Philosophy Test #4

Ethical Egoism (fulfill yourself) - Nietzsche

Master morality vs. Slave morality
Master morality = effective will to power
Slave morality = ineffective will to power

Transvaluation of values

Nietzsche argues that we discover master morality, a more primitive and
purer notion of goodness

Eudaimonia

deep happiness that comes from human flouring

4 Cardinal Virtues

courage, temperance/moderation, prudence/wisdom = justice

Values that the Christians added to cardinal values

faith, hope, love

The Golden Mean

the happy medium between the virtues (too much courage vs. not enough
courage) Goldie locks

Page 91 - Sophie’s World

Body Soul Virtue State
Head Reason Wisdom Rulers
Chest Will Courage Auxiliary's
Abdomen Appetite Temperance Labor's

Utilitarianism

- what’s good? = what brings the greatest pleasure to the greatest number
of people

Bentham

quantity over quality of pleasure

Mill

quality of pleasure over quantity

Rule utilitarianism

what rules should I follow to make the most amount of people happy.

Deontological Ethics

what’s right? = to do your duty

Kantian Theory

the categorical imperative (would you want your action to become a universal law?) I say what my duty is using my reason

Divine Command Theory

what God says is your duty

Natural Law Theory

human beings are designed a certain way and we need to live within that
design of human nature ( we’re hardwired with a conscience that came from God

Will to Power

this is what drives human nature; humans want to exert power

Genealogy of morals

good beginning (being good meant ethical egoism; power is good);
the fall (slave morality; submitting and serving others); then salvation (the twilight of the idols - when things like God and Truth and Goodness go away; transvaluation of values

Nihilism

is the belief that no meaning, truth, reality, or external standards of goodness exist

Ubermensch

someone that has tremendous power and no conscience

Study break

Get some rest

Body

Head, chest, abdomen

Soul

Reason, will, appetite

Virtue

Wisdom, courage, temperance

State

Rulers, auxiliaries, laborers

Know Stanley Hauerwas’s Christian contribution to the discussion of virtue ethics.

He agrees with Aristotle that virtues are vital in the people-making process but believes that Christianity has very different views about what constitutes the ideal person. Courage according to Aristotle may be going into war, but courage to Hauerwas argues that courage is being a peacemaker. The way that Chrisitans practice arisoltes virtures is differnt than non christians

Difference between Mills and Bentham

Bentham is quantity over quality of pleasure and Mills is quality of pleasure over quantity. Bentham is concerned with how many people are made happy. Mills says that the quality of happiness that is experience is more important than how much you experience happiness. College is hard, but you’ll have better happiness in the future.

Rule Utilitarianism vs. act utilitarianism

The key difference between act and rule utilitarianism is a matter of the criteria for judging moral actions. Act utilitarianism is interested only in an action's impact when judging if that action was good; a rule utilitarian, on the other hand, would be interested in the goodness or badness of the moral rule that the action follows. Rule utilitarian's prioritize good general rules over the particular consequences of a given action, whereas act utilitarian's focus on these particular
consequences and not on rules.

Kant’s categorical imperative

Would you want your action to become universal law

Euthyphro Dilemma

is it right because God says so (God is above the law) or does God say so because it’s right (the law is above God) = God wills what he wills because he is what he is. God is loving and perfect and good. God above the law or the law above god?

Marx’s views of the end of history

The end of history is communism utopia

the abolition of private property

There will be no private property; everything is owed by the state so everyone gets what they need.

Dialectical Materialism

is the evolutionary process of class struggle and conflict which governs
history’s development. According to Marx, it will end in communism.

Alienation

the worker and the products go hand in hand

Hobbes on the state of nature

Totalitarian
jungle; “war of all against all”; life is nasty, brutish, and short
-Human nature: we’re animals
- Just society: the zoo with Leviathan as the zookeeper (absolute power)
+ Realistic about human nature
- Pessimistic; absolute ruler and will they stick with the one rule?
- Pessimistic; absolute ruler and will they stick with the one rule?

Locke on the state of nature

libertarian
all people have God-given natural rights - life, liberty, and property
- Human nature: we are divine-right beings
- Just society: a government that honors those rights; social contract; pro-rights
+ Rights that are above the government; government is the steward of rights, and not the
creator of them
- What if civic virtue is lacking?

Rawls on justice

Totalitarian
original position plus veil of ignorance should produce a fair/equal society
- Human nature: we’re equal
- Just society: equality; it is the government’s job to practice distributive justice
+ There is fairness and equality
- Is redistribution truly fair and just?; encourage laziness

Nozick on Justice

Libertarian.
if I work for it, inherit it, its mine
- Human nature: we’re owners
- Just society: minimal government - I keep what’s mine
+ You get what you work for; fair
- Selfishness; what if you can’t work?

Justice to Rawls

where everyone gets what they need by redistribution.

Justice to Nozick

that people get what they work for.

Ludwig Wittgenstein’s game theory of language

Words don't have a single absolute definition; they get their meaning from their context. All words only mean what they mean depending on the game that is being played

Plato’s theory of mimesis

"Art imitates life" /reality

Aristotle’s theory of catharsis

"purging" "cleansing" Good art gives you a cleansing. Good art lets you work through your emotions in a safe environment.

Hume’s notion of artistic tastes

There are no rational standards for art, it is all subjective

Kant’s ideal of disinterestedness.

Treat art as an end not just a means to an end. "Appreciate art for art sake" not for the sake for anything else

Synesthesia:

when you make connections across the different senses

Examples of Synesthesia

- “Sweet” girl - personality type?
- “Spicy” novel - content?
- “Sour” attitude - meaning?
- “Loud” colors - which ones?
- Feeling “blue” - what shade? (Sky blue? Navy blue?)
- “Sad” music - major or minor key? What color?

Wolterstorff’s Aesthetic Criteria

- Unity
- Richness (variety)
- Character-fittingness (synesthesia)

Essay Question

What political philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics does Sophie’s World assume or promote? How might someone with a different political philosophy, ethic, or aesthetic evaluate the book?