Test #3

Question 1

Euthyphro the essence of the dialogue

Answer 1

A work of Plato’s written as a dialogue between Plato’s teacher Socrates and a man named Euthyphro. It tries to define the meaning of piety or holiness.

Question 2

What did Socrates think of Eurthyphro?

Answer 2

Both men were waiting for preliminary hearings for trials. Eurthyphro was there to press charges against his father for killing a worker who killed a slave to die without proper care. Socrates was surprised that Eurthyphro was so confident in bringing charges against his father. Socrates assumes that Euthyphro holds a high value of his own moral reasoning.

Question 3

Eurthyphro dilema

Answer 3

This writing is an example of Socrates use of irony to to reach a conclusive philosophical point. This was a form of Socratic questioning. Socrates tells Euthyphro that he has such a good understanding of piety that he would like to learn from him so he can defend himself against his own charges of impiety. They discuss and Socrates asks Eurthyphro to define piety. With all definitions that he provides Socrates finds flaws and learns nothing. Socrates goal was never to learn from Eurthyphro but to elicit knowledge from him.

Question 4

Eurthyphro Piety definitions

Answer 4

Piety is…
#1: What Eurthyphro is doing by prosecuting his father. Dismissed because it is an example not a definition
#2:What is pleasing to the Gods. An actual definition, but the Gods themselves are conflicted by what is right and wrong, they can still dispute
#3:What the gods love is pious and what they hate is impious. Socrates asks is something Pious because the gods love it or do all the gods love it because it is pious.
#4:looking after the gods. People’s acts of piety make the gods better which is an act of hubris. (Pride)
#5: his final argument was that piety was prayer and sacrifice. But this goes back to point three.

Question 5

St.Thomas Aquinas

Answer 5

-A philosopher of the Middle Ages
-Believed in the God of the bible
-Debated the Eurthyphro dilemma
-believed that God endorsed a moral standard that he discovered
-morality exists independent of God
-God discovered morality
-when God made humans he instilled the moral standards into us

Question 6

Plato

Answer 6

-wrote a dialogue called the Eurthyphro
-Addressed the issue of morality and the gods
-do the gods love what is good because it is actually good or is it good because the gods love it
-Are the gods in charge of morality or do they also have to follow the universal moral truths that are out of their control
-said that mathematics was a univeral concept and never changes. Numberds are abstract entities that exist ouside of human conciousness

Question 7

Ockham

Answer 7

Argued that people are moral using free will
His beliefs are called the divine command theory
The moral or right action is one that God commands or requires
Problems: if god created morality he could change the rules at a whim
If morality exists separate from God and he has to obey these rules he cannot be all powerful

Question 8

Martin Luther king Jr

Answer 8

He was a Christian who strongly believed that all good is found in Gods will.
-he believed that Gods will is more important than anyone’s individual self interest
-he thought that the laws of the United States were morally wrong because they discriminated against black people
-These laws could be proven wrong by using what many philosophers call a self evident truth
-a self evident truth is so simple to understand that any reasonable person can comprehend it.
-in this case the self evident truth was that all humans are created equal.
-he thought we have a duty to do what is good and obey the truth and worked to convince society do do the same as him.
-He even went to jail as a consequence for his beliefs and protests

Question 9

Letter from Birmingham jail

Answer 9

When Martin Luther king Jr was in jail he composed his famous Letter From Birmingham Jail. According to his letter: a just law is a man made code that aligns with moral laws or the laws of God. An unjust law is a code that does not align with the moral law and Gods laws. Any law that uplifts humans is just and vice versa. He said that segregation damages the personality and gives the segregators a false sense of superiority. King thought that whatever he has to endure to get to the greater good would be compensated by redemption.

Question 10

What is moral rationalism and it’s 2 theories?

Answer 10

It describes moral theories that emphasize using human reason to discover moral truths. These theories are:
The natural law theory
Best reasons approach

Question 11

Natural law theory

Answer 11

Maintains that our standards in charge of our behaviour come from the nature of human beings. According to this theory we produce moral beliefs and judgements on our own. We know what it is like to feel pain so we learn not to inflict pain onto others. Even though we are all different humanity produces similar ideas of morality within different cultures, individuals and religions. An example is not to murder. This means that these moral truths are factual truth’s instead of subjective truths.

Question 12

Best reasons approach

Answer 12

Human reason can lead to moral behaviour. According to this theory moral actions are the result of people asking themselves questions. They usually do what the most rational thing to do is in this situation. Philosophers who believe in this theory argue that mistakes happen because human reason is imperfect.

Question 13

Immanuel Kant

Answer 13

For Immanuel Kant the motive behind an action doesn’t matter as long as the overall outcome of it was good. You don’t need to know someone’s intent behind their action but only if they are acting in accordance with The Categorical Imperative

Question 14

The categorical imperative

Answer 14

Kants categorical imperative says “Act as though the maxim of your action were by your will to become a universal law of nature “ in other words “what if everyone acted this way?” He thought that this rule should have no exceptions and everyone should follow it. Would society still function if everyone stole?

