Unit 2

Question 1

Ethics

Answer 1

The study of moral principles that govern behavior and decision-making.

Question 2

Morals

Answer 2

Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.

Question 3

The Mean

Answer 3

In ethics, it refers to finding a balance or moderation between extremes.

Question 4

Empiricism

Answer 4

knowledge that comes from experience or from evidence that can be perceived by the senses.

Question 5

Good Will

Answer 5

the will to do our duty for no other reason than that it is our duty.

Question 6

The Human Face

Answer 6

A concept in ethics emphasizing the importance of recognizing the humanity and vulnerability of others.

Question 7

Agent

Answer 7

A person who has the capacity to act.

Question 8

Means

Answer 8

Methods or resources used to achieve an end.

Question 9

Determinism

Answer 9

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.
all thoughts, actions and desires are caused by previous events
every event, including every human action, is governed by predictable laws
your psychological, behavioural, and personality makeup is formed for you, not by you; and
people are prisoners of their own character, past and biology

Question 10

Ego

Answer 10

A person’s sense of self-esteem and self-importance
the conscious structure which operates on the reality principle to mediate the forces of the id, the demands of society, and the reality of the physical world,Freud

Question 11

Id

Answer 11

In Freudian psychology, the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that operates on the pleasure principle.

Question 12

Superego

Answer 12

​​internal taskmaster that imposes feelings of guilt and shame if you do not follow the rules imposed upon you by parents and society; gathered at a young age
These feelings of shame and guilt are powerful enough that you will obey them against your own will (fear)

Question 13

Predestination

Answer 13

The doctrine that all events have been willed by God.

Question 14

Providence

Answer 14

The protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power.

Question 15

Sublimation

Answer 15

Redirecting of sexual or aggressive urges into socially acceptable activities.

Question 16

Neurotic

Answer 16

behaviour patterns when you act out of your unconscious; dreams and neurotic behaviour patterns are resurfacing memories and desires

Question 17

Teleological ethics

Answer 17

Aristotle: Purpose driven (to be happy), maximizing potential, find hapinees in community, human activity aims to achieve good

Question 18

Deontological ethics

Answer 18

(Kant): Emphasizes the inherent rightness or wrongness of actions, regardless of their consequences, duty driven

Question 19

An ethics of the face

Answer 19

(Levinas): Emphasizes the importance of recognizing and responding to the vulnerability and humanity of others.

Question 20

How does Catholicism oppose religious determinism?

Answer 20

Predestination - rejects the notion of freedom and ethics; God’s knowledge and will predetermines everything, including individual actions. The divine foreordaining of all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others

Providence - guardianship and care provided by a deity or God; their belief that God influences events and actions, but not necessarily conflict with human freedom. Human freedom can coexist with God’s providence, emphasizing cooperation with God’s love as a basis for human freedom’s defense

Question 21

Explain social determinism and provide examples. Be able to apply the concept.

Answer 21

Behaviour is determined by the influences of others upon you; your parents or culture, psychological state, traumatic experiences, history, social background, socio-economic status, race, gender, religion, and education
Actions can be explained by what you have undergone at the hands of others
You are not free because of what others have done to you
Your past determines who you are—“I did this because I was abused as a child”

Question 22

What happens when the unconscious mind exerts pressure on the conscious mind?

Answer 22

they emerge in the almost indecipherable images and symbols of your dreams. When you act out of your unconscious, you act in “neurotic” behaviour patterns. To Freud, your dreams and neurotic behaviour patterns are resurfacing memories and desires; could be considered unconsciously deterministic. Until you reconnect with the repression and what gave rise to it, your actions are not free. Therefore, you cannot be directly responsible for your actions.

Question 23

Naturalism

Answer 23

the material universe as a unified system; everything is shaped completely by physical, biological, psychological, social and environmental processes
Everything, including humanity, is part of one grand chain of being connected by cause and effect
Everything must be explained by scientific experimentation; in order to show that something is true, it must be proven using concrete evidence
There is no human spirit or culture, humans and human activity are the result of the natural selection process
Theory of naturalism is a direct assault on human freedom; promises and commitments do not come from motives or intentions, but from a genetic predisposition
Freedom is a delusion, feelings are only a neural state
Denies the possibility of ethics and morality

Question 24

conscience

Answer 24

our most secret core and sanctuary where we are along with God whose voice echoes in our depths
A voice that calls us “to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil”
The inner voice tells us “at the right moment: do this, shun that”
A law inscribed in human hearts by God

Question 25

principle of double effect

Answer 25

a moral principle that states that one may perform an action which has two effects. One is intentionally good, and the other is unintentionally bad.
Principle allows an action to have both good and bad consequences, as long as the action is morally permissible