Exam 8: Morality and the Good Life

Have you ever visited a different country,or spent time in a different sub-culture,within this country? Did you notice that people from different cultures or sub-cultures have different preconceptions about morality and other values? What was that experience like? What did you notice about the differences in values,or how values were interpreted? Write an essay in which you describe this experience,and then interpret its significance in terms of the issue of relativism,both cultural and ethical. You should clarify the difference between cultural and ethical relativism,and explore the senses in which cultural relativism is true. Are there any cross-cultural values that shape people's lives? Why,even if cultural relativism is true,is ethical relativism not necessarily true? What are the arguments for and against ethical relativism? Use the concepts in chapter eight as your staring point.

What is morality? What gives its principles and rules authority in our lives? Write an essay in which you discuss the chief features of morality,and four of the major approaches to the justification of moral principles and rules: Morality as the commands of God; Duty-defined morality (especially Kant); Consequentialism (especially utilitarianism); and Aristotle's virtue ethics. Which of these theoretical approaches do you favor and why?

According to Aristotle,pleasure and success were necessary but not sufficient for a good life.

Nietzsche claimed that traditional morality was invented by the Ubermenschen,or "superhumans," in order to oppress the weak.

Kant argues that the laws of God are justified

The feminine ethics of care bears some relationship to Immanuel Kant's moral philosophy.

Develop a fictional dialogue in which two characters argue over the nature of morality. The two characters should construct arguments and offer criticisms of one another's arguments.They can agree to disagree,or find some areas of agreement. The dialogue should address: psychological and ethical egoism; duty-based and consequentialist theories of morality; cultural and ethical relativism; and Nietzsche's attack on morality.

Suppose that Mary is a committed Ethical Relativist who happens to disapprove of female circumcision in Africa.One implication of her viewpoint is that

Religious and artistic ascetics are alike in that they both

In considering the morality of a lie,for Jeremy Bentham the key question would not be "What would be the actual consequences of my lying in this situation?" but rather "What if everyone were to lie?"

When Nietzsche says that a good life requires power,he understands power to be

Cultural relativists can believe or not believe that different people are right in their different beliefs.

After Bill helped the elderly gentleman with his bags,he wondered if he wasn't simply being selfish,since he felt good afterwards about what he did.Psychological egoism would be true of Bill's actions only if

The dominant tradition in Western philosophy has tended to assign a privileged role to a detached version of reason,denigrating the body and emotion,while overlooking how this point of view is itself patriarchal and culturally biased. Western feminist philosophers have offered broad critiques of this tradition and its patriarchal (or masculinist)assumptions. Write an essay detailing this perspective,focusing first on the feminist critique of patriarchal assumptions about sex and gender. Then look at how feminists challenge cultural assumptions about three of the following issues:nature; the body and reason; gender,moral reasoning and emotion; science,and language.

"Do not impose on other people what you yourself do not desire" is

The authority of duty-based morality

A life devoted to freedom could include pursuing pleasure,success and religious ends,although these would be of secondary value when compared to freedom.

Aristotle thought that whatever served the well-being of the community could very well conflict with what was for the ultimate advantage of the individual.

For Ancient Greeks,such as Aristotle,the good life

You are thinking of borrowing some money,and promising to pay it back,though you know you can't keep your promise.For Kant,such an action would be