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Teacher Resource Bank
GCE Religious Studies
Unit A Religion and Ethics 1
Explanation of Terms
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Teacher Resource Bank / GCE Religious Studies Unit A Religion and Ethics 1/ Explanation of Terms / Version 1.1
GCE Religious Studies Unit A Religion and Ethics 1
Explanation of Terms
Term
Definition
abortion
The deliberate termination (ending) of a pregnancy, usually before the
foetus is twenty-four weeks old.
Act Utilitarianism
A version of Utilitarianism according to which the rightness or wrongness of
individual acts are calculated by the amount of happiness resulting from
these acts.
antinomianism
In the context of ethics, the rejection of all moral laws and the reaching of
decisions on a spontaneous, ad hoc and unpredictable basis. Rejected by
Fletcher as unprincipled and irrational.
Bentham, Jeremy
Utilitarian thinker, noted for his belief that a law is good or bad, depending
upon whether or not it increases general happiness of the majority of the
population (1738-1832).
Christian love
The gospels record Christ’s commandments to ‘love’, e.g. to love God, your
neighbour, your enemy and one another ‘as I have loved you’ (John 13 34).
There is debate about the exact nature of this type of love but its key
characteristics are generally seen as: it is unconditional; it takes an active
interest in the true welfare of others, and is a human imitation of God’s love
for human beings. There is debate about how far Fletcher’s interpretation of
‘love’ in Situation Ethics is correct.
creation
The universe, as created by God;
The act, or event, in which God is said to have created the universe.
conscience
Used in a special sense in Situation Ethics. Fletcher rejects the idea that
conscience is (1) intuition, (2) a channel for divine guidance, (3) the
internalised values of the individual’s culture, or (4) the part of reason that
makes value judgements, because all of these treat conscience as a thing,
which Fletcher believes is a mistake. Rather, for him, conscience is a VERB
rather than a noun – it is something you DO when you make decisions, as
he puts it, ‘creatively’.
Consequential
thinking
Thinking, in this case, about the rightness or wrongness of an action, that
takes only the consequences of an action into consideration. Contrasted
with deontological thinking – see below.
conception
In human reproduction – the moment at which the sperm fertilizes the ovum.
deontological
thinking
In contrast to consequential thinking – this is only concerned with the moral
law, or duty, that makes a particular action right or wrong regardless of the
consequences.
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
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Teacher Resource Bank / GCE Religious Studies Unit A Religion and Ethics 1/ Explanation of Terms / Version 1.1
Term
Definition
ethics
The principles by which people live.
euthanasia
Inducing a painless death, by agreement and with compassion, to ease
suffering. From the Greek meaning "Good Death".
 active
– carrying out some action to help someone to die.
 passive
– not carrying out actions which would prolong life.
 voluntary
– helping a person who wishes to die to do so.
 involuntary – the person wants to live but is killed anyway.
 non voluntary – helping a person to die when they are unable to request
this for themselves.
fatalism
The view that everything that happens is predetermined and that we have
no control over it.
foetus
Fertilised ovum from about eleven weeks when the organs have developed;
the stage of human development between embryonic and birth.
four presumptions
Also known as the four working principles of Situationism, they are:
pragmatism; relativism; positivism and personalism.
free will
Having the ability to choose or determine one's own actions.
Fletcher, Joseph
1905-1991. Christian Priest and thinker who proposed Situation Ethics in
the book of that name published in 1966.
hedonic calculus
Created by Bentham, this is a Utilitarian system whereby the effects of an
action can be measured as to the amount of pleasure it may bring.
hospice
Health care facility providing care for the terminally ill.
human condition
A general phrase summing up the experience of living as a human being.
There are many different views of our situation depending on the religion(s)
being studied.
legalism
An approach to moral decision making that applies the moral law regardless
of the consequences.
legislation
In context, the existing laws relating to euthanasia and possible changes to
those laws.
life: nature of
Relating specifically to human life – religious views about what it means to
be human.
life: value of
Relating specifically to human life – religious views of the worth of life
e.g. to God / oneself and to others. In particular views concerning the
intrinsic value of life, i.e. that it is valuable in itself, as opposed to extrinsic
value – that it has value because of its effect (e.g. on nature / others /
history).
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
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Teacher Resource Bank / GCE Religious Studies Unit A Religion and Ethics 1/ Explanation of Terms / Version 1.1
Term
Definition
Mill, John Stuart
Moral philosopher (1806-1873) who developed Bentham’s Utilitarianism.
mortal
Subject to death / able to die.
omnipotence
All powerful. When attributed to God, there is debate about whether God’s
power to do anything extends to the logically impossible, e.g. controlling the
decisions of a being with free will.
omniscience
Having all knowledge / knowing all that can be known. There is a debate
about how much can be known, e.g. of the future.
palliative care
Care given to improve the quality of life of terminally ill patients – including
symptom management and psychological and social problems.
pragmatism
Any theory of ethics must be practical and work towards the end that is love.
predestination
The belief that one’s actions and eventual fate are already determined
before one is born.
presumption
Ideas taken as factual on which the theory is based.
principle of double
effect
A thesis usually associated with St Thomas Aquinas that explains when an
action that has unintended harmful effects can be morally justified. In the
context of abortion, e.g. an operation to end an ectopic pregnancy in order
to save the life of the mother may be justified in this way.
potentiality
In the context of the abortion debate: the capacity, from the moment of
conception, which the fertilised ovum has for development.
‘right to life’
Where a right to life exists, it is the duty of others to sustain and protect that
life.
Rule Utilitarianism
A version of Utilitarianism in which general rules are assessed for the
happiness-making properties rather than individual decisions. Often
associated with John Stuart Mill. Actions are therefore ‘right’ or ‘wrong’
depending on whether they conform to a happiness-making rule, not
because of their individual effects.
Situation Ethics
The moral theory proposed by Joseph Fletcher which requires the
application of love to every unique situation.
teleological thinking
A description applied to Utilitarianism. It stresses that an action is right or
wrong depending on its purpose / intended outcome.
teleology
The belief that the reasons events occur is because they have a particular
purpose.
Utilitarianism
A philosophical system concerned with consequences rather than motives
and in which the happiness of the greatest number should be the result.
viability
In the context of abortion – the point at which the developing foetus / child
becomes capable of living outside the womb. A viable ovum / embryo is
one that has the potential to develop into an adult organism.
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
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