Module 5 - For Midterm

Question 1

In ancient Greece, Plato in his book, The Republic (2000), states that our emotions are part of our “_______”.

Answer 1

spiritual soul

Question 2

He further argued that to live a good life, we need to let our “rational soul” take over our “spiritual soul.”

Answer 2

Plato in his book The Republic (2000).

Question 3

In other words, our minds should _______, reason should be above _____.

Answer 3

control our hearts

emotions

Question 4

Modern philosophers, especially
_______, look at emotions with
a different approach.

Answer 4

positivists

Question 5

One of the proponents, ______, says that feelings give meaning to our moral actions (_____, 2012). To comprehend this, you need to understand what “positivism” means.

Answer 5

A.J. Ayer

Question 6

______ is the philosophical tradition that says that genuine knowledge can only be attained through scientific observation, experimentation, and comparison of data in both the natural and social world (Comte, 1865)

In simpler words, “________.”

Answer 6

Positivism

to see is to believe

For example, you know that this powerpoint presentation exists because you can see it. You are looking at it right now; your experience verifies that this ppt.
However, if you cannot see this ppt right now, the words “powerpoint presentation” do not make sense. Therefore, it is not real and it only exists as an idea in your mind.

Question 7

The human mind is capable of imagining so many things even if they do not physically exist. For positivists, words like “____,” “____,” and _____ are not real because you cannot see them. Your senses cannot confirm whether “____” and “____” are real or not.

Answer 7

God, soul, and all other abstract ideas

How about ethical concepts like “good”, “evil”, “morality”, etc. Is morality not real, after all?

Question 8

Ayer argues that our concept of what is “good” and “evil” are expressions of our feelings of _______ (Brummer, 1984, p. 107)

Answer 8

approval or disapproval

For example, you witness a snatcher robbing an old woman’s purse. You know that what the snatcher is doing is wrong because you feel bad about it. Your feelings serve as evidence that it is an evil deed. The laws that say “robbery is wrong” is, therefore, a product of the collective expression of the feeling when witnessing the crime.

Question 9

In another example, you know that feeding the hungry is a good deed because the people you are feeding feels good about it. You can see that happiness in their smile, and when these people thank you back, you feel really good inside. In the same manner, the words “charity is a good
deed” for _____ is merely an expression of your approval of acting generously.

Answer 9

Ayer

Question 10

Do you feel good or bad about
it? This ethical perspective is called _____. Your judgment of what is morally right or wrong depends on how you feel about it.

Answer 10

emotivism

Question 11

Without your _______ confirming a
human act, the concepts of “good,”
“evil,” and even the term “ethics” do
not make sense at all.

Answer 11

feelings

Question 12

As an ethical framework, ______ does not believe in a universal moral standard because emotions vary on every person.

Answer 12

emotivism

Question 13

German Philosopher __________ says that emotions are the most important elements of human existence (Dy, 1986).

Answer 13

Max Ferdinand Scheler

Question 14

the philosophical study of human consciousness

Answer 14

phenomenology

Question 15

Using phenomenology – the philosophical study of human consciousness – he classifies feelings into ____ different strata (Scheler, 1973).

Answer 15

four

Question 16

Four Strata of Feelings:

Answer 16

1. Sensual feelings
2. Vital feelings
3. Psychic feelings
4. Spiritual feelings

Question 17

What Strata of Feelings?

Bodily pleasures or pain

Answer 17

1. Sensual feelings

Question 18

What Strata of Feelings?

Life functions e.g. health,
sickness

Answer 18

2. Vital feelings

Question 19

What Strata of Feelings?

Aesthetics, justice, scientific
knowledge

Answer 19

3. Psychic feelings

Question 20

What Strata of Feelings?

Divine experience

Answer 20

4. Spiritual feelings

Question 21

_______ refer to those that directly provide bodily pleasure and pain.

Answer 21

Sensual feelings

For example, you feel good while someone massages your back. You feel hurt if a dog bites you.

Question 22

_______ refer to those sensations that affect you as a living being.

Answer 22

Vital feelings

For example, you feel energized after
taking a power nap. After a long day in school, you feel tired that you want to
sleep.

Question 23

_______ refer to those some
abstract concepts of feeling.

Answer 23

Psychic feelings

For example, you climb a mountain, and you see an incredible landscape.
That feeling of awe you felt is a psychic feeling after meeting something beautiful. Another is when you hear the news that a serial got caught after several years of hiding. You can say, “Yes! Justice is served”.

