Religious Ethics

1. Religious Ethics Elliott Wright

2. Abortion/ Right to a child Euthanasia Genetic Engineering War and Peace Applied issues

3. Abortion/ Right to a child • Legal abortion limit; 24 weeks • Abortion Act 1967 • Abortion necessary if the woman’s health is threatened or if there is a high risk the baby could be handicapped • Christianity teaches the sanctity of life and states sole purpose of intercourse is for procreation • Status of personhood tend to be based on either… • Biological debates (viability, potential) • Religious debates (ensoulment, consciousness) • Human rights declaration states that men and women have ‘the right to found a family’ • Treatments for infertility are generally non-permanent, inaccessible and expensive. Surrogate motherhood is an alternative, but introduces a third party

4. Euthanasia • In Britain, euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal; in Switzerland physician-assisted suicide is permitted if specific criteria are met • Disparity between varieties of euthanasia • Active; one brings about another’s death • Passive; one brings about another death through the withholding of treatment • Voluntary; the patient makes a competent request to be euthanized • Non-voluntary; a decision is made by a second party on behalf of the unable patient • Patients in a PVS (Persistent Vegetative state) may experience a death in consciousness; ambiguity over the definition of life, and whether a physical definition suffices • Preserving quality of life can conflict with the notion of sanctity • Doctors are legally bound to respect the right of the patient to refuse treatment regardless of the consequences • Issue of medical futility; treatment may be counteracted on the grounds that it produces no medical effect. The hospice movement caters for terminal illness.

5. Genetic Engineering • Somatic Cell gene therapy;replace defective genes in a person. Limited concerns, but some may argue it contradicts God’s will • Germ line;changes the reproductive cells to eliminate inherited diseases in future generations. Concern as mistakes will be passed down irreversibly. • Enhancement;using the methods of germ line to enhance a person, raising the question of what constitutes a defect. Some argue the technology will only be available to the rich, leading to social injustice. • Eugenics;use of science to create a better race of people. Striving for the ‘perfect’ ideal may be done for negative political or racial ends; e.g. Hitler’s Aryan supremacy. • Animal;changing an animal’s genes to promote certain characteristics, for food or xenotransplantation. Can be very painful for the animals, while obtaining human organs from animals may pass disease to the human • GM crops; Crops engineered to increase yield or build resistance to pests. Could feed more people and make farming cheaper, but there are fears of cross-germination leading to undesirable characteristics, and that it violates God’s creation • Therapeutic cloning; cloning an embryo for the purpose of deriving stem cells for therapeutic uses. The embryo is usually discarded, raising issues of personhood • Reproductive cloning; cloning an embryo for transplantation into a uterus, with the intention of producing offspring genetically identical to the donor. Illegalised in 2001, punishable by ten years of prison; effectively ‘human cloning’

6. War and Peace • Just war theory • Jus ad bellum; a just nature of initiating a war • C; Cause. The cause for far must be justified; e.g. Self defense • L; Lawful. Initiated by a lawful authority publicly • A; Alternatives. A last resort if negotiations have failed • I; Intention. Motive has to be pure and good. • M; Means. The means must be proportionate to the greater good war seeks to achieve • S; Success. There must be a reasonable chance of success • Jus in bello; a just nature of conduct during a war • L; Lawful, following international laws and prohibiting chemical or biological weaponry • I; protects the Innocents embroiled in war • F/E; reasonable Force, and Extent of force, used • Jus post bellum; a new aspect. Purpose of restoring peace and rights. • Pacifism • Rejects the idea of a ‘just war’, often motivated by religious or non-religious beliefs in the value of life, and the preservation of justice and human rights • Either absolute (never permissible) or conditional (accept circumstances where the use of violence may be a ‘lesser evil’), or selective (e.g. against WMDs) • Issues raised by the debateable possibilities of compromise between pacifists and those who support the use of war, and if pacifism can feasibly become a national policy

7. Ethical theories

8. Absolutist Ethics • E.g. Natural Law, Kantian Ethics, Strong Rule Utilitarianism • Argues the existence of a standard of right and wrong • Strengths • Recognises universal laws; common recognition that certain acts are morally wrong • It is possible to judge people by this common standard of acceptable action • Provides an obligation and justification for acting • Clear guidelines • Weaknesses • Doubts over source of moral authority • Clashes between two values held as absolutes • Ignores circumstances • Intolerance of other views, cultural differences

