key words Flashcards
Abortion
The deliberate ending or termination of a pregnancy
Act Utilitarianism
A version of Utilitarianism according to which the rightness or wrongness of individual acts are calculated by the amount of happiness resulting from these acts.
Antinomianism
the rejection of all moral laws and the reaching of decisions on a spontaneous, ad hoc and unpredictable basis
wealth
Jeremy Bentham
Utilitarian thinker, noted for his belief that a law is good or bad, depending upon whether or not it increases general happiness of the majority of the population
The
Christian Love
it is unconditional; it takes an active interest in the true welfare of others, and is a human imitation of God’s love for human beings.
Conscience
Fletcher rejects the idea that it is (1) intuition, (2) a channel for divine guidance, (3) the internalised values of the individual’s culture, or (4) the part of reason that makes value judgements
Consequential
Thinking
Thinking, in this case, about the rightness or wrongness of an action, that takes only the consequences of an action into consideration.
Conception
In human reproduction – the moment at which the sperm fertilizes the ovum
Deontological
Thinking
is only concerned with the moral law, or duty, that makes a particular action right or wrong regardless of the
consequences
Ethics
The principles by which people live
euthanasia
Inducing a painless death, by agreement and with compassion, to ease suffering. From the Greek meaning “Good Death”.
Fatalism
Foetus
Fertilised ovum from about eleven weeks when the organs have developed; the stage of human development between embryonic and birth
Four Presumptions
Also known as the four working principles of Situationism, they are:
pragmatism
relativism
positivism
personalism.
Freewill
Having the ability to choose or determine one’s own actions
Joseph Fletcher
The Christian Priest and thinker who proposed Situation Ethics in the book of that name published in 1966.
Hedonic Calculus
Created by Bentham, this is a Utilitarian system whereby the effects of an action can be measured as to the amount of pleasure it may bring.
Hospice
Health care facility providing care for the terminally ill
Human Condition
A general phrase summing up the experience of living as a human being
Legalism
An approach to moral decision making that applies the moral law regardless of the consequences.
Legislation
In context, the existing laws relating to euthanasia and possible changes to those laws.
Nature of Life
Relating specifically to human life – religious views about what it means to be human
Value of Life
Relating specifically to human life – religious views of the worth of life
John Stuart Mill
Moral philosopher (1806-1873) who developed Bentham’s Utilitarianism
Mortal
Subject to death / able to die.
Omnipotence
God is all powerful
Omniscience
God has all knowledge / knowing all that can be known
Palliative care
Care given to improve the quality of life of terminally ill patients – including symptom management and psychological and social problems
Pragmatism
Any theory of ethics must be practical and work towards the end that is love
Predestination
The belief that one’s actions and eventual fate are already determined before one is born.
Presumption
Ideas taken as factual on which the theory is based
Principle of Double effect
A thesis usually associated with St Thomas Aquinas that explains when an action that has unintended harmful effects can be morally justified.
Potentiality
In the context of the abortion debate: the capacity, from the moment of conception, which the fertilised ovum has for development.
Right to life
Where a right to life exists, it is the duty of others to sustain and protect that life
Rule Utilitarianism
A version of Utilitarianism in which general rules are assessed for the happiness-making properties rather than individual decisions. Often associated with John Stuart Mill
Situation Ethics
The moral theory proposed by
Joseph Fletcher which requires the
application of love to every unique situation
Teleological thinking
A description applied to Utilitarianism. It stresses that an action is right or wrong depending on its purpose / intended outcome.
Teleology
The belief that the reasons events occur is because they have aparticular purpose
Utilitarianism
A philosophical system concerned with consequences rather than motives and in which the happiness of the greatest number should be the result
Viability
In the context of abortion – the point at which the developing foetus / child becomes capable of living outside the womb. A viable ovum / embryo is
one that has the potential to develop into an adult organism.
