Philosophy Midterm

What are the 4 cardinal virtues ?

Prudence Justice Courage & moderation

prudence

(practical wisdom) – the ability to navigate complex situations in the best possible way

Justice

acting fairly towards others and respecting them as human beings

Courage

endurance and the ability to confront our fears

Moderation

(temperance) – the ability to practice self-restraint and to act in right measure

Utilitarianism

an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. It is a form of consequentialism.

greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct.

( Jeremy Bentham & J.S. Mill )

Consequentialism

The ultimate moral concern – the consequences of one’s actions

Cultural Relativism

moral truth claims & statements are relative to a particular culture -( right and wrong are relative and no moral objective truths)

Moral Relativism

no moral objective truths, it is dependent on the environment, Social groups & individual

Subjectivism

Morality is dependent on individual not the society (knowledge is merely subjective and that there is no external or objective truth)

Emotivism

A thesis which tells us that moral judgements can’t be taken as facts, as they reflect the persons opinion and the motions rather then the facts.

Socratic method

relentless questioning of others beliefs

Historicism

all moral norms & value ju7dgements are relative to a specific historical time or era

diversity thesis

moral rules differ from society to society

dependency thesis

individuals are right or wrong depending on the nature of the society from which they emanate ( depends on context )

Moral objectivism

morality is based on a set of moral standards that should be adhered to ( universal moral standards / core morality )

What is Kants theory

Morality is defined by duties and one's action is moral if it is an act motivated by duty. aka the intentions are more important than the consequences

Hegel’s main focus

community & humans are social animals

Hobbes main focus

the civil society / state

What is the categorical imperative ?

commands or moral laws all persons must follow, regardless of their desires or extenuating circumstances. ( Kant )

it is a way of thinking and following strict commands which tells us what to do in all situations regardless of our wants and need. Moral law consists entirely of categorical imperatives because they are the authoritative expression of our moral duties.

Principle of utility

Greatest happiness of the greatest number

What john Stuart Mill said abt Utilitarianism

actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness." Mill defines happiness as pleasure and the absence of pain.

Hypothetical imperative

something you need to do, but only in certain circumstances; Means - ends - logic

What is Kants political Philosophy

morality & politics ( morality covers sources of action & politics/law covers external side of our actions )

perpetual peace - as goal to be forever approached in international relations

politics must be subordinated and spring from morality

Philosopher of universal Law

Immanuel Kant

The idea of universal law

act as if your action will become a universal law ( ex : if you steal a car its universally acceptable for everyone to steal a car )

Moral politician

interpret politics in such a way that they can coexist with morality ( this is the good guy )

Political Moralist

twists / fashions morality so it works to benefit him and his policies ( hes bad guy )

Hegelianism

History is the history of reason or spirit (Geist) ( focus on history )

What do Hegel and Kant agree on ?

that Freedom and autonomy are indeed the ultimate moral purposes and greatest achievements of human progress - importance of reason

Hegel’s Critique of Kant ?

Kant is to abstract, & that moral concepts are not timeless

no context in categorical imperative & morality isn’t the product of autonomous individual reflection

what is the Communist Utopia

no classes, freedom of mankind, and the opportunity of self-interested labor to rid any alienation.

Hedonic calculus

for each possible action, determine the total amount of happiness or unhappiness produced. Happiness minus unhappiness

Moralität

another term for Kantain morality ( morality for many ) for Kant it is a set of rules on how to act based on reason

Sittlichkeit

Ethical Life (for Hegel : Family civil society & the State )

is more than a set of formal procedures for arriving at moral decisions. It is rooted in customs, traditions and practices of a community. It prescribes specific, not abstract, rights and duties. Sittlichkeit provides and ethical context within which modern freedom becomes possible

What does Hegel mean by “the state “

The state = “Rational State”. A modern system of social freedom which brings together all the normative systems of the modern world “ the actuality of concrete freedom”

what does Hegel mean by civil society ?

economic processes, free markets, bureaucratic and administrative institutions, police, corporations

what school did Aristotle found ?

The Lyceum

what school did Plato found ?

The academy

What does Hegel mean by family

nuclear family

Communitarianism

emphasizes connection between individual and Community - emphasizes the importance of community in the functioning of political life, in the analysis and evaluation of political institutions, and in understanding human identity and well-being.

What was the source of disagreement between Kant and Utilitarians?

• Intentions/motives vs. consequences/outcome

Why did Hegel critique Kant

Because of the ethics, according to Hegel, Kant’s ethics were too abstract, moral concepts were not timeless. No attention to history 🡪 no attention to actual practical life. Contemporary communitarianism is (largely) based on Hegel’s critique of Kant

Key Hobbesian views

social contract creates the state / sovereign , materialism ,Emotivism , Skepticism & nominalism

what is the sovereign ?

source of law

an office

impersonal rule

representative of the people

Social contract

in other word covenant. A concept that when we live in a society we agree to follow society’s rules.

