study sheet exam one
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PHIL 1175
Exam one study sheet
9/15/2023
J. Collins
Our first exam is Tuesday, September 26, in class, submitted on paper. You will not need a bubble sheet or
blue book. The exam will have one or two questions for which you will need to write about two
paragraphs. The rest of the questions will be multiple choice, maybe some fill-in-the-blank. You are not
allowed to use your book or notes in the exam.
You may send me trial versions of your answers to these questions for review.
Studying: I recommend that you first try to write out correct answers to the questions below with the aid
of the class notes and readings. Then, try to produce those correct answers from memory, without looking
at the notes. Note what you omitted or got wrong, and then try again later. Repeat until you can answer
the questions without your notes.
Chapter one
[1] What’s the difference between conventional and critical morality?
Conventional: concerns the widely accepted moral beliefs and practices in a society differing with
different cultures (think about it conventions are broad agreements on how to behave, social sciences)
Critical- concerns the truth about morality (what we learn in class)
[2] What does “’ought’ implies ‘can’” mean? Illustrate with an example.
We are not morally obligated to do what is impossible.
Ex- adults may feel morally obligated to donate to charity while children do not because they practically
have no money
[3] What is the Divine Command Theory of Morality? What is Euthyphro’s Dilemma? What is Socrates’
objection to DCTM? Explain.
Divine Command Theory of Morality- an act is morally required just because it is commanded by
God, and immoral just because God forbids it.
Euthyphro’s Dilemma- Socrates asked him, “Do the gods love actions because they are pious, or
are actions pious because the gods love them?” basically saying: “does God command actions because
they are right or are actions right because they are commanded by God?”
Socrates Objection to DCTM- If you say an action is right because the god loves it/ commands it
you cannot also maintain that the gods love it because it is right- if the DCT were true God’s moral
commands are arbitrary and that seems bad for God to do.
[4] If Statement A logically entails Statement B (that is, B follows from A), and Statement B is false, can
Statement A be true?
No. If A happens/is correct than so is B. Statement B is false, so statement A is false.
Chapter three
[5] What is Ethical Egoism? What is Psychological Egoism? If we assume Psychological Egoism to be
true, how could that be used to support Ethical Egoism?
Ethical- belief that you have no moral duty towards anyone but yourself, act to yourself interest.
Psychological-it is impossible for anyone to act except from self-interested motives.
Rand (defender of ethical egoism) explains that it is better to mind your own business and look out for
yourself rather than altruism- If psychological egoism is true, we cannot be altruistic and if you cannot be
altruistic, it is also not our moral duty to be altruistic- if psychological egoism is true, it is not our duty to
be altruistic.
[6] What is Ethical Relativism? What are the implications of Ethical Relativism that seem contrary to
common-sense morality that we discussed? (These relate to iconoclasts, moral progress, disagreement,
tolerance, and arbitrariness.) You should be able to explain how ER leads to these problematic
entailments.
Ethical Relativism- moral principles are true only relative to a society and a time and what makes
a principle true relative to a society at a given time is that most people in the society accept the principle.
Ex- in Saudi Arabia is it bad for a woman to contradict a man in public but, in Denmark it is not.
Both societies are correct because there is no standard of how we can understand and evaluate a societies
moral commitment (every society is different and therefore they are both correct)
Iconoclasm- a person whose morals are deeply opposed to the conventional morals of their
society- ER would make them completely morally mistaken
Ex- Mary Wollstonecraft advocating for
women’s rights in the 1700s, being the minority of these belief that the time mean according to ER they
are wrong, no exceptions.
Moral Progress- progress or regress is impossible with ER, any change in a societies ethics is a
change where something goes from being correct to something else being correct.
Disagreement Tolerance- according to ER tolerance is morally acceptable in societies approving
of it and wrong in societies that disapprove it.
Arbitrariness- since there is no progress, no disagreement, and no support for tolerance according
to ER there is arbitrariness. This means that certain things are determined by chance/impulse rather than
being determined for specific reasons or necessities.
