PHIL 440A
End of Class Questions
July 23, 2009: The act utilitarian proposes necessary and
sufficient conditions for rightness/wrongness.
What are the necessary and sufficient conditions?
Explain why 95% of the class rejects the utilitarian proposal.
July 24, 2009: Moore and Mackie have agreements and
disagreements on the metaphysics and epistemology of ethical judgment. Give an example of something important that
they agree on and of something important that they disagree on.
July 27, 2009: Which of the three (Moore, Mackie, and Nagel)
has a position closest to yours? What is
the strongest objection to that position?
How would you respond (briefly)?
July 28, 2009: Why is Hume an
anti-realist about objective TBP/TBD?
July 29, 2009: Explain how internalK reasons can
include both internalW and externalW reasons. In your answer, show that
you understand those three terms.
July 30, 2009: Use an example to explain the Weak Norm of
Transitivity.
July 31, 2009: Give an example involving normative beliefs
of the difference between an Independence Claim and a Sensitivity Claim.
August 3, 2009: Explain Harman’s burning cat example. Explain
the obervation1 and the observation2 in that
example. Apply the sensitivity test and
explain why Harman thinks that the moral observation fails the test. Then explain why Sturgeon thinks the moral
observation passes the test.
August 5, 2009: Why does Hospers believe that the ideal
system of rules would not include: Don't
kill except where killing will do the most good?
August 10, 2009: Explain why the “utilitarianism of rights” is
based on agent-neutral reasons and why Nozick’s side constraint view is based
on agent-relative reasons.
August 11, 2009: In the sequential two-person PD, explain why
two “moral” agents will both agree to cooperate and then they will abide by
their agreement.
August 12, 2009: How should we reconcile the internal and
external view of agents? Use an example in your
answer.
August 13, 2009: Was it wrong for the two women to remove the
dead parrot from Minnie Wright’s house?
Explain.
August 14, 2009: What are the two moral orientations
identified by Friedman? Explain them.
August 17, 2009: Use examples to explain the difference
between internal and external goods.
August 18, 2009: Frankena
gives priority to principles over virtues.
What is the most compelling objection to Frankena’s view? Explain.
August 19, 2009: Explain Williams’s distinction between
objective and non-objective ethical knowledge?
August 20, 2009: Explain where you placed yourself on the
normativity scale in class.