Introduction to Philosophy Ryan ETHICS AND SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY STUDY QUESTIONS 1 What is the ultimate good in Kant s philosophy GOOD WILL if you have it it s the one thing that can always be morally justified good Universal can apply to every culture How does he prove this 2 WAYS to explain if action is in Good Will good intention motive Informal Guide Scenario EX end of the month paycheck you re outside of a restaurant with Is my this action done out of the sense of DUTY to the Good Will If answer yes Good Will DUTY Deontology duty based your last bit of money about to get a meal and along comes a homeless woman what do you do giving people are happier people 1 Give them the money you did it because you like it praiseworthy but not morally good 2 Give her money because you figured it was the right thing to do not because you wanted to feel good result is that you do not feel good though 3 NO Liking is unintended morally good liking in doing it morally good Formal Guide must be apriori synthetic Categorical Imperative see 2 Demonstrating how consequentialism can t be used to determine what is moral because Good consequences can come from good intentions Bad can also come from good intentions Ex Cleaning mom s house for mother s day accidentally breaking china Was not intentional was with good intentions and accident still happened Pure Reason synthetic from experience understanding Practical Reason common sense scientific learning 2 Conditions Apriori before experience necessary laws of morality synthetic particular practical Why are some acts that produce good consequences only praiseworthy for Kant and not truly morally good Doing things because you think that they re good but your intentions are actually for yourself not for others or just coincidental that good came out of it When you re doing good things in your own self interest but not because you want to do them EX Walking down the street bend down to tie your shoe and a purse snatcher runs by and when you stand up you knock him over stop him It was an accident but a good thing happened It was not morally correct because it was unintentional you didn t mean to Vegetarianism sense of duty ethics good and only praiseworthy because you re saving animals standing up for animal cruelty etc but not if you re only doing it for your own health 2 State the categorical imperative in Kant s philosophy From the Formal Guide must also be apriori synthetic Categorical Imperative absolute imperative command necessary personal command what would happen meaning for any act before you take any action in a situation you must ask yourself Should this act become Universal Law would it be okay for this act to be repeated by everyone 3 Possible outcomes What are the three possible outcomes of testing a maxim by the categorical imperative 1 no logical contradiction morally GOOD 2 generates logical contradiction morally BAD 3 no logical contradiction but clearly violates the no good spirit of the Good Will What is the hypothetical imperative and what does Kant think about it Hypothetical Imperative if I do act X what consequence Y will follow Kant has 2 objections 1 The categorical imperative can be manipulated to justify almost any act EX little white lie to avoid hurting someone s feelings Lies are considered NOT morally good 2 The categorical imperative appeals to a hypothetical A What would happen IF this were to become a universal law B Impersonal IF each and every individual is considered equal when it comes to determining morality What for Kant is the value of a person and how does this lead to the practical imperative The value of a person isn t determined by I am a being of infinite worth not valued by money or physical things Everyone else is of infinite worth as well means to life infinite worth end leads to Practical Imperative treat all rational beings including yourself as ends rather than means The Golden Rule treat others as you would like to be treated love thy neighbor as thyself 3 What does Aristotle mean when he claims the good is the progression from potentiality to actuality He means that the same as is beliefs of FORM MATTER it translates to Naturalism because Forms as Potentiality Matter is actuality FORM MATTER potentiality actuality Name the four forms of causation involved in this process and explain the contribution of each 1 Material stuff physical presence of matter ex clay 2 Efficient mechanical action on matter material push pull ex shaping that ball of clay force exerted by hands 3 Formal physical shape that emerges as the efficient cause works ex vase shape 4 Final first last cause alpha omega the idea definition concept of a thing ex idea of what the vase will look like 4 What is Aristotle s definition of happiness Happiness nature of human good an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue in a complete life What does he mean that happiness can only be realized in a complete life Contemplative life life of philosopher 5 Identify and explain the three functions of Aristotle s theory of the soul R a ti o n a l a b s t r a c t c o n c e p t s fr o m P e r c e p ti v e p a r ti c u lr a s a b s o r b s f o r m s c o m m u n ic a t e N u t r a ti v e a b s o r b s m a tt e r o f t o o t h e r s t h in g s e x n u t r iti o n Then use this sketch to show how excellence in reasoning scientific knowledge and common sense and moral excellence help the soul fulfill its potential Practical Reasoning To fulfill common sense scientific knowledge learning starts in perceptive then goes to rational To achieve ethics morality start in perceptive then goes into rational then perceptive Theoretical Reason Metaphysics logical math learning happiness is not a state of mind but a giant construction process takes years years developing skills armor to protect yourself from bad and to have your best shot a full happy life 6 Why does Aristotle disagree with Plato s view that anyone who knows the good will strive to do what is good All evil doing is a result from ignorance people KNOW what is Good choose to do evil What according to Aristotle is Plato overlooking He is sure that ethics learning right vs wrong habits conceptually putting it back This decision means that evil doers don t have proper habits What does Aristotle mean by moral weakness and moral viciousness wickedness and how should society deal with each 2 Classes of Evil Doers 1 Morally Weak want to do good but cannot they understand but cannot help it trapped in
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