Moral Principles Flashcards

Question

heteronomous, conscience - faculty of mora judgement

Answer 1

* Aquinas * Synderesis = right reason, distinguished from conscientia which is distinguishing right from wrong * Synderesis allows us to know moral principles, guiding us towards the good, conscientia is the actual decision * Conscience = not innate knowledge of right and wrong, all people seek good and sometimes simply pursue the apparent good rather than the real good. Must use reason to stop this. * + Gets over problem of 2 differing views: one is using reason right. * + Involves individual in decision making * - Lose autonomy from being so wrapped up in NL * - Not everyone is naturally good?

Answer 2

o Fundamentalist Xians criticise CofE's appeal to reason for interpretation of Scripture, as it is too subjective. o Can criticise legitimacy of Apostolic Succession, many of Pope's pronouncements just seem too archaic in attitude. o JC himself seems to speak out against tradition, condemns tradition of Pharisees and Scribes because they represent the rules of men rather than the commandments of God. (Matt 15:2-9) o Can criticise sources of authority for Lib Theology, particularly their use of Marxism. o Rosemary Radford Ruether identifies how the Church tradition and Scripture are both shared exclusively by male experiences of life, fail to recognise women's experiences.

Answer 3

* Love is key theme in NT and life of JC. * Mark 12: JC clarifies greatest command is to love God, second is to love your neighbour. * St Paul emphasises importance of agape, ‘love is patient, love is kind’. (1 Cor 13) * Most interpretations of autonomous Xian ethics see there is one guiding principle: ‘my commandment is this: love one another as I have loved you.’ (John 15:12-13)

Answer 4

o Pope Francis • P Francis upholds heteronomous approach to ethics, yet in ‘The Joy of Love’, he writes about all of difficult situations faced by different people in the Bible. • Advocated compassionate approach to ethics rather than ‘imposing rules by sheer authority’ • ‘Love inspires a sincere esteem for every human being and the recognition of his or her right to happiness’

Answer 5

o Hans Kung • Lib Catholic, promotes autonomous Xian ethics • Global ethic: everyone should be concerned about everybody else in the world. It is ‘the minimal consensus concerning binding values, irrevocable standards and fundamental moral attitudes’ • Don’t need an ethic of prohibitions and sanctions, should act as JC did in encouraging disciples to make their own decisions • Talks about euthanasia as ‘dignified dying’, Xians must apply love, may mean euth becomes act of compassion rather than killing (Rejected by RCC)

Answer 6

* Suggested 3 ethical norms that should work together for Xians: justice, love and wisdom. * Love = most important, guided by wisdom and has justice as ‘backbone’ * Tillich argues agape includes all dimensions of love; it is a continuous desire to break through isolation in each person. * Critical of rule-like structure of some Xian ethics, calls this ‘moral Puritanism’ * Agape is person-centred, binding us to the other person and situation, must act in situation, not in hypothetical. Each situation has own voice. * ‘There is something between love and the situation, and these are the laws of religion, the laws of nations and the laws of society’ * Traditional laws = laws of past * Against the situation-centred principle of love morally * Can be difficult to know when to break commandment for love, but this is part of moral life * View is radically different to legalistic view of Xian ethics as well as the use of Bible. He claims all of these are relevant, but must be interpreted through love.

Answer 7

* Love is crucial to decision making * 4 Working Principles: * Pragmatism – what should be done to make situation most loving * Relativism – no absolutes, must be relative to love * Positivism – religious laws are not God-given, but human * Personalism – all humans should be treated as person due to imago dei, no means to an end

Answer 8

* Not an open-ended relativism, because we can understand love, it is a sufficient means for living a good life. * To some extent absolutist, yet still possesses benefits of relativism. * Love does not have the problem of conflicting norms, can excuse certain acts. E.g. lying about hiding a Jew is most loving thing to do, whereas Kant would argue we cannot universalise lying and thus should hand the Jew in. * More flexible recognises exceptions to apparent moral evils. * Understood universally, respecter of persons. * Autonomous understanding of morality, modern and appealing in contrast to usual emphasis on reason. * Love is central in NT and JC teachings.

Answer 9

• William Barclay argues the examples Fletcher gives are too extreme, ‘it is much easier to agree that extraordinary situations need extraordinary measures than to think that there are no laws for ordinary everyday life’. Love is insufficient, people need clear cut moral guidelines.

Answer 10

• Pope Pius XII claimed SE is too subjective, people can justify anything and its use often goes against NL, which is God’s revealed word in the Bible.

Answer 11

• Peter Vardy argued love can be selfish as we are naturally selfish beings. * Biblicists would argue that we should follow the set rules in the Bible which are the direct commands of God e.g. 10 Commandments and SOTM * Too flexible, in abortion for instance, do you show love to mother of foetus?

Answer 12

• J.A.T. Robinson changed his positive view of SE as the only ethic for ‘man come of age’ to the view that following it will ‘descend into moral chaos’

Answer 13

* Tillich highlights how it is not love alone, must be used in accordance with justice and wisdom. * Richard Mouw claims that just because there is a Biblical command in Bible to love, does not mean it rules out the possibility of other Biblical commandments.

Answer 14

* Vincent MacNamara suggests that if you are Xian, then your faith will impact your morality, makes it distinctive e.g. through use of Bible. * Hauerwas emphasises Xian ethics as shaped by the life and worship of Christian community, sets it shapely apart from society.

Answer 15

* Fundamentalists would argue Bible provides distinct ethics. * Ratzinger and Hans Ur von Balthasar say Xian faith teaches specific moral obligations unknown by reason e.g. through CCC, Magisterium, Bible.

Answer 16

* Hans Kung and Josef Fuchs emphasise that Xian faith teach nothing about the content of moral obligation that could not in principle be known by any person of good will. * James Gustafson argues medical ethics do not theological contribution, can be justified without reference to God.

Answer 17

* Neil Messer argues there is a clear link between agape and secular pastoral care, not distinctively Xian. * Clear link between religious and secular ethics e.g. Kant and Mill/Bentham and teachings of JC.