P1S2 Flashcards
What is:
Cyclical
The view that time has no beginning or end and that the sould of human beings is reborn again and again
What is:
Human destiny
The future of human beings/what happens to them when they die
What is the:
Law of cause and effect
The belief that every human action has an automatic consequence
What is:
Linear
The view that time has a beginning and an end and that humans live only once on Earth
Views supporting:
Live after death
theists
- Human life lacks prpose if life stops at the point of death
- They believe in a day of judgement, and in the existence of heaven and hell
- Jesus’ death and ressurection are part of God’s divine plan for humankind
Justification for the view that:
There is no afterlife
Human lives are purely physical and non-spiritual
Scientific evidence for possibilites of the creation of the universe without God
Religion is a “physcological crutch”
Why non-religious people believe:
Life after death
- Ghosts
- remembering past lives
- near death experiences
What is:
Sanctity of life
quote
The view that all human life is intrinsically sacred, holy and precious
Justified as humans are made in God’s image, and God’s creation was good in genesis,
“Let us make mankind in our image”
The catholic church takes an absolutist view on this topic as:
Give life is an act of love by GOd
All human life is sacred because of imago dei - this marks humans out as special and beyond other parts of creation
Therefore anything that violates the sanctity of life is unethical
Different interpretations of:
Agape
- fletcher
- motherly love
- kierkgaard - disintrested, analogy of a dead person
What is:
Christian Escathology
conceptions of last things such as immortality of the soul, rebirth, end of time
What are:
Problems with heaven, hell and purgatory
- People are irreversibly punished for eternity for a choice
- An omni-benevolent God would not punish people
- Does the soul even exist?
- What is the criteria for going to pugatory?
What are different views on:
Whether or not we have a soul
- Augustine - mind body dualist - argues we do and that the soul is independent. This is responsible for one’s choices and is judged when you die by God
- Aquinas - hylomorphism - the body and the soul is united, and the soul can survive the death of the body but it is an incomplete form of existence, and at the end time we are re-united with out bodies
- Dawkins - Scientific materialism - body is purely physical, so there is no soul and no possibiility of conscious life after death
- Atheism - soul does not exist as there is no proof
What are:
Christian characteristics of life after death
- Dualistic view - material body and immaterial soul
- Life continues after death for the soul
- people will be judged on ethical grouds
- There will be a last judgement where everyone will be ressurected and judged
Passage explaining:
Hell and heaven
Sheep and the goats
“the righeous to eternal life”
Reasons for:
Belief in life after death
- Near death experiences where consciousness leaves the body
- Miracles
- Ressurection of Jesus which suggests other can do the same
- The character of God, omni-benevolent, omni-potent and omni-scient would not want his followers to die
What are the:
Purposes of life
with quotes
- Salvation
- Shown through ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.’, suggesting that what counts is a relationship with God
- Parable of the sheep and goats, saying that it is about helping people in need
What are the:
Advantages and disadvantages of justification by works
Advantages - costly grace indicates that out place in heaven will involve sacrificial actions
Parable of the the Sheep and the Goats indicates the value of works
Disadvantages -
works can be done for the wrong reasons or insincerly
How can a person be rewarded without faith?
Advantages and disadvantages of:
Justification by faith
Advantages: Makes sense that one should be rewarded for believing they can be saved
Some degree of response required justification by faith acheives this.
