Mock Revision Flashcards
What is the teleological argument
‘The world was created by chance not by God’s design’ Discuss (40 marks)
AO1
TALK ABOUT:
The teleological argument assertion that the world’s creation was not by chance
Aquinas’ Fifth Way- argue from the purpose of natural bodies and uses the analogy of the arrow and the archer as the being who guides the arrow just as God directs natural tings to their ends
Paley’s teleological arguments from both regularity and purpose leads to God
Evolutionary theory and the suggestion that random mutations and natural selection explain the adaptation of living things to their specific environments
Hume’s assertion that it might be better to explain the universe by randomness
‘The world was created by chance not by God’s design’ Discuss 40 marks
Evolution points towards chance mutations leading to adaptation, which removes the need for a designer
Hume’s use of earlier philosophical principles shows that, given an infinite amount of time, all the particles in universe would be able to combine into a stable environment
Hume’s arguments against the success of teleological arguments might be deemed to be success, leaving only chance as an explanation for the universe
Modern evolutionary thinkers assert that a God or a designer is a delusion
The implications of life not having been discovered in the vastness of the universe suggesting that the earth is simply as it is by chance
The universe might simply be a brute fact and we should not therefore consider its creation
The sheer weight of improbability suggests that a God or designer must exist
The consideration of beauty is not something that would have come about through a world created solely by chance
The assertion that the simpler explanation for the existence of the universe is a sole designer, rather than a long series of events
Understanding design behind the world gives the world meaning, which is a core requirement for many
Evolution itself seems to drive towards greater complexity, or the laws governing the universe seem conductive to life, either of which suggests purpose and therefore design
Assess the view that the approach taken by Fletcher’s situation ethics makes moral decisions- making entirely individualistic and subjective (40 marks)
AO1
origins of agape in the New Testament and its religious development in the writing of Fletcher
Fletcher’s six propositions and how they give rise to the theory of situation ethics and its approach to moral decision-making:
(1) love is the only thing which is intrinsically good.
(2) love is the ruling norm in moral decision-making and replaces all laws.
(3) love and justice are the same thing – justice is love which is distributed.
(4) love wills the neighbour’s good regardless of whether the neighbour is liked or not.
(5) love is the goal of the act and justifies any means to achieve that goal.
(6) love decides on each situation as it arises without a set of laws to guide it.
Fletcher’s four working principles and how they are intended to be applied to moral decision-making:
(1) pragmatism – decisions based on experience rather than theory
(2) relativism – decisions based on making the absolute laws of Christian ethics relative
(3) positivism – decisions begin with belief in the reality and importance of love
(4) personalism – decisions recognise that persons, not laws or anything else, are at the centre of this approach
Fletcher’s understanding of what conscience is and what it is not according i.e., a verb not a noun, a term which describes attempts to make decisions creatively.
Fletcher’s six propositions:
They give rise to the theory of situation ethics- approach to moral decision-making
- love is the only thing which is
intrinsically good
- love is the ruling norm in moral decision-making
and replaces all laws
- love and justice are the same thing
justice is love which is distributed
- love wills the neighbor’s good regardless of whether
the neighbour is liked or not
- love is the goal of the act and justifies
any means to achieve that goal
- love decides on each situation as it arises without
a set of laws to guide it
Fletcher’s four working principles and how they are intended to be applied to moral decision-making:
- pragmatism
- relativism
- positivism
- personalism
- Fletcher’s understanding of what conscience is and what it is not according i.e., a verb not a noun, a term which describes attempts to make decisions creatively
Assess the view that the approach taken by Fletcher’s situation ethics makes moral decisions- making entirely individualistic and subjective (40 marks)
AO2
the second of the six propositions emphasise the individualistic and subjective approach because it states that love is the ruling norm in moral decision-making and as such it replaces all laws
the last of the six propositions emphasises the individualistic and subjective approach because it states that love decides on the situation without a set of laws to guide it
the second of the four working principles, relativism, emphasises the individualistic and subjective approach because it states that decisions should be based on making the absolute laws of Christian ethics relative
Fletcher’s understanding of agape leads to an entirely individualistic and subjective approach because it is not well defined, and it means nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in each situation
AO2: NOT CONVINCING BECAUSE
the six propositions and the four working principles provide a clear and coherent framework to use which avoids making moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective
the second proposition prevents moral decision-making from being entirely individualistic and subjective because it states as an absolute, that love is the ruling norm
the third working principle of positivism means that from the outset the foundation of moral decision-making cannot be entirely individualistic and subjective as it is rooted in the reality and importance of love
whilst the concept of agape may not be defined explicitly, Fletcher gives a sound enough explanation of the term in the propositions and working principles to prevent moral decision-making from being entirely individualistic and subjective
when set alongside and in partnership with the six propositions and the four working principles, Fletcher’s understanding of conscience as a verb describing attempts to make decisions creatively cannot result in moral decision-making which is entirely individualistic and subjective
DISC PEREL RJ
INTRODUCTION:
D:define all key terms
I: implications of the question
S: key scholars
C: conclusion (what you agree with and believe)
PARAGRAPHS:
P: point
E: explain
R: refer to scholars on the other side of the argument
E: explain
L: link BACK to question
CONCLUSION:
R: refer to everything mentioned
J:judgement
