1.2 Equality - concepts

Question 1

pre-enlightenment social ethics

Answer 1

• characteristic based differences between humans are sufficient to justify different treatment of different humans
• all members of a characteristic-based category should be treated equally (men and women not treated the same, but all women treated the same as each other)

Question 2

post-enlightenment social ethics

Answer 2

• characteristic-based differences between human beings are not sufficient to justify different treatment of different humans, they’re insignificant compared to the similarity of species membership

Question 3

the 3 principles of equality

Answer 3

1) numerical equality
2) proportional equality
3) moral equality

Question 4

Numerical equality

Answer 4

• treats all people indistinguishably; grants all the same good per capita

Question 5

Proportional equality

Answer 5

different treatment of similar human beings to achieve equality between them

Question 6

Moral equality (and when it arose)

Answer 6

numerically or proportionally equal treatment of all humans despite differences in characteristic
- the Enlightenment

Question 7

the notion of fundamental equality

Answer 7

all citizens treated as equals by the government and legal systems

Question 8

the notion of social equality

Answer 8

citizens have the right to vote and stand for public office

Question 9

egalitarianism

Answer 9

belief that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities

Question 10

formula for proportional equality

Answer 10

2 or more people P1, P2

2 or more allocations of goods to said persons (G)

X and Y as the quantities in which P1 and P2 have the relative normative quality E

if P1 and P2 have E in ration X:Y, G is due to them in ratio X’:Y’

Question 11

benefits of proportional equality

Answer 11

more than just numerical equality - requires unequal treatment due to persons being unequal in relevant aspects

Question 12

how proportional equality may allow discrimination

Answer 12

the variables which should be taken into account are left open, which can be used to overlook seemingly fundamental rights that should equally apply to all, hence justifying discrimination

Question 13

1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Answer 13

United Nations sets out 30 civil and political rights and freedoms to be universally protected

Question 14

1953 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

Answer 14

sets out that all Council of Europe governments will work towards peace and unity based on fundamental human rights and freedoms including of speech, press, thought

Question 15

1998 Human Rights Act

Answer 15

Incorporated the rights and freedoms of the ECHR into domestic British law as things everyone in the UK is entitled to

Question 16

what are debates of application in social ethics

Answer 16

practical debates that cover how to apply equality of opportunity or outcome in society

Question 17

equality of opportunity

Answer 17

a state of fairness in which all human beings in a society have access to the same life chances

Question 18

equality of outcome

Answer 18

a state of fairness in which all human beings in a society have the same income and wealth by death or other milestone

Question 19

how debates in social ethics affect societies: societies that downplay the importance of the principle of equality…

Answer 19

tend towards libertarianism (eg classical athens, switzerland)

Question 20

how debates in social ethics affect societies: societies that promote equality of outcome…

Answer 20

tend towards totalitarianism (eg cuba, north korea)

Question 21

3 examples of Christianity’s unfavourable record towards racism

Answer 21

the Crusades which entailed violence to Muslims

the Klu Klux Klan began as a movement apparently endorsing Protestant values (has since been denounced by all denominations though)

the Church has historically held back careers of people of colour

Question 22

Biblical response to racism: James, Favouritism

Answer 22

sets out that discrimination against others is discrimination among yourselves as human beings, making you a judge with evil thoughts. God has chosen those rich in faith to inherit his kingdom - anything else is insignificant. Loving your neighbour is the royal law, breaking it is sin

Question 23

Biblical response to racism: Deuteronomy, Aliens

Answer 23

(aliens = foreigners)
do not take advantage of the poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien, do not deprive the alien of justice. Commands that anything not collected in the first harvest be left for the alien, fatherless, and widow.
God reminds his people they were once slaves in Egypt.

Question 24

Biblical response to racism: Luke, Centurion’s Servant

Answer 24

The centurion’s servant was ill, but the centurion had learned about Jesus’ religion and acknowledged to Jesus that entering his house to heal the servant would render Jesus unclean. He also showed Jesus respect, recognising him to be greater than he, and saying he would follow his command (despite not being of the same religion). Jesus exclaims ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’ and enters his house

Question 25

Biblical response to racism: Acts, Peter's Dream

Answer 25

Peter recounts how his set prejudices were challenged by God. 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' His dream encouraged him to enter the houses of the 'unclean' and share with them too the gospel

Question 26

Biblical response to racism: Luke, the Good Samaritan

Answer 26

in response to the question of who is your neighbour (in context of 'love thy neighbour') Jesus responds with the story of an injured Jewish man whom even priests pass and do not help, only a Samaritan (samaritans and jews were enemies) helps him. Anyone in need is your neighbour, regardless of any differences

Question 27

USA Christian history of racism

Answer 27

- enslaved blacks required to sit at back of church, and still required to approach altar last until as late as the 1940s - early sermons focused on teaching of obedience and being content in one's social status - white dominance and black subservience was seen as an expression of God's ideal for the organisation of society

