Glossary

Benevolence

Butler saw this as wanting the well-being of others.

Biocentric

An approach to the environment that considers the biological nature and diversity of the Earth to be of supreme importance.

Biodiversity

The variety of living things on Earth.

Blastocyst

A fertilised egg at about four to five days of development.

Cardinal Virtues

Originated in Plato – prudence, justice, temperance, courage. Added to with three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.

Categorical imperative

A command to perform actions that are absolute moral obligations without reference to other ends.

Celibacy

Not having sexual relations with another person.

Christian Realism

The belief that Christianity may use violence to bring about the Kingdom of God and secure peace on Earth.

Cloning

A form of genetic engineering by which a plant, an animal or a human is created with the same genetic identity as another.

Compatibilism

The belief that it is possible to be both free and determined, as some aspects of our nature are determined, but not our ability to make moral decisions.

Conscience

Our sense of moral right and wrong.

Conscientia

The actual judgement or decision a person makes which leads to a particular course of action based upon those principles.

Consciousness

Awareness of self as an independent being, the ability to feel pain and pleasure.

Consequentialism

The rightness or wrongness of an act is determined by its consequences.

Consequentialist

Someone who decides whether an action is good or bad by its consequences.

Conservation ethics

The ethics of the use, allocation, protection and exploitation of the natural world.

Copernican Revolution

Belief that the solar system revolves around the sun.

Cultural relativism

What is right or wrong depends on the culture.

Deep ecology

An approach to environmental ethics that sees all life forms as of value and human life as just one part of the biosphere. It rejects anthropomorphism.

Deontological ethics

Ethical systems which consider that the moral act itself has moral value (e.g. telling the truth is always right, even when it may cause pain or harm).

Descriptive relativism

Different cultures and societies have differing ethical systems and so morality is relative.

Determinism

The view that every event has a cause and so, when applied to moral deci­sions, we do not have free will.

Divine Command theory

Actions are right or wrong depending on whether they follow God’s com­mands or not.

Divine Law

The Bible – this reflects the Eternal Law.

Doctrine of double effect

An action where the main intention is to do good, but which may have a bad side-effect. The good intention makes the action right.

Dominion

The Judaeo-Christian idea that humans have a special place in the natural world and have responsibility for it.

Duty

A motive for acting in a certain way which shows moral quality.

Ecosophy

A word formed by contracting the phrase ‘ecological philosophy’. It refers to philosophies which have an ecocentric or biocentric perspective such as deep ecology.

Embryo

The developing bundle of cells in the womb up to eight weeks’ gestation.

Emotivism

A theory which says that moral statements are just expressions of feelings.

Ensoulment

The moment when the soul enters the body – in traditional Christian thought this was at forty days for boys and ninety days for girls. The Church now believes that life begins at conception.

Eternal Law

The principles by which God made and controls the universe which are only fully known by God.

Ethical naturalism/ethical cognitivism

A theory that moral values can be derived from sense experience.

Ethical non-naturalism/ethical non-cognitivism

A theory that ethical statements cannot be derived from sense experience.

Eudaimonia

The final goal of all human activity – happiness, well-being, human flourishing.

Euthyphro Dilemma

The dilemma first identified by Plato - is something good because God com­mands it or does God command it because it is good?

Feminism

A way of thinking that seeks to emancipate women in society and give them equal opportunities.

Foetus

An organism in the womb from nine weeks until birth.

Gaia hypothesis

A theory of James Lovelock.

Gender

Cultural and psychological characteristics which determine whether a person is male or female.

Genetic engineering

The technology involved in cloning, gene therapy and gene manipulation.

Geocentric

An approach to the environment which considers the geological nature and diversity of the Earth to be most important.

Germ line engineering

Changes in the parent’s sperm or egg cells with the aim of passing on the changes to their offspring.

Golden Mean

The balance of extremes of virtues and vices. A balance between excess (hav­ing too much of something) and deficiency (having too little of something).

Good will

Making a moral choice expresses a good will.

Hard determinism

The belief that people do not have any free will and that all moral actions have prior causes. This means that nobody can be held morally responsible.

Harm principle

The belief that an act or consequence is morally permissible if no harm is done.

Hedonic calculus

Bentham’s method for measuring the good and bad effects of an action.

Hedonism

The view that pleasure is the chief ‘good’.

Hippocratic Oath

Written in the fifth century BCE, it became the basis for doctors’ ethics. Other promises now replace it, but it is specifically against abortion.

Holistic

An approach to the environment that considers a range of factors, including the importance of balance within the ecosystem.

Human genome

A map of the human genes.

Hypothetical imperative

An action that achieves some goal or end.

Incompatibilism

The belief that determinism is logically incompatible with free will. Thus some incompatibilists will say that determinism is a fact and so we are not free, but most take the opposite view that free will is a fact and so deter­minism is false.

Instrumental value

Something’s value lies in its usefulness for others.

Intellectual virtues

Characteristics of thought and reason – technical skill, scientific knowledge, prudence, intelligence and wisdom.

Intrinsic value

Something’s value lies in itself.

Intrinsically good

Something which is good in itself, without reference to the consequences.

Intuitionism

A theory that moral truths are known by intuition.

Involuntary euthanasia

This term is used when someone’s life is ended to prevent their suffering, without their consent, even though they are capable of consenting.

IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)

The procedure by which sperm and eggs from a couple are fertilised in a laboratory dish (in vitro = in glass; test-tube babies).

Jus ad bellum

Justice in the decision to wage war.

Jus in bello

Justice in the conduct of war.

Jus post bellum

Justice in the ending of the war.

Just War theory

The belief that war is morally justified if it meets certain criteria.