Question 15

Is it human instinct to be good?

Answer 15

Animals must possess behaviours that benefit their species growth to survive. Maladaptive behaviour from a species is destructive and can lead to extinction. Because humans are successful it may be instinct for us to be peaceful and our beliefs about morality could be innate.

Question 16

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 16

Hobbes thought that humans are selfish and only desire to fulfill our own desires. He believed that an absolute government and strong enforcement of law were the only ways we could remain peaceful

Question 17

Are babies born to be good?

Answer 17

-People used to believe that a babies mind was a blank slate
-we are taught about morality from our parents
- babies would watch puppet shows where puppets would help and not help each other
-the babies would always prefer the puppet who helped other puppets
-as young as three months old babies can judge the actions of beings
- we aren’t born with the ability to lie but we learn that that it benefits us around 2-4 yrs
- different cultures view modesty lying differently
- in a study done comparing modesty lying in Chinese vs Canadian culture Chinese children viewed modesty lying as good and vice versa
-Chinese children would help without recognition or prompting and vice versa
- young kids will help even if it inconveniences them

Question 18

Can good and evil change?

Answer 18

Are there moral truths that exist forever?
Universal is used to describe something that is true forever. It will never change no matter where or who you go to.
Relative is used to describe something that can change overtime or where you go.
Some philosophers believe that morality is universal and others believe that it is relevant.
-Plato held that there are timeless concepts like math that stay the same. Humans didn’t invent math they discovered it. Numbers are abstract.
-protagoras was a relativist and thought that there was no objective truth
-

Question 19

James Rachel’s

Answer 19

-thought that morality is universal
-all societies share a core set of values
-we need these values for a society to function and exist
-to him these values are:
1.care for your children
2.tell the truth
3.do not murder

Question 20

Moral relativism

Answer 20

There are no absolute rules to determine whether something is right or wrong

Question 21

Bekoff

Answer 21

Mammals are born with morality which allows aggressive and competitive animals to live together. He has collected evidence that shows animals have a sense of fairness, display empathy and help other animals in distress. These morals encourage co-operative behaviour and help animals to work in a group.

Question 22

Examples of animal morality

Answer 22

Bats will give each other food even though there is no benefit for them
Chimps are aware of other chimps with disabilities and won’t attack or intimidate them
Diana monkeys will help older and weaker mokeys have food
Rats will not take food if it will hurt another rat

Question 23

Guldburg and Peterson

Answer 23

Helene Guldburg took issue with Dale Petersons arguements in The Moral Lives Of Animals. Peterson belives that animals moral systems are homogolus to humans. This means that they are similar due to a common origin. He belives that animals and humans have a morality organ in the limbic system in the brain. He believs that there are some differences in the features of this organ differ slightly from animals, perhaps ours is more advanced. The two types of empathy are conatgious and cognitive. An example of
Contagious empathy is when one bird flies away from a loud noise the rest of the flock follows. An example of cognitive empathy is when contagious empathy is passed through a cognitive filter. Choosing to follow using the mind.

Question 24

The social contract

Answer 24

The social contract is a set of rules that almost everyone agrees to live by to protect your own life and property. The social contract only works when there is a neutreal group to enforce the rules. If we didnt have this neutral group we would evolve into vigilante justice. In our society this is considered the police and justice system. According to the social contract theory, morality only comes from self interest.

Question 25

Moral Skeptisim

Answer 25

There are questions that have been asked for centeries. They continue to be asked because the answers are beyond the reach of human intelectual ability. Skeptics believe that humans have limits on our understanding of objective moral truth. Moral skeptics do not deny that morals exist or that they shouldnt exist. They still feel that we need rules

Question 26

Arisdotle

Answer 26

Poor choices are the result of irrationality like when the desire for pleasure or power overruled ethical descision making. He also believed that it was a parents duty to teach their children proper behaviors. He thought that laws and threats of punishment were necissary to keep everyone rational. Even good people can think irrationally.

Question 27

saint augustine

Answer 27

Most people are evil and will be punished by God for eternity. Only a small amount of people will be saved and go to heaven

Question 28

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 28

It was the duty of the government to protect people by enforcing the law. He thought that those who broke the law should be decapitated.

Question 29

Why is somebody punished?

Answer 29

Punishment is typically the result of commiting a crime. Sometimes punishment is not justified when somebody has been falsley accused or when the harshness of the punishment doesnt match the impact of the crime.

Question 30

Herbert hart

Answer 30

According to him there are three questions you have to ask before you can etermine if a justice syste is just.
#1: What is the motive behnd a system of punishment? Is it to bring justice or to force your own political beliefs onto others?
#2:Who may be properly punished and upon what principles?
#3:How is the appropriate amount of punishment determined and by whom?

Question 31

Intrinsic goodness

Answer 31

Some philosophers argue that one reason to be good is inrinsic goodness. Intrinsic means things tha exist inside things. In this case, there is good inside being good.

