Contemporary Moral Problems

Book Review Chapter :2 Religion,Morality, and Concience

James Rachels: Egoism and Moral Skepticism

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Moral-Problems-James-White/dp/0534584306/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233793391&sr=8-1

Quotation: “Morality depends on socially learned language”

I agree with this quotation because the morality of an individual depends on the beliefs of a person, on his culture, on the way the person grew up, how he interpreted actions in society, what a person sees in society, it is up to him to distinguish the right from the wrong acts.

Learning expectations

I am expecting to learn what is the purpose of religion in lives of people, why does it have to be different kind of beliefs in the world? I am also expecting to learn what is the purpose of morality to mankind, and also what is conscience, I know what I is but why did it have to exist. I am also expecting to learn why did they create morals but different beliefs why not have a uniform religion for everyone?

Review:

This part of the book explains the importance of religion in our lives, why is important for an individual to have a certain religion, certain belief? This part of the book talks about the different individuality of people because of different religions, people have their own beliefs, their own morals that they follow. People have different standards of what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong.

What I have learned:

I learned that people have their own standards of morals, with every belief; every religion an individual has their own standard of morals. I learned that people who are truly dedicated to their religion has the conscience to know whether their actions are right or wrong, people are always in a situation wherein they our confused, I think every human being goes through this situation and I also learned that conscience is what our minds are going through to survey our morals if it is right or wrong, the conscience is what put human beings in guilt because of wrongful actions.

Integrative questions

1. What is Morality?

2. What is Religion?

3. What is Conscience?

4. How does the three related to each other?

5. Who is John Arthur?

Review Questions:

1. According to Arthur how are Morality and Religion different?

morality is determinting the right things to do, it is in the person to which action is the right thing to do, and religion is what the person believes in, religion is what makes the person think about hte morality of his actions.

2. Why isn’t religion necessary for moral motivation?

3. Why isn’t religion necessary as a source of moral knowledge?

4. What is divine command theory? Why does Arthur reject this theory?

5.According to Arthur, how are morality and religion connected?

6. Dewey says that morality is social, what does this mean according to Arthur?

Discussion Questions:

1. Has Arthur refuted the divine command theory?

yes 

2. If morality is social, then how can we have any obligations to nonhuman animals?

we have to give, treat the nonhuman animals the rights they sould have, they should not be treated as toys or things that does no have feelings, they are part of society and they are even sometimes provide the work, jobs and livelihood that human beings depend on to live.

3. What does Dewey mean by moral education? Does a college ethics class count as a moral education?