Ethics and Philosophy. Flashcards
What do we refer to people’s behaviour as?
We commonly refer to people’s behaviour, choices and attitudes as moral or immoral, ethical or unethical.
What does relative mean?
The expulsion of a social or cultural norm.
What does subjective mean?
A matter of opinion or taste.
What does Equality mean?
Equality is the state or quality of being equal.
When was the Equality act introduced?
2010.
What are two areas where inequality can occur?
Age and gender.
How can inequality occur in gender?
- Everyday sexism.
- Gender pay gap.
When was the race relations act passed?
2000.
How can inequality occur in disability?
- Benefits.
- Work opportunities.
What does strict equality mean?
Everyone has the same amount of goods.
What does equality of need mean?
Equality is best achieved by satisfying people’s needs. Those who have greater needs should simply receive more resources.
What does equality of desert mean?
Goods should be distributed to the extent that people deserve them. Those who do the most deserve the most resources.
What does Christianity teach about gender equality?
Some biblical verses emphasise that men and women are equal in God’s eyes however others suggest that men and women have distinct God-given roles.
What does Christianity teach about racial equality?
The New Testament is more progressive in the way that it talks about when Jesus told the Jews that it was a Samaritan who help the injured man left to die beside the road.
However, the Old Testament does have mentions of how slaves should be treated.
What does Christianity teach about disability equality?
- Many of Jesus’ miracles involve him curing the deaf, blind or those unable to walk.
- While these biblical examples clearly establish Christ as a great healer, they sit awkwardly with modern conceptions of disability.
- Campaigners for disability equality are not seeking pity or healing but respect.
- Joni Eareckson Tada emphasised the role disabled people have in the faith.
Gender.
- ‘One is not born, but becomes a woman.
- Simone Du Beauvior’s insight is that there is a difference between an individual’s biological sex and their gender.
- The state of affairs is sometimes referred to as a patriarchy.
What were the waves of feminism?
- 1} First-wave feminism: The suffragette movement founded by Emmeline Pankhurst is often seen as embodying the spirit of early feminism in Britain.
- 2} Second-wave feminism: This wave expanded on the legal demands made by the first wave focusing on social issues.
- 3} Third wave feminism: Influenced by post-modern theorists. Sought empowerment for women.
- 4} Fourth wave feminism: A new wave has begun in the age of social media.
When did women get the right to vote?
1928.
When did Martin Luther King come to fame?
He came to fame after the Montgomery Bus boycott.
What happened in 2012?
George Zimmerman shot dead Trayvon Martin.
What is intersectionality?
The idea that different forms of discrimination and prejudice are socially interlinked.
What is stewardship?
Stewardship is a theological idea which holds God has given the earth to human beings and as such, he expects us to look after it.
What is conservation?
Conservation is more closely associated with 20th century secular environmental ethics. It is concerned with how humans should interact with and understand the nature of the environment.
What are sentient beings?
Beings able to feel pleasure and pain.
What is intrinsic value?
Value in themselves.
What is instrumental value?
Value for a particular purpose.
What are Christian values on the environment?
Many of their attitudes are derived from biblical ideas.
What are Western philosophical traditions?
The Western philosophical tradition has historically had a tendency to give very little consideration to the welfare or protection of animals. Instead, following on from Aristotle, animals have often been judged to be the subordinates of human beings due to their inferior rational capacity.
What biblical source support this view?
Genesis: ‘let us make mankind in our image: in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground”.
What does this portray?
Such a passage appears to portray humankind as the divinely-ordained master of nature and the animal kingdom as its mere servant.
What groups fight for animal rights?
PETA actively campaign for animal welfare, while atheist philosophers such as Peter Singer have produced powerful ethical arguments which set out the moral obligations humans have to other living beings.
What important laws have been made regarding animal rights?
1822: The United Kingdom passed the Act to prevent cruel and improper treatment of cattle.
2007: The Animal welfare act.
What is sustainability?
Sustainability can be defined as the earth’s capability to continue supporting life. 21st century society relies heavily on fossil fuels.
How much waste does each household in the UK produce?
592 kg.
What is incineration?
Burning waste materials.
What is the issue with landfills?
Unsustainability.
What is a sustainable solution?
A zero waste policy.
What is climate change?
The large scale long term shift in the planet’s weather patterns or average temperatures.
What are the effects of climate change?
Ice caps shrinking, rising sea levels and freak weather events.
What is the Christian concept of stewardship?
The traditional Christian approach is drawn from genesis. However, many Christians today may be more inclined to emphasise stewardship.
Is it instrumental or intrinsic?
Instrumental.
What is shallow ecology?
It claims that conservation and protection of the environmental protection should take place because it is in our interest to do so.
What did Arne Naess do?
He came up with the term ‘deep ecology’. He argued in favour of deep ecology.
