Religion Unit 1

Question 1

Ethics

Answer 1

system of conduct based on fundamental beliefs and obligations to follow certain norms of conduct

Question 2

Morality

Answer 2

study of humankind’s moral behaviour. Deals with what is the nature of ‘good’ and the nature of man.

Question 3

The scream

Answer 3

Automatic, spontaneous response to help.
You act before thinking, driven by an urge to do good.

Question 4

Face to Face (Experience of the Other):

Answer 4

All face-to-face encounters are ethical, reminding us of our responsibility for others.
The other person’s presence demands a response, evoking a sense of responsibility or guilt.

Question 5

Obligation:

Answer 5

The feeling of duty or being compelled to follow a rule or law.
An authority or moral rule forces a response.
Ignoring the obligation leads to lingering unrest.

Question 6

Contrast:

Answer 6

The experience of being outraged by something blatantly unjust or unfair.
The stark contrast between what is and what should be creates a strong emotional response of indignation.

Question 7

Aristotle:

Answer 7

The Golden Mean: Virtue lies in finding the balance between excess and deficiency.
Virtue is achieved by aiming for moderation.
Eudaimonia: Highest good, living well, and behaving well in a way that includes the idea of virtue.

Question 8

Immanuel Kant:

Answer 8

First Maxim: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
Second Maxim: Treat others as an end, not merely as a means.
Third Maxim: Act as though your behavior could establish laws in a universal kingdom of ends.
Categorical Imperative: Ethical obligation that is universal and unconditional.
Kingdom of Ends: A moral society where everyone treats each other as ends, not means.

Question 9

Emmanuel Levinas:

Answer 9

The face represents ethical responsibility; it’s not about authority but vulnerability.
Encounters with the Other, especially when they are in misery or humility, invoke an ethical response.
God’s goodness touches humans indirectly through others, particularly through their faces.

Question 10

Teleology:

Answer 10

Ethics based on the purpose or end goal of actions.
Human actions should aim at the ultimate good (e.g., eudaimonia in Aristotle’s view).

Question 11

Deontology:

Answer 11

Ethics based on duty; actions are ethical if done out of a sense of duty rather than personal gain.
Associated with Kant and his maxims and categorical imperative.

Question 12

Summon Bonum:

Answer 12

The ultimate end goal of all human actions, connected to happiness.

Question 13

Natural Law:

Answer 13

Ethical principles derived from nature and reason.

Question 14

Autonomy:

Answer 14

The ability to make rational, informed, and independent decisions.

Question 15

Objective

Answer 15

Facts and truths independent of personal feelings.

Question 16

Subjective

Answer 16

Influenced by personal feelings and opinions.

Question 17

Responsibility:

Answer 17

Being accountable for one’s actions, especially in response to the needs of others.

Question 18

Revelation:

Answer 18

The idea of divine knowledge being revealed to humans.

Question 19

Theoretical Reason:

Answer 19

Understanding how humans come to know facts and laws of nature (deterministic).

Question 20

Practical Reason:

Answer 20

Concerned with how people make moral decisions.
Allows humans to understand what they ought to do and how they ought to act ethically.

Question 21

Kant’s Moral Maxims

Answer 21

First Maxim: Universal Law – act in a way that your actions could be a universal law.
Second Maxim: Treat people as ends in themselves, not as means to an end.
Third Maxim: Act as a legislator in a kingdom of ends, respecting rational beings as equals.