Topic 17 Moral Ignorance Flashcards
What is moral ignorance?
- not knowing/understanding difference between right + wrong
Why might someone be morally ignorant?
- never been taught right from wrong / lack capacity to understand difference between right / wrong
- potentially haven’t educated themselves
What does Christianity teach about moral ignorance?
- everyone has capacity to distinguish right from wrong
- most of the time, ignorance not a valid excuse for doing wrong
- COUNTER ARGUMENT - jesus did say ‘father forgive them for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23)
What did aquinas believe about moral ignorance (religious)?
- human beings = rational -> want to do good
- can sometimes use rationality wrongly to think that something is right when actually morally wrong (eg lie to someone to make them feel better)
- when you use your reason wrongly because sometimes not fully informed
What are some examples of aquinas’ belief about moral ignorance (mistaking apparent good for real good)
- Euthanasia
- relieves suffering but (according to aquinas) primary precept = preserve life (so it is apparent good not real good) - buy cheap things
- can get more for family -> make them happy
- things made by exploiting others - apparent good not real good
What would non Christians say about moral ignorance?
- important that people learn right + wrong
- society expects that parents + schools play a part in encouraging correct moral conduct
What would hard determinists (everything in your life already determined) argue?
- don’t have any free will at ALL
- everything we do determined by variety of factors
- SO we don’t have any freedom to choose what we do + thus have any moral responsibility
EG in case of Leopold + Loeb
Describe the case of Leopold + Loeb
- graduates 18-19 from uni of Chicago
- kidnapped 14 yr old boy - Loeb hit + gagged boy
- made ransom demands to his family
- boys body found and teenagers arrested (they confessed their guilt)
Describe why their sentence was reduced
- death penalty was demanded
- BUT attorney Clarence Darrow (determinist) said that ‘to believe any boy is responsible for himself or his early training is an absurdity’
- argued that boys had difficult upbringings
- abusive parents + no good moral instruction
What do many non Christians believe about moral ignorance?
- unstable moral grounding -> person cannot be blamed for actions
- especially if they believe they are doing right thing
What does Michael Zimmerman believe? (Non religious)
- argues that in actions done through moral ignorance, person culpable for it if her is culpable for ignorance that lead him to act in such a way
Eg Edlington brothers
Describe the Edlington attacks
2009 - brutal robbery + torture of two young boys, by two brothers aged 10 and 11
- both initially charged with attempted murder + robbery of both boys
- Sheffield crown court - hearing revealed that there was sexual abuse + strangulation + stoning + burning
- both pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, robbery and forced sexual activity + more
What sentence was given to the brothers?
Indeterminate
Toxic family background etc.
How does Luke 23 inform the Christian view on ignorance human wrongdoing?
- ‘father forgive them for they know no what they do’ - people who killed Jesus
- suggests that human moral ignorance = cause of Jesus’ death
- thus believe that ignorance is root of much human wrongdoing
How does Aquinas’ argument enforce to Christians that ignorance is a root of human wrong doing?
- reason we do wrong = misunderstanding of natural law + misuse of rationality to work out what is morally right + wrong
- leads to apparent goods + real goods (moral actions deriving from the natural law)
