Religion Exam Flashcards

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0
Q

Define Beautiful

A

Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically

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1
Q

Define Autonomy

A

Free self-direction; responsibility

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2
Q

Define deontological ethics

A

the normative ethical position that judges the morality of an action based on the action’s adherence to a rule or rules. It is sometimes described as “duty”, “obligation” or “rule”-based ethics, because rules “bind you to your duty”

the Greek word “deon” means “duty”

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3
Q

Define desire

A

a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen

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4
Q

Define Duty

A

it is the necessity of acting from respect for the [moral] law

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5
Q

Define Ethics

A

a discipline that deals with nature of the good, the nature of the human person, and criteria that we use for making right judgments

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6
Q

Define Good

A

to be desired or approved of

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7
Q

Define Morality

A

a system of right conduct based on fundamental beliefs and obligation to follow certain codes, norms, customs and habits of behaviour

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8
Q

Define Obligation

A

What one is bound by duty or contract to do

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9
Q

Define Passion

A

Strong and barely controllable emotion, suffering and death of Jesus

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10
Q

Define Response

A

a verbal or written answer; a reaction to something

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11
Q

Define Responsibility

A

Being morally accountable for one’s actions. Responsibility presumes knowledge, freedom, and the ability to choose and to act

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12
Q

Define Revelation

A

the ways that God makes Himself known to humankind. God is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. The Sacred Scriptures, proclaimed within the Church, are the revealed Word of God. God also reveals Self through people and indeed through all of creation.

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13
Q

Define Teleological Ethics

A

Teleological comes from Greek “telos” meaning “end and the Greek “togos” meaning “science. It is the theory of morality that derives duty or moral obligation from what is good or desirable as an end to be achieved.

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14
Q

During what time period did Aristotle live?

A

from 384-322 BC.

~he was the student of Plato

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15
Q

What was a major theory of Aristotle?

A

He believed in teleological ethics

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16
Q

Define Teleology

A

it is from the Greek word “Telos” meaning the goal, end or purpose of something or someone. That at which all things aim

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17
Q

Explain Aristotle’s beliefs on the community

A

~states that, “human life is shaped to its full extent in the context of a community. It is there that the citizen will find happiness”. The isolated person outside of the community must be either a beast or a god”

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18
Q

What is a polis?

A

Polis means community

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19
Q

Explain Aristotle’s beliefs on pleasure versus happiness

A

~did not equate happiness with pleasure
~Pleasure is only momentary while happiness lasts forever
~to live well, and to do well is to find happiness

reason equals good character which equals happiness

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20
Q

Explain Aristotle’s beliefs on intelligence and being rational

A

~we are intended to be rational
~our greatest capacity as humans is our intelligence
~”To act ethically, therefore, is to engage our capacity to reason as we develop good character

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21
Q

Explain Aristotle’s beliefs on virtues

A

~Virtues = good habits
~When people seek to become who they are they are intended to be, they develop good habits
~The more we practice a good habit the more it becomes virtuous

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22
Q

Explain Aristotle’s beliefs regarding the middle ground

A

~the “Mean” is the median/middle ground
~we need to avoid excess
~we are to be moderate in all things in order to find happiness

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23
Q

When did Immanuel Kant live?

A

1724-1804

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24
Q

What theory was Immanuel Kant known for?

A

Deontological Ethics

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25
Q

Explain Kant’s past

A

~Born of a poor but very religious family in a town in what was then known as east Prussia
~Never ventured more than 100km from his birthplace

~regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in Western philosophy
~Schooled in Descartes’ theories of reason and logic, he was also influenced by Hume’s skepticism

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26
Q

Explain Immanuel Kant’s Theoretical Reason

A

~An area of reasoning by which we come to know how the laws of nature, the laws of cause and effect, govern human nature.
~We can know only what people actually do

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27
Q

What is Immanuel Kant’s Practical Reason?

A

~Includes the moral dimensions that guide human behaviour

~We come to understand what people ought to do

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28
Q

How did Kant devise his concept of moral duty?

