Ethics And Religion Flashcards
Hedonism
Belief that the goal of human life is pursuit of pleasure, avoidance of pain and fulfillment of physical needs and desires
Ethics
A system of moral principles, a way of deciding what is right and wrong
Asceticism
An approach to life emphasizing discipline and impulse control
Legalism/Old Morality
Following a moral law or set of principles. Right vs. wrong, good vs. evil
Still important to fundamentalist religious views
Tends to be legalistic.
Reduces ethical behavior to simply following rules
Situationism/New Morality
Decisions are based on human experience, within a broad framework of ethical guidelines.
Tends towards hedonism and takes a situational approach
Classical Greece
Education, wisdom, love, athleticism and virtue were values
Violent passion must be avoided
Plato- intellectual love with strong friendship
Island of Lesvos
Lead to the term lesbian, had relationships among women
Pederasty (Greece term)
Sexual relationship between an older man and a younger one, normally student to teacher.
Objected to by Aristotle
Judaism
Sex seen as a deep and intimate part of a relationship between two people
Hebrew Scriptures see sexual behavior as an aspect of national and rigorous loyalty “be fruitful and multiply”
Fertility Cult
Nature based religion, fertility of the soil is encouraged through rituals
Islam
Value sexuality positively, sex in marriage as highest good in human life.
Believes in polygamy, sex outside of marriage is a sex though.
Encourages contraception
Different states and provinces vary
Dualism
Christian idea that the body and spirit are unalterably separate and opposed to each other
St. Thomas Aquinas
Basic source of catholic moral theology.
Believed in naturalism
Sex was for procreation, not to be enjoyed
Protestants
Renewed emphasis on individual conscience and ethical decision-making.
Sex was necessary but marriage sucked
Puritanism
Emphasized the doctrine of “original sin” and the “total depravity” of fallen humanity
Hinduism
Varied approaches to sexuality.
Kama Sutra = belief in pleasure
Dharma and Moshka = all passions are to be avoided
Buddhism
Conflicting traditions
Therevada
Includes strict no indulgence of desires that bring joy. Morals and discipline emphasized
Mahayana
Ethics are more active and directed toward love of others
Tantric Buddhism
Sexual union epitomizes the essential unity of all things, honoring ones partner and the relationship can bring spiritual enlightenment
Humanism
Denies a divine origin for morality
Holds that ethical judgments must be made on the basis of human experience and human reason
Skeptical of claims of absolute right and wrong
Moralism
Clearly and objectively defined standards of right and wrong
A society has a right to insist that it’s member conform to them
Pluralism
Truth is to be discovered in the clash of differing opinions and convictions
Fornication
Sex before marriage
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
Involves substituting the genetic material from an adult’s cell for the nucleus in an egg
Therapeutic cloning
Creating tissues or cells that are genetically identical to those of a patient to treat a disease