Kingdom of Ends

A world in which people do not treat others as means but only as ends.

Law

Objective principle, a maxim that can be universalised.

Libertarianism

The belief that determinism is false and people are free to make moral choices and so are responsible for their actions.

Logical positivism

The view that only those things which can be tested are meaningful.

Maxim

A general rule in accordance with which we intend to act.

Meta-ethics

The analysis of ethical language.

Moral absolutism

There is only one correct answer to every moral problem.

Moral objectivism

Truth is objectively real regardless of culture.

Moral relativism

There are no universally valid moral principles and so there is no one true morality.

Moral virtues

Qualities of character such as courage, friendliness, truthfulness.

Natural Moral Law

The theory that an eternal, absolute moral law can be discovered by reason.

Naturalistic fallacy

The claim that good cannot be defined.

Negative Utilitarianism

The principle of minimising pain.

Normative ethics

A term used to describe different moral codes of behaviour; rules by which we make moral decisions (e.g. Utilitarianism, Natural Moral Law, Kantian Ethics, Virtue Ethics).

Ordinary and extraordinary means

According to Natural Law moral duties apply in ordinary situations. A patient may refuse certain treatments on the grounds that they are ‘extraordinary’ (i.e. over and above the essential).

‘Ought implies can’

The idea that someone cannot be blamed for what he could not do, but only for what he was capable of doing but did not do.

Pacifism

The belief that violence is wrong.

Passive euthanasia

Treatment is either withdrawn or not given to the patient in order to hasten death. This could include turning off a life-support machine.

Personhood

Definition of a human being as a person – having consciousness, self­awareness, ability to reason and self-sufficiency.

Phronesis (practical wisdom)

According to Aristotle the virtue most needed for any other virtue to be developed. Balancing self-interest with that of others. Needs to be directed by the moral virtues.

Predestination

The belief that God has decided who will be saved and who will not.

Preference Utilitarianism

Moral actions are right or wrong according to how they fit the preferences of those involved.

Prescriptivism

A theory that ethical statements have an intrinsic sense so other people should agree with the statement and follow it.

Primary precepts

The fundamental principles of Natural Moral Law.

Principle of utility

The theory of usefulness – the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Proportionality

In war, weapons should be proportionate to the aggression.

Purpose

The idea that the rightness or wrongness of an action can be discovered by looking at whether or not the action agrees with human purpose.

PVS (persistent vegetative state)

When a patient is in this condition, doctors may seek to end their life. The relatives have to agree and usually the patient must be brain-stem dead.

Qualitative

Looking at the quality of the pleasure.

Quality of life

The belief that human life is not valuable in itself; it depends on what kind of life it is.

Quantitative

Looking at the quantity of the happiness.

Queer theory

The idea that there can be no fixed rules about what is or is not a legitimate sexual relationship. Being queer is the freedom to define oneself according to one’s nature.

Real good

The right thing to do – it fits the human ideal.

Realism

Normal moral rules cannot be applied to how states act in time of war.

Relativism

Nothing may be said to be objectively right or wrong; it depends on the situation, the culture and so on.

Rule Utilitarianism

Establishing a general rule that follows Utilitarian principles.

Sanctity of life

The belief that human life is valuable in itself.

Secondary precepts

These are worked out from the primary precepts.

Self-love

Butler thought of this as wanting the well-being of self or enlightened self-­interest, not selfishness.

Sentience

The ability to feel pleasure and pain.

Sex

Biological characteristics that determine whether a person is male or female.

Shallow ecology

The Earth is cared for to make conditions better for humans.

Situation Ethics

The morally right thing to do is the most loving in the situation.

Slippery slope

This means that when one moral law is broken others will also be gradually broken and there will be no moral absolutes.

Soft determinism

The belief that determinism is true in many aspects, but we are still morally responsible for our actions.

Somatic cell engineering

Changes in somatic (body) cells to cure an otherwise fatal disease. These changes are not passed on to a person’s offspring.

Stem cell

A ‘master’ cell that can become any kind of material.

Stewardship

A way of interpreting the use of dominion, which sees humans as caretakers of the natural world.

Subjectivism

Each person’s values are relative to that person and so cannot be judged objectively.

Summum bonum

The supreme good that we pursue through moral acts.

Super-ego

Freud’s idea is that the super-ego reinforces ideas of correct behaviour implanted in us when we were young.

Synderesis

Aquinas’ idea of what he termed ‘right’ reason by which a person acquires knowledge of basic moral principles and understands that it is important to do good and avoid evil.

Syneidesis

Syneidesis means ‘to know with’. St Paul uses it to explain the human ability to know and choose what is good. He seems to suggest a moral consciousness which compares an action to a standard. Used by St Jerome to mean ‘gleams (or sparks) of conscience by which we discern that we sin’.

Synthetic statements

Statements that may be true or false and can be tested using experience or senses.

Teleological

Moral actions are right or wrong according to their outcome or telos (end).

Teleological ethics

The morally right or wrong thing to do is determined by the consequences.

Therapeutic cloning

A method of producing stem cells to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Universalisability

If an act is right or wrong for one person in a situation, then it is right or wrong for anyone in that situation.

Utilitarianism

Only pleasure and the absence of pain have utility or intrinsic value.

Viability

Where a foetus is considered capable of sustaining its own life, given the necessary care.

Vices

The direct opposite of virtues – habitual wrong action.

Virtue

Habitually doing what is right-being good requires the practice of a certain kind of behaviour.

Voluntary euthanasia

The intentional premature termination of another person’s life at their request.

None

None

None

Zygote

A ‘proto-embryo’ of the firsttwo weeks after conception – a small collection of identical cells.