A

From the concepts of Theoretical Reason and Practical Reason.

His concept of moral duty became the basis for his ethical theories

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29
Q

What did Immanuel Kant set out to show?

A

~that both reason and the sense can be sources of knowledge
~divided knowledge into two categories
1. A Priori Knowledge
2. A Posteriori Knowledge

**for Kant, reason was necessary to pursue the extreme good

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30
Q

What is A Priori knowledge?

A

knowledge, independent of sense source is the human mind (innate), organizes and unifies a posteriori knowledge according to certain innate concepts.

**built into our DNA; tells us there’s something more)

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31
Q

What is a posteriori knowledge?

A

Knowledge that comes from sense experience (empirical)

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32
Q

What are Kant’s 3 practical principles as a means to seek the good?

A
  1. God: on our own, we cannot achieve the supreme good. The existence of God allows us to do this
  2. Freedom: If we can achieve the good, then we must have the means of doing so. We must be able to fulfill our duty.
  3. Immortality: the supreme good is impossible to achieve in this life, thus a life beyond (immortality) exists to allow us to attain this supreme good.
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33
Q

What does Immanuel Kant think about autonomy?

A

~unlike Aristotle, Kantian ethics is individual in nature
~Grounded in the autonomy of the individual and his/her will
~”an action is moral if and only if it is motivated by duty. It is your autonomy, your choice to act in accordance with your will”

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34
Q

What were Kant’s two maxims (principles)?

A
  1. I should act as I would want everyone else to act
  2. Treat others as you would want to be treated (the golden rule), never treat others merely as a means but always with dignity
35
Q

Explain Emmanuel Levinas’ past

A

~Born in 1905 in Kaunas, Lithuania to Jewish parents
~served in the French army in world war two
~was captured by the Germans and spent five years as a prisoner of war
~His entire family died in the Holocaust, although his wife and daughter did manage to escape death by being hidden in a monastery in France

36
Q

What is Emmanuel Levinas’ beliefs that The Good is Infinite?

A

~Each person is unique and stands alone. This differs from western philosophy which seeks the collective good
~The good is interested, not in what is in common among things, but in what is absolutely unique about each person or thing

37
Q

What does Levinas refer to as “traces” of God?

A

~refers to the uniqueness of things and persons as “traces” of God
~Only God is infinite. Everything else is only a trace of Him

38
Q

What does Levinas believe about the face as a witness of the Good?

A

~the face is the most naked part of the human body and as such cannot hide what is in the soul
~the face of the stranger you meet the “other”
~They cannot be reduced to becoming you
~In the look of the other we are called to respond either with “yes” or “no”
~Yes you can do this, no you should not murder, no you may not take otherness away, etc.
~you see one who is not your equal but your superior
the needs of others should outweigh your own

39
Q

Explain Levinas’ view of the Face as Ethical

A

~ the face is of one who is defenceless, uprooted
~one with no economic stability or security, one who is socially marginalized and without rights
~recognizing the other’s depth of misery or humanity is what makes the command or appeal of the face ethical
~the defenceless face cannot force us to do anything—it is only an appeal
~The face can make us feel responsible
**this responsibility is our vocation or calling
~God’s touch will always be indirect. It will always be through the other

40
Q

What are the four ways of locating the Ethical in you?

A
  1. Experience of personal response
  2. Experience of the other
  3. Experience of obligation
  4. Experience of Contrast
41
Q

What is the experience of personal response?

A

a. something that touches you more deeply than intellectually
b. urged to act not think
c. automatic claim upon you to do something

**Kant’s theory

42
Q

What is the Experience of the Other?

A

a. the face is ethical
b. starts with the human face
c. it takes you hostage
d. face-to-face reminds us of our responsibility for the other
e. questions arise and stay with you long after the face has gone

**Levinas’ theory

43
Q

What is experience of obligation?

A

a. Something inside you obliges you to obey a law, or what is the right thing to do

**Kant’s theory

44
Q

What is the Experience of Contrast?

