Ethical Issues in Movies Midterm Review (Keywords)

Classes 1/21 - 2/28

Philosophy

love of wisdom

Ethics; Moral Philosophy

study of science of morals, branch of philosophy

History of Ideas; Intellectual History

a field of study that explores the development of ideas, concepts, and intellectual movements throughout history.

Applied Ethics

a field of ethics that discusses applying ethics to reality

Instrumental Reason

the use of reason as an instrument for determining the best or most efficient means for achieving an end

Aesthetics

the study of 1. beauty 2. art

The Pre-Socratics

• A group of early Greek philosophers who lived before Socrates, roughly from the 6th to the 5th century BCE.

• Focused on explaining the natural world and the fundamental nature of reality, laying the groundwork for Western philosophy

Plato

• died 0348

• True virtue is the key to leading a morally sound life.

• The pursuit of knowledge leads to the cultivation of virtue.

• Plato rejects Socrates' belief that knowledge of the good is sufficient for being virtuous; he argues that human souls have a non-rational part (emotions, impulses), and that the virtues require not only knowledge, but also the correct training of the non-rational part.

• Plato believed that ethical truths exist independently of human opinions or beliefs, and are as real and objective as mathematical truths

Socrates

• died 399 BCE

• never wrote anything, known by Plato’s writing (Plato’s teacher)

• Human Realm: focused on practical and political philosophy and ethics.

• Dialogue: He invented a new mode of investigation to define virtuous and ethical behavior.

• Virtue: equated knowledge with virtue, leading to ethical conduct.

• Inquiry: He believed that true happiness comes from doing what is right and tending to one's soul.

Platonic Dialogues

transcript-like

Socratic Method

questions, questions and more questions

Platonic Forms (Theory of the Forms)

A philosophical theory proposed by Plato, it suggests that the physical world is not as real or true as the ___, which are eternal, unchanging, and perfect archetypes existing beyond the material world. Explains Epistemology, Metaphysics, Semantics.

Epistemology

the study of knowledge

Metaphysics

theory of reality

The Allegory of the Cave (what are the parts [4] and what do they mean?)

Written by Plato

the cave: people who believe things at face value, people who believe empirical evidence

the shadows: the perceptions of those who believe empirical evidence ensures knowledge

the escape: the escaped prisoner is the Philosopher, who leaves the cave in order to gain philosophical truth and knowledge

the non-escaped prisoners reaction: represents how people are scared of knowing philosophical truths

The Ring of Gyges

Written by Plato

A ring, with powers to turn the wearer invisible/anonymous, is given to a shepherd. He uses the power to seduce the queen, kill the king, and take over the kingdom. Moral: invisibility/anonymity is the only barrier between a just and unjust person.

Consquestialism

moral theory, the reason we have morals is because of consequences

The Republic

A philosophical dialogue by Plato (Written by Socrates) that explores the nature of justice, the ideal state, and the role of individuals within the society. It is Plato's attempt to establish, philosophically, a model for all existing or emerging states.

Philosopher Kings

A ruler who possesses both a love of wisdom, as well as intelligence, reliability, and a willingness to live a simple life, first written in the Republic as the ideal leader.

Virtue Ethics

Harmony in your soul leads to happiness

Moral Realism

morals are real, forms are real

Metropolis

• Directed by Fritz Lang, 1927 (silent film)

• Set in a dystopian future, it tells the story of a divided society with the elite living above ground and oppressed workers toiling below. The film is renowned for its groundbreaking special effects, intricate set design, and exploration of themes such as class struggle and the human condition.

Aristotle

• 384-322 BCE

• student of Plato

• tutor of Alexander the Great

• His works spanned a wide range of subjects, including metaphysics, ethics, politics, biology, and aesthetics.

• As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy, he laid the groundwork for the development of modern science.

The Hedgehog and the Fox

• Isaish Berlin: “A fox knows many things, a hedgehog knows one big thing”

• Fox is Aristotle, hedgehog is Plato

Syllogism

a deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion (as in "every virtue is laudable; kindness is a virtue; therefore kindness is laudable")

First Principles

Basic propositions or assumptions that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. They are foundational facts, theories, or assumptions that serve as the basis for solving problems in various fields.

The Unmoved Mover

Aristotle’s God, immaterial substance that moves everything but cannot be moved itself. separate from the physical world.

Teleology

the study of things given meaning by their end

Eudaimonia

happiness

Casablanca

• Directed by Curtiz, 1942

• Numerous Europeans are stranded after having sought refuge from Nazi occupation in Morocco. The film focuses on an American expatriate who must choose between his love for a woman and helping her husband, a Czechoslovak resistance leader, escape from the Vichy-controlled city to continue his fight against the Germans.