Civil republicanism

the desire to be free and self-governing. Citizens can only reach perfection through active participation in political life.

Why does Kant dismiss virtues ?

because only good will is actually good

Intellectual virtues

wisdom, prudence or , rationality. They can be taught, like mathematics or logic.

Moral virtues

fairness, benevolence, honesty, loyalty, conscientiousness, courage. They can only be learned through practise. We become just by doing just acts, brave by doing brave acts.

Virtue

a stable disposition to act according to some ideal or standard of excellence.it is a disposition to act for right reasons.

Anthropological view of human

man, as a person who lives in society, is characterized by his rationality. Precisely because he lives in a community or in a group and not alone, he cannot avoid being rational.

Hobbesian view of human

Each individual is free to act or not act and that freedom imposes no restrictions on others or on the individual right holder, in the form of duties or obligations. Hobbes also considers humans to be naturally vainglorious and seek to dominate and demand their respect.

Aristotelian view of human

all human functions contribute to eudaimonia, ‘happiness’. Happiness is an exclusively human good; it exists in rational activity of soul conforming to virtue. This rational activity is viewed as the supreme end of action, and so as man’s perfect and self-sufficient end.

Kantian view of human

Kantian ethics agrees more with the ontological personalist view of personhood, rather than the empirical functionalist view. It is a being that possesses this transcendental, intelligible, aspect to this character; an aspect to his character cannot be reduced to the phenomenal/empirical world. All persons, regardless of rank or social class, have an equal intrinsic worth or dignity. Human dignity is an innate worth or status that we did not earn and cannot forfeit.

Aristotle

Plato’s student in the academy, teacher of Alexander the Great, the first political scientist, greatest philosophical authority in the pre-modern Western culture.

Golden mean

a moral virtue. It is the balance between two extremes. Courage is the golden mean between excess (foolhardiness) and deficit (cowardice).

Problem of dirty hands

Machiavelli’s teaching. It concerns whether political leaders and those in similar positions can ever be justified in committing even gravely immoral actions when ,,dirtying their hands” in this way is necessary for realizing some important moral or political end.

Heteronomy

heteros (other) + nomos (law) = somebody else (external force or authority) gives us laws. We are heteronomous when we act by the rules that has been given to us. If you get your moral laws from your parents (religion, etc.) – you are herenomous.

How did natural sciences influence birth of emotivism?

The influence of natural sciences : we can observe and measure the physical properties of the world, but there are no moral properties in the world that can be observed

How did Mill improve Bentham’s utilitarianism?

Mill began to doubt Bentham’s basic assumptions of human nature: that people always seek pleasure and avoid pain to achieve happiness. Mill decided that “free will”, an individual’s freedom to choose his own form of happiness, could override the Utilitarian pleasure-pain principle.

What are the issues with utilitarianism ?

It does not respect individual freedom and human rights

1st version of Categorical imperative

“Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”

2nd version of the categorical imperative

(the principle of humanity ) “Act in such way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end in itself.”

Why was Socrates put on trial

Because he was corrupting the youth

How was Hobbes polis thought influenced by English civil war?

The desire to be free and self-governing is the root cause of civil war, it destroys authority and leads to anarchy

What did Aristotle mean by saying man is by nature a political animal?

he is a social creature with the power of speech and moral reasoning: Hence it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal.

Why are examples more important than rules in virtue ethics?

We can learn from people …. we can recognize and can watch them and learn from them.

How does Hobbesian state differ from polis?

Hobbes believed that a government headed by a king was the best form that the sovereign could take. Placing all power in the hands of a king, Hobbes argued, would mean more sure and consistent exercise of political authority.

The task of the state: to protect us from death at the hands of others.

Hegels synthesis (method of dialectic)

Being (thesis), Becoming (Synthesis), Non-Being (Antithesis).

Formal typology of egalitarian theories

postulates a formula/ policy but includes no specific content . Equals equal share & unequal’s unequal share

Substantive typology of egalitarian theories

some metric/criterion identified. all parties receive equal amount of equality. equal wealth, equal opportunities, equal resources..ect

Marx’s belief abt capitalism

work can be fashioned in a different way. can express human creativity and social cooperation

logic of capitalist exploitation

worker becomes “ an appendage of the machine “

turns work into joyless toil, workers feel increasingly alienated from products of their daily toil

origin of capitalist exploitation

“ surplus value “

Karl Marx contribution to equality & capitalism

history shaped by class struggles

Capitalism creates conditions for revolution that creates classless society

materialism

humans are bodies in motion, cause and effect

Skepticism and nominalism

no foundations .. we made it all up

Individualism

we are simply abstract individuals

problem(s) with Egalitarianism

dismal historical record of top - down political implementation of equality

3 ways “equality can be achieved “

1. bring worst off & in-between up to lvl of best off

2. bring best off & in-between down to lvl of worst

3. best off down & worst off up to meet in-between