Religion and Morality Flashcards

Question

Dawkins in 'The God Delusion'

Answer 1

Darwin evolutionary theory explains the existence of like Dawkins arguses there is very little which science cannot explain Religion gets in the way of scientific enterprise - actively makes it more difficult He has been characterised, along with Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennett, as part of the ‘New Atheist’ movement which emerged at the turn of the century. Dawkins is a naturalists and seeks a scientific explanation for religion He considers religion to be a plague on humanity - although it may be been advantageous for survival in early societies Dawkins argues that ethical behaviour must have an evolutionary basis

Answer 2

There are four good Darwinian reasons for individuals to be altruistic: -Genetic kinship: care for those who share similar genetic make-up. -Reciprocation: giving of favours in anticipation of a payback. -Acquiring a good reputation for generosity and kindness. -Conspicuous generosity demonstrates superiority. We dont need God or religion to have good morals -One study shows that there is no statistical difference bwteen atheists and religious believers in makign moral judgements -Moral principles based only upon religion may be called absolutist Religious people don't derive their morals from scripture -If they do they choose the nice bits and reject the nasty Many OT passages we would now describe as immoral -In the NT we read that Jesus didn't derive his ethics from the scriptures of his day

Answer 3

Labelling of children in terms of their religion before they know what they believe Segregated schools (faith schools) Taboos against marrying outside the religious culture We have all changed out attitude to what is right and wring over time, whether or not we are religious These changes have not come from religion Individual atheists may do evil things but they don't do evil things in the name of religion

Answer 4

Letter to Richard Dawkins Criques Dawkin’s Darwinian explanation of morality Presents the Xian perspective as a more compelling alternative Robertson summarises Dawkins views as being based on: -Kinship altruism: we are altruistic towards relatives because they share our genes -Reciprocal altruism: ‘you scratch my back, and ill scratch yours’ -Reputation: you act good to be seen as good -Altruistic giving as superiority: kindness can be a way of self promotion -Kindness as a ‘blessed Darwinian mistake

Answer 5

It is not much of a morality - it remains focused on the ‘selfish gene’ and is primarily about self interest It is deterministic - if out goodness is merely genetic programming then free will is an illusion and we cannot be held responsible for our actions It is not absolute - Dawkins admits that secular morality is changeable according to societal whims, lacking a firm foundation It cannot logically argue for morality - if the universe is fundamentally without good or evil as Dawkins describes then morality has no objective basis

Answer 6

It explains evil: It provides a framework for understanding why people are evil, rather than just why they are sometimes good. It explains the universe: The inherent human understanding of a moral law that we both know and break points to a higher power and meaning in the universe, as argued by C.S. Lewis. “Human beings all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly they know that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in”. - (Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe in his Mere Christianity?)

Answer 7

The differing views on the moral status of a baby inside and outside the womb, despite having the same biological characteristics. The pro-abortion stance often conflicting with objections to sex-selective abortions in India. He questions why pro-choice advocates would interfere with a woman's "right to choose" not to have a girl if it's merely a "potential girl" and "her body."

Answer 8

‘God is dead’ He believes in the metaphorical death of the Xian God allows us the possibility to live more meaningful lives Critical attitude to morality - he is an amoralist Reevaluation of the morality is needed Criticised the Judo-Xian ethic Criticises conventional moral statements for the emphasis they have on asceticism Asceticism = the root of praiseworthy behaviour Nietzsche was an anti-theist Distinhuishes between 2 types of morality ‘Master morality’ and ‘slave morality’

Answer 9

These moral values emphasise quality , compassion, self-sacrifice at the expense of excellence, individual developments and nobility so they are life denying Encourage levelling down and suppress individual greatness Uphold democratic values to make lives better for everyone Express hostility to life and what it means to do well Nietzche believes values associated with human flourishing should be life affirming Claims the dominance of life-denying values leads people to believe suffering is necessary for individual development and human excellence Reluctant to issue universal prescriptions Wants to disrupt old conceptual schemes Encourage individuals to think for themselves

Answer 10

Master morality: Centred on individual flourishing and achieving the highest potential self -directed morality where individuals understand themselves and set their own unique paths to excellence Slave morality: Values such as pity, humility, patience, self sacrifice Hinders human flourishing Encourages weakness nad forgiveness ovre seeking justice in this life Often deferring to the afterlife Criticises the universal and obsolete nature doesn't allow for individual paths to fulfilment Nietzsche Rejects religiously-based morality as it leads to a negative state Denies any objective or divine justifications for morality Proposes a relative view where moral value is determined by individual valuation

Answer 11

Highlights Niezsche’s key contributions as demonstrating the moral value of questing morality itself By challenging the worth of existing moral values Suggesting they might impeded the realisation of human excellence Nietzsche compels anyone defending morality to justify its constraints

Answer 12

The protheists is likely to argue that it is unfair to hold entire religions to account based on the actions carried out by a minority of believers is unfair Anti-theists may respond that the problem with the religion is the ease at which it can be adopted by zealots who refuse to acknowledge any other viewpoint Theist may also draw attention to the atrocities perpetrated by explicitly atheistic regimes and groups, such as Stalin’s Communist Party in the USSR, as evidence that, in the wrong hands, any ideology can be used to serve violent ends. Arguments about the harm religion causes are guilty of not seeing the wood for the trees. ISIS, for example, are regarded as religious extremists, but their organisation’s growth is a result of the political turmoil which engulfs Syria and Iraq.

Answer 13

Sharpe is an anti-theist Argues the commands of Xianity and religion more generally are immoral ‘one fact about religious commitment is that it leads its adherents to set aside such ordinary reactions as compassion for the suffering’ Eg: Abrahams ordinary reaction when God asked him to sacrifice his son His faith meant he set his feelings aside and instead chose suffering of his son Sharpe argues that this can be seen in current Xian behaviour Catholic Church argues it is more important to follow God’s rule about contraception than to not bring an unwanted child into the world He also argues that it distorts religious believer’s motives for doing good acts – instead of helping others out of compassion, they help others because of the reward that will be made available to them by God in the afterlife.

Religion and Morality Flashcards

(37 cards)