Ethics

• Divine Command Theory


  The ethical theory that says you are doing the right thing if you follow God's commandments from the Bible
• Golden Rule


  The ethical theory that says you are doing the right thing if you treat other people the same way you would like to be treated
• Jesus told people to love their neighbours as themselves (the 2nd Greatest Commandment)
• Agape


  The unconditional love which you should have for all human beings
• Situation Ethics


  The whole of Christian moral law could be summed up in the commandment to love your neighbour. It doesn't always strictly follow the rules of the Bible, instead it is teleological and it judges the consequences of the action-is the action the most loving thing to do?
• Utilitarianism


  The moral theory that the right thing to do is the one which produces the most happiness and least suffering
• "It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong."
• Happiness principle


  Whether something is right or wrong depends on how much it will increase happiness or increase suffering. The more happiness an action causes, the more good it is. The more suffering an action causes, the more wrong it is.
• To weigh up how much happiness an action causes, certain things have to be taken into account. For example, if an action leads to long-lasting happiness, then that counts for more than just short-term happiness. Intense happiness counts for more than just mild happiness. The high likelihood of happiness counts for more than just the possibility of happiness. The happiness of a lot of people counts for more than the happiness of just a few people.
• 5 Moral Precepts


  • Avoid taking life-non-violence- ahimsa
  • Avoid taking what is not given
  • Avoid harmful sexual activity
  • Avoid saying what is not true
  • Avoid clouding my mind with alcohol and drugs
• Skilful Means


  Using your Right View and Right Wisdom to apply the morals in the best possible way to every situation. It means that they might follow the rules a different way in different situations.
• There are a number of different Christian ideas about creation
• Islamic Creationism believes that every animal was created from water
• The Quran was written before modern scientific explanations, but Muslims believe the Quran contains scientific truths that people at the time wouldn't have understood
• Muslims believe the Quran is Allah's way of communicating scientific truths, even though the people at the time didn't know science
• Utilitarianism


  The view that the consequences of an action determine whether it is right or wrong, with the goal being to maximize happiness and minimize suffering for the greatest number of people
• Jeremy Bentham


  Utilitarian philosopher (1748-1832) who said "It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong"
• Factors to weigh up happiness


  • Long-lasting happiness counts for more than short-term
  • Intense happiness counts for more than mild happiness
  • High likelihood of happiness counts for more than just possibility
  • Happiness of many people counts for more than just a few
• Bentham's Hedonic Calculus


  7 elements to weigh up happiness: Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Timing/Nearness, Repetition (Fecundity), Purity, Extent
• Kantian Ethics


  Moral duty theory based on the idea that a moral act is one that a person has to do for its own sake, not based on personal preferences
• Immanuel Kant


  Philosopher (1724-1804) who believed morals could be based on strong rational grounds and developed the idea of universalization
• Universalization test


  1. Can the action be universalized and applied to everybody without resulting in a contradiction?

  2. If it leads to a contradiction, the action cannot be moral
• Noisy games player Jason


  • Jason's rule: "If I want something, even if that means irritating my neighbour, I can have it"
  • Universalized rule: "If anyone wants something, even if that means irritating their neighbour, they can have it"
  • This rule would contradict itself as everyone irritating each other would prevent them getting what they want
• Kant admired Isaac Newton's discovery of a universal law of gravity that everything had to obey, and believed he had discovered a universal law of morals
• Kant's three big ideas


  • Motive - morality is about your purpose, not just the action
  • Means to an end - people should not be used as mere things
  • Universalization - how would it be if everyone acted this way?
• Virtue Ethics says we should work on our character, not just focus on actions
• Virtue


  A positive personal quality
• Golden Mean


  The mid-point between excess and deficiency of a virtue, the right amount for the situation
• Aristotle's virtues


  • Patience
  • Courage
  • Modesty
  • Generosity
  • Tolerance
• Virtue Ethicists believe there are other virtues beyond what Aristotle mentioned
• On taking Genesis literally, the early church father Origen said the creation story should be interpreted figuratively as indicating certain mysteries, not literally
• Young Earth Creationism says the earth was created around 6,000 years ago, based on tracing the genealogies in the Bible