Ethics Final 2

Front 1

What are the 4 major Socratic Schools of Thought? What is the goal/preoccupation associated with each school?

Back 1

1) Cynicism =freedom

2) Hedonism = Pleasure

3) Skepticism = a peaceful mind

4) Stoicism = accepting your fate

Front 2

What does the Cynicism School of Thought say (Diogenes)?

Back 2

"We were naturally created to live in nature/in balance with nature." So, it is unnatural to give into your animal desires too much and if you do so (having a big house, etc), you can't be free/live honestly.

Front 3

What are the 2 different subdivisions of the Hedonism School of Thought (Epicurus)?

Back 3

1) Epicurean = recognizes that the pleasures that are superior/worth pursuing don't lead to pain.

2) Cyrenaic = wants as much pleasure as possible all the time.

Front 4

According to Epicurean hedonists, what are the 3 types of desires?

Back 4

1) Natural and Necessary (ex: food)

2) Natural and Unnecessary (ex: sex)

3) Unnatural and Unnecessary (ex: fame)

Front 5

The Skepticism school of thought employs the method of doubt. What are the 2 subdivisions of this school of thought and what do they use doubt for?

Back 5

1) Pyrrhonian Skepticism: Uses doubt in order to avoid becoming rigidly attached to that thought (and therefore reacting poorly if that idea ends up not being true/doesn't play out in reality as you expected). Therefore, you attain a peaceful state of mind. So, Pyrrhonian skeptics *always* call your ideas into doubt in order to obtain peace.

2) Academic Skepticism: Simply uses the tool of doubt to find the truth. Doubts thoughts up until the point of discovering the truth, at which point they stop doubting. They feel a sense of peace at having found the truth.

Front 6

In Pyrrhonian skepticism, what is Aporia?

Back 6

The state where you've reached an impass in which you cannot go forward, so you let the thought/situation go, leading to a pleasurable sense of peace of mind.

Front 7

What does Stoicism say (Epictetus)?

Back 7

Stoicism says that everything in life is pre-determined and that you should choose to react to everything rationally (using your human soul) in order to accept your fate. Because humans are uniquely capable of relating to the event rationally, we SHOULD relate to the event in this way (instead of reacting emotionally/according to the Animal soul).

Front 8

What is Katalepsis in Stoicism?

Back 8

In Stoicism, there's the idea that not everything/every perception is worthy of assenting/accepting as true. Katalepsis is the mental act of apprehending the truth/understanding which perceptions are actually true by prioritizing those which can be clearly affirmed as true.

Front 9

In the Medieval period, Christianity introduces the concepts of Evil and Sin. In terms of Aristotle's character types, what are Evil and sin?

Back 9

Sin = intention to vice. (Incontinent person).

Evil = Habit of sin (Vicious person).

Front 10

What is Audustine's concept of "intentionalism"?

Back 10

Says that if your intentions are directed toward the Good (God), you will live a good life and go to heaven. Because intellectual virtues are naturally inclined to the Good, we are naturally inclined to God. In any situation, the natural inclination toward the Good manifests itself as a conscience and to sin, you must be overwhelmed by pathos (lower, animal virtues).

Front 11

What is Augustine's concept of "Just War"?

Back 11

Augustine believed that there's a City of God (intention toward God) and a City of Man (intention toward sin/animal pathos) that are naturally at war. Therefore, if you war in the name of God, it's justified.

Front 12

What does Aquinas's Intellectualism say?

What does Franciscan Voluntarism say?

Back 12

Intellectualism = The idea that reality is a manifestation of God's thoughts/ideas.

Voluntarism = Reality is the manifestation of the will of God.

-easier to explain miracles this way.

Front 13

What is the relationship between Eudaimonia (introduced by Aristotle) and the Catholic Beatitude?

Back 13

Eudaimonia: tied to natural function; living in Eudaimonia means that you're living the best life, oriented toward the form of the Good.

Beatitude: Catholics personified the Good as God and said that living the best life was living in a way to guarantee oneness with God/heaven after death.

Front 14

Why does Machiavelli believe in preemptive violence?

Back 14

Like Augustine, he believes that violence is inevitable and in order to be a good ruler of your city, you must protect it from violence. Therefore, it makes logical sense to act viciously and kill your enemies at their weakest even if they're innocent, because by not doing so, you're only allowing them to get stronger so they can inevitably harm YOUR city.

Front 15

What is Hobbes's state of nature theory? Is it pessimistic or optimistic?

Back 15

Hobbes says that the State of Nature is one of war between everyone and everyone else due to limited resources. It's pessimistic. The only right you have in the state of nature is the right to defend yourself.

Front 16

What does Hobbes say about Social Contracts and Justice?

Back 16

In the state of nature, the weak inevitably form a social contract in which they give up some of their freedoms in order to pool their resources and overpower the strong. Once this social contract has been made, they have left the state of nature and there can now be Justice.

Front 17

What does Hobbes say about Positivism, and submission versus subjection?

