PHIL 1020 1st EditionExam# 1 Study Guide Lectures: 1 - 18Lecture 1 (January 12)What is Philosophy? Intro to EthicsDescribes Philosophy and the two parts of the course and begins to explain what Ethics and Morality are.2 parts of the course:1.Moral Theories2.Applied EthicsPhilosophy – literally means “love of wisdom” and is the activity of increasing one’s understanding through investigation and reflection.What is Ethics/Morality?- Rules about what we should/shouldn’t do- E.g., respect individual rights, do not harm others, try to prevent unnecessary suffeirngLecture 2 (January 14) What are Moral rules? What are these rule like? Matters of personal opinion? Fixed, absolute truths? Where do we find them? Why not just look to our laws? What are our sources of morality?We don’t simply look to our laws because some are unjust. Our sources of morality come from our families, religion, laws, and society’s values. Some think we should look for our “inner voice”or use reason.Dr. Mr. Luther Kind – was a civil rights leader, and advocated “direct, non-violent action” for justice and looked to Socrates for inspiration.Socrates – publicly questioned the wisest, most prominent Athenians and showed that their so called knowledge was false and highlighted the importance of questioning, using reason and argument to sot truth from falsehood.Lecture 3 (January 16)- First recitation class , no notes takenLecture 4 (January 21)Describes what an Argument is, it’s components, what makes a good argument, and how to determine if it’s good or not.Arguments ARE NOT a verbal argument but a series of logically connected reasons intended to prove that something is true or false.Components:1. Premises – a set of reasons which give local support for the..2. Conclusion – the main idea or point which the reasons are meant to supportWhat makes a good argument?- The conclusion follows from the premisesHow do we know if it’s good?- First step: put into standard formo List all of the premises then the conclusion- Second step: Test 1 and Test 2o Test 1 – Is it valid? If the premises are true then would the conclusion have to be true?o Test 2 – Truth of Premises? Look at each premise individually & ask is each one actually true?- Third step: Soundnesso If the argument is valid and the premises are true…o It is soundOther types of ArgumentsInductive – aim at generalized conclusions which are probably trueArguments by Analogy – comparing two cases A, and B. In case A, we draw one conclusion. Therefore, we should draw the same conclusion in B.Lecture 5 (January 23)RecitationEvaluating and touching up on ArgumentsEvaluating Arguments1. Group of statements – is it argument or nonargument? – if trying to figure out if something is an argument put into standard form.- Premise 1- Premise 2- ConclusionEX:Premise 1: Mt. Everest is taller than K2Premise 2: K2 is taller than Mt. FijiConclusion: Mt. Everest is taller than Mt. FijiLecture 6 (January 26)What is Moral Relativism?Addressing conflicting moral beliefs, comparing objective and relative truth and goes into MoralRelativism.Conflicting moral beliefs:- Comparing James Holmes from American Sniper to Adolph Hitler- Both killedo One is regarded as heroic, given medalso One is regarded as evil, facing executed- Why the difference?- Is one really good & the other evil?- Or is it just a matter of perspective?Objective vs. Relative TruthObjective – absolute truthRelative – no absolute truthMoral Objectivism- The view that moral beliefcan be objectively true or falseMoral Skeptism- Denies that there is any objective basis to moralityTwo main varieties:1. Moral Nihilism – believe there are no moral truths at all and nothing is right and nothing is wrong.2. Moral Relativism – believe moral judgments can be true or false, but the truth or false is relative.Individual Relativism aka Subjectivism – moral judgment is a statement about my feelings.Cultural or Group Relativism – moral behaviors are “socially approved habits”Lecture 7 (January 28)Problems of Relativism1. Moral Infallibility – individual or culture is always right regardless of where moral beliefs come from2. Moral equivalence – Under relativism, Hitler & Schindler the same3. No moral progress – becomes inconceivable4. No disagreements – people just stating facts about their feelings5. Moral Language – it doesn’t mean what we think it means6. Collective action – since everyone is considered right it results in inaction – don’t do anything7. The Moral Differences Argument –lack of consensus in moralityCultural differences- Does it follow that disagreement entails no right answer?Lecture 8 (January 30)Recitation – no notes takenLecture 9 (February 4)The Search for Objective Moral StandardsIntroducing the two main religious ethics and going into describing Divine Command Theory1. Divine Theory2. Natural Law TheoryWhat is the Divine Command Theory? Where do we find these commands? Why is it attractive? What are its problems?The objective standards of morality are given to us by God or the gods. What’s morally right or wrong is commanded or forbidden by God. These moral rules are absolute, universal and eternal meaning there are no exceptions and they apply to everybody.We find these commands in scriptures, religious figures and leaders, and personal revelationsDCT is attractive- Billions of people agree with it.- Provides, clear objective rules- Apply to all individuals and culture equally- Rules are eternal, unchangingProblems with religious moral guidelines1. Disagreements2. Applying guidelines today3. Inconsistences4. Nonbelievers5. Believers seem to pick and choose3 assumptions- Religious Motivation- God created moralityLecture 10 (February 6)Is Morality Objective?Nihilism says no, DCT says yesQ: Is there anything shared in common by all/almost religions?Euthypro Dilemma – either/orLecture 11 (February 9)What is EuthyproDilemma. States 3rd assumption and describes the Natural Law Theory.#1. Wrong because God says so#2. It is wrong (and God says so)Assumption 3:Religion is essential for moral guidanceNatural Law Theory:An ancient view of ethics, found in roots of Aristotle’s writing- Applied to Christian theology in the Middle Ages (e.g., St. Thomas Aquinas)- In Islamic thought (e.g., Averroes or IbnRushd)A. Natural Law and Reason- Humans are animals, part of natural world.- But have the ability to reason- Universe is