Review Questions - Spring 2024 Exam 2
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Philosophy
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Apr 3, 2024
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Study Questions for Exam 2 ∎
Introduction to Philosophy ∎
Spring 2024
1.
(a) Define or explain the approach to ethics known as Deontology
. What are its main points of focus or concerns? (b) How does Deontology differ from Consequentialism (such as Utilitarianism)?
2.
Discuss how the Principle of Impartiality (that everyone should be treated as a moral equal) undergirds Kant's ethical theory.
3.
(a) What is the only thing that Immanuel Kant
thinks is good without qualification? (b) Why are other things good – if in fact they are – only in a qualified sense?
4.
(a) Explain Kant’s idea of an autonomous will
. How does an autonomous will differ from one that is heteronymous (non-autonomous)
? (b) Which does Kant consider to be the more morally mature type of will?
5.
Explain Kant’s distinction between the Categorical Imperative
and hypothetical imperatives
. Give an example of a hypothetical imperative to illustrate.
6.
(a) What is the distinction that Kant draws between doing something from a sense of duty
and doing something that is merely in accord with duty
? (b) How does his example of two shopkeepers who each treat their customers fairly serve to illustrate this distinction?
7.
What does Kant mean by “
the maxim of an action
?”
8.
Give the First Formulation and
the
Second Formulation (sometimes called the "means-ends formulation") of the Categorical Imperative
.
9.
Explain what Kant means by “treating someone as a mere means.” Then explain what you think it would be
to “treat someone as an end in themselves” and how this differs from treating them only as a means. Give an
example to illustrate.
10.
Apply the First Formulation
of the Categorical Imperative to show that the following are immoral: (a) stealing, (b) making a lying promise to get something from somebody, and (c) refusing to develop any of one's potential talents.
11.
Apply the Second Formulation
of the Categorical Imperative to show that the following are immoral: (a) murder, (b) stealing, (c) lying, (d) spending one’s entire life as one who lives off the generosity of others.
12. Explain why Kant considers developing at least some of one’s potential talents to be an “imperfect duty” rather than an absolute duty.
13. Considering different versions of the Trolley Problem
, usually a much higher percentage of people say that
they would pull the lever to divert the run-away trolley down a side track where it will kill one person than say they would physically push a person in front of the trolley to stop it from hitting the five people -- even though in both versions the action results in a net gain of four lives saved. Give one reason that has been proposed for this characteristic difference in results.
14. Relate an issue concerning the ethical programming of autonomous vehicles (AVs)
to the issues raised by the Trolley Problem? In what way(s) are they similar, and in what way(s) are they different?
15. (a) What is the "
free rider problem
"? (b) How do studies of people's survey responses to different scenarios suggest that the free rider problem may arise regarding whether they are willing to purchase an autonomous vehicle for their family and how they would want it to be programmed to deal with life and death scenarios?
16. (a) Explain the "
helmet problem
" thought experiment. (b) Why is it classified as a "hard" ethical problem?
17. Discuss how Virtue Ethics
contrasts with both Utilitarianism and Kant’s Theory in terms of what the theories or approaches are trying to accomplish (
i.e
., what their objectives are).
18. By what criterion might a virtue ethicist identify those character traits that are to be regarded as the virtues?
19. Aristotle, a founding figure of virtue ethics, reasons that every virtue has two corresponding vices, a vice of deficiency
and a vice of excess
. Explain what he means by this, giving examples to illustrate.
20. Discuss how Virtue Ethics can be seen in terms of developing one’s emotional reactions such that one feels the right things, to the right degree, in the right circumstances.
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21. One common criticism of virtue ethics is that it does not give sufficient guidance for what to do in specific circumstances. Explain why one might think this to be the case and why this might be seen as a shortcoming
of the virtue ethics approach.
22. Identify and discuss some of the main features of the Ethics of Care
, as was described in the article that we read by Virginia Held
.
23. Identify one feature that ethics of care has in common with virtue ethics, and then one way in which they differ.
24. (a) Briefly describe the position known as Interactive Substance Dualism (Descartes' dualism is one prominent version of this). (b) Identify two reasons why this position has seemed attractive to many people over the years. (c) Then identify at least one criticism or challenge for the interactive substance dualist position.
25. Explain what is meant by the position known as Idealism
and explain why it is likely impossible to refute.
26. Explain why Idealism
and Physicalism
, although opposite positions in many respects, are both classified as
types of metaphysical Monism
.
27. Briefly explain what Identity Theory
is and make clear why it is a type of Physicalism
.
28. Within the general context of Physicalism, explain what is meant by the suggestion that mental states may often be multiply realizable
, and discuss how this concept relates to the difference between Type Identity Theory
and Token Identity Theory
.
29. (a) Explain the position known as Functionalism
, including how it makes use of the idea of multiple realizability. (b) How does Functionalism's emphasis on the causal connections of mental states differ from the typical emphasis on the metaphysical nature of mental states found in most of the other positions we examined on the mind-body relationship?
30. Historically, Functionalism was developed by philosophers and other theorists who had background in and interest in the newly emerging field of computer science. Briefly discuss why this would have been the case. In other words, why would those who had an interest in both computers and minds have been motivated to develop and/or embrace the theory of Functionalism with its lack of focus on the physical substrate that undergirds mental processes.
31. According to a classical understanding in philosophy of science, one theory can be said to be reducible to another if the elements of the "higher level" theory can be connected to elements in the "more fundamental" theory by bridge laws
of an appropriate sort. Discuss how Type Identity physicalists apply this idea to the relationship between our ordinary language of the mental and the newly developing language of neurobiology.
32. Explain what is meant in philosophy of mind by the term “
qualia
.”
33. Some critics have argued that Functionalism cannot be an adequate theory of mind because it fails to take qualia into account adequately. Give at least one response to this criticism from the Functionalist perspective.
34. Explain the position known as Eliminative Physicalism
. (What do they want to eliminate? Why is it a type of physicalism?)
35. Explain what it means to say that Identity Theory Physicalism wants to reduce
the language of “
folk psychology
” to brain science, while Eliminativism wants to eliminate “folk psychology” entirely in favor of
a language of brain science.
36. (a) Explain the position in Philosophy of Mind known as Epiphenomenalism
. (b) Explain why it is regarded as a type of Property Dualism
.
37. (a) Identify one reason why Epiphenomenalism has seemed attractive to some people. (b) And then identify
one disadvantage or criticism of epiphenomenalism.
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