A2 Ethics Exam - What you need to know!

A reminder of what you need to know for the A2 Ethics exam.

Free Will and Determinism
- Hard determinism (Calvin, Augustine, Spinoza)
- Soft determinism
- Libertarianism (Hume, Aquinas)

Conscience
- Aquinas
- Joseph Butler
- Freud

Christian Ethics
- Sources of Roman Catholic ethics (Aquinas' Natural Law, Virtue Ethics, Scripture: esp. Ten Commandments, Sermon on the Mount)
- Protestant Christian ethics (Relativist: Gospel applied to social ethics through love: Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Ramsey, Joseph Fletcher; Absolutist: Robertson McQuilkin, Lewis B. Smedes; liberal Christians / Evangelical Christians: different views on sexuality, abortion etc)
- The purpose of ethical behaviour (to live life the way God wants; in imitation of Christ; in order to enter Heaven; repentance and a desire to do good)
- deontological or teleological?

Environmental Ethics
- preservation of species, conservation of habitats, depeletion of biodiversity and natural resources, ozone layer, effects of pollution
- how our actions affect future well-being of human life
- Criticism of religious approaches to environmental ethics
- Defence of religious approaches to environmental ethics
- Deep ecology and some criticism

Sex and Relationships
- Christian approaches to sexuality (celibacy; marriage; reproduction; contraception; Natural Law; love)
- Other approaches to sexuality (libertarian and contractarian ethic; feminist approaches)
- Christianity and homosexuality

War, Peace and Justice
- "Holy Wars" (crusades, jihad)
- Just War (explained by Thomas Aquinas) (Geneva and Hague Conventions)
- Pacifism (Buddhism, Quakers etc)
- Realism (Reinhold Niebuhr)