A

a. Response to injustice and/or suffering
b. Occurs when we feel outraged at something blatantly unjust or unfair
c. We have a healthy built-in capacity for understanding of what ought to be

**Kant’s theory

45
Q

What is an agent?

A

a person who acts freely and knowingly, who chooses to do or not do something; a person who is accountable for his or her actions or omissions

46
Q

What is the Conceptual framework of action?

A

A theoretical structure of assumptions, principles and rules that holds together the ideas comprising a broad concept. Action is the realization of the power of human freedom. When we engage the capacities of our freedom, we change the world around us. This was created to by Paul Ricoeur

47
Q

What is Determinism?

A

A point of view that holds that human behaviour is a product, not of free will, but of a complex array of physical, social, cultural, psychological and historical causes.

48
Q

What is free will?

A

the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion

49
Q

What is freedom?

A

the human capacity to choose and to act. I am free because I have possibilities and capacities to act on these possibilities

50
Q

What is Intention?

A

That which motivates me to act - values. The reason for doing something that appears at least to me, as good.

51
Q

What is Logical Positivism?

A

a form of positivism, developed by the members of the Vienna Circle, that considers that only meaningful philosophical problems are those that can be solved by logical analysis. By Ludwig Wittgenstein.

52
Q

What is Motive?

A

a reason for doing something, especially one that was hidden or not obvious

53
Q

What is Naturalism?

A

a philosophical viewpoint according to which everything arises from natural properties and causes and supernatural or spiritual explanation are excluded or discounted.

54
Q

What is predestination?

A

The view that my behaviour is predetermined, whether by God or other causes. By John Calvin.

55
Q

What is providence?

A

the protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power; God or nature as providing protective or spiritual care; timely preparation for future eventualities.

56
Q

What is analytic philosophy?

A

reduces everything to sensory experience - to the “hard facts” that you could see, smell, touch, measure, hear and do

57
Q

Explain Analytic philosophy?

A

~originated in the 1920’s by Ludwig Wittgenstein and the philosophers known as logical positivists
~everything can be reduced to sensory experience. I.E. only what can be verified by the senses has meaning

58
Q

What is Determinism vs. Indeterminism?

A

~there is no such thing as a moral agent since no one is free to choose their actions and cannot be held accountable for them

59
Q

What is Naturalism?

A

~states that the material universe is made up of physical, psychological, social and environmental processes, this includes human beings
~everything including humanity, is connected by cause and effect: science reigns supreme
~Thomas Huxley says that the mind and the brain are machines
~human beings have no spirit or culture, but have evolved as a result of the natural selection process
~Therefore, our genes determine who we are and what we can be
~Freedom is a delusion
~Ted Peters maintains “Human culture is on a leash, a short leash, held by a genetic agenda.”

60
Q

What is social determinism?

A

~your behaviour is determined by your physical state and by the influences of others upon you
~people are influenced by their parents, culture, psychological state, experiences in your life, your history, your background, socio-economic status, race, gender, religion and education
~your actions can be explained by what you have undergone at the hands of others
~to a social determinist, the past, your past determines entirely who you are

61
Q

Who is Plato?

A

(427-347 BCE) The Father of Western Philosophy
~Taught by Socrates who claimed that “the unexamined life is not worth living”
~Teacher of Aristotle - Plato influenced St. Augustine centuries later
~Plato lived in a time of social disorder and anarchy and wrote about the ideal city-state in his book The Republic where the philosopher is king since he is closest to the good
~He determined that the human capacity to reason separates us from animals
~It is through our ability to reason that we can find the good that is in everything
~He believed that good is an abstract concept (not a thing itself)
~The closest we can come to good is in contemplation (thinking or meditating) where we “bask in the good and the good enters into our knowing”

62
Q

Who is Aristotle?

A

384-322 BCE –> student of Plato

~influenced the Church’s moral thinking, especially through Aquinas, centuries later

63
Q

What do Aristotle and Plato have in common?

