Unit 1 Religion Test Flashcards
teleological thinking
seeking to understand the ultimate goal, purpose, or end to something
teleological
having to do w the design/purpose of something
- a house is made to live in
- what of the end to which human beings aspire?
empiricism
knowledge comes from experience, or form of evidence that can be perceived by the senses
subjective
persons own perception and understanding, arising from own mind, feelings, experiences, perceptions
aristotle is what kind of ethics
teleological ethics
objective
independent of individual thought, not influenced based on personal experiences (based on hard, factual, universal evidence)
immanuel kant
- his theory of Practical Reason says that humans act not only on impulse, but also out of conscience choice based on principles
- looking towards what we ought to do
- more focused on the individual and personal good will as duty
- what we ought to do do, what we shall do, not what we want to do
- ethical principles could be applied to everyone as a universal law
difference between ethics and morality
- morals are more like internally choosing to attain good and following laws as we feel duty or obligation
- ethics guides morality, it’s like a standard of good and bad, identifying what is right or wrong
aristotle
- student of plato
- teacher to alexander the great
- less concerned about individual person and more concerned about the community
- happiness is the condition of a person who succeeds in living/acting well
- aims toward what we are intended to be, our ultimate goal
- must be moderate in all things
- we develop our character
- our mind must control our desires
emmanuel levinas
- believed central question is where is the good
- each thing or person is a unique expression of God
- its good to be different
- the good is related to what makes us different from one another
- all things and people carry a trace of of the infinite God within them
- the face of another calls us to respond, especially the eyes (assist/help them)
- goodness translates to a personality responsibility for the other
- true goodness knows no limits
what kind of ethics is kant
deontological ethics
Personal Response (ethical experience)
The Scream
-an appeal, a call for help
- almost automatic
- immediate inner tension to respond
what are the 4 ethical experiences
1 - personal response (the scream)
2 - responsibility for the other (the beggar)
3 - duty (I have to)
4 - contrast (this is not fair)
Responsibility for the Other - The Beggar
(ethical experience)
- affected by the needs of others and cant accept position of neutrality
- emmanuel levinas
- the human face of someone in need
- face to face experience
- in levinas’ language the others face holds you hostage and makes you responsible
Duty - I have to… The Experience of Obligation
(ethical experience)
- urged to act responsibly from what you’ve been taught and by rules of your community
- feeling obligated to obey a rule has everything to do with your ethical side
- invades your consciousness and demands a response
- Kant worked out ethical theory for this experience of duty
Contrast - The Experience of Contrast - This is not fair
(ethical experience)
- faced with cruelty
- produces psychological shock and disgust
- you have built in capacity for knowing what the world ought to look like
- when confronted with violence you naturally recoil from it
- shocked because the terrible events contrast with with what you expect from fellow humans
agent
one who acts, who has the capacity to initiate a course of events
mitigate
make less severe
predestination
the view that my behaviour is predetermined, whether by God or by other causes
aggravate
make worse
conceptual framework of action
agent, intention, motivation, action, circumstances, outcome
MOTIVATION - conceptual framework of action
- reason for action
- you don’t always make good judgment
- you justify your action, appealing to a value that makes it right