ethics: last minute notes

natural law a rational theory is good for sexual, environmental and business ethicsAquinas says that humans have a "tendency to do good and avoid evil", but do we? situation ethics meets in the middle of when to follow the rules and when to break themit is relevant to everyone, everywhere and in any set of …

basic for/against: ethics

natural law for: rationaldo not need godbased on purposeseeks human goodflexibility through secondary preceptsobjective against: too idealisticno single human naturegeneralises too muchpurpose confusion, what is the purpose?outdatedtoo vagueprecepts can conflicttechnically needs god and largely followed by the catholic church situation ethics for: situationist!follows jesus' teachingspositivist, will lead to goodautonomousrelativist, important for ethicswe like to be …

ethics: basic scholars/SOA list

natural law richard hooker: non-catholic natural law supporterwilliam temple: non-catholic natural law supportercicero: '[natural] law is right reason in agreement with nature'aquinas: summa theologicast paul: 'the law that is written on men's hearts'thomas hobbes: notes in leviathan that natural law is always iusaquinas: 'prudence entails not only consideration of the reason but also the application …

bullet summary: sexual ethics

fletcher's example of a woman seducing a married man for espionage shows the power of human sexualityit shows how sex is used to exploit, express love, define identity or be the foundation of family and society traditional christian teachings on sex focus on marriage, as the main purpose is childrenthe best place for children is …

bullet summary: business ethics

“the question is, do corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their business activities other than to make..money?..no they do not” - milton friedmaneconomic problems with bad consequences mean we need more ethical businessevery religious scripture there is condemnation of lending money with high interestall through history there has been dishonest …

bullet summary: euthanasia

the definition of euthanasia has implications about how we view life.suicideassisted suicide: own actions with helpphysician aided suicide: own actions with help from a doctorphysician aid in dying: death is hastened but not directly caused by a doctorvoluntary euthanasia: death caused directly by someone else with consentpassive euthanasia: removal of life-sustaining treatment to allow natural …

bullet summary: natural law

natural law has been misunderstood as solely catholic but anglican thinkers richard hooker and william temple adopted these ideasit predates christianity and does not directly reference scripture so it doesn't necessarily need faithcicero wrote in the republica that '[natural] law is right reason in agreement with nature'it appeals to us as rational creatures capable of …

bullet summary: situation ethics

associated with joseph fletcher, whose book was controversial aristotle writes in 'Nicomachean Ethics' that right judgement requires paying attention to the circumstance “there is only one ultimate and invariable duty...love thy neighbour as thyself"fletcher studied william temple's work, which was personalist and love-centredhe wrote about the golden rule as situational and in terms of warthey …

bullet summary: kantian ethics

there is nothing higher than reasonfor immanuel kant, other theories lacked courage and trust in intellect and reasonhe wanted true autonomy, not following other's rulesthrough reason, he thought we could rule our lives and understand the universe. life without reason and morality has no valuehis values of reason, autonomy and freedom were fundamentalwe have goals …

bullet summary: conscience

the relationship between mind and action is complexsometimes our considerations are moral, other times prudential, and even bothwe make conclusions about what actions to take, then need to decide where and whenthe past and emotion influence usthis is our consciencethe word means 'with knowledge' the most thorough account comes from aquinashis view is a theological …