Theology Key definitions

absolutism

ethical standards that apply in every situation

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arete

pursuit of moral excellence and virtue

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doctrine of double effect

In situations where we cannot do good without a bad consequence it is acceptable to do a good act despite knowing that it will bring about bad consequences. the bad consequence can be foreseen but cannot be intended

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consequentialist ethics

judging actions solely on the basis of their beneficial or harmful outcomes

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eternal law

mind/reasoning of God

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eudamonia

human flourishing

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exterior acts

actual motion

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interior acts

internal intentions

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final cause

purpose/telos

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natural law

the innate inclination of human nature to follow their telos

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normative ethics

ethics of what is right/wrong - telling people how they should act

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relativism

conditional ethics, subjective to situation
existing in relation to culture, society, or historical context
not absolute.

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secondary precepts

laws which are derived from primary precepts- relative

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synderesis principle

human inclination to do the right thing and repel evil

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teleological ethics

ethics that derives duty or moral obligation from what is good or desirable as an end to be achieved

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agape

selfless love

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eros

romantic love

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philia

friendship love

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antinomianism

rejection of legal rules and laws

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legalism

needing to be controlled through laws as a moral theory
people bad by nature

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four principles

positivism, personalism, pragmatism, relativism

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six propositions

-love and justice are the same
-love is the only means
-love acts situationally, not prescriptively
-love wills the neighbour good whether you like them or not
-only love is intrinsically good
-love is the only ruling norm of christian decision making

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Rational Soul

(aristotle) the rational soul is unique to humans and sets us apart from other animals. As a result we can rationally work out natural law

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interior acts

motives behind an action: where the good of an action comes from as opposed to the exterior action

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exterior acts

your action

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real goods

direct us towards our ultimate flourishing telos

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apparent goods

when we are misdirected to things we think are good but actually aren't helping us achieve our telos (short lived)

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primary precepts

goals in which humans are naturally inclined. absolute and universal

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phronesis

practical judgement or wisdom- can develop through experience and observations

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theoretical knowledge

abstract and intellectual

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practical knowledge

deveoped over time through wisdom an judgement

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Proportionalism

concept that there are certain moral rules which are never right to go against unless there is a proportionate reason which would justify it

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moral evil

can be justified for a proportionate reason but is wrong however based on the context can make it right (eg:amputation)

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premoral evil

a wrong that can never be justified where human telos is undermined (eg:death)

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situation ethics

a Christian theory in response to the weaknesses of natural law through looking at Jesus' teaching and seeing that the only moral principle is to do the most loving thing in any situation

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Pietism

Strong influence on Kants thoughts - parents were Pietists, a protestant group similar to the Quakers.
emphasised sincerity, meal life rather than beliefs and practises. God won't judge on how successfully they accomplished their tasks but on how well th

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Ethical autonomy

individuals have a right to make decisions about their lives without interference from others.

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Ethical heteronomy

Heteronomy refers to action that is influenced by a force outside the individual, ie the state or condition of being ruled, governed, or under the sway of another, as in a military occupation. Kant, drawing on Rousseau, considered such an action nonmoral

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Social contract

an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits,

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Reason

the power of the mind to think, understand, justify and form judgements logically.
For Kant, reason guarantees freedom which guarantees morality which can only be guarantees if we act according to reason

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Phenomenal vs noumenal world

Kant says that there are two different world : a) phenomenal world - the world that we perceive the view we have of the world that is inside our heads.
b) noumenal - the world of things outside us, the world of things as they really are, real

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Good will

only thing that can be good, in and of itself
" it is good through its willing alone"

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Summum bonum

Highest Good
will lead to the best possible life.

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inclination

person's natural tendency act or feel in a particular way; a disposition.

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Postulate

necessary, a prorio conditions, "reasonable" presupposition which has a direct impact on our moral choices ,decisions

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Duty

acting morally according to the good regardless of consequences, worked out through reason
"in conformity with duty" vs "from duty"

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Categorical vs hypothetical imperative

absolute, universal "supreme principle of morality"
vs
conditional on your own individual self-interests, adivises us how to satisify our desires..