9. Relativist Ethics • E.g. Act/Weak Rule Utilitarianism, Situation Ethics • Argues there is no absolute right or wrong; morality is a response of human communities to ethical issues, but certain norms of behaviour promote desirable objectives • Strengths • Reflects the postmodern age; rejects universal truths and recognises cultural, religious diversity • Tolerant; no one culture is better than the other • Recognises the intricacies of circumstance and consequences • Weaknesses • Actions of certain cultures, e.g. genocide, naturally arouse criticism and judgement; yet relativism argues all cultures are morally equal • It is not clear how a person can value their own moral actions knowing that another culture would be acting differently, but still be acting morally

10. Teleology/consequentialism • Places moral value in the consequences of an action • Deontology • Places moral value in the acts themselves, irrespective of the consequences, or the act’s accordance with duty

11. utilitarianism

12. Bentham’s ‘Act’ Utilitarianism • Teleological; Bentham places moral value in the measure of happiness (the greatest amount of pleasure, the least amount of pain) an action will produce, calculated using the hedonic calculus; • D; Duration of the pleasure • R; Remoteness, how immediate the pleasure is • P; Purity of the pleasure, to what extent it is tainted by pain • R; Richness; to an extent, the quality of the pleasure • I; Intensity of the pleasure; the amount of pleasure produced within a given timeframe • C; Certainty of the pleasure, how likely it is to occur • E; Extent of the pleasure, how many experience it

13. Mill’s ‘Rule’ Utilitarianism • Regarded pleasure not quantitatively, but qualitatively, and distinguished between ‘higher pleasures’ that stimulated the mind and lower sensory pleasures, and that for those competently acquainted with both types, the latter is more satisfying • Said to be a rule utilitarian, as he began to argue a universalisability to the principle of utility; happiness is the only desirable end as we all desire it, so everyone must act in a way that promotes the communal happiness of everyone in society • Strong Rule utilitarianism is deontological, as it claims an act is only right if it abides by the rules which, if followed, will generally lead to the most happiness; no exceptions. Mill, a weak Rule Utilitarian, viewed such rules as helpful guidance, not obligations. • Singer’s ‘Preference’ Utilitarianism • Defines the best consequences as not pleasure, but the satisfaction of the preferences of all sentient beings; including certain animals (that can experience suffering) and children (upon reaching self-consciousness); chiefly, the preference to live

14. Applied to Abortion/Right to a child- MOSTLY FOR • Strong case to allow abortion if the mother requests it; she will probably be much happier, for career or familial reasons, but this would need to be weighed against possible guilt or regret. • If the fetus is regarded as a sentient being, its ‘future happiness’ may be lost, or it may feel pain in the process of abortion, which may outweigh the happiness of the mother • Applied to Euthanasia- MOSTLY FOR • Focuses on the quality and consequent happiness, not the sanctity, of life • Ideas of dignity link to Mill’s views on ‘higher pleasures’; upon losing the capacity to experience them, the quality of life and autonomy of the individual is drastically worsened • The measurement of happiness extends to relatives and the greater community, the use of resources

15. Applied to Genetic Engineering- MOSTLY FOR • The ambiguous outcomes of genetic engineering is problematic for UT’s consequentialist approach • The extent to which the use of embryos should be included in hedonic calculations lies in the status of personhood and viability, weighed against the happiness resultant of possible breakthroughs in medical science. Generally acceptable. • Applied to War and Peace- INCONCLUSIVE • Calculation of happiness seems difficult; Ryder’s ‘Painism’ may be more appropriate • A key consideration would be the peace that is achieved as a result of war; whether it produces enough happiness to justify the means (Jus ad bellum; ‘means’)

16. Strengths of Utilitarianism • Attractive aims (happiness, avoidance of pain) • Reflects prominence of hedonism in human behaviour • Straightforward to apply in most situations • Regards consequences; to just look at intention seems impersonal • Considers others, including the wider community • Weaknesses of Utilitarianism • Ignores motive and the means by which the ‘greatest good’ is achieved; lead to injustice • Rejects individual rights in favour of the majority’s interests (solved by Mill’s Harm Principle) • Hedonic Calculus is impractical, cannot truly measure ‘happiness’; it is impossible to quantify and compare, for instance, the intensity and duration of the pleasure • Deeper human dimension than happiness • Instances where pain is a good thing • Outcomes are not entirely predictable • Too demanding; we ought to always do what generates the GGGN • Weak Rule Utilitarianism easily dissolves into Act Utilitarianism • Feinberg’s paradox of hedonism; happiness is required indirectly, as we fail to attain pleasure if we deliberately seek it