Question 32

Talk about the state of incarseration documentary

Answer 32

Crime rates have dropped in Canada since the 1990s and prison poulations have decreased. Despite this Canada is creating more crime related policies including tougher parole regulations, fewer conditional sentences and more mandatory minimum sentences. There is more money being spent on more prison cells and it costs 140,000 dollars are year to keep one prisoner in a medium security prison.

California had a disasterous justice system that had a inmate population 200% over what the prisons could handle. If you commited 3 felonies you were in prison for life. It costed more to keep a person in prison than give an someone an Ivy League Education
They reviewed their system and took a smart on crime approach
-More support for parole officers, additional programs to support prisoners, faith based rehabilitation, prison entrepreneurship program. All of these will help priosners integrate back into society

Question 33

cicero

Answer 33

-Being good is an essential part of being happy and having a good life.
-A good person would never do harm to another because any advantage that they gain would only be short term
-Doing the right thing is always the best thing
-One reason to be good is that you will find inner happiness

Question 34

Kant and our duty to be good

Answer 34

-people have a duty to be good
-Morality is based on existing laws and codes with a long history

Question 35

hippias

Answer 35

There is a common good within the laws of all countries
-All humans are connected so you have to be good to everyone
-You should regard all citizens of the world as citizens of a single state
-The romans used this to justify their expansion
-they thought they were bringing roman goodness to others`

Question 36

John Donne

Answer 36

Shared a similar view to hippias
People have an obligation to be good to others
His poem No Man Is An Island
describes his views on people and community. It says that we all need eachother and we are all ‘a piece of the continent’ it also says ‘any mans death diminishes me’ he cares about all people the same

Question 37

Milgram experiment

Answer 37

-he wanted to test at what point people would disobey authority
-the teachers desire to not upset the authority figure was more important to them than the well being of their student

Question 38

burke quote

Answer 38

the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing

Question 39

Ecocenterism

Answer 39

Environmental concerns should be central to human actions and decision making

Question 40

Lelopold

Answer 40

Wrote the land ethic
Social contract started with religion then the social contract and eventually it will develop into a concern for the environment

Question 41

Judith Jarvis Thomson

Answer 41

-A woman can have an abortion if she is raped
-Whose rights are more important the mothers or the foetuses
-whether a foetus is capable surviving outside of the mother determines whether or not you should be allowed to abort it

Question 42

Automatism

Answer 42

An act committed during a period of unconsciousness or impaired consciousness. Although the person is capable of the act they aren’t aware of what they are doing.

Question 43

Descartes

Answer 43

-People do not have an obligation to animals
-Descartes maintained that, because animals lack reason, they are the same as mechanical things. For this reason, people have the right to use animals as they wish.

Question 44

Micheal Tooley

Answer 44

-Foetuses and children are not persons
-They understand avoidance of pain but not themselves in the future
-They still have rights just not as persons

Question 45

Parmenides

Answer 45

He is notorious for denying that there can be any change. He believed that everything is part of a single unified and unchanging whole. All apparent change is merely illusion.

Question 46

Hedonism

Answer 46

For hedonists, a life of pleasure is meaningful. In its purest form, hedonism counts any activity as meaningful, provided people derive pleasure from it. But most hedonists rule out activities that harm others (for instance, dare-devil driving,or bullying) or that harm oneself (smoking, pigging out on junk food, and so on).

Question 47

Anaximander

Answer 47

-a student of Thales
-Milesian
-explores the bound as the start of existence

Question 48

Hegel

Answer 48

The German philosopher Georg W.F. Hegel (1770-1 831) for instance, held that human nature could not be understood independently of the relationships among human beings, the various groups to which they belong, and the larger historical and social forces that sweep them along the path of history.

Question 49

Protagoras

Answer 49

Morality is relative
Man is the measure of all things - A statement by the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras. It is usually interpreted to mean that the individual human being, rather than a god or an unchanging moral law, is the ultimate source of value.

Question 50

Pythagoras

Answer 50

One of Pythagoras’s distinctive teachings was the transmigration of the soul. In other words, the soul is something that exists beyond death, and that can be reborn in other bodies: whether human or animal. There is a famous story told by Diogenes Laërtius about Pythagoras and a dog.

Question 51

Alan turning

Answer 51

Around the same time that ENIAC was built, the British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) year 2000 computers would be spoken of as thinking things . Turing’s work with the British military intelligence service was aimed at stopping German U-Boats fiom sinking the British fleet in ww2.

Question 52

Enigma

Answer 52

The German military used a machine called enigma to communicate in codes that the British could not understand. turning was essential to solving the codes.

Question 53

Heraclitus

Answer 53

According to both Plato and Aristotle, Heraclitus held extreme views that led to logical incoherence. For he held that (1) everything is constantly changing and (2) opposite things are identical, so that (3) everything is and is not at the same time.
You can’t step in the same river twice

Question 54

prisoners dilemma

Answer 54

It is a thought experiment that challenges two completely rational agents to a dilemma: cooperate with their partner for mutual reward, or betray their partner for individual reward.