Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
ETHICS - DON'T FUCK IT UP - Coggle Diagram
ETHICS - DON'T FUCK IT UP
4 TYPES OF ETHICAL THOUGHT
META – ethics that study language and definitions of ethical knowledge
NORMATIVE – systems and procedures for judging moral acts as right or wrong
DESCRIPTIVE – passes no judgement, but recounts the ethical behaviour of communities and individuals
APPLIED – putting normative theories into real life situations
AQUINAS' NATURAL LAW
an ABSOLUTIST
DEONTOLOGICAL (duty-based)
NORMATIVE (providing a system for moral behaviour), TELEOLOGICAL (purpose/goal-oriented)
ETHICAL THEORY
4 TYPES OF LAW
Divine law
Absolute
Authoritative
Can be found in the bible
Cannot violate eternal law
Must be subject to laws of creation
Revealed to us by god himself
Natural law
Established via the use of god given reason
RECTA RATIO
Aims to achieve the highest good—rational understanding of god’s final purpose
Aims to establish the purpose of human life via reason
Purpose for human existence (as far Aquinas is concerned) is to do good, and avoid evil, to achieve fellowship with God
Church calls this the beatific vision
Eternal law—god’s rational purpose and plan for all things. And because the eternal law is part of god’s mind then it has always, and will always, exist
Most authoritative
Creation
Laws of nature e.g. Gravity
Can’t be violated
Absolute
Human Law
Fallible
Relative
Subject to the laws above
MUST be in accordance with the other laws to be accurate
Can be applied to individual situations but may not violate Natural law or the other levels of law above
5 PRIMARY PRECEPTS - how we achieve fellowship with God
POWER
P
RESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE
O
RDERED SOCIETY
W
ORSHIP GOD
E
DUCATE ONE’S OFFSPRING
R
EPRODUCE
GOODS AND VIRTUES
SITUATION ETHICS
DIVINE COMMAND THEORY
DEONTOLOGICAL - DUTY BASED
NORMATIVE
ABSOLUTIST
UNIVERSAL
OBJECTIVE
based around the idea that God commands what is right and what is wrong. God commands this ethical code via SCRIPTURE (bible)
and
REVELATIONS (such as religious experience, or epiphany whilst reading scripture)
GOD IS
lawgiver
omnibenevolent
omniscient
omnipotent
purposeful
creator
infinite
morality must depend on God, as God is superior to mortal moral codes
anything God demands is good
THE EUTHYPHRO DILEMMA
an evaluation of DCM
“Is the pious or holy beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved of the gods?”
EITHER
Good is commanded by God BECAUSE it is good
OR
Good is considered good because God commands it to be
THE ARBITRARINESS OBJECTION + ROBERT ADAMS
if acts are right simply because God commands them, then any action would be right if God were to command it.
OBJECTION TO THE OBJECTION - ROBERT ADAMS
three possible responses to the arbitrariness objection
TWO - God CAN command cruelty( he just doesn't) and if He does, we should obey Him
a. for God to CHOOSE goodness, He would have to be subject to an external standard of right and wrong – which is unacceptable to Christians, so God's will just has to be Inherently Good™
b. but it is also unacceptable to Christians for Him to command cruelty because it does not reflect His nature
THREE - commanding cruelty is against God's nature
a. “… by X is ethically wrong, I mean X is contrary to the commands of a loving God… and by X is ethically permitted, I mean X is in accord with the commands of a loving God”
b. whilst it is logically possible for God to command cruelty, it is unthinkable that He would do so.
ONE - it is logically impossible for God to command cruelty
but it is God's nature that he can do anything, as He is all powerful
also, there's no reason why commanding cruelty would be impossible for god (see Genesis 22:4 for the binding of isaac)
ADAMS' MODIFIED DCT
adams broke down DCT into a modified argument
God is benevolent
if God commanded cruelty, they would not be loving
thus whatever is commanding cruelty is not God
thus we can dismiss the command.