17. Natural law

18. Deontological (moral acts are determined by fundamental principles, double effect accounts for the precedence of intention, consequences irrelevant) and absolutist (identify right actions by the universal standard of the primary precepts) • Aristotelian Influence • Our final cause is our purpose or end, while efficient causes allow us to achieve this • The result of following one’s purpose well is eudaimonia, a fulfilment or contentment. • Aquinas • Human purpose is achieving perfection in the image of God; it is unique • Eternal Law: The principles by which God governs the universe; only accessible by him • Divine Law: Scripture; a reflection of Eternal Law, but only accessible to those with interest. Revelation can supplement the discovery of… • Natural Law: Accessible to everyone through God-given reason; the moral code humans are naturally inclined to follow. Following it enables us to achieve our ultimate purpose

19. Primary precepts are the ends we must strive for to lead us to our purpose; teleological • Defend Innocent (Human) Life • Learn • Reproduce • Have Ordered Society • Worship God • Deduced from these are secondary precepts, the deontological aspect; actual instruction to achieve these ends. Not strictly universal as they may not hold in all circumstances. • Actions that are not in the pursuit of our purpose are seeking an ‘apparent good’. Reason must be used to distinguish between real and apparent goods, which can be developed through the cultivation of natural virtues (prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice) and revealed teleological virtues (faith, hope, charity) • The doctrine of double effect allows for exceptions to the secondary precepts where there is an intended outcome and another significant, but unintended outcome. Four conditions; • We do not wish the evil effects and attempt to avoid them • The immediate effect should itself be good • Evil should not be made a means to achieving the good • The good effect should be equally or more significant to the evil effect

20. Applied to Abortion/Right to a child- MOSTLY AGAINST • Primary precept of ‘defending innocent life’; hence the act of abortion is inherently evil as it is the intentional killing of an innocent human being • Double effect permits the death of the fetus as an unintended by-product of another act; e.g. a hysterectomy to remove a cancerous uterus • Applied to Euthanasia- MOSTLY AGAINST • The principle of ‘defending innocent life’ is often expressed in terms of the sanctity of life. Natural Law also teaches there is a special property to human life, manifested by our unique human purpose; ergo, euthanasia is not acceptable • Double effect may permit a large dose of morphine to control the pain of a terminally ill patient, even if it were to inadvertently shorten the patient’s life

21. Applied to Genetic Engineering- MOSTLY AGAINST • Yet again, the precept of defending innocent life is key; if the embryo is deemed a human life, then it would be immoral to use it • Use of blastocyst cells (which do not necessarily become a human being) proposes no conflict with the argument for sanctity of life • Despite this, the RCC have judged that these cells still contain a soul. The only gene therapy that RCC permit is Somatic • Applied to War and Peace- MOSTLY FOR • Just war promotes the precepts of defending innocent life and having ordered society • Double effect may justify collateral damage, as the intention is not to kill innocent people. It would not be moral, however, to purposefully bomb non-combatants, as this would be using an evil means to achieve a good end

22. Strengths of Natural Law • Acknowledges and preserves the special status of human beings • Primary precepts are common to all cultures • Clear application and basis with authority and justification • Double effect solves conflict of primary precepts, that would otherwise produce greater evil • Considers motive • Weaknesses of Natural Law • Human reason is not perfect, yet Natural Law requires perfect reason to decipher the precepts/act morally • There is no indication which precepts are more important; e.g, ‘learn’ and ‘reproduce’ in the case of teenage pregnancy • Assuming that human nature has moral authority is unreasonable for someone without belief in God • What is does not imply what ought to be; naturalistic fallacy • Doubts over the notion of a common human nature

23. Kantian Ethics

24. Deontological (moral value is placed in the act itself) and Absolutist (there exists an objective moral law, binding on all humans, which can be discovered through reason) • The categories by which we understand the world are imposed upon by the mind upon its experiences; thus, moral obligation comes within ourselves, manifesting itself as the categorical imperative • The human will is free and independent, motivated by three things; inclination, concern for self, and duty. To act with a good will, to act out of a desire to be moral, is to do our duty; the only acceptable motivation. For moral decisions to be meaningful, they must be done out of free choice; to do our duty we must be autonomous • The inner motive, the intention, is vital; outward behaviour does not necessarily reveal good will. People are not intrinsically good, as ‘good’ characteristics may be used for evil; e.g. intelligence

25. Hypothetical imperatives informs us of a factual relation between a particular goal and how to achieve it. Categorical imperatives have binding force on people, irrespective of their interests; obligatory moral commands. The formulations of the CI act as rules to gauge whether an act is moral • Universal Law; act only according to a maxim which could be universalised • Treat human beings as ends in themselves, not a means to an end • Act as if you were ‘a legislator in the kingdom of ends’; assume all will act in the same way • In the pursuit of goodness, we are motivated by the assumption that it shall be rewarded by happiness. However, virtuous people are often unhappy or in pain. The summum bonum, the state in which humans are both virtuous and happy, must exist as for Kant oughtimplies can. God must exist to initiate this harmony in an afterlife, as this reward cannot possibly be experienced before death.