[7] Suppose that a behavior is morally permissible in one society but morally wrong in another society,
due to differences in the environmental circumstances in those societies (as with the Inuit example we
discussed). Does accepting that require accepting Ethical Relativism? Why or why not?
No, it does not. If you look at the Inuit example it is understood that they performed female
infanticide. This was because they purely rely on hunting wild animals for food which was determined a
man’s job in their society. Females in the society have the children. Since hunting was so dangerous, it
often killed men in the process. Without Infanticide in this society, there would be an unequal number of
adult men to adult women.- leading to thrown off family structures and less food creating a risk for
starvation. What justified the Inuit was not that they approved of
this, but it was justified because
performing this is what made survival possible. An objective moral theory will agree whether an action is
right or wrong can be circumstantial, it will not just depend on whether it is approved by a society or not.
[8] What does the Error Theory of Morality claim about morality? We discussed three main reasons why
someone might accept the Error Theory. Explain two of those reasons.
Claims that: There are no moral properties/features in the world, no moral judgements are true,
moral claims fail to describe the real world and there is no moral knowledge.
Reasons to accept:
1.
Moral properties are not physical things. The claim cannot be true unless science can verify it is
true.
2.
Persistent disagreement about moral issues that isn’t always found in science, history, etc. Is the
best explanation for the diverse opinions that there is no fact of the matter in the first place.
Chapter four
[9] What is the difference between intrinsic and instrumental goods?
Instrumental-good/valuable not for its own sake but for what other good things they can be used
to acquire, money.
Intrinsic- good for its own sake, happiness
[10] What does Hedonism claim? We discussed reasons some people reject Hedonism related to evil
pleasures, false pleasures, and autonomy. Make sure you can explain these.
Hedonism- value theory according to which the only intrinsic good is happiness- it is not a moral
theory and does not say what is morally right to do Ex- it does not claim that it is right to do whatever
makes you happy or that it is right to maximize happiness for everyone.
Evil Pleasures- if hedonism is true, the pleasure derived from evil/perverted actions are just as
good as those derived from good/healthy actions. But pleasures derived from evil/perverted actions are
not just as good therefore: hedonism is not true.
False Pleasures- If hedonism is true, then our lives go well to the extent that we are happy. But it
is not true that our lives go well to the extent that we are happy: if your happiness is based on false
beliefs, you have a worse life than someone whose happiness is based on true beliefs, though you are both
equally happy.
Autonomy- if hedonism is true, then autonomy contributes to a good life only as far as it makes
us happy, autonomy can contribute to a good life even when it doesn’t make us happy.
[11] What is a thought experiment?
A controlled exercise of imagination which may allow us to better understand how the world
is/ought to be. Like how scientists use controlled experiments.
[12] What is Nozick’s Experience Machine thought experiment, and what lesson about Hedonism does he
think it teaches us? How so?
A virtual reality system that is not distinguishable from reality, it enables you to live a life that is
subjectively perfect for you (memory of signing up for it is erased) You would be happy, but you would
not be travelling, inventing things, winning championships etc. but, you do not know that.
Lesson-
If you think the experience machine life is not a great life it could be concluded that this shows us
what other things have intrinsic value, real accomplishments and achieving your goals rather than just
seeming to do so.
[13] What does the Desire Satisfaction Value Theory claim?
Claims that your life goes well to the extent that you get what you want.
Something is intrinsically good for you if it satisfies/fulfills your desires and only if it does so and
because it does.
[14] We discussed several possible counterexamples – examples that show a theory to be false – to the
Desire Satisfaction theory. Explain two of those.
1.
If there are intrinsically good things for you even though you didn’t desire them (pleasant
surprises) the desire satisfaction account is false, because that would be good that isn’t the
satisfaction of a desire.
2.
When you make someone’s life better without giving them what they want- children eating
vegetables, drug addicts going to rehab.
3.
The idea that what makes a good life is the fulfillment of your desires might underrate the value
of contentment, a state of being free from desire.
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