Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Morality
in the
Modern
World -
Gender
Studies
- Religion
& Morality
- The Euthyphro
Dilemma
- discussion between
Socrates & Euthyphro
- what makes
an action
morally
good?
- are things right or wrong in themselves or are they only right or wrong in relation to the wishes of the gods?
- Greek
Gods
were
fickle
- why would they create a moral code only to break it?
- if not the gods, then
how does an action
become good?
- higher power than the gods?
- many people commit morally
unacceptable acts because they
believe that their god has told them to
- does this mean that gods can make mistakes?
- does morality come from the
divine or is moral as of itself?
- Absolute,
Relative
&
Arbitrary
- Absolute
- something is always right/wrong
regardless of circumstances
- Relative
- general guiding principles but exceptions are allowed dependent on circumstances
- Arbitrary
- random
- The Golden Rule
- treat others as you would want to be treated
- almost all religions have some variation of this
- mutual
self-interest
- everyone can understand it
- if everyone followed it, the
world would be better
- common to
many faiths &
non-religious
stances
- Autonomy
- moral values which
aren't decided by
religious teachings
- Pros
- individual thought
- self-determination
- based on reason
- God given free will
- reason can be used
in any situation
- people take a more active part in their decisions resulting in greater responsibility but more moral freedom
- Cons
- individuals
have different
opinions- leads
to conflict
- people are fallible
- in some situations
people may feel unable
to make a decision
- cultivates selfishness
- lack of expertise: e.g. patient
autonomy in medicine can lead to
poor decisions being made due to
lack of medical knowledge
- Heteronomy
- making decisions based on
religious belief, authority & tradition
- Pros
- always
certain of
actions
- everyone
acts in the
same way
- Scotland has been
positively influenced by
Christianity in law etc.
- ultimate authority
for morality is the
will of God
- provides solid
foundation for morality
- motivates people to do good (rewarded
in heaven, punished in hell etc.)
- encourages
'selflessness'
- Cons
- doesn't leave room
for individual thought
- there can't be a rule for every moral situation
- people can follow rules blindly
- doesn't examine consequences
- Utilitarianism
- greatest
good for
the
greatest
number
- Bentham's Method
- humans controlled by two things: pleasure & pain
- therefore people should
act in a way that brings
the greatest amount of
pleasure or the least
amount of pain for the
majority
- must measure an action by the: duration,
intensity & reach of the pleasure/pain
- an example of Act Utilitarianism: no universal laws
- hedonistic
calculus
- personal feelings of person making decision should not count - must be objective
- John Stuart Mill
- because humans know from experience what causes pleasure/pain we can come
up with general moral principles that should be adhered to the majority of the time
- rule
utilitarianism
- higher pleasure (education, music etc.)
- lower pleasure (eating etc.)
- it is more important to have higher pleasures for the majority than to have lower pleasures
- types
- Act: outcome
of actions,
situation
- Rule: some rules always produce the greatest good for the greatest number,
sticking rigidly to this = strong utilitarianism, being flexible = weak utilitarianism
- Preference Utilitarianism: taking into account what the majority want rather than what is best for them
- Motive Utilitarianism: is an action good if the outcome is good
for the majority but it was done with the wrong intentions
- consequential ethics
- Modern Utilitarianism
- Peter
Singer
- 'best consequences' should be understood as meaning, what furthers the interests of those affected rather than merely what increases pleasure/reduces pain
- criticisms
- can never accurately predict outcomes
- who decides what happiness is?
- what can you base someone's 'best interest' on?
- risk of harming the minority
- Gender
- happiness of everyone is of equal value
- individual is the best judge of their own happiness therefore everyone should be able to make their own choices
- Mill argued for social &
economic equality for
women & said that marriage
was an equal partnership
- concerned with the majority,
regardless of gender
- women have the
potential to
contribute to
society & should
be given equal
opportunity to do
so as it will benefit
the majority
- Divine
Command
Theory
- God is all
powerful &
all-good,
anything
God
commands
must be
obeyed
- consistent approach to morality
- based on moral code of religion, scripture, religious leaders
- appears to based on the whims of
God, which would make the actions
of someone following DCT arbitrary
- however, those
following DCT would
disagree as they
would believe that
God does everything
for a reason
- Intelligent
Responses
- cross checking commands,
refers to holy books etc.
