Exam 2: Good and Evil

In the hedonist account, evil is merely a problem of socializing human beings to take others into due consideration.

In Billy Budd, Billy is a symbol of evil.

The central question raised by Ivan Karamazov is:

In Foot's view, what does nature have to do with morality?

Do you think that the existence of enormous evil, such as Ivan portrays in Why Is There Evil?, counts against the existence of God? Explain why or why not.

How does Hallie characterize cruelty? Why does he think that institutionalized cruelty is the worst kind of cruelty?

Outline the four stages in Taylor's thought process, from a universe without conscious beings to his final stage. Where do good and evil enter in? Where do right and wrong enter in? How are the two categories related to each other? Do you agree with Taylor's analysis? Explain your answer.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Billy Budd is the stark contrast between Claggart and Billy. What are some of the moral lessons we may learn from this contrast and how the two characters encounter one another?

Discuss the differences between hedonist and transcendentalist accounts of evil. Which do you find more convincing? Explain.

According to Taylor, _______ rules and practices either promote cooperation toward meeting our desires or resolve interpersonal conflict.

According to Foot, moral values are derived from

Hallie believes that institutional cruelty is

Ivan Karamazov believes there is no problem of evil.

One of the three premises involved in the traditional formulation of the problem of evil is

Hallie believes that institutionalized cruelty is

Normally, we think that one must intend to kill a victim before they can be guilty of murder, as opposed to involuntary manslaughter. But Billy Budd never intended to kill Claggart. Should he have been charged with murder?

Plato and religious theories have a common thesis about the notion of good: that good is

According to Foot, the way things naturally are tells us

Ivan Karamazov believes that the problem of evil

One of the three premises involved in the traditional formulation of the problem of evil is