Question 28

Social Contract Theory

Answer 28

view that persons' moral and or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live

Question 29

early interactions with race in UK society and effect of this

Answer 29

often tied to transatlantic slave trade, so notion of racial hierarchy took root

Question 30

overview of early 1800s events regarding race in UK society

Answer 30

abolition of Slave Trade, then of slavery, but racial discrimination continued in Britain and the colonies

Question 31

1940s British Nationality Act and Windrush Generation

Answer 31

act allowed migration of Commonwealth citizens to UK, thousands of Caribbean immigrants arrived, shifting racial demographic makeup of Britain

Question 32

1965 Race Relations Act

Answer 32

largely as response to race riots, first major piece of legislation aimed at reducing public racial discrimination

Question 33

1999 Stephen Lawrence Inquiry

Answer 33

revealed that the investigation into murder of black teen Stephen Lawrence by racist gang had not been carried out adequately, and that institutionalised racism was present in the police force

Question 34

2010 Equality Act

Answer 34

consolidated anti-discrimination laws into one piece of legislation, including race as a protected characteristic

Question 35

Black Lives Matter Movement

Answer 35

modern movement spurred by global event including death of George Floyd USA

Question 36

1999 Macpherson Report

Answer 36

result of the Stephen Lawrence enquiry - critiqued the Met Police, bringing public awareness of the institutionalised racism within the force

Question 37

Doreen Lawrence

Answer 37

mother of Stephen Lawrence - central figure in fight against racism in the UK - made a baroness in recognition and continues working on initiatives to tackle discrimination in education, housing, criminal justice

Question 38

John Sentamu

Answer 38

first black Archbishop in English history - served as an advisor to the Stephen Lawrence Case & contributed to the Macpherson Report

Question 39

Desmond Tutu

Answer 39

South African archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner - opposed Apartheid through non-violent protests, pushing for positive peace based on forgiveness and reconciliation

Question 40

Trevor Huddleston

Answer 40

protested apartheid while in South Africa, published 'Nought for Your Comfort' bringing apartheid to the international scene, co founded the Anti-Apartheid Movement

Question 41

Apartheid

Answer 41

1940s-90s racial segregation in South Africa under the white government, including political social and economic discrimination against the non-white majority

Question 42

how segregation was enshrined in the US Constitution 1890s

Answer 42

legislation passed stating there to be 'separate but equal protection of the law'

Question 43

The Jim Crow Laws

Answer 43

laws passed by Southern US governments late 19th century which disenfranchised and segregated African Americans

Question 44

Booker T Washington

Answer 44

early US civil rights leader who argued black Americans should accept social segregation and abandon efforts for political and social equality believing if they were professionally successful white Americans would come to respect them

Question 45

WEB DuBois

Answer 45

early US civil rights leader who opposed T Washington's acceptance of political and civil inequality for blacks, instead promoting the idea of the 'talented tenth' top 10% of black Americans who should lead others and stand up to white intimidation and discrimination

Question 46

Marcus Garvey

Answer 46

early US civil rights leader who co founded the Universal Communities League and Black Star shipping line offering to take black Americans back to Africa

Question 47

difference between MLK and Malcolm X approach and response from government

Answer 47

MLK: pacifistic approach aimed at integration and changing legislation - entered negotiations with government X: radical aggressive / violent approach aimed at motivating blacks to seize civil rights themselves - not considered an appropriate advocate by the government

Question 48

events of the end of apartheid

Answer 48

- life sentencing of Mandela and other opposition leaders led to UN condemning apartheid - 1980s oppositional parties joined as the United Democratic Front - after being worn down by protests nationally and internationally, mandela and others released and apartheid abolished 1991

Question 49

Dutch Reformed Church support of apartheid

Answer 49

- the minister who legalised and enforced apartheid was a former minister - claimed 'separate development' (segregation) beneficial to all

Question 50

MLK three key ideas on racism

Answer 50

- it is deeply ingrained, mainly due to slavery - imperilled as long as good people resist it through nonviolent protest - interconnected to economic exploitation and poverty (end poverty --> end racism)

Question 51

MLK: why racism is so deep-rooted

Answer 51

it was institutionalised from the founding of America (a 'congenital deformity' from the Founding Fathers) so historically accepted that it is looked over today, and old prejudices 'white backlash' keep surfacing, keeping racism present

Question 52

MLK: how and why racism must be overcome through nonviolent protest

Answer 52

- black americans must assume prime responsibility for applying pressure through 'powerful action program' - ethical appeals and persuasion are not enough, must use persistent, pressured, 'day to day assault of the battering rams of justice'

Question 53

MLK: why and how racism should be ended through ending economic exploitation and poverty

Answer 53

racism seen as a factor that contributed to the wider consequence of poverty - previously, approach to end poverty was to tackle its contributing factors individually which didnt work - therefore should to try to abolish poverty directly through guaranteed income

