Week 5-6
Week 5-6
Week 5-6
Week 5 and 6
Moral Objectivism
There are objective universal moral principles, valid for all people
and all social environments
Moral Absolutism believes that moral principle should not be suspected for it is
exceptionless and must be the basis for all moral standards. Hence, it cannot be
compromised or subject for override.
Moral Objectivism - The objectivist shares with the absolutist the notion that moral
principles have universal, objective validity. However, objectivists deny that moral
norms are necessarily exceptionless. The objectivist could believe that no moral duty
has absolute weight or strict priority; each moral principle must be weighed against
other moral principles.
Objectivist – they are both valid for they have different circumstance
Absolutes- The actions are not valid for they tell lies.
Ethical Situationalism
Ethical situationalism states that objective moral principles are to be applied differently in different
contexts, whereas ethical relativism denies universal ethical principles altogether.
A simpler example is that of Jesus breaking the Sabbath by picking food (work) to feed his disciples. When
called to account by the Pharisees and charged with breaking the Sabbath law, he replied, “The Sabbath was
made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2: 23–27). The commandments were given to promote
human flourishing, not for their own sake
AQUINAS’S OBJECTIVISM AND
ABSOLUTISM
Thomas Aquinas, Italian Dominican theologian , Philosopher and Roman Catholic saint, the
foremost medieval Scholastic.
Natural law theory is the view that there exists an eternal moral law that can be
discovered through reason by looking at the nature of humanity and society.
Aquinas combined the sense that human beings, like every other natural object, have a
specific nature, purpose, and function. A knife’s function is to cut sharply, a chair’s
function is to support the body in a certain position, and a house’s function is to
provide shelter from the elements. Humanity’s essence or proper function is to live the
life of reason.
Natural Law Theory
Humanity’s function is to exhibit rationality in all its forms: contemplation, deliberation, and action. For
Aquinas, reason’s deliberative processes discover the natural laws. They are universal rules, or
“ordinances of reason for the common good, spread by him who has the care of the community.
this is the first precept of law, that good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be avoided. All other
precepts of the natural law are based upon this; so that all the things which the practical reason naturally
apprehends as man’s good belong to the precepts of the natural law under the form of things to be done
or avoided.
The key ideas of the natural law tradition
First, some of the prescriptions seem patently counterintuitive. It is absurd to prohibit one to
marry his hearts desire due to some people who might be hurt.
Second, it’s not always clear how closely an effect must be connected with the act to be counted
as the intended act.
Third, there is the problem of how to describe an act.
Fourth, there is one other difficulty with the absolute version of natural law: It is tied closely to
a teleological view of human nature, a view that sees not only humanity but also each individual
as having a plan designed by God or a godlike nature, so any deviation from the norm is morally
wrong. Hence, because the plan of humanity includes procreation and sexuality is the means to
that goal, only heterosexual intercourse (without artificial birth control devices) is morally
permitted.
CONCLUSION
We have outlined a moderate objectivism, the thesis that a core set of moral
principles is universally valid, applying to all people everywhere. We have also
noted that morality is situational: Principles can be applied differently in different
contexts. We have argued that a common human nature is the basis of our thesis
that there is a set of universally valid moral rules. I have given a commonsense,
functional account of objective morality following from the notion that morality
serves specific human functions in promoting the human good. I have used a
naturalist commonsense account to establish the core morality. Others may rely on
direct intuitions or on religion to get to a similar conclusion.
Thank you and God Bless!