Ethical Theories – Cultural Importance

By the end of this lesson you will have:

• Be sure of the cultural influences for each of the

theories• Be able to consider how

these theories may be suitable for modern day ethics• Have decided which theory you think is the most suitable

for modern day ethics

Spec Check

• An examination of the key features of the three approaches to ethical decision making; the contribution of key scholars such as Kant, W.D Ross, Aquinas, Hoose, Aristotle and MacIntyre; an understanding of philosophical foundations of these theories in terms of absolute, relative, teleological and deontological principles; an evaluation of the efficacy of these theories for ethical decision making, including consideration of their religious and cultural influences at the time of development and for the modern day. Students should be able to draw evaluative conclusions about their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Cultural Influences

Virtue Ethics

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What do these pictures tell us about the culture of the time in Ancient Greece?

Cultural Influences

Virtue Ethics

What do these pictures tell us about the culture of the time in Ancient Greece?

Slavery•Inequality was the norm – Virtue ethics may not be as accessible for women or slaves.•However, Elizabeth Anscombe’s revival of virtue ethics in the 20th century goes some way to solving this problem

Philosophers & Hedonism•Philosophers were seen as high in society – intellect was seen as something to aspire to• Hedonism was appreciated – having a good and pleasure full life went hand in hand with morality

Cultural Influences

Pope Gregory IX (1147-1241) hated cats and started the feline holocaust that would last almost five hundred years. In a Papal Bull (1233) he condemned the black cat as diabolic and thereby giving his blessing to the torture and killing/burning of cats.

Natural Law

What do these pictures tell us about the culture of the time in Medieval Europe?

Cultural Influences

Natural Law

What do these pictures tell us about the culture of the time in Medieval Europe?

Superstition•Great superstition existed which led to somewhat bizarre practises•Sometimes rationality was neglected, although Aquinas sought to combine rationality with faith

Celibacy•Celibacy was prized as a virtue•Aquinas lived a celibate life and only associated with his male colleagues•This presumably influenced his thoughts on the importance of reproduction and his views on women

Cultural Influences

Deontology

What do these pictures tell us about the culture of the time in the Enlightenment period?

Cultural Influences

Deontology

What do these pictures tell us about the culture of the time in the Enlightenment period?

Science•Scientific developments took people away from superstitious belief and focused on reason and logic•More people started to question religious morality

Faith and reason•Ethical theories started to move away from those of the established religions and started to focus on reason•Kant’s theory is completely based on the ability to reason and act in a way which is not contradictory

Cultural Influences

Task:• How have the cultural influences of the

theories affected their philosophical basis?• Write a sentence for each theory which

answers this question

Modern Day applications

• Which theory is most applicable to modern day?

• Each pair will be given a modern day ethical dilemma. Read it and figure out how each theory would be applied to the story. Then discover whether the ‘cultural clashes’ would be problematic in applying a particular theory to the modern day dilemma.

Ethical Theories – Cultural Importance

By the end of this lesson you will have:

• Be sure of the cultural influences for each of the

theories• Be able to consider how

these theories may be suitable for modern day ethics• Have decided which theory you think is the most suitable

for modern day ethics