Disadvantages -
People without faith who have done good actions are not rewarded
Bible says: “faith without deeds is useless”
What are the different views of acheiving:
Salvation
- through good works - doing good actions
- Through faith as Jesus has done the work
Meaning of life for:
Atheists
- They believe they only have 1 life on earth, and that is it, so it has more value than religious believers as they have life after death
What is the:
Sanctity of life
The view that all human life is intrinsically sacred, holy and precious
What are:
The different views on sanctity of life
- Absolutist view - Catholic church - due to Imago Dei
- Fletcher - situational agape ethics
- Invalid concept - Singer - quality of life matters more
Why do:
Christians believe in the sanctity of life
- Christianity teaches that life is a gift from God, genesis 2
- Christianity teaches that humans are made in the image of God, ‘God created man in his own image’
- Christians believe that every life has a God-given purpose
- Many Christians believe in the sanctity of life because of the ten commandments, ‘You shall not commit murder’
Case study:
Dianne Pretty
- Had motor neurone disease, and wanted to control how she died, but could not do it herself and asked help from her husband
- Government rejected assisted suicide
- Argued for the right of death, and that the right of living should be controlled by quality of life
Case study:
Tony Bland
- Was on life support, had brain damage and no chances of getting better after 4 years
- house of lords accepted this.
Case study:
Katy’s pregnancy
- 17 year old and pregnant, with the father running away, with no parents, and works 30 hours per week and is going to uni
- She should be allowed, as it would decrease her quality of life, as well as that of the child who would have a complicated childhood
What are the key terms for:
Euthanasia and abortion
Active euthanasia - a person deliberately and directly ends the life of a patient
Passive euthanaisa - death brought about by omission
Voluntary euthanasia - request of the person
Involuntary euthanasia - the person is not able to make a decision
Theraputic abortion - Performed to save the life of the mother and or child
Selective abortion - perfromed when there are too many foetuses or the foetus is perceived as having and undersirable characteristic
Elective abortion - performed at woman’s request for non-medical reasons, e.g. unwanted pregnancy or rape
What is the:
Law on abortion in the UK
Can take place in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy and has to be approved by two doctors agreeing that the baby would pose a greater risk to the physical or mental health of the woman than a termination
What are the key questions that need to be analysed for:
Abortion
Point of viability, where 50% of foetuses would survive on their own
foetuses are scanned for disabilities
Views of when life begins
When does:
life begin
- Roman catholic church believe that the soul enters the body at conception
- Aquinas believes that it is when the foetus has an intelllectual soul, at 40 days for boys and 90 for girls
- Impossible to determine when this would take place however
- Some believe it is dependant on brain activity, with spasmodic starting at 40 days and continuous brain function around 32 weeks
- Viability, which is when foetus is self-sufficient, however with our medicine a 20-week foetus could survive.
Arguments for:
Abortion
- “clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience” , suggests the decision should not be over moral decisions but whether it is kind and compassionate or not
- Flecter’s agape love
What are arguments:
Against abortion
- Humans are made in the image of God, “God created man in his own image”, therefore sanctity of life
- All life is created by God, and is therefore sacred and has a purpose
- Abortion is murder as DNA is present to create an individual, and exodus quote murder is wrong
Law on:
Euthanasia and assisted suicide UK
Euthanasia illegal and punishable up to prison for life, assisted suicide up to 14 years
Arguments against:
Euthanasia being legalised
- Slippery slope argument, that other things will be legalised
- Degredation of elderly life - could put them pressure to die for resources for other people
- Raises the question of age limits and those under the age of consent
- Sanctity of life - disrespects that human life is sacred
Religious arguments:
Against euthanaisa
- Many view Euthanasia as murder, and “You shall not commit murder”
- Each individual matters to God
- Compassion leads to sharing pain, not killing to end the suffering
- Sanctity of life, “God made man in his own image”
Arguments for:
Euthanasia
- individuals should have full control on what affects them only
- Vooluntary euthanasia is not murder as they already dying anyways
- Volunatry euthanasia is merciful when there is no hope
What is:
Peter Singer’s view on Euthanasia
Quality of life matters more, sanctity of life is an invalid concept
What are the different:
Purposes of human relationships
- To maintain a life-long vow and remain faithful throughout the duration of a marriage
- To procreate, using the gift of Earth
- To provide a unit of stability that provides the foundations for freedom, security and fraternity within society
- To form a partnership with responsibilities toward one another as they no longer rely on their parents
- Companionship and meeting the need of their respective partner