Big Picture

A ninety-year-old man went to the

doctor and said, Doctor, my eighteenyear-old wife is expecting a baby.
The doctor said, Let me tell you a
story. A man went hunting, but instead
of a gun, he picked up an umbrella by
mistake. When a bear suddenly
charged at the man, he picked up the
umbrella, shot the bear, and killed it.
The man said, Impossible. Someone
else must have shot that bear.
The doctor said, My point exactly!

Title:

What is the Religious Ethics?

Date:

Thursday 6th September 2012

Lesson Objective

An introduction to Religious Ethics

Have an understanding of the scope
of the AS.
Know and apply different types of
normative ethics.
Think about the role and importance
of ethics in the world.

Input

Getting to know you . . .

On an A4 sheet of paper let us know more about you
Divide your sheet into areas and use words/ pictures
and symbols to explain:
Wea
kne
(wh
sse
at a
s
r

Strengths
(what are you

e yo

good at?)

u no

t so

goo

d at
?)

Reasoning

School

(GCSE res

ults/ A Leve

ls pursued

(why did you

choose Philo

sophy A Leve

/ grades aim

ed for)

terests
In
d
n
a
s
ie
b
b
Ho
(what are you in

terested in?)

SHARE THESE WITH THE GROUP

l?)

Demonstrate
The Society for Useless Informations Problem.
Pity the organisers of the Society for Useless Information! Deluged by applications
they decided to tighten up the entry requirements for membership. Now all
prospective members were told they must produce one piece of completely useless
information in order to join and get the privilege of membership, which includes
access to the Societys reading room (and more important, for many, smoking
lounge). The rule is to be strictly adhered to.
But twelve years after the rule decision, the President of the Society faces the harsh
truth that since the change no one has joined. It looks as if the Society will have to
close down.
What has gone wrong?

Input

Ethics

What is ethics?
ethikos Greek - character (custom, way to
behave)
Morality from moralis concerned with which
actions are right and wrong
Ethics looks at what you ought to do as
distinct from what you may in fact do.
Ethics is usually divided into three areas:
1. Meta Ethics
2. Normative Ethics
3. Applied Ethics

Input

Normative Ethics

Prevalent until the end of the nineteenth century

It decides how people ought to act, how moral
choices should be made and how the rules apply.
This could be based from a particular religious
tradition, a group, a culture or on a philosophical or
ideological way of thinking.
This is a traditional form of ethics
There are two main ethical systems within
normative ethics:
Teleological Ethics
Deontological Ethics

Input

Teleological Ethics

Teleos (Greek - end or purpose) and logia (knowledge).

Teleological ethics is concerned with consequences
or ends.
If my action causes happiness and love, then it is
good.
Not intrinsically good but good by virtue of the
result.
One teleological philosopher was John Stuart Mill.

Input

Deontological Ethics

Deon (Greek - obligation or duty) and logia (knowledge).

Deontological ethics is concerned with the rules
and duties.
It considers the nature of the acts themselves.
Acts are intrinsically right because of some
absolute law, perhaps laid down by some God or
because they go against duty.
One deontological philosopher was Immanuel
Kant.

Activity
Read Palmer p11
Look at the dilemmas on pp12-13
Which of the seven examples are
Teleological
Deontological
Mixture of both

Homework
Research
Find an example of an ethical dilemma in a newspaper/ news
website.
Written Work
Begin a vocabulary list.
Write a detailed answer to 2 of the dilemmas from p12-13
Complete the questions from p14
Listening
Subscribe to the podcasts:
Philosophy Bites
Ethics Bites

Plenary
Using a shaped
diagram, try to sum up
the key points of
normative ethics in a
few clear, structured
and easy to remember
ways.