Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

IV. Ethics
Singer described consequentialism as
Peter
“start not with moral rules, but with goals,
to
assess actions by the extent to which they
[and]
those goals” (Singer 2010).
further
second path towards morality is freethought,
A
philosophy that asserts that science,
a
and reason are the basis for truth and
logic
as opposed to authority, tradition
opinion,
dogma. Freethinkers form their own ideas
or
opinions, unrestrained by deference to
and
social convention and tradition.
authority,
are thus frequently at odds with religious
They
Depending on where they live, this
authorities.
invite violent consequences.
can
third alternative held up to religious
A
is secular humanism, which asserts
ethics
human beings can be ethical and moral
that
religion or God, that humans are not
without
good or evil, nor superior to nature.
inherently
emphasizes human responsibility and the
It
theology emphasizes that social
Liberation
generally, and the liberation of the poor
justice
are important steps towards religious
specifically,
and that justice on Earth (and not just in
goals,
is a key part of this. It developed largely
Heaven)
the context of left-leaning Latin American
in
politics, but has had impacts globally,
Christian
South Africa to Palestine, India and the US
from
theology today closely intersects with
Liberation
politics of anti-colonialism, socialism and
the
and takes on localized anti-oppression
feminism,
in the different contexts where it
agendas
It grew in response to the subjugation
manifests.
forced “civilization” by missionaries of
and
peoples. It is therefore distinct and
colonized
to religious doctrines that value the
contrary
of religious knowledge, in that it
mass-spreading
the agency of the poor and marginalized
centres
For this reason it has been described as
identities.
Marxist approach to Christianity.
a
theology is notable from other
Liberation
justice paradigms in that its theologians
social
consideration of the consequences of
ethical
decisions, primarily through science
human
philosophy. Individuals must scrutinize
and
or religious ideologies, rather than
political
them based on faith, authority or
accept
tradition.
moral values discourse extends beyond,
The
example, gay marriage and abortion to
for
issue of who, or what, is the fundamental
the
of what is right and wrong. As
authority
is increasingly removed from schools,
religion
social news feeds and media complicate
and
relationship with evidence, are we
people’s
risk of being left with moral relativism?
at
polarization in some contexts has
Political
to hyper-religious and hyper-atheist
led
that is hard to make sense of. And
posturing
2020, if someone disagrees with you, they
in
increasingly seen as not just wrong, but
are
too.
immoral
frequently argued that suffering is the
have
as well as the result of oppression. Those
cause
or communities that exhibit violence,
individuals
or intolerance are said themselves to
aggression
suffering, because only suffering can explain
be
departure of humankind from its naturally
the
language has been used to justify
Religious
actions, such as war, in the name of
violent
and justice, good fighting evil.
righteousness
can obscure the complex causes of a conflict,
This
but not limited to access to resources
including
markets, matters of identity and failures
and
diplomacy. “Holy war” classifications of
of
conflict are particularly problematic
armed
sentiments of divine authority and
because
serve to reduce fighters’ restraint
righteousness
dehumanizing the enemy. This has led to gross
by
of human rights. Holy wars do not
violations
human limits, including the possibility
recognize
human leaders might be in error. Dissenters
that
attacked, and those asking for nuance are
are
as having sympathy for the enemy.
dismissed
6
IV.3 Liberation theology
compassionate state.
Civil Rights movement.
IV.4 Religion and violence
164