| 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 two (2) essays (worth ten (10) points each). You will have a choice of at least four (4) 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.
| G-EUTH | The question is sometimes asked: "Is an action right because God commands it, or does God command it because it is right?" Explore various answers to this question and problems with those answers. | ||||||||
| G-3PRO | Holt argues that "if the theist ... [holds] that morally good acts are good because they are willed by God, then he faces" three problems. Explain each of these problems and how these follow from that position. | ||||||||
| R-PF | What does W. D. Ross mean by "prima facie duty?" What is the connection, on Ross's account, between prima facie duties and our actual duty? Explain. | ||||||||
| R-DUT | List and explain the kinds of prima facie duties Ross thinks we have. Is his list complete? Is there anything on his list that shouldn't be there? Is there any way to compress the list to include fewer divisions? Explain. | ||||||||
| A-VIOL | Judith Jarvis Thomson begins one example with "You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious violinist." Explain this example. What is Thomson trying to prove using this example? Is she successful? Why or why not? Critically discuss. | ||||||||
| A-EX | In "A Defense of Abortion" Judith Jarvis Thomson uses several examples. These include: the violinist, the tiny house, Smith's coat, Henry Fonda's touch, some example involving chocolates, the burglar, and people seeds. Choose one of these examples other than the violinist. Explain the example. Explain the general point Thomson is trying to make by using the example. (Not just: she's making an analogy with abortion.) Explain how the argument is supposed to work. Critique and evaluate the argument. | ||||||||
| A-PER | Warren distinguishes persons from human beings. Explain what a human being is, as discussed in class. Explain what a person is, as discussed in class. Are there persons who are not human beings? Are there human beings who are not persons? What does any of this have to do with the abortion debate. Explain and critically discuss. | ||||||||
| N-ML1 | Explain what Nagel means by "moral luck." Work through a couple of examples of moral luck. | ||||||||
| H-3QUA | Hobbes identifies three principal causes of quarrel. Explain what these are and how they, in Hobbes' view, lead to war. | ||||||||
| H-GRR | What is the first "general rule of reason" that Thomas Hobbes appeals to in his Leviathan and what are its two branches? Does reason require us to obey this "law?" Critically discuss. | ||||||||
| H-2LN | What is the "second law" (of Nature) enunciated by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan? Explain his defense of this principle. Show how this supposed law of nature shapes the moral system Hobbes advocates. Critically discuss. | ||||||||
| S-WRO | Explain Scanlon's view about when an action is wrong. Work through an example showing application of his view. Does his view seem reasonable/correct? Critically discuss. | ||||||||
| W-&H |
Explain what Hobbes means by war. Explain how Orend defines war. Explain the
differences in their accounts of what war is. What, if anything, in Orend's account
of just war theory would be affected by taking Hobbes's definition of war instead of
his own? Critically discuss.
| W-JAB |
According to just war theory, under what circumstances is it
morally permissible to go to war? Explain each of the conditions
laid out by just war theory for the permissibility of going to war.
| W-DIS |
Explain the just war principle of "discrimination." State it
and provide examples of actions which would be morally acceptable
according to it, and also examples of actions which would be morally
unacceptable according to that principle.
| W-PAC |
What is pacifism, according to Orend? What distinction does he draw between
what he calls "CP" and "DP?" Orend explores several objections to
pacifism. Explain a couple of these and whether they apply to CP or DP (or both).
| W-DDE |
State and carefully explain the principle (or "doctrine") of double
effect. Give examples of actions which would be morally acceptable
according to it, and also examples of actions which would be morally
unacceptable according to that principle. (And explain, of course, how
these examples satisfy or violate, respectively, the principle of double
effect.)
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