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Yr 12 Reading Task

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school textbooks & study guides: literature

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Buy Ethical Studies: Second Edition by Robert A Bowie (ISBN: 9780748780792) from Amazon's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.

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humanities / religion and beliefs / christianity

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Buy The Puzzle of Ethics by Peter Vardy (ISBN: 9780006281443) from Amazon's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.

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Quizlet is a lightning fast way to learn vocabulary.

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ms sarah k tyler;mr gordon reid;mr jon mayled;dominique messent;gopinder kaur;ms jennifer smith

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edexcel as religious studies: student book by ms sarah k tyler (2008-04-11)

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Edexcel AS Religious Studies: Student Book by Ms Sarah K Tyler (2008-04-11)

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Buy Edexcel AS Religious Studies: Student Book by Ms Sarah K Tyler (2008-04-11) by Ms Sarah K Tyler;Mr Gordon Reid;Mr Jon Mayled;Dominique Messent;Gopinder Kaur;Ms Jennifer Smith (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.

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the blackwell companion to religious ethics (wiley blackwell companions to religion)

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The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Religion)

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Buy The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Religion) by William Schweiker (ISBN: 9781405177580) from Amazon's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.

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Use these links to see handouts on specific topics:

Why bother with ethical theory? (DOC) (PDF)

Free will

Handouts

Powerpoints

Determinism (PPT)
Compatibilism(PPT)

Metaethics

Handouts

Powerpoints

Cognitivism: developments (PPT)
Conscience(PPT)
The denial of moral truth: objections(PPT)
Ethical and religious language compared(PPT)
Metaethics: an overview(PPT)
Metaethics and ethical language(PPT)
Moral truth as based on relational properties(PPT)
Relativism(PPT)
What's wrong with relativism?(PPT)

Normative ethics

Handouts

Powerpoints

Aristotle on practical wisdom (PPT)
Deontology and practical ethics(PPT)
Kant'™s categorical imperative(PPT)
Kant categorical imperative and euthanasia(PPT)
Kant'™s ethics(PPT)
Three theories of ethics(PPT)
Virtue ethics(PPT)

Practical ethics

Handouts

Powerpoints

Abortion (PPT)
Environmental ethics(PPT)
Euthanasia and practical ethics(PPT)
Stem cell research(PPT)
Teaching practical ethics(PPT)
The rise of the clones(PPT)

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Use these links to see handouts on specific topics: Why bother with ethical theory?

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Everyday Ethics - Downloads - BBC Radio Ulster

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Provocative weekly debate on moral, religious and ethical issues.

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BBC - Ethics - Introduction to ethics: Ethics: a general introduction

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Ethics are a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy which defines what is good for individuals and society.

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Joe Jenkins 1 Holy War

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Joe Jenkins 1 NML + Sexual Ethics

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Utilitarianism however is difficult to define as a single theory as it is more of a family of theories with different variants. Different Utilitarian approaches to morality have emerged each with their own theory of good and community of concerning individuals.

Teleological

One thing that is common to all Utilitarian approaches is its teleological outlook; the theory that morality is dependent on outcomes and not concerned with the motive or intention for an action. A teleological approach thus argues that the end justifies the means.

Absolutivity/Relativity

It is difficult to label Utilitarianism with an absolute or relative approach of morality because there are so many different variants of the theory. Invariably, the absolutivity / relativity of a Utilitarian theory depends on which category it falls into; act or rule utilitarianism (see further down).

Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham was an advocate of hedonism; the theory that the most useful thing to do and therefore the moral thing to do is the maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain. His Principle of Utility thus promotes the greatest good for the greatest number. Bentham composed a hedonic calculus as a tool for weighing up the consequential pleasure and pain of an action in order to be able to deduce the moral course of action. It attempts to quantify seven different variables of pleasure/pain:

Certainty - How certain is it that there will be pain/pleasure?
Duration - How long will the sensation last?
Extent - How wide are its effects?
Intensity - How intense is the resulting pain/pleasure?
Remoteness - How near is the resulting pain/pleasure?
Richness - Will it lead to further pleasure?
Purity - How free from pain is it?