A
  1. People seek the good in order to find happiness
  2. One must act intelligently (using reason) and virtuously to find the good, rather than seeking sensual, short-term pleasures
  3. Since philosophers actively search for the good, they are most likely to succeed in finding it
64
Q

What do Aristotle disagree with Plato about?

A
  1. Thought Plato’s idea of the good was too abstract; the good is not general but specific and real - Aristotle said the good is in the nature of all things, found in its purpose (teleology)
  2. Since the good is to be found in God, the Creator, it is inscribed by God into all things
  3. He studied the sciences and politics and believed that each thing is oriented toward the good when it naturally follows its purpose or end and reaches its potential
  4. People are naturally oriented towards the good but must use their ability to reason to decide what to do in each situation in order to find happiness
  5. The good and wise person avoids the extremes - aims for the middle ground
65
Q

Describe what St. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle had in common?

A

~Agreed with Aristotle that the good and ethical is inscribed in the nature of all created things. They both believed that reason is what finds the good. They considered God as the highest good. However, Aquinas’s faith in Trinity made further steps from Aristotle’s belief. He believed in blessedness, the fullness of happiness which is not to be found on earth but only in the resurrection as a pure gift from God

66
Q

Explain Thomas Aquinas’ beliefs

A

lived from 1225-1274
~God placed in each human life, a light of understanding for the good. This is Natural Law. Therefore, God’s creation is good.
~To know and use one’s intellectual and sensual capacities, one must follow the natural law which is “the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid”
~Introduced the four Cardinal Virtues: PRUDENCE, JUSTICE, FORTITUDE and TEMPERANCE
~the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. These virtues were first given to us by God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They have redefined what is the “good”

67
Q

Explain Prudence

A

it is the virtue that helps our reason to discern what is best for us and to choose the best way of achieving it. It guides the other virtues

68
Q

Explain Justice

A

It is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give to God and our neighbour what is due to them

69
Q

Explain Fortitude

A

the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. It enables us to conquer fear, even the fear of death, and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. It enables us to conquer fear, even the fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions - even to sacrifice one’s life in defence of a just cause

70
Q

Explain Temperance

A

it is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures that our will stays in control over our instincts and keeps our desires in check

71
Q

Explain Faith

A

Faith is the virtue that enables us to believe in God and all that he has said and revealed to us, and all that his Church proposes for our belief, because God is truth itself

72
Q

Explain Hope

A

Hope is the virtue that enables us to desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our true happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit

73
Q

Explain Charity

A

Charity is the virtue that enables us to love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God

74
Q

Explain John Calvin

A

1509-1564
~French Protestant reformer and theologian
~ Religious Determinism: Freedom is an illusion because actions are not free
~Predestination: denies human freedom. Calvin believed that freedom and ethics have no place in the doctrine of predestination
~Humans are born and live their lives deserving eternal damnation. Cut off from God, humans can do nothing to save themselves
~God does not want all people to be saved- he wants to reject some
~God’s knowledge and will have predetermined the course of the world and its history as well as each action and deed of every individual
~Catholic Tradition disagrees with Calvin - human freedom and God’s providence do not conflict. Catholic Church defends human freedom

75
Q

Explain Rene Descartes

A

1596-1650
~I think therefore I am
~Descartes was one of the first philosophers to make a connection between human intelligence and the human brain
~he created a split between thinking and the world of matter

76
Q

Explain Charles Taylor

A

1931 - ?
~We need to be committed to an idea in order to have purpose and to fulfill one’s desire. My identity lies in my commitments
~Our direction and identity in life is dependent upon our stances in life. If one says “I am Catholic” it says much about their stance on moral/ethical issues. It gives us direction and helps us create a sense of self. Furthermore, such commitments shape our ethical perspective
~My identity emerges from the direction I take in life. My moral stance and direction in life are linked; moral direction shapes identity
~the sense of direction creates our moral sense of self
~What we believe in shapes who we are or become
~When we answer a question of who, or what we are, we answer stating our relationships, commitments or stance hence our identity

