A2 Religious Ethics
Students will be using the ethical theories studied in AS, and may even be asked about the AS ethical issues in the A2 exam paper.
Virtue Ethics is a new ethical theory for A2, and students look at questions about free will, the conscience and meta-ethics. These may be applied to the ethical issues studied.
The ethical issues for A2 are sex and relationships, the environment and business ethics. As in AS, the questions tend to be non-specific. Students may look at homosexuality, marriage and masturbation, but the exam would ask about 'sex and relationships'.
Metaethics has been moved to A2, as it was quite challenging to AS students. Ethics ask questions about the way we behave and the rules we live by. Meta-ethics asks questions about ethics.
When we say "It is wrong to steal", what am I saying? Meta-ethics looks at the different responses. Emotivism claims I am saying "I don't like stealing". Prescriptivists claim I am saying "No-one should steal". Intuitionists say we just know it's wrong to steal.