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21 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Practice of Justice: Voluntary or Involuntary
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- No one would be strong enough keep from taking anything he wanted (things from the market, a neighbor’s wife, kill or release from prison, etc.) and would become like a god among men.
- “For all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice, and he who argues as I have been supposing, will say that they are right.” - Conclusion: Men behave justly only because they cannot bear the pressure of being seen and caught in acts that are considered unjust. ALL MEN ARE ALIKE IN THIS REGARD |
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Why do we behave unjustly?
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- EPISTEMIC DISTANCE!
- With regard to our relationship with God, the question is often asked, “How can those of us in this world who have come to know God through his word behave in such ungodly ways at times?” We will, therefore, violate our own value system at times. Why do we do this? - I believe it is because we are at a distance, designed by God, away from God that allows us to behave the way we choose without immediate judgment. |
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Why do we behave unjustly?
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- God has placed us in such a position as to be far enough away from Him that we do not have to even come to know him if we choose not to know him. If that is our choice, we will not know how he wants us to behave and will therefore follow our own desires.
- God teaches us that if we do not draw near to him, it is impossible for us to choose “good ways” on our own (Jeremiah 10:23; Prov. 14:12). |
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Why do we behave unjustly?
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- God has also placed us in such a position as to be close enough to him that we may freely come to know him and to choose to come to him and be like him.
- God wants us to fully and freely love him and choose to serve him because of our love for him. The opportunity for that choice is why I believe we are at the appropriate distance from God. |
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What values do you look for and admire in your superiors? The top three answers were:
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1. INTEGRITY
2. COMPETENCE 3. LEADERSHIP |
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ARISTOTLE’S “VIRTUES” TEST
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- You must know what you are doing.
- You must choose to do it of your own will. - You must be natural and consistent. - You must do it for its own sake. - You must enjoy doing it. |
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Three Theological Virtues:
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- Faith
- Hope - Love |
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Four Cardinal Virtues:
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1. Fortitude
2. Temperance 3. Prudence 4. Justice |
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WHAT IS A WORLD VIEW?
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1. JAMES SIRE – “A world view is a set of presuppositions (or assumptions) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world.”
2. PHILLIPS AND BROWN – “A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life. In simpler terms, our worldview is a view of the world and a view for the world.” 3. WALSH AND MIDDLETON – “A world view provides a model of the world which guides its adherents in the world.” |
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SIX WORLD VIEW QUESTIONS
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1. Why is there something rather than nothing ? – Metaphysics – the study of being.
a. Some may actually say something came from nothing. b. Others may state that something is here because of impersonal spirit or energy. c. Many believe matter is eternal. 2. How do you explain human nature? a. Frequently people will say we are born as blank slates, neither good or evil. b. Another popular response is that we are born good but society causes us to behave otherwise. 3. WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON AT DEATH? a. Many will say that a person’s death is just the disorganization of matter. b. Increasingly people in our culture are saying that death brings reincarnation or realization of oneness. 4. HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG? a. Often we hear it said that ethics are relative or situational. b. Others assert that we have no free choice since we are entirely determined. c. Some simply derive “oughts” from what “is”. d. History has shown us the tragic results of |
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SECULAR WORLD VIEW “Quality of life”:
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- HUMANS ARE DEPENDENT ONLY ON THEMSELVES.
- THERE IS NO FINAL MORAL ORDER. - KNOWLEDGE IS POSSIBLE ONLY EMPIRICALLY. - “GOD TALK” (theology) HAS NO MEANING. - HUMAN LIFE IS NOT SACRED. -THERE IS NO ULTIMATE CONSOLATION. - MORAL IMPERATIVES HAVE NO ULTIMATE FOUNDATION. - LIFE MAKES NO SENSE. - A MAN SAID TO THE UNIVERSE: “SIR, I EXIST.” “HOWEVER”, REPLIED THE UNIVERSE, THE FACT HAS NOT CREATED IN ME A SENSE OF OBLIGATION.” |
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CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW:
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- MAN IS GOD DEPENDENT.
