it might have for the community in general.

Question 39

explain the issue of sanctity of life vs quality of life for euthanasia

Answer 39

• Sanctity of life is not just a religious principle. You can be an atheist and still uphold the Sanctity of Life argument
• From a Christian perspective, the sanctity of life argument is crucial when discussing the issue of Euthanasia. Christians believe that God is the author of all human life (Genesis) and they also believe that it is only God that has the right to give life and to take it away. The 4th commandment ‘You shall not murder’ indicates to Christians that assisted suicide is sinful and a evil act which disobeys God’s law
• However, peter singer (preference Utilitarian) argues that the SoL argument is weak and outdated. He argues that people now believe a person who has a low quality of life can judge for themselves if they want to end their own life and not God. (Remember Singer is an atheist and does not believe in a divine law giver)

Question 40

explain the issue of the right to life and right to death for euthanasia

Answer 40

• The human declaration of human rights places the right to life as the most important right for any human being. It is therefore arguable that if you have the right to life then you must also have the right to death.
• But even if there is a right to die, that doesn’t mean that doctors or anyone have a duty to kill, so no one can be forced to help the person who wants to be euthanised.

Question 41

explain the issue of the effects on society for allowing the practise of Active Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

Answer 41

medical research

• The drive to find cure for illnesses, especially fatal ones is what has led researchers to make so many discoveries in the past. Dr Saunders points out that “Medical research is essential if medicine is to advance further,” and he goes on to say:
• “When the focus changes from curing the condition to killing the individual with the condition, this whole process is threatened”

hospices and palliative care
- The World Health Organisation has recommended that governments not consider assisted suicide and euthanasia until they have demonstrated the availability and practise of palliative care for their citizens.

Voluntary euthanasia leads to involuntary euthanasia
- In the Netherlands voluntary euthanasia (Dignitas) has led to non-voluntary euthanasia. This supports the slippery slope argument that if you legalise one form of euthanasia then society will demand other forms of euthanasia to be legalised too.

society is brutalised

• “The pro-euthanasia lobby talks enthusiastically about ‘autonomy’ and ‘choice’. The truth is that when euthanasia is legalised, personal autonomy and choice are dangerously compromised. Society is brutalised
• Richmond points out, because of the cases where people have been executed and later exonerated (been found innocent of the crime). As he says, doctors also make mistakes in diagnosing patients

Question 42

what does natural moral law say on the issue of euthanasia?

Answer 42

• Self-Preservation is one of Aquinas’ primary precepts. From this we could deduce secondary precept: no euthanasia and no suicide
• Doctrine of double effect. The doctrine of double effect could be used to justify euthanasia if it is a secondary consequence of a primary intention, e.g. an over prescription of pain killers with the primary intention to relieve pain but the secondary consequence of the death of the patient.
• The precept of worshipping God means not rejecting his gift of life
  God is the author of all human life, “God gives and God takes away” (Job)
  Imago Dei “in the image of God”
  Commandment of “thou shalt not murder”
• The precept of living in society means not allowing anything that will destroy its security- the fear is that allowing voluntary euthanasia would lead to compulsory euthanasia.
• Real and Apparent Goods. Real goods leads to flourishing- a real good night be refusing to aid the ending of someone’s life

Question 43

what are the positives and negatives of the use of NML for euthanasia

Answer 43

STRENGTHS

• It is useful guidance for the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world
• It provides clarity and consistency for the moral agent- murder is murder whether its euthanasia/assisted suicide is intrinsically evil and therefore is murder
• Puts strong emphasis on the sanctity of life

WEAKNESSES

• Not applicable to non-religious people, Aquinas’ guidance would not be applicable to you, based on God
• Not flexible- doesn’t take into account a persons particular situation, no emotion, difficult for the agent
• Those who are terminally ill or experiencing large amounts of suffering
• Compared to situation ethics for example, NML’s approach could be seen to be cold and unfeeling, not the way we would christianity to be viewed, no showing of compassion, mercy or understanding

Question 44

explain the use of situation ethics fo euthanasia

Answer 44

• Relativist
• Euthanasia is right (loving): If someone is in great pain with a low quality of life the most loving action might be to release them from the pain
• Euthanasia is wrong (a selfish act): If a greedy relative puts pressure on an elderly person in order to gain money from the will
• Case study- ‘Himself might his quietus make’ from Fletcher
  Loving to forego his treatment so that it is more loving for his family by doing an insurance payout, he will die much quicker but then his family will have more financial stability

Question 45

evaluate the positive and negatives of the use of situation ethics for euthanasia

Answer 45

STRENGTHS

• it could be argued that euthanasia is loving as we would put an animal down out of their pain so why would we not do the same for human beings, emphasise on personalism and human dignity, doing what they wish
• It could be argued that euthanasia is pragmatic in some cases so if a patient is terminally ill for example Motor Neurone Disease (starving and suffocating to death) then surely without it we are going against catholic values
• Jesus put love before rules, cardinal virtues, Jesus helped those who were suffering, we should do the same