77
Q

Explain Henri Nouwen

A

1932-1996
~the spiritual life is a life in which you gradually learn to listen to a voice that says, “You are the beloved.” This soft, gentle voice comes from deep within us and tells us who we are.
~The spiritual life starts by claiming the voice that calls us the beloved. This voice of God communicates with us in the simplicity of our daily lives

78
Q

Explain Sigmund Freud

A

1856-1939
~He believed that human behaviour is based on repressed memories and desires - the unconscious mind
~It is a human’s way of taking painful and shameful memories and taking them out of consciousness and therefore the conscious mind does not have to deal with them directly
~However, these memories do not “go away” but instead act as an indirect role in shaping your outlook on different things and the decisions you make
~When you act out of your unconsciousness, your behaviour is called “neurotic”. Therefore, dreams are neurotic behaviour patterns and resurfacing memories and desires
~Morality is imposed upon us from outside forces - guilt, shame. Our actions are therefore not free which connects Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind.
~Freud saw two instincts in people: Love and Death

79
Q

What are Freud’s theories on Love and Death

A

~Love (Eros): the life instinct is often categorized with Eros, the sexual instinct. Freud associated the commandment “love your neighbour as yourself” with the life instinct. It is found in ways that people express their desire for live and love for others
~Death (Thanatos): Freud’s beliefs of the death instinct are rooted from his experience in WW1. He witnessed, through people brutally killing and hurting others, aggressive-destructive tendencies. He also noticed that aggression exists when people deal with themselves. He maintained that self-aggression is morality.
Morality is taken from your parents at an early age. This develops into the superego. It states that if you fail to follow the rules, you feel guilt and shame which are powerful enough to make you obey these precepts against your own will

80
Q

Explain Richard Gula

A

~Character is what results from the values we make our own. When a value has woven its way into the fabric of our being, we delight in doing what pertains to that value.
~I must always do what I believe to be right and avoid what I believe to be wrong. One is bound to follow one’s conscience - conscience cannot be violated. The conscience is our most secret core and sanctuary where we are alone with God
~there are three tasks of the Church in guiding moral life:
1. The Church shapes moral character
2. The Church guards and maintains moral traditions
3. The Church is a community of moral deliberation whenever and wherever moral issues emerge

81
Q

Explain Erik Erikson

A

~Came up with a Cognitive Development Stage Theory. Each stage is precipitated by a crisis in one’s life. To move forward, one must resolve this crisis

  1. Trust vs. Mistrust
  2. Autonomy vs. Shame
  3. Initiative vs. Guilt
  4. Industry vs. Inferiority
  5. Identity vs. Identity Confusion
  6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
  7. Generality vs. Stagnation
  8. Integrity vs. Despair
82
Q

Explain Lawrence Kohlberg

A
Theory of Moral Development: 
~3 distinct Levels 
*Pre-conventional moral thinking 
*Conventional Moral Thinking 
*Post-conventional Moral Thinking
83
Q

Explain Thomas Hobbes

A

~a human being is so like a beast, a leviathan, that is set in motion by selfish desires and appetites. Every human being is moved by these appetites to seek out the good which best serves his/her own self-interests. Each person is therefore in constant struggle with the passions of another

84
Q

Explain John Locke

A

~Believe in the importance of protecting property. He talked about a state of nature. We enter into a social contract with one another, we invest powers that we ourselves had

85
Q

Explain Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A

~”Man is born free and he is everywhere in chains”
~Wrote the Social Contract - Discusses why if by nature, one is born free and is autonomous, why do individuals give up that freedom to join a society which ultimately limits my liberty
~Contrary to Hobbes - maintained that human beings are good in nature and inclined towards compassion for one another
~However, within society, this natural goodness degenerates into competition of wills with one’s fellow man. This competition could threaten the individual’s survival and freedom
~By entering into a “social contract”, individuals preserve themselves and remain free by submitting to the general will of the people. Therefore, while living in a society, one’s rights must be less than in a state of nature, they are still protected and individuals are still sovereign because each individual lives under the same laws and are given and denied the same freedom