Introducing Ethics For Here and Now

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1 Instructor s Manual and Test Bank for Sterba Introducing Ethics For Here and Now First Edition Pearson Education Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo

Copyright 2013 Pearson Education, Inc., One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America.

2 Copyright 2013 Pearson Education, Inc., One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced with Introducing Ethics: For Here and Now, First Edition, by James P. Sterba, provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in any form for any other purpose without written permission from the copyright owner. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey or you may fax your request to ISBN-10: ISBN-13:

3 Chapter 1 Religion and Morality CHAPTER SUMMARY Chapter 1 first examines whether actions are right because God commands them or whether God commands actions because they are right raising the question whether morality or ethics is independent of religion. The chapter then dives into the divine command theory: actions are right simply because God commands them, and the author explains how various divine command theorists were reluctant to rely on the normative structure of human nature and the circumstances of our lives as a source of morality, but they were then forced to do so because of the various problems facing their theory. Chapter 1 continues with the conflict of the requirements of the normative structure of our nature and circumstances when they clash with the requirements of special revelation, particularly in the public arena. The chapter goes on to describe the imposition of fairness to the equation, which requires that there be sufficient reasons accessible to the minority to justify requiring it to accept the will of the majority, but not that each and every member of that religious majority be willing and able to set forth such reasons. Finally, the chapter ends with the understanding that the enforceability of religion is limited to the part of it that can also be justified by the normative structure of our nature and the circumstances of our lives. LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. In this chapter, the student will examine the role religion plays in morality focusing on an understanding of the divine command theory, the challenges inherent in such a theory, and how general and special revelations modify the divine command theory. 2. By the end of this chapter, the student will be able to explain and describe how religious morality can conflict in the public arena and the role fairness may play in this arena. 3. By the end of this chapter, the student should understand the effect that reason plays on religious moral teachings. 4. By the end of this chapter, the student should understand how Rawls and Wolterstorff s views conflict and in what ways, if any, they are similar. 5. By the end of this chapter, the student should understand the requirements of fairness on the religious majority: fairness requires that the minority be provided with more reasons that must be made accessible to them in order for them to accept the will of the majority than only procedural reasons in order for the minority to accept the will of the majority Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1

4 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Discuss how the story of Abraham s obedience to God illustrates the ethical principle that actions are right because God commands them. How does this theory differ from the theory that God commands actions because they are right? 2. Does religion conflict in the nonreligious public arena? Explain the sources of morality from a religious perspective and how, and under what circumstances, these sources may come into conflict in the public arena and how such conflicts can be resolved. 3. Do you think religious moral teachings can act as a substitute for accessible substantive reasons? Explain your answer utilizing both Rawls and Wolterstorff s philosophical views on the subject Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

5 Test Bank The following assessment has been created for in-class use. This assessment is available through Pearson s MyTest website allowing for easy access for creating your own tests. Please contact your local Pearson sales representative to learn about the options available. Visit Multiple Choice Questions 10 per chapter Essay Questions 3 per chapter Instructors, to access the full Test Bank, please download the complete Instructor s Manual and Test Bank at

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