HZT 4U1 Exam Review (Giordano) PDF

HZT 4U1: Exam Review (Giordano) Exam Format: 15% of Final Mark Part Type Number of Questions Marks 1 Multiple Choice 30 (1 mark each) 30 2...

HZT 4U1: Exam Review (Giordano) Exam Format: 15% of Final Mark Part Type Number of Questions Marks 1 Multiple Choice 30 (1 mark each) 30 2 Quote Analysis Answer 2 out of 5 choices (5 marks each) 10 2 Short Answer Answer 3 out of 6 choices (6 marks each) 18 4 Essay Answer 1 out of 2 choices 40 Total 98 Unit 1: Intro to Philosophy Terms: Philosophy The term philosophy comes from the greek words: Phelien (love) and sophia (wisdom) philosophy means to have love of wisdom Lesson # Review the following Concepts:  2 1.2 Plato’s Allegory of -Prisoners in the cave only see shadows of real objects the Cave -prisoners reality consists of nothing but shadows -one prisoner gets freed but the process is painful. He realizes the shadows are fake -He would return to the cave to free the other prisoners but the is blinded by sunlight due to not being accustomed to it -Chain prisoners see the blindness see the outside world as harmful 1.3 Maslow’s Hierarchy 1.​ Physiological Needs: air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep… 2.​ Safety Needs: protection from elements, security, order, law, stability… 3.​ Love and Belongingness needs: friendship, intimacy, trust, acceptance, receiving and giving love, being part of a group (family. friends, work)... 4.​ Esteem Needs: which include esteem of oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, acceptance) and esteem from others (respect from others, reputation, status…)  3 5.​ Cognitive Needs: knowledge, understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability 6.​ Aesthetic Needs: appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form… 7.​ Self-Actualization Needs: realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences 8.​ Transcendence Needs: a person is motivated by values which transcend beyond the personal self (mystical experiences, certain experiences with nature, aesthetic experiences, sexual experiences, service to others, the pursuit of science, religious faith,...) Review the themes -​ Missing piece was a circle with a piece missing longing for its missing piece, each of the but when it finds its missing piece it stops it from doing what it loves so it ended 1.1 following: up letting the missing piece go 1.3 c ​ The Missing -​ The disciple was a story about a disciple who was taught a mantra and was told 1.6 Piece not to share it or he will lead a life of misery. Selflessly he shared it because he ​ The Disciple felt people needed to feel the enlightenment of the mantra ​ Tolstoy -​ Tolstoy began to question the meaning of everything making him go into crisis. He felt plagued by the meaninglessness. He tired to understand the meaning of life which almost led him to suicide 1.7 c Fides et Ratio -Certain questions have a common source in the quest for meaning  4 -The church sees great values in philosophy Unit 2: Human Nature Terms: good -Many philosophers accept the definition something good is if it “contributes to the happiness and well being of some of many people in society without inflicting pain or suffering upon any of them. -This definition highlights the link between good and evil. They only acquire meaning and significance in relation to each other (adam in the garden of eden) evil -Evil is often defined as the absence of God. -most people agree that killing someone for pleasure is evil and stopping such actions is good -most philosophers agree that human beings are able to recognize the difference between good and evil even if the recognition is intuitive -a frequently debated question in philosophy is whether some people rationally and consciously choose to do evil essentialism Essence is another word for existing, meaning that a being enters the world already given these kinds of characteristics. Plato believed that human essence, such as the ability for reason, exists before birth and continues after death. ​ The thing or things that make up the permanent and universal nature ​ a beings essence is shared by all members or the species ​ essence precedes existence e.g. human beings enter the world  5 already endowed with essential defining characteristics. Essence does not equal soul The soul is an essence of being human being EVERY HUMAN BEING WOULD BE BORN WITH ESSENCE essence precedes existence = Essence comes before birth existentialism Existentialists examines the importance of the human existence over human essence -it emphasizes a good person is one who makes individual moral choices and takes responsibility for those choices -Existentialists believe that absolute moral values do not exist- the idea of being true to oneself when making moral choices is the only virtue worth striving for -Existentialism also examines issues of despair, depression, anxiety, and meaninglessness -These themes recur in existential writing -Existential Angst is a permanent feature of modern humanity- (Angst is a German word for anxiety) Feminism -This is a response to traditional western beliefs that the female of the human species (woman) are inherently inferior to men in heir capacity to reason altruism -Selfless concern for the well being of others egoism -Acting in ways that promotes one selves interest  6 Lesson # Review the following Concepts: 2.2 Theories of Human Nature Good Socrates ​ He believed that “to know the good is to do the good”. He influenced the thinking of Plato and Aristotle, who all agreed that people, by nature, are capable of being good, wise and virtuous. Joseph Butler (18th century C.E.) ​ He believed that people are born naturally