Philosophy 103
Final Exam Study Guide
I. Identifying terms and distinctions:
You should be able
to explain the following in a few sentences:
From the Midterm Study Guide:
Logic: valid
argument; modus ponens
(include example); modus tollens (include
example)
"Euthyphro": Euthyphro's
attempted definitions of piety (at least 3); "divine command"
theory of
morality
Republic:
Glaucon's three
categories of value; Socrates' definition of justice in the city and in
the individual
Nicomachean
Ethics: the two criteria that Aristotle claims that
anything must meet in order to be the best
good; his definition of
happiness (eudaimonia); his
account of the human telos;
his account of
what
a virtue is; his account
of virtue as a mean; his
distinction between continence and
temperance and
incontinence and
intemperance; his 3 types of friendship
Encheiridion:
Epictetus' distinction between what is and is not up to us; his
view of
the attitude we ought to
take toward death--either our own or family members'
Leviathan:
Hobbes' definition of appetite, aversion, power, felicity; his First and
Second Laws
of
Nature
From 2nd Half of Semester
Utilitarianism:
hedonism; Mill's
Greatest
Happiness
Principle (the standard of right action);
the "doctrine
fit for swine" objection; internal vs. external sanctions; higher vs.
lower
pleasures
Kant's Groundwork:
hypothetical vs. categorical imperatives; a priori vs. a posteriori
knowledge;
necessary vs. contingent truth; Kant's Formula of Universal Law;
his
Formula of Humanity as an End in Itself
II. Short Essay
You should be able to develop short essays of a few paragraphs on the
following topics.
(The more carefully you can develop your answers the better.)
From the Midterm Study Guide
1. Explain the "divine command" theory
of
morality. What
is the most important objection against
this theory? How might a
defender
respond to this objection?
2. What criteria, according to Aristotle, must
something meet in order to qualify as the "chief good?"
What
does he think actually meets these criteria? How does he defend
this view?
3. Set out Aristotle's substantive account of
eudaimonia? What does he
think it doesn't consist
in? What
alternative
account does he develop?
How does he defend this view (especially relying on the telos
for human
beings)?
4. Aristotle claims that virtue is a
mean. How does he explain and defend this claim?
Use
an example to illustrate this view.
5. Explain the maint features
of Epictetus'
account of how we ought to live. What is
the most
important objection against this account? How might Epictetus
respond?
6. Explain the most important features of
Hobbes' view of human nature and the "state of nature."
What
objections are there against this view? How might Hobbes respond?
From 2nd Half of Semester
7. Explain the objection against
utilitarianism--that it is "a doctrine fit for swine." How does
Mill respond
to
this objection? Is his response adequate?
8. How does Mill defend or "prove" the claim
that happiness is the sole intrinsic good? (See Chpt.
4 in
Utilitarianism.) Consider
potential problems with this argument.
How might a utilitarian
address these problems?
9. Set out Kant's Formula of Universal Law and
illustrate it by applying it to a particular case
(you may choose one of
Kant's examples or one of your own). What potential problems are
there with the way in which
the formula applies in this case, or problems with the formula in
general? How might a
Kantian address these problems?
10. Set out Kant's Formula of Humanity and
illustrate it by applying it to a particular case
(you may choose one of
Kant's examples or one of your own). What potential problems are
there with the way in which
the formula applies in this case, or problems with the formula in
general? How might a
Kantian address these problems?
11. How does Nietzsche describe the difference
between what he calls the morality of good and evil
("slave morality") and the
morality of good and bad ("master morality")? Why does he think
that
"master moralities" are
superior? What fundamental features of human nature does he think
are
denied and degraded by
"slave morality?" Explain what you take to be the most important
objection
against Nietzsche's
account.
12. Set out Singer's
account of animal equality. How does he make the case for the
moral
equality of
animals and
humans? What practical implications does
he think this equality has
for our treatment of
animals?
Explain what you take to be the most important objection
against Singer's view. How might
Singer
respond?
13. Set out Singer's argument
regarding our
moral obligations toward people in poverty.
Explain what you take to be the most important objection to this
argument. How
does
(or how might) Singer respond to this objection? Is his response
adequate?
III Longer Essay
You should be able to develop an essay
of several paragraphs on the
following
topic. If you wish you may
write the essay in advance and turn it in (typed, double-spaced)
with your final exam.
Topic: I stated in the
syllabus that the
following questions are among the most fundamental
questions of
ethics: 1.
What is the foundation of morality? 2. What is the sole
intrinsic
good (or the
highest good, or good
without qualification)? 3. What kinds of acts are right
or
wrong? 4. Why should I be
moral?
In this essay, your
task is to focus on
one of these questions and set
out carefully the
answers that two
of the philosophers we read provide for it. Explain each
philosopher's
approach as
carefully as you can, and be sure to
point out important similarities and
differences
between the two.
Once you have
set out both accounts
carefully, criticize one or
both of them. Is one of
these accounts
more plausible than the
other? Are there problems with both? Explain
and defend your view.
Finally, what does
your discussion lead you to conclude regarding
the answer to
this fundamental question?