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Proportionalism
Proportionalism is an ethical theory that lies between consequential theories and deontological theories. Consequential theories, like utilitarianism, say that an action is right or wrong, depending on the consequences it produces, but deontological theories, such as Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative, say that actions are either intrinsically right or intrinsically wrong. Proportionalist theories like rule utilitarianism, however, say that it is never right to go against a principle unless a proportionate reason would justify it. In the 1960s, proportionalism was a consequentialist attempt to develop natural law, a principally Roman Catholic teleological theory most strongly associated with the 13th-century scholastic theologian Thomas Aquinas, but also found in Church Fathers such as Maximus the Confessor and John of Damascus, as well as early pagan schools of philosophy such as Stoicism. The moral guidelines set down by Roman Catholic magisterial teachings of Natura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Situational Ethics
Situational ethics or situation ethics takes into account ''only'' the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it only according to absolute moral standards. With the intent to have a fair basis for judgments or action, one looks to personal ideals of what is appropriate to guide them, rather than an unchanging universal code of conduct, such as Biblical law under divine command theory or the Kantian categorical imperative. Proponents of situational approaches to ethics include existentialist philosophers such as Sartre, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, Jaspers, and Heidegger. Specifically Christian forms of situational ethics placing love above all particular principles or rules were proposed in the first half of the twentieth century by liberal theologians Rudolf Bultmann, John A. T. Robinson, and Joseph Fletcher. These theologians point specifically to '' agapē'', or unconditional love, as the highest end. Other theologians who advocated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consequentialism
In moral philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgement about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (including omission from acting) is one that will produce a good outcome. Consequentialism, along with eudaimonism, falls under the broader category of teleological ethics, a group of views which claim that the moral value of any act consists in its tendency to produce things of intrinsic value.Teleological Ethics " '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magisterium
The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition". According to the 1992 ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', the task of interpretation is vested uniquely in the Pope and the bishops, though the concept has a complex history of development. Scripture and Tradition "make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church", and the magisterium is not independent of this, since "all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is derived from this single deposit of faith." Solemn and ordinary The exercise of the Catholic Church's magisterium is sometimes, but only rarely, expressed in the solemn form of an ''ex cathedra'' papal declaration, "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he Bishop of Romedefines a doctrine con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Law
Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts that certain rights and moral values are inherent in human nature and can be understood universally, independent of enacted laws or societal norms. In jurisprudence, natural law—sometimes referred to as iusnaturalism or jusnaturalism, but not to be confused with what is called simply ''naturalism'' in legal philosophy—holds that there are objective legal standards based on morality that underlie and inform the creation, interpretation, and application of human-made laws. This contrasts with ''positive law'' (as in legal positivism), which emphasizes that laws are rules created by human authorities and are not necessarily connected to moral principles. Natural law can refer to "theories of ethics, theories of politics, theories of civil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summum Bonum
''Summum bonum'' is a Latin expression meaning the highest or ultimate good, which was introduced by the Roman philosopher Cicero to denote the fundamental principle on which some system of ethics is based—that is, the aim of actions, which, if consistently pursued, will lead to the best possible life. Since Cicero, the expression has acquired a secondary meaning as the essence or ultimate metaphysical principle of Goodness itself, or what Plato called the Form of the Good. These two meanings do not necessarily coincide. For example, Epicurean and Cyrenaic philosophers claimed that the 'good life' consistently aimed for pleasure, without suggesting that pleasure constituted the meaning or essence of Goodness outside the ethical sphere. In ''De finibus'', Cicero explains and compares the ethical systems of several schools of Greek philosophy, including Stoicism, Epicureanism, Aristotelianism and Platonism, based on how each defines the ethical ''summum bonum'' differe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prima Facie Right
