Answer to Question #273432 in Philosophy for hhdshkcsDy

Question

6.    What do you think are the major weaknesses of determinism?

 

7.    Name at least two moralists who argue that each human being should be considered as end in him or herself, never merely a means.

 

8.    What is the most important thing to remember when discussing the Deontological approach? Please explain your response to the question.

 

9.    Explain the difficulties we face with Divine Command Theory.

 

10. What is the difference between the Consequentialist and non-consequentialist views of morality?

 

 

 

 

Answer 1

a)     Determinism is one of the three types of freedom. Determinism is the view that every event and human action in your life are brought upon us by previous experiences with the natural laws that govern the world. Determinism mistakenly admires the people for the good they do and to blame others for the wrong they do. This is when it gets hard to understand, because if our human actions are already determined then we cannot deliberate rationally. Determinism also removes freedom and dignity, and devalues human behavior.

b)     Immanuel Kant and David Hume.

c)     Deontology is a theory that suggests actions are good or bad according to a clear set of rules. Its name comes from the Greek word Deon, meaning duty. This ethical theory is most closely associated with German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. The most important thing to remember when discussing about the approach is its definition, and the founder.

d)    Divine command theory gives us reason to worry that God's commands are arbitrary as universal moral standards of action. They may or may not be benevolent, loving, or have any other property we consider morally praiseworthy, and they may in fact be cruel and harsh. Divine command theory makes no guarantees. Divine Command Theory of ethics makes us face a dilemma of morality either rests on arbitrary foundations, or God is not the source of ethics and is subject to an external moral law, both of which allegedly compromise his supreme moral and metaphysical status.

e)     A consequentialist would say it was a good deed because of the result of the action while non-consequentialist would say that there was no moral deed because there was no ethical intention. Secondly, according to consequentialism, the consequences of an action determine whether that action was moral. So we are judging the outcome, not the action itself. On the other side of this is non-consequentialism, in which actions are moral if they adhere to moral law. This means judging the intention of the action and the action itself, not the result.