Chapter 19: Ethics, religion and sexuality

Question 1

Ethics

Answer 1

A system of moral principles; a way of determining right and wrong.

Question 2

Hedonism

Answer 2

A moral system based on maximizing pleasure and avoiding pain.

Question 3

Asceticism

Answer 3

An approach to life emphasizing self-discipline and impulse control.

Question 4

Legalism

Answer 4

Ethics based on the assumption that there are rules for human conduct and that morality consists of knowing the rules and obeying them.

Question 5

Situationism

Answer 5

Ethics based on the assumption that there are no absolute rules, or at least very few, and that each situation must be judged individually.

Question 6

Pederasty

Answer 6

Sex between an older man and a younger man, or a boy; sometimes called boy love.

Question 7

Fertility cult

Answer 7

A form of nature religion in which the fertility of the soil is encourages through various forms of ritual magic, often including sexual intercourse.

Question 8

Dualism

Answer 8

A religious or philosophical belief that body and spirit are separate and opposed to each other and that the goal of life is to free the spirits from the bondage of the body; thus a depreciation of the material world and the physical aspect of humanity.

Question 9

Celibacy

Answer 9

The practice of remaining celibate. sometimes used to refer to abstaining form sexual intercourse, the correct term for which is chastity. A celibate person who remains unmarried, usually for religious reasons.

Question 10

Humanism

Answer 10

A philosophical system that holds that ethical judgements must be made on the basis of human experience and human reason.

Question 11

Moralism

Answer 11

A religious or philosophical attitude that emphasizes moral behavior, usually according to strict standards, as the highest goal of human life. Moralists tend to favor strict regulation of human conduct to help make people good.

Question 12

Pluralism

Answer 12

A philosophical or political attitude that affirms the value of many competing opinions and believes that the truth is discovered in the clash of diverse perspectives. Pluralists, therefore, believe in the maximum human freedom possible.

Question 13

Fornication

Answer 13

The term for sex by unmarried people and, more generally, all immoral sexual behavior.

Question 14

Adultery

Answer 14

Voluntary sexual intercourse by a husband or wife with someone other than one’s spouse; thus betrayal of one’s marriage vows.

Question 15

Somatic cell nuclear transfer

Answer 15

A cloning technique that involves substituting genetic material form an adult’s cell for the nucleus of an egg.

Question 16

Therapeutic cloning

Answer 16

Creating tissues or cells tat are genetically identical to those of a patient, to treat a disease.