Download ETHICS 320 Spring 2009 MIDTERM EXAMINATION STUDY GUIDE

ETHICS 320
Spring 2009
MIDTERM EXAMINATION STUDY GUIDE
The midterm takes place on March 2nd, at regular class time. Students may use the time
through the end of class but must turn in the exam by 9:30 p.m. whether completed or not. No
make-up exams except in case of emergencies that you need to document to the instructor’s
satisfaction.
The midterm examination will consist of approximately 22 questions (15 T/F and
multiple choice questions, and 7 essay-type questions). Some essay-type questions will require
longer answers than others. You should use your discretion to determine how much is required to
provide a complete answer to each question.
The midterm exam will cover everything that we have studied: Meta-ethics, Western, and
Eastern ethical perspectives. The questions on the exam will be based on the readings, handouts,
class discussions, and lectures. Please bear in mind that this study guide incorporates subsets of
questions and topics that might appear on the exam. The study guide guides you through your
studies for the midterm, thus these are not the actual questions that will appear on the midterm.
The midterm requires that you studied, understood, explored the differences and
similarities between theories, or in other words, you gave a lot of thought to the material and you
are able to prove me that you understand it. When preparing for the midterm, use the following
resources: Reader, handouts, lecture notes, videos and website material
(http://myweb.lmu.edu/mjuszli).
Part I – METAETHICS
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What is ethics?
What are ethical theories?
Define the field of meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.
What is the difference between ethics and religion? Should the two be separate? Why is
ethics important as a separate field from religion? Does morality depend on religion? (J.
Berg, How Could Ethics Depend on Religion?)
5. Explain ethical relativism. (Relativism, David Wong; Trying out One’s Sword, M.
Midgley). What are the major arguments for and against ethical relativism? What are the
problems with ethical relativism?
6. Define the purposes of morality.
Part II – NORMATIVE ETHICS: Eastern Ethical Perspectives
Buddhism
1. What is the Middle Way?
2. What are the Four Noble Truths and what is the Eightfold Path? How are these doctrines
related to one another? Give examples of right views, right intention, right speech, right
action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
3. What is the doctrine of dependent origination, and how does it relate to the Four Noble
Truths?
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4. What does the Buddha mean by the not-self?
5. What are the five precepts?
6. What is karma? What does it mean to say that the laws of karma determine the form of
life into which a person gets reborn? How does the notion of karma provide an incentive
to live a morally good life? How does one eventually escape the cycle of birth, suffering,
death, and rebirth?
7. What does nirvana mean? How is it to be realized?
8. When evaluating an action from a Buddhist perspective, what do we take into
consideration?
9. List the virtues of Buddhist moral philosophy.
Confucianism
1. Where does morality originate from according to Confucius?
2. What is the Tao according to Confucianism?
3. What is filial piety? What sort of relationship should there be between parents and
children? Why are such relationships important to Confucius?
4. Describe jen/ren, li, and yi. How are these terms interrelated?
5. Describe and compare junzi (exemplary person, gentleman) and xiaoren (petty, small
man). In what ways does the gentleman cultivate the virtue of benevolence?
6. What makes displaying benevolence, and being a superior person, so difficult?
7. Describe the process of self-cultivation.
8. What sort of connection is there between relationships within the family and within
society? In what sense can family harmony contribute to the harmony of society?
Daoism
1. Describe the Dao through images and metaphors used by Lao Zi.
2. Describe the mutually entailing opposites as a succession of yinyang phases. Give
examples of pairs of opposites that can be understood as manifestations of yin and yang.
3. What is wu-wei (non-action)?
4. Describe the ideal or real person as presented in Dao De Jing.
5. What is philosophy of naturalness? Why and how could it be appealing to our
contemporary competitive society?
6. How does following the doctrine of wu-wei lead to a more harmonious and moral life?
Part III - NORMATIVE ETHICS: Western Ethical Perspectives
Greek Virtue Ethics
1. How does Aristotle define “happiness” or eudaimonia? What are the chief characteristics
of happiness? How does he arrive at this definition?
2. What is the distinctive “function” of human beings (functional argument), and how does
this relate to his understanding of happiness? Is happiness attainable without some
measure of prosperity?
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3. How is virtue related to the attainment of happiness? How does Aristotle define “moral
virtue” (arate)? How are such virtues acquired? In what sense are the virtues habits? Give
examples of virtues and vices.
4. What sort of rule does Aristotle provide to determine the nature of virtuous actions? What
are the prominent examples of following this rule that Aristotle discusses?
5. What does Aristotle consider to be the best activity for human beings to engage in? Why?
What is ultimately the role of philosophy in achieving happiness?
6. According to Aristotle, how is ethics related to politics and politics to the heart of human
nature?
7. What is the good for Aristotle?
8. Differentiate between practical reason and theoretical reason? Which are their aspects?
9. What is prudence (phronesis)?
10. What is the difference between intellectual virtues and moral virtues? How are the two
connected?
11. How does the Greek concept of eudaimonia differ from our contemporary concept of
happiness?
Deontology
1. Why according to Kant, is the ‘good will’ alone worthy of being called “good” without
qualification? What prevents other things from being good in this way?
2. Why does Kant make a distinction between happiness and worthiness of happiness as the
goal of moral life?
3. What is the distinction between action done in accord with duty and action done for the
sake of duty? Why is this distinction important for Kant?
4. What does Kant mean by “imperatives”?
5. What are maxims?
6. Kant says that there is only one categorical imperative for morality. What is it?
7. How do categorical and hypothetical imperatives differ from one another?
8. Why are hypothetical imperatives insufficient basis for genuine morality?
9. How are duties derived from the CI? What are these duties?
10. What are the four formulations of the CI?
11. Explain how Kant uses the categorical imperative in his four examples.
12. What does Kant mean by an “end”? How does this notion relate to the second form of the
moral imperative?
13. In what way does Kant think that autonomy of the will can be the supreme principle of
morality?
14. What does Kant mean by the heteronomy of the will? Why are moral principles based on
heteronomy said to be spurious?
Utilitarianism
1. How does Mill’s moral theory differ from that of Kant? What aspects of Kant’s moral
theory does Mill find unacceptable? Why?
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2. What does the doctrine of utility state is the criterion for moral rightness? Why do
opponents of the doctrine of utility liken its proponents to swine? Why is this a criticism
of utilitarianism? How does Mill respond to this criticism?
3. How does Mill distinguish between different kinds of pleasures in terms of quality? What
is the basis for this distinction? Who is qualified to judge which of the two pleasures is
“higher”?
4. What does the doctrine of utility state to be the criterion for moral rightness?
5. Why is the problem of the motive for acting morally, not a specific problem for
utilitarianism? How does Mill overcome this problem?
6. What is a “sanction” and how does Mill distinguish between external and internal
sanctions?
7. According to Mill, how are we to know whether anything is desirable or good?
8. How do we know that happiness is a good in itself or as an end?
9. How exactly does Mill attempt to prove the greatest happiness principle? What sort of
proof is possible for such a principle? What does it mean to say that something is
desirable? How does Mill deal with the objection that not everyone desires happiness
above all else?
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