Normative Ethical Theories Flashcards
What are deontological(deon) theories
A theory that says we should always focus on the right action
What are teleological (telos) theories
A theory that says that we should always focus on the consequences
Who is Aristotle
An Ancient Greek philosopher who came up with natural law
What did Aristotle say about natural law
In ‘Nichomacean Ethics’, Aristotle wrote that natural justice is independent and applies to everyone no matter where they live
What did Aristotle believe about Natural law and how does it link to the idea of eudaimonia
There is a law written into nature for humans to know how to behave. He believed that we can use our reason to discover this.Aristotle believed that eudaimonia was the final goal for humans, which could be reached by living a life of reason.
What were Aristotle’s thoughts on the telos of a person
Aristotle thought that the function(or telos) of a person was to use their reason correctly
What did Aquinas do with this idea of NML
He ‘Christianised’ it, adding that it is the Christian God who set laws and the telos of all things, according to the omnibenevolent plan for the universe
In Romans, St. Paul wrote,”They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts.”
What does this tell us about morality?
St Paul is saying that you don’t need religion to tell you about right from wrong. We have the God-given ability to know right from wrong.
What does AQUINAS’ NML say?
Everything has a purpose and mankind was made by God with a specific design in mind. This purpose can be known through reason. As a result,fulfilling the purpose of our design is the only ‘good’ for humans. For Aquinas, the telos of rational beings involves glorifying God by following God’s own moral law.
What is a moral agent
The person involved in making an ethical decision.
What is the synderesis principle ?
The idea of doing good and avoiding evil.
What does Aquinas mean when he says that the universe is purposive?
Things exist to reach their end goal. For example, plants do it blindly, but humans have a ration that they use
What is the telos of human life?
Eternal union with God in the afterlife
What does Aquinas mean when he says we should not be enslaved by non rational desires
We should not let our emotions cloud our reason and prevent us from following the primary precepts
What does Aquinas mean when he says man needs to be directed in a ‘higher way’?
Since we are made in imago dei, we have a reason which is the ‘higher way’ and that is what we use to discover the NML
What are some weaknesses to the synderesis rule?
-Are bystanders of crimes complicit? So are they equally to blame for evil even though they haven’t directly participated?
-What about criminals with a lack of remorse?
What is a strength of the NML?
The idea that it’s ‘unchanging’ and ‘universal’ creates fairness and consistency to the rules.
What are the primary precepts?
They are the rules that we all naturally follow because we are made in the image of God
They are teleological because they point us toward our purpose
Name the 5 primary precepts
Worship God
Ordered society
Reproduction
Learning(educate the young)
Defend life(preserve life)
What is a weakeness of the NmL
It lacks love/compassion,
it’s not empathetic
What are secondary precepts? Give an example
Deontological rules that help us follow the PP
E.g a primary precepts is reproduction and a secondary precept for that would be do not have an abortion
What is cultural relativism
It’s where what is considered “right” and “wrong” are culture specific. What is considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another.
How does Aquinas’ version of natural law fit into a world that is culturally relative?
The way we can look at this is with the example of polygamy.
Some people may see polygamy as acceptable as it is ‘natural’ in some countries and the possible education of children. However, Aquinas would argue that it is against the laws of nature.
What did St Paul realise about humans using the natural law to work towards good?
He recognised that it is not always possible for humans to do good because we are imperfect due to the ‘fall’
Give a quote from St Paul regarding the fall
“Since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”
What did Aquinas believe about human nature
He believed that it is essentially good as natural law is within everyone. He maintained that humans were oriented towards the achievement of perfection and that they could never knowingly pursue evil.
What is an apparent good?
An action that does not lead us to our telos.
It leads us away from the PP
What is a real good
An action which follows the PP
According to Aquinas, what is the purpose/telos of humans?
-human flourishing and God like perfection.
-humans should therefore direct their actions in such a way to glorify God and ensure they act as God intended them to do.
What does eudaimonia mean?
ultimate happiness through union with God
What is the difference between the ‘efficient’ and the ‘final’ cause(Aristotles influence)
Efficient cause-What gets things done
Final cause-The end product
With humans, it is the accomplishments of the end product that equates to ‘good’
Give an example of an efficient and final cause
sexuality
-an efficient cause of sex is enjoyment
-for aquinas the final cause is procreation
Give a weakness of aristotles efficient/final cause theory
it’s immoral as it’s not inclusive to same sex relationships
Give an example of an apparent good
Stealing to save a family
In this example, the stealing is not done out of malice, however, according to Aquinas, it’s still wrong as it goes against the PP of “ordered society”
How does aquinas link reason to real and apparent goods
He believes that we all have a reason to recognise a real and apparent good because we are made in Gods image
What did Aquinas believe about humans reaching their ‘real good’?
Aquinas argues that it is morally essential for us to nurture and practise virtuous behaviour. The more we practise being virtuous, the more likely we are to do ‘real’ good actions such as the PP, unconsciously. So virtuous actions become innate.
What are cardinal virtues?
Four virtues from Aristotle’s list of virtues that Aquinas selected. He accepted these four virtues as the foundation of natural morality.
