Summary
Summary A-level Religious Studies: Ethics
- Module
- A2- Ethics
- Institution
- AQA
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Eudaimonia AO1 The fourthfold of law- Real and apparent goods- AO1• Beatific vision- self AO1 • Humans confuse what seems good with
communication to Eternal Law what is good.
God. • Real goods are achieved by virtues .
• End goal (telos) of Principle of double effect AO1
eudaimonia Divine Law • Nature of the act- must be good or neutral.
(happiness).
Primary and secondary NML • Intention of the act- must achieve good, bad
precepts AO1 must be foreseen, not intended.
• Primary precepts- • Means-end condition- bad must not be the
how to live life. way good is achieved.
• Examples include: Human law • Proportionality- good must be proportionate to
reproduction, wors bad.
Natural Moral
hip God, live in an
ordered
society, preservati
on of life and to
Law (NML)
rear and look after
offspring.
• Secondary
precepts- how to
apply the primary
precepts. For NML- AO2
instance, not using • Strengths...
contraception
Virtues AO1 to • Morality more that individual preferences: being intrinsically
reproduce.
• Cardinal virtues right/wrong.
attained through • No clear distinction between real and apparent goods: unaware of
human abilities. morality.
• Examples include: • Many different versions, not all religious.
Prudence, justice, • Boundaries and guidelines helpful in postmodern society where
fortitude and everything seems relativised.
temperance. • Weaknesses...
• Theological virtues • Many dispute the idea of all having a common nature. Modern science
attained through and views on sex challenges this.
God's grace. • Secondary precepts= bad outcomes: banning contraception,
• Examples include: contributes to HIV spread.
love, faith and hope. • Anthropocentrism- hierarchy adopted by Aquinas from Aristotle makes
whole natural world look subservient to humans.
• Casuistry- hair splitting judgements.
,Introduction 6 propositions of situation ethics 4 working principles of
• Christian ethics needs to AO1 situation ethics AO1
change its approach due to 1) Love and justice are equal. • Pragmaticism- Moral
a decline in Church 2) Ruling norm of Christian decision must work.
attendance and liberalising decisions is love. • Positivism- Christian love
laws like euthanasia, 3) Only love is God. rooted in faith.
abortion 4) Love wills the neighbour's good • Personalism- People over
• Divine command laws and whether we like him or not. ideals.
NML didn’t have the 5) End justifies the means, • Relativism- No fixed laws
flexibility surrounding new nothing else. which must be obeyed.
Definitions AO1
medical technologies. 6) Love's decisions are situational,
• Conscience: a not prescriptively
form of 3 different ways of making an ethical choice Agape AO1
•
Situation
Guidance AO1 • Selfless love approach when
before • Legalistic ethics- abiding by the law. making moral decisions.
decision • Antinomian ethics- following free will.
making. • Situation ethics- borders between legalism
• Divine and antinomian ethics.
command
Ethics
theory (DCT)-
absolute
obedience to
God's
commands as
said in the Situation ethics AO2
Bible. • Strengths....
• Existentialism- • Flexibility- finding a middle ground between legalism and antinomianism.
secular • Emphasis on freedom of choice encouraging attempts to be true to Jesus’ teachings
philosophy, seeking others’ best interests.
humans make • Weaknesses...
their own • Many disagree subjective and veers close to antinomianism, giving a distorted view on
morality by legalism.
their choices. • Fletcher’s flawed view on human nature: humans have become over-optimistic, agapeic
• Agapeic calcul calculus is vague and hard to apply.
us- agape • Lack of clarity on Fletcher’s idea of love. The equation of love with justice is not true to
being measure Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the mount.
d by intensity,
duration and
extent.
, Eudaimonia AO1 Introduction The nature of the soul and the
• Eudaimonia is the final • Concerned with how to be right or virtues AO1
end. wrong/ what action to take in life's • Has two parts: Rational and non-
• Aristotle: good for moral dilemmas. rational parts.
Rational Non-
humans; it is humans • Virtue ethics looks at first the person.
The function argument (intellectual) rational
flourishing. It doesn’t ask 'what should I do?' But
AO1 virtues virtues
rather 'what should be?'
• Everything has a Theoria AO1
function (ergon in • Reason and intelligence being a high Technical skill Courage
Greek) aspect of human life. Intelligence Temperance
• Goodness consists in • Contemplation of the world.
performing one's • Theoretical reasoning. Theoretical skill liberality
function well. • Subjective judgment.
Wisdom Ambition
• E.g., a knife's • Lack of opportunity.
goodness lies in its • Human flourishing no virtue superior Resourcefulness Friendliness
capacity to cut well. to another.
Virtue Ethics
• Everything has a soul,
it's about the soul's
nature. Doctrine of the mean AO1
• E.g., a plant fulfills its Virtue ethics- AO2 • Helps people act virtuous.
• Strengths.. • Emotions can be controlling
function through
taking in food and • Centred around the person through sometimes- this helps avoid it.
developing intellect, practicality, • Phrominos (man of practical
growing.
• Uniqueness lies in emotions and appetites. wisdom)- A guide for what the
capacity for moral/ • Doctrine of the mean considers mean is.
different people and circumstances. • There's either an excess or
rationalAO1
Intention thought.
•• If
Reasoning well isof
how • About the initiation of virtuous people deficiency of a virtue
they are aware
and practise rather than requiring • Excess
No fixed Mean
point or rule.
deficien
humans
what attain
they are doing it is
goodness and that
a reasoned choice. complex intellectual thinking. cy
• Ifentails exercising
done to not impress • Weaknesses...
• Anthropocentrism- Aristotle’s Rashn Courage Cowardi
virtue for their entire
others. ess ce
lives. can only
People hierarchy of souls ignore interests of
intend to do something animals and environment. Bossy Tempera Reckless
if they have the power • Doesn’t consider widely differing nce
to do so. cultures across the globe and the
centuries. Patien Temper Bad
• Actions carried out t temper
because of a reasoned • New technologies developing
choice reveal a person's (medicine and AI)- no virtuous people
character and are open to follow. People ‘think on their feet’.
to praise or blame. Many of Aristotle’s virtues are
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