A ''prima facie'' right is a right that can be outweighed by other considerations. It stands in contrast with absolute rights, which cannot be outweighed by anything. Some authors consider an absolute right as a ''prima facie'' right, but one that cannot be outweighed in any possible situation. It is also maintained that all men always have a ''prima facie'' rights to liberty, security, and life but they do not constitute actual rights if there are stronger ''prima facie'' rights or moral considerations that supervene. An act may also be viewed as ''prima facie'' right but viewed in others as ''prima facie'' wrong. See also *Natural and legal rights *Political ethics * ''Prima facie'' *Proportionalism *Situational ethics Situational ethics or situation ethics takes into account ''only'' the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it only according to absolute moral standards. With the intent to have a fair basis for judgmen ... References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Just War Theory
The just war theory () is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of #Criteria, criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. It has been studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policymakers. The criteria are split into two groups: ("right to go to war") and ("right conduct in war"). There have been calls for the inclusion of a third category of just war theory (''jus post bellum'') dealing with the morality of post-war settlement and reconstruction. The just war theory postulates the belief that war, while it is terrible but less so with the right conduct, is not always the worst option. The just war theory presents a justifiable means of war with justice being an objective of armed conflict. Important responsibilities, undesirable outcomes, or preventable atrocities may justify war. Opponents of the just war theory may either be inclined to a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctrine Of Double Effect
The principle of double effect – also known as the rule of double effect, the doctrine of double effect, often abbreviated as DDE or PDE, double-effect reasoning, or simply double effect – is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosophers have advocated for evaluating the permissibility of acting when one's otherwise legitimate act may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid. The first known example of double-effect reasoning is Thomas Aquinas' treatment of homicidal self-defense, in his work ''Summa Theologica''. This set of criteria states that, if an action has foreseeable harmful effects that are practically inseparable from the good effect, it is justifiable if the following are true: * the nature of the act is itself good, or at least morally neutral; * the agent intends the good effect and does not intend the bad effect, either as a means to the good or as an end in itself; * the good effect outweighs the bad effect in circumstances suffici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The American Debate And Its European Roots
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evangelium Vitae
''Evangelium vitae'' () translated in English as 'The Gospel of Life', is a papal encyclical published on 25 March 1995 (on that year's Feast of the Annunciation) by Pope John Paul II. It is a comprehensive document setting out the teaching of the Catholic Church on the sanctity of human life and related issues including murder, abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment, reaffirming the Church's stances on these issues in a way generally considered consistent with previous church teachings. Contents Summary ''Evangelium vitae'' begins with an overview of threats to human life, both past and present, and gives a brief history of the many biblical prohibitions against killing and how this relates to the concept of a culture of life. The encyclical then addresses specific actions in light of these passages, including abortion (quoting Tertullian, who called abortion "anticipated murder to prevent someone from being born"), euthanasia (which John Paul II calls "a distu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veritatis Splendor
''Veritatis splendor'' (Latin: ''The Splendor of the Truth'') is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II. It expresses the position of the Catholicism, Catholic Church regarding fundamentals of the Church's role in moral teaching. The encyclical is one of the most comprehensive and philosophical teachings of moral theology in the Catholic tradition. It was Promulgation, promulgated on 6 August 1993. Cardinal Georges Cottier was influential in drafting the encyclical, as was Servais-Théodore Pinckaers, a professor of moral theology at the University of Fribourg. Summary ''Veritatis splendor'' responds to questions of Ethics in religion, moral theology that had been raised during the postconciliar period of the Church (events after the Vatican II ecumenical council of 1962-65). These questions revolve around man's ability to discern good, the existence of evil, the role of human freedom and human conscience, mortal sin, and the authority of the magisterium of the Catholic Church in gui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his youth, Wojtyła dabbled in stage acting. He graduated with excellent grades from an All-boys school, all-boys high school in Wadowice, Poland, in 1938, soon after which World War II broke out. During the war, to avoid being kidnapped and sent to a Forced labour under German rule during World War II, German forced labour camp, he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. Wojtyła eventually took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theatre. The linguistically skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish language, Polish at university. Encouraged by a conversation with Adam Stefan Sapieha, he decided to study theology and become a priest. Eventually, Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