Back 17

He says that since you're in the State of Nature with God, God is more powerful and your body is already submitted to Him (in the form of inevitable death). However, you can choose whether or not you want to subject your will to him.In positivism, law is established arbitrarily according to whatever the social contract you're in wants/says. Law need not be in accordance with Divine Command or "Natural Law".

Front 18

According to Hobbes, is there Justice in the state of nature?

Back 18

No, because there's no property and everyone is in free-for-all war with everyone else. If someone is able to overpower you and violate you or your resources, they are not doing anything "wrong" because there is no wrong or right.

Front 19

What is a Judgment, according to philosophers?

Back 19

Any "(subject) is (adjective)" statement. Philosophers believe it is impossible to have a human experience without making judgments.

Front 20

What does David Hume's "Dynamic Tension of the Passions" theory say?

Back 20

He says that our life is full of conflicting desires and that which ones we choose to act upon simply comes down to which desire is the strongest. In other words, the Pathos (emotions) drives our actions. No matter what desire we end up following, we will always use the Intellect to retroactively justify the action we made (to make ourselves feel better).
Therefore, the intellect is merely a slave/tool to the Passions/pathos.

Front 21

How does Hume incorporate Positivism into his philosophy?

Back 21

Since our intellect is merely a tool of our passions, the "truth" doesn't actually matter.

Front 22

What is the role of Judgment in Action, according to Hume?

Back 22

Judgment/reason can help before making a decision because it can help us evaluate the pros and cons (in terms of pleasure) for an action. It can "speculate" and "calculate". However, remember that the impulse to choose a particular action does not come form reason and reason is ultimately not in control of Will.

Front 23

What does the "Is versus Ought" idea of Humes say?

Back 23

There are objective facts about the physical world but when it comes to moral judgment, there's never an "Is", only an "ought".

Front 24

Comparing Hume and Hobbes, you can say it's a comparison of "Contract versus Convention." What does this mean?

Back 24

Whereas Hobbes says that human interaction/society is based on a conscious social contract, Hume says it's not necessary to make a social contract in society. As long as we have the same conventions (of desire), we can all propel society forward in the right. Ex: two people on a paddleboat can move forward without saying anything to each other as long as they both want to go forward.

Front 25

What is Utilitarianism?

Back 25

The philosophy that the result/consequence of an action is the real measure of whether it's good or bad. Emphasizes ends over means.

Front 26

What is Act Utilitarianism (Bentham) versus Rule Utilitarianism (Mills)?

Back 26

1) Act: "An action is right only if it produces the greatest amount of pleasure".

2) Rule: "An action is right only if it conforms to a set of rules whose acceptance by everyone would produce the greatest amount of pleasure."

Front 27

What is Bentham's Hedonic Calculus?

Back 27

Attempts to devise a formula to calculate how pleasurable a pleasure is (according to 7 factors/variables).

Front 28

What are Mills's 2 criticisms/changes he proposed of Bentham's version of Utilitarianism?

Back 28

1) Emphasis should be the greatest good for the greatest number of people

2) Quality, not quantity should be emphasize (he rejected Bentham's hedonic calculus)

Front 29

1) What is Mill's Liberty Principle?

2) What is Mill's Harm Principle?

Back 29

1) As long as you're not hurting anyone else, you're free to do what you want.

2) The only end to which power can be exercised against other people's freedom is for the sake of protection.

Front 30

Give an example of a criticism of Utilitarianism.

Back 30

The admission that there is a qualitative difference in pleasures ruins our ability to quantify them, because now you're comparing apples and oranges.

Front 31

What is Kant's Categorical Imperative? What is the first formulation of the categorical imperative?

Back 31

it's the rational method we use to figure out what the moral law is.

First formulation: Before performing an action, ask yourself, "would the rule I'd be following by doing this action be able to be applied universally?" If yes, then do it, because the Natural Laws are universal.

Front 32

What are the 3 kinds of self-love/evaluation that correspond to the 3 dispositions to the Good according to Kant?

Back 32

1) Animal = you love yourself/perceive self worth based on pure physical pleasure.

2) human = you evaluate your self worth based on comparison to other people.

3) Person = you evaluate your self worth based on your self-respect, which is determined by your ability to follow the Natural Law.

Front 33

What is evil, according to Kant?

Back 33

Following a rule that's not universal and therefore not in harmony with the Laws of Nature.

Front 34

What is the difference between a person of good morals and a morally good person, according to Kant?

Back 34

A person of good morals acts good but they do it out of fear of the consequences. They are not living the best life.

A morally good person acts good out of love for doing good itself. They are free and living the best life.

Front 35

What is Kant's Kingdom of Ends?

Back 35

A world in which there is basically heaven on earth. In it, we are all people are the Person-level (so self-actualized and free) and we see other people as Ends in themselves as opposed to means to an end. We fully respect other people and actively strive to help each other live to the fullest (just like in Aristotle's friendship according to the Good). If you compare this concept to Augustine's Cities of God and Man, this is basically creating his City of God on earth, because all of the citizens are pointed to the Good.