Problems

Many argue that pleasure is not quantifiable and cannot be compared on a measurable scale

It relies on the capacity to predict outcomes, yet most lack the foresight to be able to do so with accuracy

If ten rapists were to rape the same woman one might conclude that such an action is morally justified on the basis that the pleasure of the rapists would outweighs the pain of their victim. Utilitarianism has thus been dubbed the 'Swine Ethic'.

John Stuart Mill

Mill recognised the problems with Bentham's principle of utility and was more careful in his definition of pleasure. Mill shifted the emphasis from the quantity of pleasure to the quality of pleasure and distinguished between higher pleasures (cultural and spiritual pleasures of the mind) and lower pleasures (bodily needs such as sex and food).

Act and rule utilitarianism

Since the thinking of Bentham and Mill, Utilitarian theories have been categorised into two groups; those that are act-consequentialistic and those that are rule-consequentialistic:

Act (classical) Utilitarianism

Act Utilitarian theories start with specific cases from which general principles can be deduced. This approach to Utilitarianism is generally more concerned with the individual and not protective of minority groups. It advocates a relative approach to morality: the theory that the goodness of an action is circumstantial and variable within different situations.

Rule Utilitarianism

Rule Utilitarian theories start with general principles from which specific acts can be prohibited without exception to the rule. This approach is protective of minority groups and less concerned with individual circumstances than the collective good. It advocates an absolutist approach to morality: the theory that there is a universal moral code that can be applied in all circumstances regardless of the situation.

Most scholars place the thinking of Bentham and Mill under the Act Utilitarian classification - hence it is more widely known as Classical Utilitarianism. However, there is room for debate with regards to Mill's theory of Utilitarianism and the act/rule distinction. Some argue that Mill's approach is more fitting under the Rule Utilitarian classification since he was primarily concerned with the quality of higher pleasures, which is distinct to Bentham's emphasis on quantity.

Preference utilitarianism

Preference Utilitarianism is a variant of utilitarianism advocated by Peter Singer which defines utility in terms of preference satisfaction. For Preference Utilitarians, the moral course of action is the one that results in the most preference satisfaction.

Criticisms

Pleasure is not the highest form that people aspire to. Intuitively, we know there is a fundamental moral difference between striving to be a good football player and a selfless, virtuous person.

Utilitarianism infers that when you bring your wages home you should only spend them on yourself or your family if they wouldn't bring greater pleasure else where e.g. in a developing country. This is counter-intuitive and impractical.

W.D. Ross argued that Utilitarianism is a single-factor moral theory - life's ethical dilemmas cannot be answered with a simple calculus that balances outcomes. According to Ross, we have prima facie duties that take priority over the 'greater good.' For example, a father would instinctively choose to save his own son over a stranger who had the ability to cure AIDS. However, a true Utilitarian would be required to save the stranger with the cure to AIDS before his son, because the resulting pleasure derived from eliminating a pandemic that costs thousands of lives every year would outweigh the pain derived from the death of his son.

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Utilitarianism | tutor2u Religious Studies

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Utilitarianism however is difficult to define as a single theory as it is more of a family of theories with different variants. Different Utilitarian approaches to morality have emerged each with their own theory of good and community of concerning individuals.

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Joe Jenkins

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Joe Jenkins NML

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Joe Jenkins 2 Just War

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Ethics - OCR A level Ethics: Ethical Theory

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Ethics resources for students and teachers for OCR A level RS Philosophy and Ethics

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Luke Pollard

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Marling School Religious Education Department

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Joe Jenkins 1 Stewards and Slayers

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Joe Jenkins 3 All things are connected

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Joe Jenkins 2 Sit Ethics + Sex Et

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Joe Jenkins 4 4 Priest who blessed the bomb

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The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - MLK Day! (Animated) Black History Month Video

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Joe Jenkins 2 Rapture Ready

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Joe Jenkins 4 Gaia

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Joe Jenkins 3 Utilitarianism + Sex Et

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Joe Jenkins 3 In contempt of conscience

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Elaine Storkey represents moderate religious feminist view point

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Feminism and Faith – Big Questions #4 Michaelmas 2015

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Joe Jenkins 4a Kant + Sex Et

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Joe Jenkins 5 Genesis

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Religion and the Feminist Movement Conference - Panel III: Rosemary Radford Ruether

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Religion and the Feminist Movement Conference - Panel III: Rosemary Radford Ruether

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Joe Jenkins 4b Kant + Sex Et