Ethics Flashcards
Subjective
Something in accordance to an individual’s opinion
Objective
A fact that is not in accordance to a person’s opinions
Relative Morality
An act or decision that someone makes and is relative to a particular circumstance
Absolute Morality
Rules that our behaviour should always abide by
Teleological Theories
Telos refers to purpose or end. A teleological theory justifies actions by their outcomes. If a good thing happens from a controversial action it is justified
Deontological Theories
Are usually concerned with the doing and the action itself. The outcome does not justify the action
What are the 5 Primary Precepts
Preservation of innocent life
To reproduce
Education
To live in an ordered society
To worship God
What are secondary precepts
Specific rules that aid in the achieving of the primary precepts
The Four Tiers Of Law
The Eternal Law
The Divine Law
Natural Law
Human Law
The Eternal Law
Also known as the mind of God and is the knowledge of what is right and wrong
The Divine Law
Refers to the law revealed by God through the commandments and teachings through revelation
Natural Law
Is the moral thinking that we are all able to do. Distinguish between good and evil
Human Law
Are customs and practices of a society which are devised by governments and societies
Synderisis
Do good and avoid evil
Interior
Good act must have a good motive
Exterior
A good action as viewed on the outside
Double Effect
Is committing an action that has a good and bad effect
Applying Double Effect
Abortion
Euthanasia
Thalidomide Babies Case Study
Was a medicine given to pregnant mothers to ease their morning pain. Good action was the doctor giving the medicine with intent to ease the pain however the bad effect was causing mutations to the babies such as short and twisted limbs and unarranged organs
How to follow the preservation of life
Making murder illegal
Ban abortions
How to follow reproduction
Sex
Finding a lifetime partner
Sex only with women
How to follow educating the young
Offer schooling
Teach the under privileged
How to follow living in society
Abide by laws
Don’t kill
Obey authority
How to follow worshipping God
Go to church
Read the Bible
Implement the word in your life
Reason
Aquinas assumes that we are all reasonable human being. This has been given to us by God
Permissive
Allowing or characterised by great or excessive freedom of behaviour
The 5 permissive society case studies
The Lady Chaterley Trial
The contraceptive pill
The abortion act
The sexual offences act
The divorce reform act
The Lady Chatterley Trial
In 1960 penguin books decided to publish an uncensored version of P.H Loverence Lady Chatterley Love. It was a criminal offence to write literature that is considered obscene hence why the book was tried in October to November 1960 at the Old Bailey’s. This trial involved many literary geniuses. The Jury asked if it would “be a book you would like your wife reading”. The trial was quashed after the jury came to the verdict that allowed the book to be published
The contraceptive pill
On 4 December 1951 the contraceptive pill was made available for the first time to women through the NHS. The pill costed 2 shillings a month as proceeded by Enoch Powell the health minister. The pill was available to married women only however through the family planning act allowed unmarried women to do so
The Abortion Act
In 1967 an act passed which allowed pregnant women to get rid of a baby until the point of 28 weeks gestation. In the first year of legislation over 37k abortions were performed in England and Wales. This allowed millions of women to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Before the law passed 50 and 60 women died each year due to illegal abortions. Historian Stephen Brooke said: “the abortion act has also accrued profound sound symbolic meaning as a cipher of permissive Britain”.
The Sexual Offences Act
Passed in the House of Commons on 27th July 1967. The act legalised the homosexual practices between 2 men aged 21 and older. The bill was put forward partly due to the rising in number of arrests and prosecutions for homosexual acts. It was also campaigned for by the Homosexual Law Reform Society
The Divorce Reform Act
Prior to this 1969 women could only petition for divorce in the grounds of adultery. The act changed the way people viewed divorce.
Scholar of situation ethics
Joseph Fletcher
Agape
Selfless Christian Love
What kind of theory is Situation Ethics
Teleological Theory
Legalism
Is an over reliance on applying endless rigid rules
Antinomianism
The rejection of all moral laws
Nomos
Law in Greek
The 4 working principles
Pragmatism
Relativism
Positivism
Personalism
Pragmatism
In order to count something as true something must work in practice
Relativism
The right thing to do dependent on context
Positivism
We have to be active in bringing out love through the decisions we make
Personalism
The key to good ethics is to place the good people at the centre rather than be obedient to rules
The 6 propositions
Only one thing is intrinsically good namely love nothing else
The ruling Christian decision is love nothing else
Love and justice are the same for justice is love distributed
Love wills the neighbour good whether we like them or not
Only the end justifies the means nothing else
Loves decisions are made situationally not perspectively
Fletcher’s Four Principles
Sacrificial Suicide
Justifiable Mass Killing
Patriotic Prostitution
Sacrificial Adultery
Sacrificial Suicide
A man has a terminal illness and has the choice to either pay £100k for £40 a month for 3 years life expectancy or live for 6 months and once he has passed leaves £100£ for his family to benefit from
Justifiable Mass Killing
An atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing 152k. One of the soldier uttered “My God what have we done”. This later allowed forced Japan to sue for peace
Patriotic Prostitution
A woman has to fornicate with a spy in order to blackmail him for information that will save the world from war and save countless lives
Sacrificial Adultery
Mrs Bergneir was looking for her family. According to the rules she could only be released to Germany if she is pregnant. She then chose to be impregnated by a Volga Camp Guard.
Duty
Acting morally according to good regardless of the consequences
Good Will
doing a good action with a good intention
Hypothetical Imperative
A command that is followed to achieve a desired result
Universal Law
If an action was universalised or committed on a mass scale would it be acceptable
Person as Ends
That we should treat each person as their own free beings with their own life
Kingdom Of Ends
Imagining we are a part of a law-making group of an imaginary country. Would the laws we pass be seen as acceptable or unacceptable
The 3 Postulates
Freedom and the Summum Bonum
Immortality
God
Freedom and the Summum Bonum
It means that human beings human will are free self-directing and autonomous
Summum Bonum
The highest most supreme good
God
God ensured that in the end the world was arranged in a manner to ensure that the highest good can be achieved
Pros of Kantian Ethics
Kant’s morality is very straightforward and based on reason, making it accessible to everyone.
Duty is part of human experience.
Categorical imperative gives us rules that apply to everyone and command us to respect human life.