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Summary Ethics
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Overview of ethicals princiles in relation to religion and business ethics. Includes strengths and limitations.
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Ethics notesNatural law
We should live in accordance with human nature to fulfil our purpose.
Deontological- focuses on the idea of duty.
Human nature is good and rational people seek ‘good’.
People aim to reach eudemonia by fulfilment of telos.
4 tiers of law
Eternal law – the unchanging reason of God, absolute for all people and all times. This
is the highest form of law.
Divine law – the commandments given by God, usually found in the Bible, teaching
people how to live.
Natural law – people can perceive eternal law by using their reason to reflect on the
world and work out how they should behave and think. God uses natural law to make
eternal law accessible to people. Natural law is universal
Human law – the laws people come up with in response to the higher tiers of law, or in
response to the needs of their society and the way it is organised. Human law is the
lowest tier of law and can be broken if higher forms of law conflict with it.
The precepts
The key precept (general rule for behaviour) of natural law is the rule of synderesis – do good
and avoid evil.
Aquinas claimed God gives us reason so that we can work out for ourselves what to do to fulfill
our telos.
Aquinas thought all human beings are inclined to do good because all species want to survive.
1. To worship God.
2. To live in an orderly society.
3. To reproduce.
4. To learn and teach people about God.
5. To defend the innocent and preserve life.
Secondary precepts derive from the primary precepts – they illustrate the practical application
of the primary precepts.
Real goods are those which are in accordance with the primary precepts and God’s wishes for
humanity.
Apparent goods are things which tempt us because they seem enjoyable but which do not
further the aim of promoting human flourishing.
We can use reason to distinguish real goods from apparent goods.
The doctrine of double effect
Aquinas discusses situations where a single action has two effects, for example an act of self-
defence resulting in the death of the attacker.
He says that intention is important – if the intention was to do something good, then the action
cannot be bad even if there was an unintentional bad result as one of the effects.
It might be used in cases of euthanasia, for example if the intention of giving powerful doses of
a drug is to relieve pain, then that action is good even if an unintentional effect of the drug is to
shorten life.
Strengths
The way natural law is applied can vary widely – this can be seen as a strength as it allows for
consideration of different circumstances.
Some see natural law as offering clarity and consistency in its answers to ethical problems.
It offers a way of looking at the world which is absolute and applies to all times and cultures –
the idea of universal moral law is appealing to many.
, It combines religious ideas with reason, allowing people to exercise some autonomy in
decisions about right and wrong.
Arguably, it is easy to work out what is right and wrong using natural law, making it a helpful
system of ethics.
Weaknesses
The way natural law is applied can vary widely – this can be seen as a weakness as it is not
always clear what to do in a moral dilemma.
Aquinas’ version of natural law presupposes a belief in God, which not everyone has.
Our understanding of what is natural is not always accurate and not always unchanging. For
example, homosexuality has been seen in the past as unnatural, but many people in the
modern Western world now see homosexuality as natural.
Sometimes natural law might seem overly legalistic and unsympathetic to particular
circumstances.
Situation Ethics
Agape love
Fletcher thought that agape love should be at the centre of ethics.
Agape is understood as Christian love which is unconditional and reflects the love of God.
Agape demands that people love their neighbours and also their enemies.
Agape love is self-sacrificing, not self-interested.
Fletcher thought that the ‘law of love’ should guide moral decision-making. People should aim
to do the most loving thing, and if the consequences of their actions produce the most loving
situation then they are doing the right thing.
Fletcher’s six propositions
1. The only thing which is intrinsically good is agapeic love. Other things are good depending on
whether they produce loving results, but agapeic love is good intrinsically, for its own sake.
2. Love is the ruling norm of Christian ethics. Fletcher gave examples of rules broken by Jesus
when it was necessary for bringing about loving results.
3. Justice is love distributed. Justice is done when people act with love in a rational manner for the
benefit of the community.
4. Love does not depend on emotional likes and dislikes but is an act of will, a deliberately
chosen attitude.
5. Love should be the goal of a moral action, and if it is, then the means of getting to that goal are
not important.
6. Love should be considered in the context of each situation as it arises, ‘situationally not
prescriptively’. Rules should not be made without the context of the moral situation being a serious
consideration.
The four working principles
Pragmatism – this is about practicality in the real world. Rather than following the abstract
principles of a philosophy, the pragmatist looks for something which will work in the practical
circumstances.
Relativism – rules are not to be seen as fixed and absolute but can be changed according to
the situation
Personalism – people matter more than laws. The needs of people should be considered
when moral actions are taken.
Positivism – Situation ethics depends on people having faith that God is love, a ‘theological
positivism’. That faith in the importance of love is more important than rules or reason.
Fletcher’s understanding of conscience
It does not guide human action
Is not a store of reliable rules to which people can refer
Is not a kind of inner voice with access to divine truth
Is a verb, not a noun
, It describes what people do when they are trying to make moral decisions and are weighing
things up.
Strengths
It is relativist, so allows for consideration of an individual’s personal circumstances when
making moral decisions.
It does not have problems of being an outdated ethic as society moves on, because it is
flexible.
It could be considered quick and easy as a method of decision-making because instead of
considering a range of duties, principles and outcomes, it simply recommends acting with
agapeic love.
It allows people autonomy by giving them the responsibility of choosing their own actions
without having to obey the rules of others.
It could be considered to fit well with a person’s Christian faithand with the ‘what would Jesus
do’ kind of approach to moral decision-making.
Weaknesses
It is relativist, so does not give clear rules to help people know what to do in all circumstances.
It can be difficult to apply because it is not always clear what is the most loving thing to do in a
situation, just as it is not always clear what Jesus would do.
It is also not always clear how to work out which people should be considered in the efforts to
find a loving action, or what to do if an action would be loving for one person but at the same
time the opposite of loving for another.
It is relativist and so could be seen to allow people to justify any action they want to do, on the
grounds that they thought it would bring about the most loving outcome. No action is ruled out
as absolutely immoral and there are no moral rules that cannot be broken.
Kantian Ethics
Immanuel Kant was an important German philosopher of the eighteenth century.
Kant believed that there is a universal, objective moral law that we can access and know
through our reason.
Kant believed in acting morally in accordance with the good regardless of the consequences
Kantian ethics are deontological- they focus on the idea of duty.
Examples of duty: pursing the greater good, not destroying yourself or others, being truthful,
avoid drunkenness and doing good to others.
Moral law can be known through reason.
Good will- purity of motive.
Morality should not be driven by emotions.
Moral knowledge is a priori and comes from within.
Imperatives
Moral law is categorical not hypothetical.
Hypothetic imperatives refers to rules we must follow if we want particular results. If we want to
do X we must do Y but if we don’t want to X we don’t need to do Y.
Categorical imperatives are rules we must follow regardless of what we hope to achieve or our
emotions.
Three principles that formulate categorical imperatives.
The universal law of nature – our moral rules must be capable of being universal.
The end in itself – people should not use others as a means to an end. They should treat
others as people, not as tools to get what they want.
The kingdom of ends – people should act as if their behaviour is setting the laws in an ideal
kingdom.
Kant’s three postulates (assumptions)
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