Philosophy 450
Final Exam Study Guide
Fall 2009


I.  Terms and Distinctions (no books or notes)

You should be able to explain the following in a few sentences:

    --Eudaimonia (Aristotle's substantive account of it)
    --Telos for human beings (Aristotle's account of it)
    --completeness (of a good; Aristotle)
    --virtue as a mean (Aristotle)
    --incontinence/continence/intemperance/temperance (Aristotle)
    --hedonism (Mill)
    --"Greatest Happiness Principle" (standard of right action, Mill)
    --"doctrine fit for swine objection" to utilitarianism (Mill)
    --internal/external sanctions (Mill)
    --moral imperatives as universal, categorical, necessary, a priori (Kant)
    --Formula of Universal Law (explain briefly, Kant)
    --Formula of Humanity as an End Itself (explain briefly, Kant)
    --consequentialism (Williams)
    --negative responsibility (Williams)
    --A vs. A+ (Railton's distinction between them)
    --non-moral good (Railton's account of it)
    --moral rightness (Railton's account of it)
    --Paradox of Hedonism (Railton)
    --sophisticated hedonist (Railton)
    --sophisticated consequentialist (Railton
   
II.  Short Essay (open book, open notes)

You should be able to develop essays of a few paragraphs on the following topics:

    --Set out Aristotle's defense of his substantive account of eudaimonia (the defense that
             relies on an appeal to the human telos).

    --Explain Mill's reponse to the "doctrine fit for swine" objection to utilitarianism.  What is one
             potential problem that arises for this response?

    --Explain Mill's "proof", in Chpt. 4 of Utilitarianism, of the claim that happiness is the sole
             intrinsic good.

    --Explain Darwall's critique of Mill's "proof" in Chpt. 4.  How might a utilitarian avoid the
             problem that Darwall raises?

    --Explain Kant's Formula of Universal Law, and illustrate its application with an example.

    --Explain Kant's Formula of Humanity as an End in Itself, and illustrate its application with
          an example.

    --Explain Moore's 'open-question' argument.  What does this argument attempt to prove, and
          how does it do so?

    --Explain Darwall's critique of Moore's open-question argument.  Why does he think that,
          despite its flaws, the open-question argument "continues to exert a powerful influence?"

    --Explain Mackie's argument from relativism.  What conclusion does this argument defend,
          and how does it do so?

    --Explain Mackie's argument from queerness.  What conclusion does this argument defend,
          and how does it do so?

    --Explain Williams' argument for the claim that a commitment to consequentialism will
          violate an agent's integrity.

    --Explain Railton's account of moral rightness in "Moral Realism."  How does he think that
          moral facts, on this account, will exhibit the features of independence and feedback?

    --Explain Railton's account of the sophisticated consequentialist.  How does Juan illustrate
          this account?  In what way is this account supposed to address the problem of alienation?
   
    --Explain the "Frege-Geach" problem as a challenge to expressivism.  How does Blackburn
          try to address this problem?