Name the four cardinal virtues
Prudence(practical wisdom)
Justice(fairness)
Fortitude(courage)
Temperance(self control)
These virtues allow the self to fulfill its purpose and telos(to flourish)
What is the most important cardinal virtue
Prudence(practical wisdom). The ability to understand a situation and to use practical reason to work out what to do
What is the difference between cardinal virtues and theological virtues
Cardinal virtues are those that can be achieved by human ability, whereas theological virtues are given to humans through God’s grace
What are the 3 Christian theological virtues?
faith
hope
love
What do the 3 theological virtues mean?
faith-refers to belief in what is revealed through scripture and the Church
hope-the hope of heaven and the beatific vision
love-sometimes translated as ‘charity’. Love of God above all things and love of ones neighbour through life if God
What does the idea of Christian theological virtues mean?
They are virtues found within scripture. They are a gift from God
Give a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding theological virtues
“The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity’
What is the link between natural law and virtues ?
To follow the natural law, an individual should seek to develop the virtues(cardinal+theological)- this development requires practise. These virtues must become habitual.
They guide our reason to help us flourish and follow the PP
What is an interior act?
the intention behind an act
What is an exterior act?
How that act looks to others
What did Aquinas mean by interior and exterior acts
For Aquinas, both the intention and the act are important
For example, to act in a good way for the wrong reason is to perform a good exterior act but a bad interior act
Give an example of an action with a bad interior act but a good exterior act
Helping an old lady across the road(good exterior act) to impress someone(bad interior act)
What did Aquinas believe about being a good person?
He believed that being a good person means having good thoughts and intentions inside you and doing good things on the outside(good interior and exterior)
According to Aquinas, what is the ultimate ulterior motivation for ethics
To be giving glory to God
What does the doctrine of double effect say?
If an action has an effect that goes against human reason (determined by the precepts) but that effect is the accidental and unintended result of an action which follows the precepts, then it is acceptable.
Give an example of a scenario that is acceptable according to the DoDE
cancer of the uterus in a pregnant woman
-the woman would need to have chemo which would kill the baby even though the intention was to save the mother
What is the DoDE against?
Doing a bad action to bring about a good effect
What does double effect mean?
It means that there are 2 effects of an action: one good and one bad(unintended)
What is the basic idea of the DoDE?
The intention is ultimately important. The intention should be to uphold the PP. If the intention is to uphold a precept but unintentionally break another precept, it is allowed.
What is a weakness of the DoDE?
How do we know which precept to uphold?
Why should we choose which one is most important?
What is a weakness of the DoDE?
How do we know which precept to uphold?
Why should we choose which one is most important?
How do the four conditions link to the double effect?
For an action with both good and bad effects to be morally permissible under the principle of double effect, the four conditions must be satisfied
What are the four conditions for the DoDE?
-The nature of the act must be good or morally neutral
-The intention must be directed towards the good effect
-The bad effect must not be the means to the good effect
-There must be proportionate reason for permitting the bad effect
What does the condition ‘The nature of the act must be good or morally neutral’ mean?
The action itself must not be intrinsically evil. It must follow the PP
What does the condition,’The intention must be directed towards the good effect’ mean
The individual performing the action must intend only the good effect, not the bad effect. The intention must be to follow the PP
What does the condition ‘The bad effect must not be the means to the good effect’ mean?
The good effect cannot be achieved by directly causing the bad effect. For example, murdering baby hitler to save millions of Jews, or having an abortion to help your mental health
What does the condition ‘The bad effect must not be the means to the good effect’ mean?
The good effect cannot be achieved by directly causing the bad effect. For example, murdering baby hitler to save millions of Jews, or having an abortion to help your mental health
What does the condition ‘There must be proportionate reason for permitting the bad effect’ mean?
The good effect must be proportionate to or outweigh the bad effect. E.g. In the case of self defence, the preservation of the defenders life is deemed proportionate to the death of the aggressor
What is manualism?
The Catholic Church gave manuels to Priests in training, to help them learn how to apply natural law in real life situations
For Aquinas, how did virtues and rules compare?
They were equal
For the Catholic Church, how do virtues and rules compare?
Rules are more important than virtues
Through manualism, NML becomes….
even more deontological
In the 17th century, the preference for a morality of obligation and rules led scholars in the Catholic Church to do what?
Write manuels of morality. They were designed for use in Catholic Church seminaries, to train the clergy in understanding how to live out their faith morally.
What are the criticisms of manualism?
-It forgets principles and virtues(this is because being virtuous sometimes means breaking rules)
-The approach of NML in ethical decision making is problematic because it lacks the Christian principle of love(it contradicts the compassion Jesus has when he died
What did Servais Pinckaers have to say about manualism?
“The moral theology of the manuels lost sight of essential questions”
What is proportionalism?
-It responds to natural law by working within it’s framework, but without insisting on a fixed, inflexible and absolutist interpretation of a greater good is served by laying it aside.
In other words, where proportionate reason exist, it would be right to ignore the rule in that situation
What is Aquinas’ example of proportionalism?
It can be lawful for a man to steak if he will die otherwise. This is obviously an extreme situation and so the rule may be pushed aside
