W 2 ethics

·

Textbook: Chapters 3, 4

Rachels, J. (2003).

The Elements of Moral Philosophy

.

New

York, McGraw

-

Hill Higher Educ

ation.

·

Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)

Initial Post Instructions

St. Augustine in the 5th Century held that we are free to make choices in life. This is the

idea of free will. It may seem at first glance odd for a religious thinker to say that we

have free will. After all, if God exists, then God created all things. God

knows already

what we will do. God can cause anything to occur. If we cause things to occur, that

seems to be a limitation on the power of God and not make God all

-

powerful.

There are also religion traditions that say that we have no free will. There are

some

theologians in Islam who seem to suggest that is true. In order for this line of reasoning

to hold true, one would need to believe free will is an illusion and that we have no

control over how we live our lives, but rather that we are puppets moving a

nd acting due

to God's will and the powers of destiny and fate. And if this then in the case, how can

we possibly be responsible for our actions?

The considerations above show us to what degree our religious beliefs can shape us.

For instance, someone who

believes in free will may experience way more guilt than

someone who believes we don't have free will and thus aren't responsible for the

choices (and consequences) of the actions we take.

Personal struggles with religion and ethics occur in many places, i

ncluding in the

healthcare arena. Consider the following: You are a nurse in a hospital. A 12 year

-

old

was brought to the hospital by an ambulance. The parents have just arrived at the

hospital. This 12 year

-

old has lost a large amount of blood and require

s a transfusion.

The parents happen to be members of a religion that believes that blood transfusions

are immoral. They want to remove the child from the hospital and prevent the

transfusion even if it means the death of the child. You have to decide wheth

er or not

you will participate in an action that violates the will of the parents and aid in providing

blood for the child. If you choose to participate, and even if you are able to legally justify

it, you have to think about the distress you are creating

for the parents. If you refuse to

aid here, you may be subject to retaliation from the hospital. What is the moral thing for

the nurse to do here?

Initial Post Instructions

For the initial post, address the following questions:

1.

What would a divine command

ethicist say is the moral thing to do here? Why

would they say that? Do you agree with the divine command ethics? Why or

why not?

2.

Evaluate what a natural law ethicist would say is right to do. Do you agree with

them? Why or why not?

3.

Given what you said are

the right things to do, what would an emotivist say about

your positions and judgments? What role does subjectivity play here in

determining what is ethical?

 Textbook: Chapters 3, 4 Rachels, J. (2003). The Elements of Moral Philosophy. New

York, McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

 Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)

Initial Post Instructions

St. Augustine in the 5th Century held that we are free to make choices in life. This is the

idea of free will. It may seem at first glance odd for a religious thinker to say that we

have free will. After all, if God exists, then God created all things. God knows already

what we will do. God can cause anything to occur. If we cause things to occur, that

seems to be a limitation on the power of God and not make God all-powerful.

There are also religion traditions that say that we have no free will. There are some

theologians in Islam who seem to suggest that is true. In order for this line of reasoning

to hold true, one would need to believe free will is an illusion and that we have no

control over how we live our lives, but rather that we are puppets moving and acting due

to God's will and the powers of destiny and fate. And if this then in the case, how can

we possibly be responsible for our actions?

The considerations above show us to what degree our religious beliefs can shape us.

For instance, someone who believes in free will may experience way more guilt than

someone who believes we don't have free will and thus aren't responsible for the

choices (and consequences) of the actions we take.

Personal struggles with religion and ethics occur in many places, including in the

healthcare arena. Consider the following: You are a nurse in a hospital. A 12 year-old

was brought to the hospital by an ambulance. The parents have just arrived at the

hospital. This 12 year-old has lost a large amount of blood and requires a transfusion.

The parents happen to be members of a religion that believes that blood transfusions

are immoral. They want to remove the child from the hospital and prevent the

transfusion even if it means the death of the child. You have to decide whether or not

you will participate in an action that violates the will of the parents and aid in providing

blood for the child. If you choose to participate, and even if you are able to legally justify

it, you have to think about the distress you are creating for the parents. If you refuse to

aid here, you may be subject to retaliation from the hospital. What is the moral thing for

the nurse to do here?

Initial Post Instructions

For the initial post, address the following questions:

1. What would a divine command ethicist say is the moral thing to do here? Why

would they say that? Do you agree with the divine command ethics? Why or

why not?

2. Evaluate what a natural law ethicist would say is right to do. Do you agree with

them? Why or why not?

3. Given what you said are the right things to do, what would an emotivist say about

your positions and judgments? What role does subjectivity play here in

determining what is ethical?