[Be sure you are familiar with the format and ground rules for this exam.]

Questions will be referred to by their "names," listed to their left.

"Name"	Question
A-CLAS	Into what four main classes does A.J. Ayer divide the pronouncements of ordinary systems of ethics? Explain each and give examples. With which of these classes should ethical philosophers be concerned, according to Ayer? Is he right? What does Ayer say about the other classes?
A-MEAN	Explain A.J. Ayer's account of the meaning of ethical statements. On Ayer's account what would it mean to say (i) "It was morally wrong of Geoffrey to tell the company that the computer was broken from the start when it really broke a week after it arrived," (ii) "Lying is morally wrong." Critically discuss the plausibility of Ayer's account.
A-SUBJ	A.J. Ayer considers an argument G.E. Moore offered against subjectivism. What is this argument? Does it, with suitable modification, apply to Ayer's own theory? What is Ayer's response to the modified argument?
A-DISP	In what way and to what extent do we dispute about matter of value according to A.J. Ayer? Critically discuss.
M-ORD	Explain the different first order and second order theses that J.L. Mackie claims go under the names of "skepticism" or "subjectivism." What are the differences between the theories? Which does Mackie espouse? Critically discuss.
M-ALTS	Mackie writes "If we reject the view that it is the function of such terms to introduce objective values into discourse about conduct and choices of action, then there seem to be two main alternative types of account." Explain these two alternatives and why Mackie rejects them. Is he right to reject them? Critically discuss.
M-ERR	Explain J.L. Mackie's "error theory" of morality. Critically discuss.
M-REL	Explicate and critically discuss J.L. Mackie's "argument from relativity."
M-QUE	Explicate and critically discuss J.L. Mackie's "argument from queerness" and its various parts.
H-TEST	In what way can moral principles be tested by thought experiments, according to Gilbert Harman? Can such testing lead to falsification of an ethical theory or principle? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
H-OBS	Does Gilbert Harman think there are moral observations? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
H-DIS	What disanalogy does Harman find between the role of observation in testing of moral theories and the role of observation in the testing of scientific theories? Explain. Is he right about this? What does this show about whether moral realism is correct? Critically discuss.
H-MATH	In a section entitled "Ethics and Mathematics" Gilbert Harman considers a different role for observation. Explain whether and how, according to Harman, there is observational evidence for mathematics. What would need to be true of ethics for ethics to have the same relationship to observation as mathematics does, according to Harman? Critically discuss.
H-FUNC	Carefully explain the "functionalist" analysis of value terms which Harman considers in the section entitled "Ethical Naturalism: Functionalism." Use examples. What problems does Harman see with a functionalist account of ethics. Critically discuss.
SG-WOO	Explain Sturgeon's Woodworth example. What does Sturgeon think this shows? How might a critic of Sturgeon's view respond? Critically discuss.
SG-CHA	Sturgeon's Hitler and Woodworth examples involve moral character. Explore whether and how (or how not) someone who agreed with Sturgeon's moral realism and the nature of moral explanations could make the same points with examples of moral right and wrong (deontological notions) instead of moral character.
SG-CQ	Explain the role of the "counterfactual question" Sturgeon thinks is essential to Harman's skeptical argument. What ways of understanding this question does Sturgeon delineate and how does he reply to each way of reading the question? Critically discuss.
SG-PAR	Is ethical observation on par with "scientific" observation? Why or why not, according to Gilbert Harman? How does Nicholas Sturgeon reply to Harman's arguments? Critically discuss.
W-THIC	Williams talks of "thick moral concepts." What are those? He says "the application of these concepts is at the same time world-guided and action-guiding." What does he mean by that? What account does he suggest the "prescriptivist" would give of these concepts? What is the critic's reply, according to Williams? Critically discuss.
W-DEST	Williams argues that "reflection can destroy knowledge." Explain his argument for this conclusion. Critically discuss.