DISADVANTAGES

• Vague, not particularly clear
• Takes a weak sanctity of life viewpoint because it is flexible and relative
• Could lead to a slippery slope, perhaps freedom is a bad thing? When they find a cure for an illness, irreversible action

Question 46

explain the use of virtue ethics for euthanasia

Answer 46

• Relative
• Euthanasia could be seen as an act of courage to assist someone you love to die (virtue of courage)
• RASHNESS (Vice of excess) Euthanasia could be seen as killing someone without considering the implication or consequences (finding a cure, the grief of your family)
• VIRTUE OF JUSTICE. It could be argued that the situation in which someone wishes to die but is unable to kill themselves is unjust. If someone was to assist their dead therefore, they could be seen as just- and since Justice is a virtue they could be seen as helping humanity to progress towards Aristotle’s eudaimonia
• Perhaps through euthanasia we are limiting our ability to achieve Eudaimonia
• Arguments in favour of euthanasia based on virtue ethics may centre on the value of life once the possibility of happiness is gone and even, if the good of society is valued over the individual, the duty of the individual not to be an unproductive drain on resources.

Question 47

what are the positives and negatives of the use of virtue ethics for euthanasia?

Answer 47

POSITIVES

• it very much takes into account the individual, character over act
• Includes common sense- surely if you can’t flourish as a human being maybe there is no sense to life

DISADVANTAGES

• too much autonomy on the person, too much freedom
• What does human flourishing mean? Just because they have a low QOL doesn’t mean they are not flourishing, their life is still valuable

Question 48

what are some general arguments against voluntary euthanasia on religious grounds

Answer 48

1) life is a sacred gift from god
- against the divine law
- imago dei
- according to JS Mill we are made by god for a purpose and we must live and pursue that purpose

2) killing is forbidden
- ‘thou shalt not murder’
- in society it is seen as wrong in many religions, only accepted for self-defence or in war

3) suffering has a special place in God’s plan
- believe that suffering is needed to become abetter person
- Jesus suffered on the cross, unavoidable thing
- an occasion for spiritual growth, challenge the presence of God

Question 49

what are some general arguments against voluntary euthanasia on non-religious grounds

Answer 49

1) motive
- a passing desire
- irreversible
- we must find the true intention of the patient

2) mistakes
- there would have to be certainty about the diagnosis
- always the possibility of error, and a diagnosis of fatal, incurable and painful illness may not be correct

3) impact on the community
- cultural effect on society
- it affects others and society as a whole doctors, nurses, the hospital and the wider community
- VE will affect attitudes towards dying, easier process is a negative thing

Question 50

what are the rules for euthanasia in Holland?

Answer 50

• if there is a conflict of duties between the doctor’s medical ethics and the demands of he patient, euthanasia is allowed
• only a medical practitioner may carry out euthanasia
• they must freely choose
• there must be no foreseeable improvements
• legalised in 1993

Question 51

explain lying in the context of situation ethics

Answer 51

• Teleological and relativist approach
• If lying would mean the most loving action then you must do so
• Use agapeic calculus in order to know if telling a white lie is the lesser of two evils
• Telling lie about a condition such as syphilis would not be permissible, this is the greater evil, this could spread onto children you have, lying is only allowed in certain circumstances
• Love is the main factor in deciding what one must do

Question 52

explain the positives and negatives of the use of situation ethics for lying

Answer 52

Positives

• Actions are performed out of love, doing what is most loving is the most important
• It takes a pragmatic and personalist approach, puts the person first through the practical approach
• It focus on individuals and the situation. It is hypothetical, adaptive to all situations to bring about the better outcome

Negatives

• Kant would be strongly opposed to the approach taken by situation ethics
• It encourages moral agents to lie in a particular situation, unfair society, chaos
• There is no order or regularity, it is hard for one to determine what is the most loving thing, lack of guidance

Question 53

explain the use of virtue ethics in lying

Answer 53

• Aristotle’s virtue ethics would point to the virtue of honesty and truthfulness, which forbid lies.
• Nichomachean ethics: “In itself, what is false is based on the blameworthy, whereas what is true is noble and praiseworthy”
• Being truthful combines a range of virtues for example justice, friendship, honour and loyalty. It also involves being courageous for example being truthful and admitting one’s failings for example if you cheated in an examination
• Lying completely goes against Aristotle’s work, clearly shown through his work
• A generally truthful world is a good thing, lying diminishes trust between human beings
• It is a basic moral wrong, some things are fundamentally wrong- lying is one of them.
• It misuses the god-given gift of human communication

Question 54

explain the positives and negatives of the use of virtue ethics in lying

Answer 54

Positives:

• You should use phronesis to determine which virtue should take priority in a particular situation
• You will be justified in telling a lie to protect a friend against the mad axeman, this is the virtue of friendship. This shows there is some lenience in times of life and death.
• Is very clear, due to its absolutist approach it is very clear for the moral agent, no confusion like in the other theories

Negatives:

• Virtues come into conflict and so it is difficult to decide which way to go, no real clarity in this situation
• A virtuous person could tell a lie for the result of another virtue like compassion, it is unclear which virtues are more important
• Due to the absolutist approach it limits what one would see as most loving, limits the autonomy of the person.