Philosophy Exam 2 Study Guide

Philosphy study guide

What is a valid argument?

An argument where if the premises are true then the conclusion must be true as well.

What is a sound argument?

An argument where the argument is valid and the premises are true

According to Aristotle, what is the highest good for human beings?

The highest good for human beings is to live a life of flourishing (eudaimonia) through virtuous actions.

What is Aristotle’s taxonomy of living things?

Plants - Nutrition
Non-human Animals - Nutrition, Perception
Humans - Nutrition, Perception, and Reasoning

(N, NP, NPR)

What role does the capacity for rational thought play into Aristotle’s account of human virtue, or moral excellence?

Rational thought helps individuals choose actions that align with virtue by balancing extremes.

What is Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean?

virtuous traits lie between two extremes: excess and deficiency

Why, according to Aristotle, are morally excellent character traits important, and how does a person acquire them?

Morally excellent character traits are important to lead a virtuous life.

A person can acquire morally excellent traits through habituation through repetition, knowledge, and feeling.

What are the central claims of virtual ethics?

Moral excellence is achieved by developing virtuous character traits through habitual actions guided by reason.

Aristotle and virtue ethicists emphasize the importance of both the judgements of morally excellent people and the reasons why said judgements are good. What criticisms have been raised about this?

It is not directly the morally good person that decided whether or not an action is morally good or not

but rather

the reasoning that goes behind a decision to determine whether an action is morally good or not.

What is the criticisms of virtue ethics that draws on the research on “situationism” in psychology

That the situation holds a greater effect on the action of a person than the character traits of that person

(e.g. a morally good person who is running late for class didn’t give money to a homeless person, which he usually does, and rushes to class)

What is the “formula of universal legislation” (i.e. what does it mean)?

acting according to maxims where at the same time can be willed as universal laws

What is the “formula of humanity” (i.e. what does it mean)?

People should be treated as humans, not as a means to an end

How is the formula of humanity related to Kant’s account of the foundation of morality?

The formula of humanity related to the foundation of morality by grounding moral duty and respecting others intrinstic worth and autonomy.

What, according to Kant, is required for an action to have “moral worth”?

For something to have moral worth, according to kant, it must be done out of a sense of duty and duty alone.

Why does Kant emphasize examples where a person does something that is both morally good and contrary to their desires and inclinations?

Because those are the examples that are easiest to see someone is acting solely from duty and going against their desires and inclinations.

What criticism do virtue ethicists typically raise against Kant’s account of “moral worth”?

Kant’s focus’ on duty overlooks how virtues, like compassion and empathy, naturally motivate morally worthy actions.

What does Kant’s ethics imply about the moral status of non-rational animals, and why might this be a problem?

That since non-rational animals do not have moral worth this mean that technically animal abuse is okay, this view fails to recognize the moral significance of animals.

What are the most important similarities and differences between Kant’s ethics and Aristotle’s ethics?

Kants ethics: focuses on universal duty and how morally worthy actions dependent on a sense of duty

Aristotle’s ethics: focuses on human flourishing by good character traits and feeling’s for morally worthy action.

Similarities: Both believe reason plays a part in ethics

What are consequentialism, utilitarianism, and hedonic utilitarianism, respectively?

Consequentialism: A moral theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of actions based on their outcomes or consequences.

Utilitarianism: A form of consequentialism that promotes actions that maximize overall happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people.

Hedonic Utilitarianism: A specific type of utilitarianism that defines happiness in terms of pleasure and the absence of pain, focusing on maximizing pleasurable experiences.

What is the “principle of utility”?

the best action a person can make that maximizes overall happiness and minimizes suffering

What is the “swine morality” objection, and why is it a problem for Bentham’s form of utilitarianism? How does John Stuart Mill respond to this objection?

Swine morality objection is the argument that only merely seeking pleasure overlooks higher pleasures (like intellectual and emotional pleasures)

this is a problem for Bentham’s form of utilitarianism because it suggests that his focus on maximizing pleasures doesn’t account for the qualitative differences between pleasures.

John Stuart Mill responds by distinguishing between higher and lower pleasures to add that qualitative differences between pleasures.

Why is classical utilitarianism thought to have problematic implications for distributive justice?

Because it prioritizes overall happiness over individual rights and equity.

Why, according to Tom Regan, are Dr. Saul Krugman’s experiments on the children at Willowbrook State Hospital relevant for debates over the moral permissibility of animal vivisection?

Because Dr. Saul experiments on children who didn’t have rational function - animals too do not have rational function. Everyone would say that the Willowbrook experiment would be morally wrong therefore in that logic animal vivisection would be wrong too.

What is the “categorical imperative” (i.e. what does it mean)? How, according to Kant, are we supposed to use this in moral deliberation?

individuals act only according to maxims that can be consistently willed as universal laws.