Ethical Theories Flashcards
What type of theory is Natural Moral Law?
An absolutist theory
What is an absolutist theory?
A moral or ethical framework that posits existence of objective and universal moral principles that apply to all situations and are not dependent on subjective factors
Who is most commonly associated with Natural Moral Law?
St Thomas Aquinas
Who is St Thomas Aquinas?
An Italian Philosopher, Theologian and Priest
What is Natural Moral Law based on?
Five Primary Precepts
What are the Five Primary Precepts?
1- Preserve life
2- Ordered society
3- Worship God
4- Education
5- Reproduction
What is the main principle of Natural Law?
“Good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided” (synderisis rule)
What are the Secondary Precepts?
Humans are to use their reason to establish rules that will fulfil the requirements of the Primary Precepts
What are some examples of Secondary Precepts?
- Do not murder
- Do not abort the unborn
Why are Christian views regarding animals consistent with the views of Natural Moral Law?
Thomas Aquinas’s anthropology of the soul
What book does Thomas Aquinas outline the anthropology of the soul in?
“Of God and his creatures”
What are the three divisions of the soul?
- The vegetative
- The sentient
- The intellectual
(these divisions are set in a hierarchy)
What does the vegetative soul allow for?
The basics of existence:
- nourishment
- growth
- reproduction
(plants have only a vegetative soul)
What does the sentient soul allow for?
- sentient cognition
- sentient appetite
(inherent in animals)
What does the intellectual/rational soul allow for?
The soul responsible for reason and thinking
(specific to human beings only)
Which souls do human beings possess?
- vegetative
- sentient
- intellectual/rational
What Primary Precept does the anthropology of the soul adhere to?
To live in society
How does the anthropology of the soul adhere to the Primary Precept of “to live in society”?
Conforms to the Biblical rules of creation
What is the Biblical Doctrine of the great chain of being?
A hierarchical structure thought by medieval Christianity to have been decreed by God
Outline the structure of the great chain of being
- God
- Angels
- Humans
- Animals
- Plants
- Minerals
A critique of the anthropology of the soul
Just because animals are viewed as less than humans does not mean that they should not be treated with respect
Bible animal quote (for)
“the same fate awaits them both (…) all have the same breath”
(Ecclesiastes 3:19)
What fulfils the 1st Primary Precept?
Saving human life by using animals in scientific procedures
Moses 1:39
“For behold, this is my work and my glory”
Who was David Bennet?
David Bennet (from the US) was the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig - he passed two months later (57) on 8 March
Poor nutrition and hunger is responsible responsible for…
Nearly half of all deaths in children under the age of 5
A child dies from hunger every __ seconds
10
What did God grant?
Dominion
Dominion quote
“Over every living thing that moves upon the Earth”
Who was Situation Ethics most famously championed by?
Joseph Fletcher
What is Situation Ethics based on?
Agape love (Christian unconditional love)
What did Joseph Fletcher reject
- Legalism/fajia
- Antinomianism
What is Legalism?
- one of the six classical schools of thought in Chinese Philosophy
- Excessive conformity to the law/religious moral code
What is antinomianism?
Rejects laws (legalism)
What did Fletcher say regarding legalism and antinomianism?
That we need to find a balance between the two
What are Fletcher’s four working principles?
- Pragmatism
- Relativism
- Positivism
- Personalism
What is Positivism?
To put faith before reasoning
“I am a Christian, so what should I do?”
What is Personalism?
People should be at the centre of the theory
Disadvantage of Situation ethics
It does not provide a clear definition of what agape love actually is
Who is associated with Virtue ethics?
Aristotle
What is virtue ethics?
It defines good actions as ones that display and embody virtuous character traits
What is eudaimonia?
“happiness”
The supreme goal of human life
The Doctrine of the Mean
(Golden Mean)
The midpoint between excess and deficiency
Outline the “telos”
- Virtue ethics is about how to be good people and lead good lives
- A life is good when it fulfills its purpose (its “telos”)
- The telos of human life is eudaimonia or flourishing
what does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say about animal cruelty?
The waste or the mistreatment of animals is an affront to our human dignity and thereby sinful (CCC, 2418)
Pope Francis animal cruelty quote
“experimentation on animals is morally acceptable only if it remains within reasonable limits [and] contributes to caring for or saving human lives”
Pope Francis book
Laudato si’
Proportionalism
Focuses on the proportionate weighting of moral goods and evils in a particular situation to determine the right course of action
Proportionalism is an ethical theory that lies between…
consequential theories and deontological theories