Question 24

________ refer to something of divine value—for example, the calm atmosphere during meditation and prayer.

Answer 24

Spiritual feelings

Question 25

For Scheler, ______ are most important because this is the only
feeling that is intentional (Moran &
Parker, 2015).

Answer 25

spiritual feelings

Question 26

Unlike sensual, vital, and psychic feelings, spiritual feelings depend on things that are _____ to a person.

Answer 26

external

For example, in sensual feelings, you feel refreshed if you drink something cold or the air conditioner. You feel weak or strong in vital feelings depending if you have eaten well or if you have enough sleep. In psychic feeling, you feel something when you encounter an object like when you see an amazing painting or read a nice book with many life lessons. Spiritual feelings are not like that, because you can only feel this when you have the will to believe.

Question 27

Pros and Cons of Relying on feelings for our moral actions

As one modifier of voluntariness, ______ may provide an easy way to determine whether an action is good or bad. You do not need to think so much; you just rely on your emotions to evaluate your actions. It is instantaneous and natural for any human being. Thus, emotivism has the following impacts:

Answer 27

emotions

1. It makes us aware of the emotive element of moral judgment that encourages a human act to others.
2. It develops a person’s sense of empathy.
3. It encourages sensitivity in our words and actions when we want to correct someone.
4. Emotions help us learn from our mistakes.

Question 28

You will never encourage anyone to do something unless you feel good about it.

This is when emotions become a driving force for you to advise others what to do. Aside from an emotive element moral judgment element, emotions can turn your moral judgment into a _____ type.

Answer 28

prescriptive

For example, you got involved in a tree-planting activity. Then, you received some praise from your local community. You feel happy about it, and you want others to feel the same.

Question 29

The _______ of emotions is also evident in the adverse scenario.

Answer 29

prescriptive element

For instance, you pretend to be someone rich is social media. Time will come when you will feel disturbed because of lying to the internet. The uneasiness you feel for pretending to be someone else tells you that what you are doing is wrong. That is why if you encounter someone else doing the same thing, you might reprimand that person, “You know what? I’ve been there. Done that. I don’t want you to feel the agony I felt”. The bad feeling after doing something terrible makes you learn from your mistake.

Question 30

Through emotions, you also develop ______ towards other people. You become very sensitive to the words you use when you correct someone. By knowing how others feel, you establish a ________.

Answer 30

empathy

human connection

Question 31

However, easy and relatable feelings sound, emotions are not everything about what makes a human act morally upright or not.

Hence, there are criticisms about relying on emotions as a judge to your actions such as the following:

Answer 31

1. Emotions show partiality.
2. Emotions draw our perspective away.
3. Emotions are capricious.

Question 32

If you base your moral decisions on your emotions, you cannot decide ______.

Emotions lack this ability to discern ______, especially in situations
that involve love ones.

Answer 32

objectively

For example, imagine yourself as a mayor of a city. Let us say there is a local transmission of COVID-19 in your town. Many people feel sick, including some members of your family. Hospital beds are almost full in your city. Who should you prioritize – your family or the majority of people in your town? Obviously, if your emotions are to decide, those who are close to you have the advantage. You may show partiality, and that is unfair to strangers in your town.

Question 33

As much as _______ shows some clear clues to determine what is right from wrong, the opposite can also be true. In many situations, feelings provide more confusion than clarity instead.

In other words, emotions cannot keep you think straight, putting you to more dangerous situations.

Answer 33

emotivism

For example, you will have a long exam the next week. However, your boyfriend/girlfriend just broke up with you. Instead of studying hard, you ended up distracted. The emotions you feel may also push you to even worse consequences. Not only that, you may choose not to study at all, but a person after a bitter breakup may decide to end his/her life.

Question 34

Lastly, our emotions are very ____.
Feelings change over time, and sometimes instantly.

Answer 34

volatile

For example, you go to a public plaza and meet a homeless child. On your first encounter, you feel pity for the child. You gave him some food. Instead of thanking you, the child complained, “I don’t want food. Don’t buy me bread. Give me at least 50 pesos instead.” After hearing those words from the homeless child, you don’t feel pity anymore. Instead, you feel anger or annoyance after hearing a very ungrateful response.

Question 35

The fact that emotions cannot be
______, ______, and _______ mean that your feelings can never be a reliable moral judgment source. You need something that is more objective and still universally acceptable to many.

Answer 35

objective, misleading, and changes
so quickly