Exam 2: Good and Evil

Examine Taylor's theory of good and evil and right and wrong. First, note that he claims that humans are basically conative beings-moved by will and desire-rather than rational beings. Do you agree with this? What role does he think reason plays in life?

Claggart hates Billy Budd because Billy is

Explain Hallie's notion of power relations and how they bear on the reality of cruelty.

Taylor thinks that if we had no desires, good and evil would not exist.

What do you make of the parable of God's death? What is its significance for ethics?

For Hallie,

The people of Le Chambon saved thousands of Jews.

Philip Hallie writes that cruelty

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

Reflect on the story of the people of Le Chambon. What were their motives? What lessons can we learn from them?

For transcendentalists, evil is

For many people, the hedonist account of good and evil lacks sufficient explanatory power.

Ivan Karamazov explains that he cannot accept God because of

Foot says that goodness is derived from God's commands.

Foot believes that evil does not exist.

Taylor claims that humans are basically rational beings.

What does Hallie mean when he says that "philosophy is personal; it is closer to literature and history than it is to the exact sciences?"

Why did Captain Vere take the stance he did against Billy? Was he concerned with the deterrent effect an execution would have at a time when mutiny was a serious problem, or did he think he was bound to carry out the letter of the law? What should he have done? Why?

For transcendentalists, evil is easy to explain.

For Hallie, the ultimate embodiment of goodness in opposition to cruelty is the people of