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Contradiction in conception vs in nature

C -if the situation in which everyone acted on that maxim is somehow self-contradictory.
N-(in will) logically possible to universalize the maxim but it cant be willed consistently EG not helping others

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Kants 3 formulations of the Categorical Imperative

1. Formula of nature- whereby a maxim can be established as a universal law
2. Humanity-whereby people are treated as ends in themselves and not meant to an ends
3. kingdom of ends-must use reason to create a society in which all are a valued

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List the three postulates of practical reason

1.God - makes moral law meaningful.
2.Immortality - One can't achieve summun bonum within this life, so a continued life is necessary
3.Freedom -If we are not fee, then our duty loses it's value

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List three of Kant’s books

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals,
the Critique of Practical Reason, the Critique of Judgment

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How did J.P Sartre criticise Kant’s theory?

criticises Kant by using an example of how own experience during the Nazi occupation of France - a man torn between duty to his country/mother
- Kant's theory is not helpful ( situation is both categorical) for reality of everyday experience

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What does it mean to say that a moral system is deontological?

Rightness/wrongness is determined by the actions themselves.

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Why does Kant believe that moral knowledge is a) a priori b) synthetic?

Because a) it is not based on experience (but on the moral law within) b) it is additional knowledge (coming from reason).

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Can a moral system be based on duty?

YES:There is a strong emphasis about what is going on inside a person - acting out of pure motives, focused on duty and the greater good.
NO: hard to separate intentions and ends - intentions are linked with what we do. . Shouldn't it be part of our duty

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Is it too reliant on reason?

NO: Feelings could lead us astray, favouring some over others. Morals help us focus on people that are not like us. YES: Emotional connections seem to be amongst the most valuable things in life. It is not clear that special relationships give grounds for

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Alaisdair McIntyr's criticism

criticises Kant's formulation of universalisability
"with sufficient ingenuity almost every precept can be consistently universalised"

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David Hume's criticism

motivation isn't simple
"We can never be certain that we have acted from the motive of duty"

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W.D. Ross's criticism

On conflicting duties
W.D. Ross proposes a hierarchy. Otherwise duties conflict and it can be difficult to know which maxim to act by.

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What's the difference between a synthetic and an analytic statement?

'Synthetic' statements truth or falsity are determined by sense experience. 'Analytic' statements true by the meaning of the words used, true by definition.

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What is the difference between something that is 'necessary' and something that is 'contingent'?

A 'necessary thing' is something that could not possibly have failed to exist,eg God A 'contingent thing' is one which does not exist necessarily and so could have failed to exist. Eg island

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What is a 'subject' and what is a 'predicate'?

The 'subject' refers to who or what the sentence is about and the 'predicate' gives us information about the subject.

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What claims does the Ontological Argument make?

- the statement 'God exists' is analytic/ a priori/deductive -true by definition
- 'exists is a predicate ', so God must exist
-God's existence is a necessary truth, not a contingent one.

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Summarise Anselm's argument.

P1 God is the greatest conceivable being. P2 It is greater to exist in reality than to exist only in the mind. C Therefore, as the greatest conceivable being, God must exist in reality.

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How does Guanilo attack Anselm's argument in his 'Proslogium'?

He gave an ontological argument for the existence of the perfect island, using a method of argument called a reductio ad absurdum -suggesting that Anselm's argument can be used to prove the existence of anything
Hume : " we cannot define something into

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How does Anselm respond to Guanilo?

1. islands can only exist contingently - their non-existence is always a possibility 2. doesn't possess maximal properties, whereas God is maximally perfect

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What are Kant's two main objections to the Ontological Argument as expressed by Descartes?

1. Rejection of the paradox statement "God does not exist" is not self-contradictory. Existence is not a predicate - doesn't add any properties to God.
2. Rejection of "God exists" as an analytic statement - existence is not true by definition. Eg Unicorn

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Does the ontological argument justify belief?

YES: The argument has value for those who believe in God already, since they are more likely to accept it as a logical proof
NO: Ontological Argument doesn't seem to work, since most agree that Kant's objections defeat it
Christians such as Aquinas would

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What is Aquinas's objection to the Ontological Argument?

- A prior arguments of God never work because we don't know God - existence of God isn't self evident
- if we deduce God a priori that implies that the human power of reason is elevated too high + limits God, bringing him down to our level

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a priori/a posteriori

knowledge based on logic alone/knowledge based on experiences from our senses

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fallacy of composition

when there is a mistaken assumption that the whole must share the same properties as its individual parts

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Theology Key definitions

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