Paper 2 Religion and Ethics

JUST WAR THEORY, ISLAMIC TEACHING ABOUT WAR AND PEACEMAKING, TERRORISM, AND THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT: A REVIEW OF STEPHEN LAW (ed.) ISRAEL, PALESTINE AND TERROR.

NOTE: This blog entry is aimed at students and teachers who may be interested in applying Just War Theory to the Palestine-Israel conflict (see Paper 2 topic 3.1). It also looks at whether terrorism is morally justifiable, and so is of relevance to discussions about religion and terror that may arise in the context of […]

JUST WAR THEORY, ISLAMIC TEACHING ABOUT WAR AND PEACEMAKING, TERRORISM, AND THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT: A REVIEW OF STEPHEN LAW (ed.) ISRAEL, PALESTINE AND TERROR. Read More »

What should they be reading? Which books are worth recommending to students of Philosophy and Religious Studies?

The following is a rather personal list of publications that I would recommend to sixth-formers who wish to expand their horizons a little by engaging in some supplementary reading over and above their course textbooks. Teachers who are inclined to read around the subject may enjoy some of them too. Note that I am restricting

What should they be reading? Which books are worth recommending to students of Philosophy and Religious Studies? Read More »

Extension Material on Environmental Issues for students of the Edexcel syllabus: Kohei Saito – Marx in the Anthropocene.

From the syllabus for Religion and Ethics (Paper 2): 1.1 Environmental issues a) Concepts of stewardship and conservation from the point of view of at least one religion and at least one secular ethical perspective; animal welfare and protection, sustainability, waste management and climate change.  b) Strengths and weaknesses of significant areas of disagreement and

Extension Material on Environmental Issues for students of the Edexcel syllabus: Kohei Saito – Marx in the Anthropocene. Read More »

Book Review/Summer Reading 2 Martha Nussbaum – Not for Profit : Why Democracy Needs the Humanities

The American philosopher Martha Nussbaum may already be familiar to some readers of this blog, as Greek philosophy is one area of particular academic interest for her, and she has made a significant contribution to the field of modern virtue ethics. Specifically, she interprets Aristotle’s virtues as absolutes, and argues that justice, temperance etc. are

Book Review/Summer Reading 2 Martha Nussbaum – Not for Profit : Why Democracy Needs the Humanities Read More »

BOOK REVIEW/SUMMER READING Brad Warner – The Other Side of Nothing : The Zen Ethics of Time, Space and Being

NOTE: This blog entry is aimed more at teachers than students, as its purpose is to introduce a number of fairly recent texts that overlap with the territory of Religious Studies and Philosophy. Pretty much all the titles referenced here come highly recommended, including Brad Warner’s other publications, and especially Megan Phelps-Roper’s book Unfollow :

BOOK REVIEW/SUMMER READING Brad Warner – The Other Side of Nothing : The Zen Ethics of Time, Space and Being Read More »

Revision test for the Edexcel syllabus on Sexual Ethics

THESE QUESTIONS ARE BASED ON THE COURSE NOTES FOR THE ABOVE TOPIC THAT CAN BE FOUND HERE, HERE, AND HERE. THE SECTION ON EMBRYOLOGICAL RESEARCH, IVF, AND PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS THAT IS DISCUSSED HERE IS ALSO OF RELEVANCE WITH RESPECT TO CHILDLESSNESS. THIS TEST (AND MANY OF THE OTHERS ON THIS SITE) MAY ALSO BE OF

Revision test for the Edexcel syllabus on Sexual Ethics Read More »

Extension Material: 1. Just War Theory and the Ukraine-Russia Conflict. 2. Noam Chomsky on the morality of war and Ukraine.

Just War Theory and the Ukraine-Russia War Before getting to the philosopher Noam Chomsky’s thoughts about the Ukraine-Russia conflict, it is worth looking at it from the perspective of Just War Theory, as the Edexcel syllabus mentions that contemporary conflicts ‘may be evaluated against this theory.’ The principles that inform Just War Theory have previously

Extension Material: 1. Just War Theory and the Ukraine-Russia Conflict. 2. Noam Chomsky on the morality of war and Ukraine. Read More »

Situation Ethics in practice – an overview of the content of Joseph Fletcher’s less well-known book.

This aim of this post is to provide an additional resource for both teachers and students who are studying or revising Situation Ethics and, in particular, the topic of sexual ethics (as four chapters of the above publication are devoted to aspects of it). Additionally, Fletcher discusses the Is-Ought gap, Natural Law, euthanasia, the nature

Situation Ethics in practice – an overview of the content of Joseph Fletcher’s less well-known book. Read More »

Revision test for the Edexcel syllabus on Religion and Morality

THESE QUESTIONS ARE BASED ON THE COURSE NOTES FOR THE ABOVE TOPIC THAT CAN BE FOUND HERE, HERE AND HERE. THIS TEST (AND MANY OF THE OTHERS ON THIS SITE) MAY ALSO BE OF USE TO STUDENTS FOLLOWING OTHER ADVANCED LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES COURSES. BEAR IN MIND THAT THESE TESTS ARE MEANT TO BE DIFFICULT. FOR THIS REASON

Revision test for the Edexcel syllabus on Religion and Morality Read More »

Course notes on Religion and Morality for students of the Edexcel syllabus – Part Three : Contemporary Focuses

From the syllabus for Religion and Ethics (Paper 2): 4.2 The relationship between religion and morality a) Dependence, independence, autonomy, theonomy, heteronomy, divine command ethics, challenges from atheist and anti-theist perspectives, moral arguments for the existence and nonexistence of God. b) Contemporary focuses, including the Westboro Baptist Church, religion and terror, conservative movements, including Quiverfull, biblical parenting.

Course notes on Religion and Morality for students of the Edexcel syllabus – Part Three : Contemporary Focuses Read More »