Philosphy final

First-Order Desire

a desire to act in a particular way- ex. I want to drink water

Second-order desire

a desire about a first order desire- ex. I want to not want to smoke

Second-order Volition

desire for a first-order desire to be your will- ex. I want to act on my desire to do x. (This is a type of second order desire)

Higher-order desire theory

freedom is the power to act on the desire you want to act on - claims that the willing thief has free will but the unwilling addict does not.

Wolf's sane deep self theory

an individual is morally responsible for their actions only if those actions are a product of a "deep self" that is in alignment with reality and not afflicted by insanity

State of the world at a time T=

a complete list of i. every object that exists at t and ii. all properties of those objects at time t

determinism

the state of the world at any given time and the laws of nature necessary for one future state of the world

Fatalism

every state of the world is absolutely necessary

Ability to do otherwise condition (AO)

person x acted or chose freely if and only if c could have acted or chosen differently

The Desire Theory

Freedom is the power to act on your desires without external constraint

untouchable fact

a fact that no human being in history has ever had the power to change

The untouchability principle

if p is an untouchable fact, and its an untouchable fact that if p then q, then q is an untouchable fact

compatibilism

determinism is compatible with free will

incompatibilism

if determinism is true, then we have no free will

libertarian incompatibilism

incompatibilism is true and we have free will- we can make our own choices at least sometimes

hard incompatibilism

incompatibilism is true and we do not have free will- Paraboom claims with this that nobody is responsible for their own choices

Retributivist Theory of Punishment

claims that criminal punishment is justified because criminals deserve punishment for their crimes

moral education theory

criminal punishment educates criminals morally

deterrence theory

punishing criminals is justified because it prevents future crime

contagion theory

criminal punishment is justified because, like quarantine, it prevents the criminal from further harming society

Hedonistic Theory of Value

Pleasure is the only intrinsic good, pain is the only intrinsic bad

Hedonism on the "good life"

the best life is the life of maximum net pleasure

epicurean theory of desire

divides natural desires into those which are necessary for health, life, and happiness and those unnecessary for life health and happiness

Net pleasure

total pleasure - total pain in a life

Final end

The overall pleasure in life is determined by the point at which it ends

Virtue theory of the good life

the good life is one of maximum moral virtue

The Function Argument

(FA1) the good human life is one that exellenty fulfills the characteristic human function
(FA2) the characteristic human function is action involving reason
(FA3) therefore, the good life is a life of excellent action involving reason
(FA4) the life of excellent action involving reason is a morally virtuous life
(FA5) therefore the good life is a life of moral virtue

defense of FA2

(FA2: the characteristic human function is action involving reason)
2.1 the characteristic human function is biological life or sense perception or action involving reasoning
2.2 the characteristic human function is not biological life
2.3 the characteristic human function is not sense perception
2.4 therefore the characteristic human function is action involving reason

The bad consquences argument

(BC1) belief in hard incompatibilism has bad consequences
(BC2) we should not hold beliefs that have bad consequences
(BC3) therefore, we should not believe hard incompatibilism

Defense of BC 1

(BC1): belief in hard incompatibilism has bad consequences

- rejecting moral responsibility leads to additional dangerous ideas such as the belief that i. nothing is morally right or wrong and ii. that criminal punishment is unjustifiable

Aristotles Theory of value

breaks desireable ends into three categories: instrumental, intrinsic, and final

Instrumental value

valuable for the sake of something else

Instrinsic value

Valuable for its own sake

Final value

desireable for its own sake AND not desireable for the sake of anything else

Three clarifications of determinism

1. determinism is not a thesis about what we know
2. determinism is weaker than fatalism
3. determinism is not defined as the thesis that we have no free will

Deep Self views (DSVs)

a person is free when their will is controlled by their deep self

Vain Desires

Irrational desires we develop through socialization- cannot be truly fulfilled

Death is not bad argument

(NB1) something can be bad for me only if I can experience it
(NB2) I can't experience the state of being dead
(NB3) therefore, being dead won't be bad for me

Defense of NB2

(NB2): I can't experience the state of being dead
2.1: I can't experience anything when I don't exist
2.2: I won't exist when i'm dead
2.3: Therefore i can't experience being dead

The experience machine claim

(EM1) If hedonism is true then it would be good for me to plug into the machine
(EM2) it would not be good for me to plug into the machine
(EM3) Therefore, hedonism is false

The consequence argument

(C1) Determinism is true
(C2) DINO is an untouchable fact
(C3) it is an untouchable fact that if DINO occured, then I am in philosophy class now
(C4) therefore, it is an untouchable fact that I am in philosophy class
(C5) Therefore, if determinism is true, then its an untouchable fact that I am now in philosophy

DINO

The state of the world at an arbitrary moment in 70 million BCE plus the laws of nature

The Argument from Chance

(AC1) if indeterminism is true then our choices are a matter of chance
(AC2) we don't control what occurs as a matter of chance
(AC3) we aren't responsible for the things we can't control
(AC4) therefore, if indeterminism is true, then we aren't responsible for our choices

Defense of AC1

The rollback argument- some things just happen/ some choices are made just based on chance

Moral Virtue

A habit or disposition to behave and feel a certain way

Function-Dependence

when the value of one attribute (or a set of attributes) uniquely determines the value of another attribute.

Argument for Pessimism

P1: any life filled with repetitive and ultimately meaningless tasks is a life without meaning
P2: Our lives are filled with repetitive and ultimately meaningless tasks
P3: therefore, our lives are meaningless

Optimism

are lives are- or at least COULD BE meaningful

Wolf's requirements for meaning in life

- active engagement
- projects of positive value
- some degree of success