| Introduction to Ethics | Richard Lee |
| Philosophy 2103 sec. 012 | Summer 2009 |
This examination counts as twenty percent (20%) of your course grade.
You may use a 3"x5" card of notes of your own making.
You will be asked to write four (4) essays (worth five (5) points each). You will have a choice of at least five (5) essay questions. By "essay" I mean a discussion (in complete sentences) that will probably take more than a paragraph or two, but should take no more than a few pages.
As always, cheating will not be tolerated. No help in answering the questions may be received from anyone (except yourself) during the examination.
| PE-FA | Early in Plato's dialogue Euthyphro Euthyphro argues that he ought to prosecute his father. Critically discuss the considerations he adduces in support of his position. |
| PE-OB | Explain and evaluate the objections that Euthyphro's family raises to his intention to prosecute his father. |
| N-JOBS | What jobs involve people doing descriptive ethics? Explain. What jobs involve people doing normative ethics? Explain. What jobs involve people doing metaethics. Explain. |
| N-SPEC | Explain what Lee calls the "Two-tiered Spectrum of Moral Evaluation of Actions." Give examples of actions that fit in the various categories. |
| N-3 | State and explain two different general normative ethical theories (other than utilitarianism or Kantian ethical theory). Consider a specific action and explain how each of these theories would determine the rightness or wrongness of the action. |
| B-FAC | Explain at least three of the factors Jeremy Bentham sets down for measuring the value of a pleasure or pain. Give examples of pleasures and pains which have and lack these features. |
| B-METH | Bentham details how to determine the "general tendency of an act, by which the interests of a community are affected." Explain this method and apply it to an example. That is, explain how one could apply Bentham's method to determine whether to tell a lie, for instance. |
| M-LIFE | John Stuart Mill distinguishes a utilitarian "theory of life" from a "theory of morality." Explain what each of these is and how they are related. |
| M-FUN | What principle does Mill accept as the fundamental principle of morals? Give an example of its application. |
| M-IRAN | How would a utilitarian go about determining whether it would be right for the United States government to bomb Iran? |
| M-SWI | How does Mill respond to the objection that his utilitarian doctrine is "a doctrine worthy only of swine ...?" Critically discuss. |
| M-QUAL | Mill claims that pleasures differ in quality as well as in quantity. What does Mill mean by this and what support does he offer for the claim? Critically discuss. |
| M-HIGH | J. S. Mill claims that some pleasures have "higher value" than other pleasures. Explain his argument for this claim. Critically discuss. |
| M-H&C | Explain the distinction Mill draws between being happy and being content. |
| M-PIG | John Stuart Mill claimed that "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." Critically discuss his argument for this claim. |
| M-LOW | Some people who have experienced the "higher" or mental pleasures still at times choose sensual pleasures instead. How does Mill account for this? Critically discuss. |
| M-WOR | How does Mill think we are to decide which pleasures are more worth having? Is this method reasonable? Critically discuss. |
| NI-CON | Nielsen argues against a view he calls "moral conservatism." Explain this view. What does the "conservative" hold, according to Nielsen? How does he (attempt to) show the conservative to be mistaken? Is his argument a good one? Explain |
| NI-FAT | What is the "Case of the Innocent Fat Man" as explained by Nielsen? What, according to Nielsen, should be done in such a case? Why? |
| NI-APR | It is sometimes said that moral theory is a priori? What does this mean? Does it follow that the truth of moral principles and judgments is independent of how the world is? Explain. |
| W1-NR | What does Bernard Williams mean by "negative responsibility?" Is the doctrine of negative responsibility correct? Critically discuss. |
| W1-EX | Explain the details either of Bernard Williams' "George's job prospect" example or of his "Jim and the Indians" example in his critique of utilitarianism. What kind of consideration, according to Williams, does a utilitarian analysis of Williams' "George" and "Jim" examples leave out which ought not be left out? How can utilitarianism best be defended against Williams' critique? Critically discuss. |
| W1-JI | Explain the details of Bernard Williams' "Jim and the Indians" example. What should Jim do in these circumstances? Why? Explore answers that might be given by various ethical theories or principles. |
| B-CRIT | William Baxter lays out "ultimate testing criteria" for solutions to environmental problems (and other "problems of human organization"). Explain each of these criteria. Do these seem good criteria to use? Why or why not? Critically discuss. |
| B-IRR | Baxter writes "Damage to penguins, or sugar pines, or geological marvels is, without more, simply irrelevant." Why does he hold this? What is the force of his qualification "without more?" What are his reasons for holding this view? |
| B-ENDS | Baxter considers the possibility that "polar bears or pine trees or penguins, like men, are to be regarded as ends rather than means ..." But he finds objections to this. What are his objections? Are they good objections? Critically discuss. |
| B-OPT | Baxter writes "our objective is not pure air or water but rather some optimal state of pollution." What does he mean by this? Why does he hold this view? Should he hold this view? Critically discuss. |
| P-DIV | Explain what Pojman calls the "diversity thesis," and what he calls the "dependency thesis" and how these together yield the conclusion that "there are no universally valid moral principles." Critically discuss. |
| P-CONV | What does Pojman mean by "conventionalism?" What does he mean by "subjectivism?" What is the difference between these views? |
| P-ABS | What "absurd consequences" does Pojman think follow from subjectivism? |
| P-TOL | Pojman argues that there is a contradiction in the view that ethical relativism entails intercultural tolerance. Explain and evaluate his argument. |
| P-REF | Explain Pojman's argument that ethical relativism "seems to entail that reformers are always (morally) wrong." Critically discuss. |
| P-SUB | Explain why the possibility that a person may simultaneously belong to several societies (or subcultures) presents a problem for conventionalism. |
| P-RED | Explain how Pojman argues that "conventionalist relativism seems to reduce to subjectivism." |
| P-OBJ | How does Pojman distinguish moral absolutism from what he calls "moral objectivism?" |
| P-PFP | What is meant by saying of a moral principle that it is a "prima facie principle?" |
| K-JEWL | Explain Kant's "jewel" analogy. What point is he trying to make? |
| K-2FOR | Specify two significantly different formulations Kant offers of the categorical imperative. Explain each. |
| K-EG | Specify one of Kant's formulations of his categorical imperative. Consider a couple of examples of actions. Explain why these actions are morally right or morally wrong based on that formulation of the categorical imperative. |
| K-ACC | Explain the distinction Immanuel Kant draws between acting from duty and acting merely in accordance with duty. Give examples of each. What does Kant claim to be the relevance of this distinction? (I.e., what difference does it make whether we act from duty or merely in accordance with duty?) Is Kant right about all this? Critically discuss. |
| K-HYP | Explain the difference between a hypothetical imperative and a categorical imperative. |
| K-SKI | Explain the differences Kant sees among rules of skill, counsels of prudence, and commands of morality. Give examples of each. |
| K-MAX | What does Kant mean by the term "maxim?" Give examples. What maxims does Kant say it is permissible or impermissible to act from? Explain. |
| K-PER | Explain Kant's distinction between "perfect" and "imperfect" duties. Give examples of each and critically explore the distinction. |
| E-1 | As cited by Rachels, what is the AMA's position on mercy killing and the cessation of extraordinary means of prolonging someone's life? What is Rachel's critique of this position? Critically discuss. |
| E-2 | James Rachels in "Active and Passive Euthanasia" argues that killing is morally no worse than letting die. Explain his argument. Critically discuss. |