What is it meant by 'moral relativism?'
Situation Ethics 'What is it meant by 'moral relativism?' Moral relativism is the view that there are no objective ethical truths, that moral facts only hold relative to a given individual or society. According to this ethical theory, what is morally good for one person or culture might be morally bad for another, and vice versa, there are no moral absolutes. The individual form of moral relativism is called subjectivism; this is where each individual has his or her own moral principles. An idea or opinion is limited by own experience, that opinion is true to the person even though another person may not agree. Conventionalism is an observable fact that moral values differ from society to society, for example, in the United Kingdom we believe that hanging is wrong, where as in China they do. The dependency thesis, moral values are created by society, they are a product of culture. The young experience and internalize values, they then conform to society; stick to the values and in the end everyone is conventionalist. Situation ethics deals with the situation. It's the action that brings the greatest number of love (agape) to the greatest number of people, which is good. With situation ethics you cannot prescribe rules but must make decisions to deal with the situations. It is a way of imitating Jesus or Gods love. The strengths of moral
Should euthanasia be legalised in the UK?
Should Euthanasia be legalised in the UK? Usually, ethics and morality-related topics are held responsible for yielding most of the controversial issues among societies. Those issues tend to vary from one place to another. One of the core concerns the Western world has been elaborately debating about is euthanasia, or, sometimes, preferably called physician-assisted suicide. Whilst involuntary euthanasia is found to be consensually morally impermissible, people still argue the acceptance and the moral aspect of voluntary euthanasia. Furthermore, passive form of euthanasia doesn't seem to fit our definition given at the onset since it results sometimes in a rather painful death and prolonged suffering. Therefore, active euthanasia seems to draw the most attention among activists and lawmakers. Is active euthanasia ethically acceptable? Should it be legalized? From my perspective, it's my belief that euthanasia should be legalised in this country. What if an individual would want to carry on living such a hard life to the extent were they cannot move or talk and have to have the burden of having someone spend their entire life attending to their needs. It's very understandable that they would not want this, as you or me may agree. But then if they did decide they wanted to die, it is not even legal to expect euthanasia in Britain. Is it really fair to send a highly
Explain what is meant by Moral Relativism
Explain what is meant by Moral Relativism Moral relativism is the belief that morality does not relate to any absolute standards of morality to which everyone should comply with. It believes there are circumstances and situations in which actions or behaviour, that is usually considered to be 'wrong', can be considered 'right'. Many of these circumstances are to do with religion and cultures, traditions are frowned upon by outsiders but are acceptable to those within the culture, moral relativism respects their views and beliefs. Moral relativism is the opposite of absolutism. Absolutism believes that there are right and wrong rules which apply to all people all the time. It also believes that an immoral act is intrinsically wrong; it is not made wrong because of its situation or results. An absolutist would not look at a situation from ones perspective; they would look at it objectively and not take into account the consequences. It is deontological as they believe it is ones duty to act in that specific way. Directly opposing absolutism, Fletcher says that no actions in themselves are wrong it is their results that make them wrong and it is love that decides the good from the bad. This love is known as 'Agape' and is a self giving love for all. A clear example of the difference is abortion. A young girl has been raped and is now pregnant with a child; however this child
Moral absolutism. Moralism seems to be an essential component of American conservatism, whose adherents feel far more comfortable evaluating ethicality in terms of simple rules (i.e. morals) than in terms of harm/benefit.
Mrs Kirk Ethics - Moral absolutism Moralism, also know as moral absolutism, is the practice of interpreting the ethicality of various subjects (actions, people, etc.) as good or bad things based solely in terms of how well they conform to a particular moral code rather than by attempting to evaluate the harm or benefit caused by those subjects. It can also be described as "the belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, devoid of the context of the act." Most moralists allow for some exceptions to their moral rules, permitting conscience and empathy to override in cases where "sticking to the rules" would be clearly harmful. Those who refuse to allow exceptions to moral rules tend to be regarded as extremists Most religion is based on moralism, as one of the defining characteristics of religion is reliance on dogmatic rules for evaluating ethicality rather than an open and rational examination of the effects of ethically-significant entities. Moralism seems to be an essential component of American conservatism, whose adherents feel far more comfortable evaluating ethicality in terms of simple rules (i.e. morals) than in terms of harm/benefit. This sort of thinking seems to form the basis of much of the extreme right's attitude towards homosexuality, for example: homosexuals don't
Religious Studies - Ethics: Natural Moral Law
Religious Studies - Ethics Natural Moral Law a) Critically examine what is meant by Natural Moral Law. (8 marks) b) Analyse and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Natural Moral Law as a definitive ethical theory. (12 marks) a) Natural Moral Law is the ancient belief that we can deduce what is right and wrong by looking at nature, this being the one moral code that is applicable to all people. The main features of Natural Moral Law as an ethical theory are that it is unchanging, universally applicable and relevant to all circumstances. The theory is absolutist, objective, deontological and thought to be God-given. Natural Law has also been interpreted to promote the idea that human law through government is an extension of divine law. Although Natural Law is consistent with Christian thinking and scripture, it is not reliant upon them and fundamentally, it is a system of morality based on human reasoning. The origins of Natural Law can be found in the ancient world amongst the philosophers Plato and Aristotle who believed that there was a law within nature that could be applied to everyone. In the 4th Century BC, Plato presented the idea through a debate between 'Nomos' (human law) and 'Phusis' (natural law). Aristotle, who wrote 'Nichomachean Ethics', distinguished natural justice from human justice in his claim that human justice was subject to change according
Utilitarianism essay.