- A FINAL MORAL ORDER. - KNOWLEDGE NOT OF SENSE DATA ONLY. - “GOD TALK” HAS MEANING. - HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED. - GOD IS OUR ULTIMATE CONSOLATION. - MORAL IMPERATIVE HAS A FOUNDATION. - LIFE MAKES SENSE. - Psalm 8 |
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MORAL SKEPTICISM
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- An epistemological position that we do not have knowledge or justification for believing in objective moral principles.
- Moral skepticism does not involve the rejection of moral values themselves. - It is the denial that we have knowledge of an objective realm of morals. |
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J. L. Mackie’s defense Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong
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His first argument is from cultural relativity.
- Objective moral beliefs do not appear to shape our culture - Instead, it appears that our culture shapes our particular moral beliefs such as monogamy. - Moral subjectivism is the most reasonable explanation for why our moral beliefs mimic our culture. |
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J. L. Mackie’s defense Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong
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His second argument against moral realism is that there is some queer, or counterintuitive aspect of any description one might give of an objective moral realm.
- First, there is a metaphysical problem based on a strange spirit-like realm. - Second, there is a relational problem since it is not clear how this peculiar, non-natural realm would have any connection with natural objects and humans. - Third, there is an epistemological problem of how we could have knowledge of these spirit-like things. |
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J. L. Mackie’s defense Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong
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Mackie’s third argument is based on a psychological explanation for why people believe there are objective values (an explanation which he calls patterns of objectification).
- It is more reasonable to view morality as an artificial construction. - People have a tendency to objectify values which are subjective in origin. - This psychological projection results from societal demands. |
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MORAL RELATIVISM
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Is the view that moral standards are grounded only in social custom.
- Protagoras (480-411 B.C.) – “Man is the measure of all things.” - William Graham Sumner – “The ‘right’ way is the way which the ancestors used and which has been handed down. The tradition is its own warrant. It is not held subject to verification by experience. The notion of right is in the folkways. It is not outside of them, of independent origin, and brought to test them. In the folkways, whatever is, is right. This is because they are traditional, and therefore contain in themselves the authority of the ancestral ghosts. When we come to the folkways we are at the end of our analysis.” |
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Arguments for moral relativism often involve two principal contentions:
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1. Primacy of De Facto Values: our conceptions of morality should be based on how people actually behave (de facto values), and not on an ideal standard how people should behave (ideal values).
2. Cultural Variation: in point of fact, our main moral values vary from culture to culture. |
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Criticism of moral relativism by James Rachels in Elements of Moral Philosophy.
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- There is in fact a core set of values that are common to all societies and are in fact necessary for any society to exist.
-We should care for children. -We should tell the truth. -We should not murder. -There is a problem of consistency with moral relativism – if it is true, we could no longer say that customs of other societies such as slavery are morally inferior to our own morals. |
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DECISION MAKING
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- IS IT RIGHT OR WRONG IN AND OF ITSELF?
- DOES IT VIOLATE CONSCIENCE? CAUSE MY BROTHER TO STUMBLE? - PUT ME IN THE WRONG CROWD? - HURT MY INFLUENCE? - QUENCE THE SPIRIT? - IS IT AN INCENTIVE TO HOLY LIVING? |
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SIX WORLD VIEW QUESTIONS
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d. History has shown us the tragic results of a “might makes right” answer.
5. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW – Epistemology – the study of knowing – how do I know that I know? a. Some say that the mind is the center of our source of knowledge – things are only known deductively. b. Others claim that knowledge is only found in the senses. We know only what is perceived empirically. 6. What is the meaning of history? a. One answer is that history is determined as part of a mechanistic universe. b. Another answer is that history is a linear stream of events linked by cause and effect but without purpose. c. Yet another answer is that history is meaningless because life is absurd. |
