Exam 2: How to Be Ethical

Plato | The Ring of Gyges In this excerpt from the dialogue The Republic, Glaucon and Socrates discuss the nature and origin of justice. Glaucon defends injustice, illustrating his argument with the legend of Gyges, to play devil's advocate and force Socrates to explain why people would voluntarily choose to be just. -According to Glaucon, his argument proves that a "master of injustice" could be perfectly unjust, thus appearing to be

Thomas Hobbes | Of the Natural Condition of Mankind as Concerning Their Felicity and Misery; Of the First and Second Natural Laws and of Contracts Hobbes first discusses the state of war in which men live before a common power can bring them together in civil society. By virtue of the natural and fundamental laws of nature, peace and cooperation can be attained only when man is willing to renounce a right to benefit someone else. A contract is the mutual transferring of right. Only then can lawful and just civilization develop. -According to Hobbes, men are generally ___________ in both faculties of body and mind.

John Stuart Mill | Utilitarianism Mill criticizes existing ethical theories based on abstract principles that fail to apply directly to human action and its consequences. He builds on earlier conceptions of utilitarianism from Epicurus to Bentham by distinguishing between different qualities of human pleasure, which include both the intellectual and the sensual (the higher and lower pleasures). -Who has a greater chance of experiencing complete satisfaction, according to Mill?

Immanuel Kant | Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals In this excerpt from Kant's moral philosophy, we are first introduced to the concepts of good will, duty, and moral worth, followed by a discussion leading up to the fundamental principle of the categorical imperative. The passage concludes with Kant's examples demonstrating the distinction between perfect and imperfect duties. -Duties which may be meritorious, while allowing for a person's individual inclinations, are ___________ duties.

Why would a feminist ethic involve the total transformation of traditional ethical theories rather than simply incorporate new concepts into existing theories? Provide examples in support of your answer.

John Stuart Mill | Utilitarianism Mill criticizes existing ethical theories based on abstract principles that fail to apply directly to human action and its consequences. He builds on earlier conceptions of utilitarianism from Epicurus to Bentham by distinguishing between different qualities of human pleasure, which include both the intellectual and the sensual (the higher and lower pleasures). -Which of the following would Mill consider a higher as opposed to a lower pleasure?

Plato | The Ring of Gyges In this excerpt from the dialogue The Republic, Glaucon and Socrates discuss the nature and origin of justice. Glaucon defends injustice, illustrating his argument with the legend of Gyges, to play devil's advocate and force Socrates to explain why people would voluntarily choose to be just. -The ring of Gyges bestowed ___________ on its bearer.

Walter Stace | On Ethical Relativism Ethical relativism can be understood as an extreme left-wing response to ethical absolutism, which arose naturally out of Christian theology. Stace points out that while the former denies the latter, it also uses the term standard in a different way. While absolutist distinguishes between what is right and what is only thought to be right, the relativist sees them as the same. -According to Stace, ethical relativists use the term ___________ in a different sense than that used by ethical absolutists.

What does Mill mean by "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied"? Explain in your own words, providing examples from Mill's essay. Do you agree with the statement? Why or why not?

Kant's perfect (inflexible) duties and imperfect (less rigorous) duties are best understood in terms of whether or not the categorical imperative is applicable to them. State and explain the meaning of this fundamental principle, followed by Kant's (or your own) examples of each type of duty. Do you agree with Kant's depiction of these two types of duties? Why or why not?

Thomas Hobbes | Of the Natural Condition of Mankind as Concerning Their Felicity and Misery; Of the First and Second Natural Laws and of Contracts Hobbes first discusses the state of war in which men live before a common power can bring them together in civil society. By virtue of the natural and fundamental laws of nature, peace and cooperation can be attained only when man is willing to renounce a right to benefit someone else. A contract is the mutual transferring of right. Only then can lawful and just civilization develop. -Which of the following, according to Hobbes, is NOT one of the three principal causes of quarrel?

Aristotle | On the Good Life In this excerpt from The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explores what it means to lead a good life and how this is related to pleasure, pain, virtue, and character. He concludes that happiness, or pleasure, is the chief good, or end goal, of a well-lived life. -Aristotle states that the person most qualified to judge a subject

Walter Stace | On Ethical Relativism Ethical relativism can be understood as an extreme left-wing response to ethical absolutism, which arose naturally out of Christian theology. Stace points out that while the former denies the latter, it also uses the term standard in a different way. While absolutist distinguishes between what is right and what is only thought to be right, the relativist sees them as the same. -Ethical absolutists would agree with which of the following statements?

Immanuel Kant | Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals In this excerpt from Kant's moral philosophy, we are first introduced to the concepts of good will, duty, and moral worth, followed by a discussion leading up to the fundamental principle of the categorical imperative. The passage concludes with Kant's examples demonstrating the distinction between perfect and imperfect duties. -Kant's ___________imperative is to act as if your action follows from a universal law.

John Dewey | The Construction of Good Dewey contrasts his pragmatic approach to morals with earlier theories based on loyalty to ideals or principles. The scientific method is best applied to social and moral questions both because its claims are seen as hypotheses to be tested rather than rigid laws to be followed and because it allows for knowledge that responds to changing conditions over time. -The ultimate authority of Christianity was undermined by

Walter Stace | On Ethical Relativism Ethical relativism can be understood as an extreme left-wing response to ethical absolutism, which arose naturally out of Christian theology. Stace points out that while the former denies the latter, it also uses the term standard in a different way. While absolutist distinguishes between what is right and what is only thought to be right, the relativist sees them as the same. -Ethical relativism arose in part as a result of

Virginia Held | On Feminist Ethics Held lays out the consequences of centuries of creating ethical theory purely from a male point of view. The most important is that a feminist ethics cannot simply add to a structure built of concepts that are themselves based on a patriarchal view of the masculine and feminine but rather must transform ethics completely. She focuses on three main issues: (i) that of equating reason with males and emotion with females; (ii) associating the public arena with men and the private, household arena with women; and (iii) creating a caricature of the moral self that is exclusive to males. -Who expressed that women, incapable of achieving full moral personhood, would lose all charm if they tried to engage in rational pursuits like men?

John Dewey | The Construction of Good Dewey contrasts his pragmatic approach to morals with earlier theories based on loyalty to ideals or principles. The scientific method is best applied to social and moral questions both because its claims are seen as hypotheses to be tested rather than rigid laws to be followed and because it allows for knowledge that responds to changing conditions over time. -Dewey criticizes the traditional dualism between the ideal and the ___________ as well as the distinction between higher and lower types of values.

Plato | The Ring of Gyges In this excerpt from the dialogue The Republic, Glaucon and Socrates discuss the nature and origin of justice. Glaucon defends injustice, illustrating his argument with the legend of Gyges, to play devil's advocate and force Socrates to explain why people would voluntarily choose to be just. -Glaucon's argument depends on the fact that everyone believes in their hearts that injustice is far more ___________ to the individual than justice.

Virginia Held | On Feminist Ethics Held lays out the consequences of centuries of creating ethical theory purely from a male point of view. The most important is that a feminist ethics cannot simply add to a structure built of concepts that are themselves based on a patriarchal view of the masculine and feminine but rather must transform ethics completely. She focuses on three main issues: (i) that of equating reason with males and emotion with females; (ii) associating the public arena with men and the private, household arena with women; and (iii) creating a caricature of the moral self that is exclusive to males. -Which of the following was NOT associated with femaleness, according to ancient Greek philosophers?