Mark Smith Utilitarianism essay Jeremy Bentham's theory of utilitarianism states that when you make a decision, you should make this decision on how many people will receive pleasure or happiness from this decision. Bentham said that good was happiness. He believed that motives are unimportant and that only consequences count. He argued that motives can not be measured but consequences can. Utilitarianism is not based on religion but on consequences of an action, or thought and reason. Therefore a person can ignore rules and tradition when making a decision. Bentham states, "Morality is not a matter of pleasing God, nor is it a matter of faithfulness to abstract rules. Morality is nothing more then an attempt to bring about as much happiness as possible to the world." Utilitarianism is based on teleology which identifies a theory which is not based on rules. Utilitarianism in it's simplest form can be summed up by the phrase, "the greatest happiness for the greatest number." E.g. most people like eating crisps and a minority likes eating oranges based Benthams theory everybody would have to eat crisps as the majority prefer crisps. Bentham believed that it is simply the quantity of pleasures that counts and that all pleasures had equal value and that one pleasure is no better then another. E.g. Playing chess has the same pleasure value as eating crisps. The hedonic
Just War
"It is impossible to be a Christian and joined the armed forces!" Do you agree? Support your answer with evidence from Christian (and other) teachings. I believe that it can be very difficult to be a Christian and join the armed forces but I do not believe that it is impossible. War is defined as armed hostilities between peoples, frequently different nations, sometimes between different parties within a nation, as in a civil war, or between one small group and the state, as in a guerrilla war. For followers of world religions often caught up in conflict, war poses fundamental questions about human worth and dignity. Many have questioned the ethics of the great bombing raids of WW II, When British and American bombers rained down fire and destruction on millions of German women and children, and the use by America of the Atomic bombs on Japan. In addition, when the Americans waged war in Vietnam in the 1960's, their express desire was not to kill the enemy but to 'incapacitate' as many civilians as possible. At one time individuals like Alexander and Rameses II were given the title 'the Great' for slaughtering human beings on the battlefield, but today few would view the killing of vast numbers of non-combatants for no rational purpose as anything other than a crime against humanity. The German Protestant reformer Martin Luther, alluding to the story of Samson in the
Kant's theory of Ethics
` Kant and the Deontological Argument Immanuel Kant was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia, 1724, and died in 1804 and so, was alive during much of the 18th Century. One of his most important pieces of work was the development of his own theory of ethics, which aimed to prove that ethics should be based on reason. That is why Kant's theory is considered to be of a deontological nature. The historical context of the 18th Century is important when trying to realise why Kant came up with his particular ethical theory based on reason. This period of time is named the 'Enlightenment Period' during which there was increased recognition of the need for the development of an ethical theory based on reason, and reason alone. Kant was, to a great extent, influenced by German pietism i.e. the view that religion should be based on human experience rather than study or rational proof. He stands as part of the 'European Enlightenment', the movement that aimed to go beyond authority and superstition so as to deal with morality based solely on human reason. In its basics, Kant's moral theory is deontological, meaning it rests on the concept of duty or obligation (derived from the Greek word 'ontos' meaning duty/obligation). Kant argues we should handle our affairs through duty to the moral law. Kant starts off by arguing that reason is the primary source of knowledge. Therefore, Kant
Explain What Is Meant By Situation Ethics.
Explain What Is Meant By Situation Ethics. Religion has for a long time been a source of moral rules for many people. Probably the most famous set of rules is the 10 Commandments. An alternative view of moral rules is known as Situation Ethics. Situation ethics is an idea that was first developed by Joseph Fletcher. What Fletcher attempted to do was to create a compromise between having too many rules and no rules at all. Fletcher rejected the idea that everyone should follow a whole series of rules. Instead of a whole number of rules, Fletcher suggested that there is only one rule that everyone should follow. This rule is about love and was called 'the law of love'. Fletcher defines what people should do in terms of love: the right course of action is to do the most loving thing. Christian love is not based on desire; it is self-giving love or agape. Agape does not depend on being loved in return. The command love calls individuals to a high level of person responsibility. There is only one ultimate and invariable duty, this is 'Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself'. From the Bible (Leviticus 19.18) How do we know what the most loving thing to do is? As the name situation ethics suggests, for Fletcher, it is the situation that is important for determining what should be done. There is therefore, no way of knowing beforehand what is right and wrong because each
What are the vices and failings of contemporary New York revealed in 'Bonfire of the Vanities'?
What are the vices and failings of contemporary New York revealed in Bonfire of the Vanities'? In 'Bonfire of the Vanities' Wolfe paints a picture of a city racked with sin; the 'Unreal City' that Eliot feared so greatly. The city, its inhabitants and their very principles are flawed to such an extent that the novel, in my opinion, reads as a tragedy. The story opens with a brilliantly ironic situation: black Harlem residents heckle the mayor claiming that he has persecuted their minorities, telling him, "Don't percentage no annual budget with us, man! We want jobs!" The only problem is that they simultaneously taunt him, calling him "Goldberg" and "Hymie." Their distorted sense of values encapsulates the attitudes of this twisted city. In the same way, The Reverend Bacon attacks the power structure, saying, "You think Sherman McCoy stands alone? You think he is by himself? He is one a the most powerful men at Pierce & Pierce, and Pierce & Pierce is one a the most powerful forces in Wall Street. I know Pierce & Pierce . . . see . . . I know what they can do. You heard a capitalists. You heard a plutocrats. You take a look at Sherman McCoy and you're looking at a capitalist, you're looking at a plutocrat." Once again, the situation is laced with irony as Bacon has invested huge sums of money with the very bank he just criticised. Priorities are bizarre, but most worryingly