What did Arne Naess argue?
He argued for the intrinsic value of the earth and that humans should in no way damage the environment.
What did Richard Routley say?
He argued that the prejudicial favouring of humans over other animals is ‘human chauvinism’.
What is the analysis of the deep ecology movement?
The deep ecology movement argues that an intrinsic approach is needed in order to truly protect the environment.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
It was developed primarily by James Lovelock and was viewed with scepticism but is now studied in some areas of the earth sciences. It argues that the Earth is a self-regulating system and by itself, regulated the environment so that it is perfectly suited to life on earth.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this?
It challenges anthropocentric understanding and is a secular theory.
It is wrong to attribute the idea of intrinsic value to a non-sentient being.
What is the central concept of Islam?
Tawhid. Allah’s trustees are responsible for maintaining the unity of his creation.
What duty do Muslims have towards the Earth?
They see themselves as having a responsibility towards the world and the environment.
What was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was a cultural and intellectual movement in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Some of its key thinkers, John Locke and David Hume influenced Bentham.
When was the Industrial revolution?
The Industrial revolution took place in England between 1760 and 1840, which is almost exactly the time Bentham was alive. It was a time of great change in England.
What was the impact of utilitarianism on political and social reform?
- Utilitarianism provided an important philosophy behind many changes in society that helped address the pain and suffering that was brought about by the Industrial revolution. Bentham wanted to change society and the impact of Utilitarianism is testament to the strength, relevance and popularity of the ideas.
- Utilitarianism brought about social change through its emphasis on the importance of the majority of the people.
What does consequentialist mean?
Utilitarianism places ethical judgement on whether an action leads to the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
What does relativist mean?
Utilitarianism believes what is right will depend on the situation. Sometimes an action will be right but at other times it will not be. It all depends on whether the action will produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
What does instrumental mean?
Utilitarianism believes that no moral actions have intrinsic value, only instrumental value if they they produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people.
What are the implications of consequentialist ethical theories?
- There is no consideration of the attitude or intention of the moral agent. This causes a problem for example if someone intentionally commits an evil act but it accidentally produces a morally good outcome.
- It is very hard to predict the outcome of actions, especially secondary or indirect consequences, because it is based on unknown future events. Therefore, a focus on intentions or adherence to moral laws might be considered more practical and reliable.
- It is right to focus on outcomes and consequences as only they have an effect on the lives of others. We are naturally concerned with the effect our actions will have on others and are generally forward-looking.
What is utility?
- Jeremy Bentham is often considered the founder of the utilitarian philosophy. His ground-breaking introduction to the principles of morals and legislation opens with famous words. Crucially, Bentham is arguing that being ruled by pain and pleasure is just the way humans are. We have no choice in the matter: we must seek pleasure, and we must avoid pain. he goes on to argue that basing our ethical decision-making on anything else would simply be foolish.
What is the principle of utility?
Having made this claim about human nature, Bentham goes on to make his normative claim. This is the principle of utility which states: when faced with an ethical decision, we should choose the course of action which maximises pleasure and minimises pain for the greatest number of people.
How is utility calculated?
Bentham listed seven factors which must be taken into account when calculating the actual amount of pleasure an act will produce. They included intensity, duration and fecundity. The calculus is a distinctive feature of Bentham’s version of utilitarianism. Significantly, it maintains that ethical decisions should be made on a case by case basis.
What are the weaknesses of act utilitarianism?
- Happiness cannot be quantified in the way the hedonic calculus assumes.
- It is too simplistic to apply the complexities of ethical decision making and the different types of ethical situation that arises.
- Other values are arguably more important than happiness.
What are the strengths?
- Maximising happiness and minimising pain is arguably how most people already live their lives and it is seen as desirable.
- The hedonic calculus is easy to use and provides a clear, practical measure and tool for thinking about happiness and exactly what kind of happiness should be pursued.
What did Mill think?
Mill’s sensibilities are reflected in his more nuanced account of pleasure. Mill is much more concerned with the quality of pleasure.
What is rule utilitarianism?
The theory which holds that the right action is one which follows rules that if, universally obeyed, would create the maximum amount of happiness and the minimum amount of pain.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this?
- It recognizes that we have a strong internal conviction that an action cannot be right purely because it produces happiness.
- Rule utilitarianism is easier to apply in ethical decision making than act utilitarianism because there are clear rules to follow.
- It removes the need to work out how best to apply the principle of utility in every situation, which could be difficult and time consuming.
- It still allows some flexibility with the notion of strong and weak utilitarianism.
Weaknesses:
- Mill does not provide a way to categorise pleasures in this way.
- The focus on rules removes the benefits of situationalism and consequentialism.
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What is preference utilitarianism?
Holds that the right action is the one which satisfies the greatest number of people.
