An Exposition on James Rachels: “Does Morality Depend on Religion?” James Rachels argues that morality and religion are separate entities. He states that “morality is a matter of reason and conscience‚ not religious faith” and that “right and wrong are not defined in terms of God’s will.”i He uses the Divine Command Theory‚ the Theory of Natural Law‚ and the use of religious scripture and tradition to establish how and where the two subjects are separated. Rachels believes that there is a
Free Religion Morality Ethics
Darwin Species and morality James Rachels seeks to amplify the ideology between morality and Darwin’s moral treatment of organisms of different species. He says that Darwin advocated for treatment of both humans and non-humans equally without discrimination. This despite his continued use of non-humans for investigative research according to his son was the resultant effect of distaste for cruelty against animals as well as slavery. Rachels explains that Darwin’s theory of morality seems to interject
Premium Charles Darwin Evolution Natural selection
ethical theory. For a discussion of John Stuart Mill’s essay Utilitarianism (1861)‚ see Utilitarianism (book). The Utilitarianism series‚ part of the Politics series Utilitarian Thinkers[show] Jeremy Bentham John Stuart Mill Henry Sidgwick Peter Singer Forms[show] preference utilitarianism rule utilitarianism act utilitarianism Two-level utilitarianism Total utilitarianism Average utilitarianism Negative utilitarianism animal welfare Abolitionism (bioethics) Hedonism
Free Utilitarianism
dignity has sparked moral controversy among world-renowned philosophers for decades. James Rachels‚ Winston Nesbitt‚ and Roy W. Perrett are just three philosophers who wrote and spoke openly about the topic of euthanasia and biomedical ethics. Rachels and Perrett were adamant in their belief that the moral distinction between killing (active euthanasia) and allowing to die (passive euthanasia) was nonexistent. Rachels felt strongly that one was no worse than the other and that statements by the American
Premium Death Physician Medicine
For Rachels and Rachels‚ "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism‚" in Abel pp. 397-409. All of your responses should be written in complete sentences. What is the “Cultural Differences” argument? Different cultures have different moral codes. Therefore‚ there is no objective "truth" in morality. Right and wrong are only matters of opinion and opinions vary from culture to culture. Why do Rachels and Rachels think it is a bad argument? The conclusion does not follow from the premise that is‚ even if
Premium Morality Cultural relativism Culture
Utilitarianism Utilitarianism the ethical doctrine of the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the criterion of the virtue of action. The principle that utilitarianism use in making moral decisions is a form of moral hedonism; that people should seek pleasure and avoid pain. Utilitarianism seeks to produce the greatest good for the greatest number. But‚ the problem is in determining what the greatest good is. Utilitarian define the “good” as good is what equates pleasure and reduces
Premium Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory generally considered to have been founded by Jeremy Bentham‚ a 19th century English philosopher and social reformer. It is centered on the concept of happiness‚ and those who seek it. The idea is that all people seek happiness‚ and that it is the ultimate goal of all human beings to be happy. Therefore‚ according to classical utilitarianism‚ when a person wishes to act in an ethically sound manner he or she should strive to bring about the greatest
Premium Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a philosophical theory that believes that right thing to do comes from a measurement of the amount of pleasure over the amount of pain‚ and decides that the right thing to do results in what will be the greatest pleasure for the majority of the group. In other words by calculating happiness you will be able to decide what the right thing to do is as long as it is right for the majority of the people. This seems as if it will only help the people that agree on the
Premium Suffering Ethics Animal rights
theory of Utilitarianism The theory of Utilitarianism takes its name from the Latin word Utilis‚ meaning ‘useful’. It was first developed by Jeremy Bentham‚ a philosopher and legal theorist of the 18th century. Bentham sought to produce a modern and rational approach to morality which would suit the changing society of the industrial age. This was also the era of the French and American Revolutions‚ and of the Enlightenment‚ so orthodox morality was challenged on many fronts. Utilitarianism may be
Free Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism as an ethical theory Utilitarianism is the view that an act is right if it equals the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarians describe moral actions as actions that boost something good and lessen something that is bad. Virtue‚ knowledge‚ and goodwill are all good but they are only good if they give people a pleasurable existence. Pain is the only thing that is intrinsically bad. Utilitarians focus on the result of an act instead of the inherent
Premium Morality Utilitarianism Ethics