Mimesis

imitation or reflection

Cliché

an expression or idea that has becomes overused and familiar

Descartes

• 1596 - 1650

• world is geometrical and mathematical

• analysis, rationalism, reason

• ushers in a new era of philosophy

First Philosophy

the branch of knowledge that deals with the fundamental type of being or substance upon which all others depend and the most fundamental causes

Skepticism

doubt to the truth of something

The Archimedean (point)

a hypothetical viewpoint from which certain objective truths can be perfectly perceived. It serves as a reliable starting point from which one can reason or shape society

The Cogito

latin for ‘think’, ___ Ergo Sum: I think, therefore I am

Ontology

the study of being

The Watchmaker Theory

a teleological argument that compares the complexity and design of the natural world to that of a watch (intricacies of nature imply the existence of an intelligent designer or creator.)

Mind-body Dualism

the philosophical view that mind and body (or matter) are fundamentally distinct kinds of substances or natures.

Provisional Morality

• a set of guidelines that Descartes proposed to help people live while doubting everything. It's a temporary moral code that's intended to help people act decisively and avoid making assumptions. 

• Obey the laws and customs of your country

• Be firm and decisive in your actions

• Follow even the most doubtful opinions once you've adopted them

Godzilla

• Directed by Honda, 1954

• a Japanese film that depicts the sudden appearance of a giant monster who is created by nuclear weapons testing. The monster attacks Japan, causing massive destruction and panic. The film explores the themes of nuclear holocaust, human nature, and responsibility.

Allogory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one

Kant

• 1724-1804

• Idealism, humanism, and ethics are essential keys to this philosophers’ philosophy

• His best-known works include "Critique of Pure Reason," "Critique of Practical Reason," and "Critique of Judgment." These explore the scope and limits of human understanding, the foundations of morality, and the appreciation of beauty, respectively.

Kant’s Copernican Revolution

Kant saying that categories (basically Plato’s forms) are subjective, but the basic idea is objective

• everything is subjective, you’re trapped in your brain

Subject & Object

subjective view; objective view

Idealism

thinking about things

(1) Phenomena & (2) Noumena

• (1) things that can be observed or experienced by the senses

• (2) abstract concepts that are not directly observable and constitute the underlying reality

Kantian Categories

basically, Plato’s forms in your head

(1) a priori & (2) a posteriori

• (1) knowledge that proceeds from concepts

• (2) knowledge that proceeds from experience

The Categorical Revolution

an unconditional rule of conduct that tells us to think about whether everyone would follow a particular action all the time. Kant believed that an imperative is "categorical" when it is true at all times and in all situations

Deontology

ethical theory based on duty, outlined by Kant

Night and Fog

• directed by Resnais, 1956

• a French documentary on the liberation of the concentration camps after WW2. The film explores who is at fault for the tragedy and showing the world the real images from the tragedy.

The Banality of Evil

the idea that will isn’t innate, it is the failure to think

The New Categorical Imparative

• rearranging our thinking so nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again

• metaphysics cannot be philosophy, it has to be ethics

Hegal

• 1770 - 1831

• freedom, reason, self-consciousness, and recognition

• Man has a history, but nature does not.

• All men do not have the same categories of fact.

• Human thought develops.

• Philosophy should give a rational account of religion.

• Social stability is possible after the French revolution.

(Hegelian) Phenomenology

As Hegel defines it, is the exploration of how the human mind perceives and imbues meaning to the world, not a study of the world itself.

Geist

spirit, mind

(Hegelian) Dialectic

Hegel’s method and how he understands history, thesis → anthesis → synthesis → new thesis → …

Aufhebung

sublation, negation

Master-Slave Dialectic

Hegel the story of two independent “self-consciousnesses” who encounter one another and engage in a life-and-death struggle. The two self-consciousnesses must struggle because each one sees the other as a threat to itself.

Léon Morin, Priest

• Director Melville, 1961

• an atheist widow named Barny decides to test Father Léon Morin's beliefs and finds herself drawn to the man and his unshakable faith. The film explores themes of religion, faith, and intellectual discussion

Kierkegaard

• 1813 - 1855

• The concept of "subjective and objective truths"

• The knight of faith

• The recollection and repetition dichotomy

• Angst

• The infinite qualitative distinction

• Faith as a passion

• The three stages on life's way

Teleological Suspension of the Ethical

suspend ethics to make room for faith (Abraham story)

Extentialism

puts emphasis on individual expense (anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and trembling) [if it was a color, it would be darkness]

Marx

• 1818 - 1853

• “Hegel on his Head”

• Task to materialize Hegel:

  • Phenomology → Economics

  • Dialectical Idealism → Dialectical Materialism

Dialectical Materialism

dialectics in the real world

Commodity

something to be bought/sold

Alienation

from work, from products, from other human beings, from the means of production

Class Struggle

Marx's theory argues that society consists of two main competing classes - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the owners of the means of production who employ wage labour (master), while the proletariat are the working class who sell their labour to survive (slave). Marx sees classes in society in terms of antagonistic cooperation, and conflict between the two classes in every mode of production is the force behind historical developments.

Communism

a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.