Question 54

Pilgrimage to Nonviolence: King's attitudes to Protestant liberalism and neo-orthodoxy

Answer 54

- PL: too optimistic, defines man only in terms of capacity for good - NO: too pessimistic, defines man only in terms of capacity for evil 'an adequate understanding of man is found ... in a synthesis which reconciles the truths of both'

Question 55

MLK: influence of Gandhi and Christianity on his own philosophy

Answer 55

- inspired by Gandhi's nonviolent resistance campaigns and concept of satyagraha (truth-force / love-force) - the 'Christian doctrine of love' was able to operate through Gandhian methods - 'christ furnished the spirit and motivation while gandhi furnished the method'

Question 56

pilgrimage to nonviolence: significance of Montgomery Bus Boycott for King

Answer 56

- as spokesperson was able to implement his ideas of the Gandhian method guided by his Christian faith - living through the actual experience meant the principle of nonviolence became a way of life as opposed to an intellectual theory

Question 57

MLK: how nonviolence works (benefits for those involved, and how it affects the oppressor)

Answer 57

oppressor still initially responds with bitterness and resistance, but method provides those committed to it with a new self respect, calls up resources and courage they did not know they had, finally does reach opponent and 'so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality'

Question 58

MLK: views on modern weapons and arms race

Answer 58

destructiveness of them 'totally rules out the possibility of war ever serving again as a negative good' so church has a responsibility to call for an end to the arms races

Question 59

MLK: why nonviolence is not optional

Answer 59

'if we assume mankind has a right to survive then we must find an alternative to war and destruction ... the choice today is no longer between violence and nonviolence. it is either nonviolence or nonexistence'

Question 60

MLK: views on pacifism

Answer 60

can be seen as the lesser evil, but is not sinless. tries to embrace 'realistic pacifism'

Question 61

MLK: what is / is not meant by a personal God

Answer 61

- not attribution him the finiteness and limitations of human personality, but taking what is finest and noblest in our consciousness and affirming its perfect existence in him. A living god with feeling that both evokes and answers prayers

Question 62

MLK: his own experiences as evidence of a personal god

Answer 62

'in the midst of outer dangers i have felt an inner calm known resources of strength that only god could give me' 'i have felt the power of god transforming the fatigue of despair into the buoyancy of hope'

Question 63

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: problem with desegregation

Answer 63

does not address the deeper inequalities in society - 'physical proximity without spiritual affinity'; does not prohibit the blocking of one's total capacity despite vouchsafing lack of restriction against one's freedom

Question 64

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: integration as the ultimate goal

Answer 64

more creative, profound, and far reaching. includes POSITIVE acceptance of desegregation and welcomed participation of Negros in the total range of human activity

Question 65

MLK: the worth of persons

Answer 65

every person has inherent worth and dignity in equal portions as granted to them by being made in the image of god - treating all with respect therefore a moral and spiritual responsibility

Question 66

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: true freedom

Answer 66

more than just the absence of oppression - the ability to fully participate in society and live a life of dignity. a denial of freedom is a denial of life itself

Question 67

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: what is freedom

Answer 67

the capacity to weigh alternatives and make decisions, and to be able to answer for one's self if questioned about their actions

Question 68

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: how segregation robs freedom

Answer 68

cuts of ones capacity to deliberate, decide, respond - makes them into an animal, diminishing the nature of their life

Question 69

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: evidence of the demand for solidarity of the human family (which integration can achieve)

Answer 69

Bible declares all nations 'made of one blood' which is factually true (no basic difference in racial groups, are 4 major blood types found in all racial groups) homo-sapiens have always sought community, social psychologists say we cannot truly be persons unless we interact with others

Question 70

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: enforcing desegregation vs integration

Answer 70

desegregation is an enforceable obligation, can be regulated by codes of society and law enforcement agencies. integration is an unenforceable law, it is a commitment to an inner law to express compassion and produce love

Question 71

MLK Ethical Demands for Integration: how nonviolence promotes love and respect

Answer 71

demands that while the system can be hated, those who inflict the system must be loved and respected due to their personhood. thwarts bitterness and anger on both sides as oppressor and oppressed 'mutually confront the eternality of the basic worth of every member of the human family'

Question 72

MLK: involvement in 1955/56 Montgomery Bus Boycott

Answer 72

asked to lead it due to not having previous involvement in Civil Rights activities in Montgomery became chief spokesperson and kept up morale through delivering sermons

Question 73

MLK: how he used his 1957 presidency of Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Answer 73

used the organisation as an umbrella organisation to unite Civil Rights groups across the South

Question 74

MLK: I have a dream speech

Answer 74

delivered at March on Washington to over 250,000 people - considered one of best speeches in US history

Question 75

MLK: why he was only a 'marginal political figure' by 1968

Answer 75

- speaking out in opposition to US war in Vietnam - supported 'Poor People's Campaign' for greater social equality following winning civil and political equality - many white liberal supporters became concerned he was a socialist