26. Applied to Abortion/Right to a child- MOSTLY AGAINST • Duty to preserve life would generally disallow abortion • The maxim of ‘have an abortion’ cannot be universalised or the human race would become extinct; though it may be possible to reformulate, ‘have an abortion if the mother’s life is in danger’ • As the fetus is unable to reason, abortion may be permissible as it has no intrinsic value; though if the fetus is regarded as person, the second formulation would rule against using it as a means for the mother’s autonomy, or even health • Applied to Euthanasia- MOSTLY AGAINST • Duty to preserve life also argues against euthanasia • Universalising the rule that ‘everyone should die if they are suffering’ is not acceptable as it would include those who are suffering but do not wish to die; though this can be reformulated to limit it to people who do wish to die • Kant himself was against suicide • Involving a second party in the act of ending a human life could deny the formulation that human beings must not be treated as means

27. Applied to Genetic Engineering- MOSTLY AGAINST • Though Kant never knew of embryos, it can be argued that because they potentially develop into a rational being, to discard them infringes upon their most basic rights of freedom and treats them as a means to an end • It is difficult to universalise the creation of embryos to be later destroyed; if it were, then all embryos must be created for that purpose, and none would ever develop into a human being • It can be argued however that an embryo is not a part of the kingdom of ends due to its undeveloped state; its lack of capacity to reason or have autonomy denies it value • Applied to War and Peace- MOSTLY AGAINST • Rules out war as it involves the killing of human beings, though Kant’s ‘Perpetual Peace’ 1795 pamphlet argued that war for self-defence was justified • The categorical imperative of ‘do not kill’ could be reformulated to focus on self-defence • Soldiers are treated as a means to an end; exploited.

28. Strengths of Kantian Ethics • Clear rules, universal • Emphasises the importance of each person and their autonomy; everyone is equally valued • Treats people as ends, against exploitation • Emphasises motive and intention rather than outward behaviour, which may be deceiving • Weaknesses of Kantian Ethics • It is not clear why the motive of obligation is superior to motives such as love and compassion • Kant claimed there was only one categorical imperative (to follow the three formulations), yet there is dispute over whether which of the three forms takes precedence if they were to conflict • Fundamental to Kantian ethics is free will, the nature of which has been challenged by scientific reasoning for our actions • Applying reason may promote self-interest • Universalisability may not be feasible

29. Christian ethics/Situation ethics

30. Natural Law (see previous) • The Bible • In the Catholic tradition the bible has equal authority to the church, while in Protestantismgreater emphasis is put on the bible and personal interpretation so followers may make their own decisions on ethical issues. Bias in translation; e.g, the description of homosexuality as ‘abomination’ sees no justification in Hebrew forms • According to Aquinas the bible reveals teleological virtues (faith, hope, charity) that can help cultivate our ability to distinguish between real and apparent goods • The Church • Catholics believe Jesus gave his authority to Peter, since passed down to the current Pope Francis. The Pope has the power to make infallible statements • The role of Protestant churches is more advisory, but it does condemn some actions entirely

31. Many Christians believe conscience to be the ‘voice of God’ • The majority of Christians pray for guidance, answers, or for the knowledge of reciprocation • Some Christians claim to have had direct, life-changing religious experiences • Criticism • Conscience, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, religious experiences and prayer can give very subjective results; two Christians within the same church reading the same bible translation can respond in different ways to ethical dilemmas • Conservatism of the catholic church can be seen as inflexible or out of touch; e.g. prohibition of contraception in all circumstances, homosexuality as ‘intrinsic moral evil’ • Protestantism’s focus on scripture criticised as the writing dates back to a more patriarchal, homophobic era, with many contradictions. Its large size means you can arguably find justification for any action in it

32. Situation Ethics • Teleological (with deontological aspects) and Relative • The absolute enforcement of ethical rules is immoral as they make rules more important than people. The situationist respects laws but is free to make the right choice, one that is according to the situation. It ‘relativises the absolute’ • The only good is love; we should act according to the Christian principle of agape, concern for others; ‘seeking your neighbour’s best interest’ (similar to Preference Utilitarianism), so love is best served • Four working principles guide us to make the right decision; • Relativism; absolute rules are judged depending on their relation to love • Pragmatism; a moral action must also be practical • Positivism; the intention must be to do good, to follow agape • Personalism; prioritises the intrinsic value of people over rules • Strengths • Reflects Jesus, promotes social justice and emotion, pragmatism = useful, modern • Weaknesses • Vague, allows atrocities ‘in the name of love’, baseless, irrational, isolates the church