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neurologyYou need to know

• Meta-ethics studies what moral language means and asks whether claims such as 'lying is wrong' state facts, express attitudes, or depend on another source of authority.
• Divine Command Theory states that an action is right because God commands it and wrong because God forbids it.
• A strength of Divine Command Theory is that it gives morality clear authority for believers, but a weakness is that people may disagree about what God has commanded and this can make moral judgement difficult.
• Naturalism teaches that moral truths are based on natural features of the world and can be linked to observable outcomes such as pleasure and pain.
• Bentham's utilitarianism teaches that the morally right action is the one that brings about the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for the greatest number.
• Bentham argued that consequences matter more than motives, and his approach judges each action by the happiness it produces.
• A strength of utilitarianism is that it considers the welfare of everyone affected, but a weakness is that it can permit unfair actions if they increase overall happiness.
• Non-naturalism teaches that moral qualities such as goodness cannot be reduced to natural facts or measured scientifically.
• Intuitionism states that some moral truths are self-evident and can be recognised directly by moral intuition.
• A strength of intuitionism is that it explains why some moral duties seem immediately obvious, but a weakness is that different people may have conflicting intuitions with no clear way to settle the dispute.
• Moral responsibility usually requires both free will and sufficient understanding to tell the difference between right and wrong.
• Libertarianism teaches that humans have genuine freedom and could have chosen otherwise, so moral responsibility is real and significant.
• Hard determinism teaches that every human action is caused by prior events, so free will is an illusion and moral responsibility is reduced or denied.
• Compatibilism teaches that a person can be morally responsible even in a determined world if they act according to their own will and are not forced by external coercion.
• Ideas about free will affect reward and punishment because praise and blame are usually seen as fair only when a person acted freely and understood their action.
• Religious views may describe conscience as the voice of God, a God-given moral faculty, or a way of discerning moral truth.
• Non-religious views may explain conscience as human reason, moral intuition, emotion, or internalised social rules and feelings such as guilt.
• Conscience can shape moral decisions about lying, breaking promises and adultery by judging honesty, trust, fidelity and the harm done to other people.
• Conscience can be valued as a personal moral guide, but it may also be unreliable because it can be misinformed, culturally shaped, or influenced by self-interest.
• Bentham judged actions by their consequences for happiness, whereas Kant judged actions by duty, good will and whether a moral rule could be universalised, and both can agree with some religious ethics while also conflicting with beliefs that make God's command the highest authority.

• Define and distinguish Divine Command Theory, naturalism and non-naturalism by explaining what each theory means by 'right' and 'wrong'.
• Apply Divine Command Theory, utilitarianism and intuitionism to a moral scenario by showing what each theory would permit, forbid or recommend.
• Analyse strengths and weaknesses of an ethical theory using clear criteria such as authority, fairness, consistency, practicality and treatment of consequences.
• Judge the degree of moral responsibility in a case study by testing whether the person acted freely and understood the difference between right and wrong.
• Differentiate libertarianism, hard determinism and compatibilism by linking each view to a reasoned judgement about praise, blame, reward or punishment.
• Compare religious and non-religious views of conscience by identifying precise similarities and differences in where conscience comes from and how it guides action.
• Evaluate the role of conscience in decisions about lying, breaking promises or adultery by using relevant examples and reaching a justified conclusion.
• Compare Bentham and Kant by explaining their differences over consequences, duty, intention and universal moral rules.
• Evaluate how far Bentham's and Kant's ethics are consistent with religious moral decision making by weighing supporting and opposing arguments before reaching a justified judgement.