- for religious people the Euthyphro dilemma has a straightforward answer: something
is good because God commands it, but God only commands that which is good
- intelligent responses should eliminate the risk of people following blindly
- Kantian Ethics
- autonomous value system based on human reason
- what matters is the intention, not the outcome/consequence
- Good Will
- good intentions
- an action can' be good without 'good will'
- Duty
- always acting in a good way if doing duty
- no matter what you feel you should do you must do your duty
- duty is deduced with reason
- The Categorical Imperative
- compulsory moral laws which everyone must follow
- should be universally applicable (every situation)
- universal maxim: an
established principle which
should apply to everyone
- e.g. if you don't
want to be killed,
don't kill people
- criticisms
- too abstract & remote from real life
- reason not emotions, disregards attachment to family etc. when making moral decisions
- Gender
- everyone should be treated with dignity
- it will never be a man's duty in modern Britain to discriminate against a women
- Kant states
to to use
people for
your own
end
(respect of
persons)
- Kant against
objectification because
humans are deserving
of dignity and
objectification takes
away from their
humanity as a
consequence
- Gender
- Developing World
- Convention on Ending all
forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW0
- international bill
of rights for
women
- stop violence
against women
- promote the
education of girls
- improve
healthcare
- ensure
women
have full
legal
rights
- improve
lives of
women
at work
- The Beijing
Platform for
Action
- women's
rights are
human rights
- seeking to
promote &
protect the full
employment of
all human
rights and the
fundamental
freedom of all
women
throughout
their life cycle
- women's
empowerment
- economic
independence
- ensure equal
access to
women to
productive
resources,
opportunities &
public services
- UN Women
- support
inter-governmental
bodies in the
formulation of policies,
global standards &
norms
- to help member states
implement these
standards, standing
ready to provide suitable
technical and financial
support to those
countries that request it&
to forge effective
partnerships with civil
society
- to hold the UN
system
accountable for its
own commitments
on gender equality,
including regular
monitoring of
system wide
progress
- The United
Nations Entity for
Gender Equality
and the
Empowerment of
Women
- United Nations
Development
Fund for Women
- reducing women's
poverty and exclusion
- ending violence
against women
- reversing
the spread of
HIV/AIDS
among
women and
girls
- supporting women's
leadership in
governance and
post-conflict
construction
- provides
financial and
technical
assistance to
innovative
approaches
aimed at
fostering
women's
empowerment
and gender
equality
- Education
- illiterate women have
much larger families
- 64% of the world's
illiterate adults are women
- school fees, when only 1
child's education can be
afforded the male child is
usually chosen
- Education
Enables:
- employment
- economic
independence
- voice in politics
- afford healthcare
- more aware of health risks (STD's etc.)
- allows them to make
their own decisions about
what they want to do
- no need for early marriage
- child
mortality
rates are
higher among
illiterate
mothers
- Health
- unable to see
a doctor in
some countries
due to it being
culturally
unacceptable
for a women to
be treated by a
male doctor
but poor
education for
girls leads to
lack of female
doctors
- 99% of maternal
deaths during or soon
after childbirth occur in
the developing world
- early marriage &
early pregnancy
- vulnerability to
HIV epidemic
- lack of education,
lack basic knowledge
of how to stay healthy
- cost of treatment
- poor
water
- Influence
- raise children & look
after domestic situation
- do 2/3 of the world's work
but receive only 10% of
the world's income
- little economic independence
- unable to take an active part
in politics, lack of education &
too busy in traditional roles
- in sub-Saharan Africa,
80% of basic foodstuffs
is produced by women
- key to keeping families
& communities together
- teach their children survival
- can protest & campaign
for women's rights
- their workload makes them vital,
gives them a legitimate voice
- influence their husbands
- Exploitation
- domestic abuse,
rape, child
marriages, and
female genital
mutilation
- 48 rapes per hour
in the Congo
- inequality in
healthcare, education,
employment, voice
- war discourages girls
from attending school
because it is unsafe to
leave the house
- in the absence of
parents adolescent girls
take over the household
- Human
Trafficking
- forced into
prostitution
- alarmingly common
in Asian countries
- infanticide,
female babies
often killed due to
male preference
- Millennium
Development
Goals
- 1) eradicate
extreme
poverty &
hunger
- 2) achieve
universal
primary
education
- 3) promote
gender equality &
empower women
- 4) reduce
child mortality
- 5) improve
maternal health
- 6) combat
HIV/AIDs Malaria &
other diseases
- 7) ensure
environmental
sustainability
- 8) global
partnership for
development
- 31% of the population in
the developing world
uses the internet
- over 2.1illion people
have gained access to
improved water supplies
- mortality rates
from malaria
have fallen
- mortality declined
by almost half
- dropped by 41%
in under 5's
- women in parliaments
worldwide is now at 20%
- no. of
children out
of school
has halved
- worldwide
percentage of
undernourished
people has fallen
7%
- Human Trafficking
- the fastest
growing
criminal
industry
- women and girls
make up 98% of
the victims
trafficked for sexual
exploitation
- 80% of those
trafficked into the
UK are trafficked
for sexual
exploitation
- there are more
individuals in
slavery today than
at the height of the
trans-Atlantic slave
trade
- United Kingdom
- Stereotyping
- the media is
meant to
represent an
accurate picture
of society
- radio-management is
largely male dominated
- radio1 has a high
proportion of female
listeners yet the majority
of DJ's are men
- TV management is
male dominated
- women given
prominence in soaps
- newspapers owned
& run by men
- page 3
- women have
money so
advertisers
target women
- 'if it wasn't bought it
wouldn't be printed'
- both
genders
used to sell
item in TV
advertising
- abundance of
pornographic
material on the
internet
objectifies women
- high usage among young
males, affecting their
perception of women?
- maternal,
housekeeping,
aesthetic
- society is
demanding
more equal
representation
- Equal
Opportunites
- Equality Act 2010
- entitles a
women doing
equal work to a
man in the same
employment to
equality in pay &
other terms &
conditions
- entitled to select
her own
comparator
- Sex and Power
Scotland 2011
- highlighted areas
where women were
'missing' - managerial
roles, CEO's etc.
- Religion
- Christianity
- Traditional
Roles
- Liberal
- writers of the Bible were
products of their time
- Feminism
- Domestic Violence