good. He was an Anglican cleric. His view is the Christian view. ​ Conscience is the key to moral choices and making moral choices is integral to our human nature, though he believed that evil results when people violate their nature when they carry out selfish actions The Catholic View ​ Catholicism has suggested that humans have fallen from a state of grace (pure innocence and goodness). Because humans are created in God’s image, their nature is directed toward the good; free will allows them the ability to go contrary to their inherent nature and to act in evil ways. Mengzi (Mencius) ( fourth century BCE): ​ He wrote that human nature is naturally good, and that humans have an innate sense of right and wrong. ​ He observed that humans were naturally sympathetic to  7 people in distress or pain and that we are naturally disposed to following rules and expectations of society. ​ He believed that evil exists because some people do not cultivate their innate goodness through education. If goodness is not nourished it decays. “Use it or lose it” Evil Xun-Zi (Hsun Tzu) (Third century BCE) ​ He agreed with Mengzi that education is important but his reasons for believing so were different. ​ He believed that humans are born with feelings of envy and hate. The true purpose of education is to control the dark side of human nature. He believed that Mengzi was wrong when he failed to distinguish between human nature-what is given by heaven and what is learned. Thomas Hobbes (17th century) ​ He denied the possibility that the desire to do good can motivate people. He believed that humans desire what they do not possess. This sparks jealousy and envy which leads to evil deeds. ​ In his work, Leviathan, Hobbes states that: In a state of nature, every man wants to preserve his own liberty and to dominate others-both these impulses are the result of a natural desire for self-preservation ​ This desire, left unchecked, would result in conflict which will be brutal, cruel and selfish. To Hobbes the only thing that  8 motivates people to do anything is greed, created by the desire to survive. ​ In a state of nature there is no justice, injustice, property, there is only war ​ Because the most powerful individual is the most adept to survive, humans are naturally inclined to have malicious intentions inherited from uncountable generations of stealing and killing in order to acquire the upper-hand in life. ​ Therefore, without government, humankind would eventually self-destruct from its lack of reason and from absence of structure that society brings ​ In order to prevent natural chaos from destroying us, we give up our natural freedoms to participate in society out of the instinct to survive, which Hobbes called "the social contract". This involves heavy state control and absolute power over society Humans are neither good nor bad John Locke John Locke in his essay “Concerning Human Understanding” stated the importance of the experience of the senses and sets out the case that the human mind at birth is a complete, but receptive, blank slate ( scraped tablet or tabula rasa ) upon which experience imprints  9 knowledge. Therefore we can conclude that humans inherit neither a good nor evil nature at birth. Humans are both Good and Evil Some societies see evil as a necessary and inevitable complement to good. This is exemplified in the Chinese belief of Yin and Yang which represents the positive and negative forces in nature and in human beings. “The principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, female-male, dark-light and old-young. The principle, dating from the 3rd century BCE or even earlier, is a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy and culture in general. The two opposites of Yin and Yang attract and complement each other and, as their symbol illustrates, each side has at its core an element of the other (represented by the small dots). Neither pole is superior to the other and, as an increase in one brings a corresponding decrease in the other, a correct balance between the two poles must be reached in order to achieve harmony”. 2.3 b Plato: Essence & Forms Theory of essence & Forms Essence is another word for existing, meaning that a being enters the  10 world already given these kinds of characteristics. Plato believed that human essence, such as the ability for reason, exists before birth and continues after death. 2.3 b Plato’s Tripartite theory of the soul Tripartite understanding of the Soul Essence of Human Nature Reason: The highest most important element ​ Ruled by the mind, enable intelligence and self control ​ desires the truth and wisdom ​ predominant in philosophers, and, according to Plato, essential in those who rule. REASON ALONE -self control Spirit: Which is expressed as emotional states or attributes such as pride, vanity, aggressiveness, and courage ​ Ruled by emotions/passions ​ Seeks honour and victory ​ desires self-preservation ​ predominant in soldiers auxiliaries (those who oversee workers, soldiers, and keep them in place Appetite: Which is the lowest element, which is expressed as desires and needs. ​ Ruled by the basic and institutes, hunger, thirst, warm, sex ​ desires pleasure, money, comfort, physical satisfaction  11 ​ predominant in merchants/workers, women, children, slaves, and others who are self interested *egoistic ruled by your appetite* -To Plato, the soul was the personality, psyche, mind, or inner self. - Plato believes that all of these elements are present in everyone but he also recognized that the elements could conflict with one's soul. -Made up of three elements -all three elements are present in everyone and the kind of person someone is depends on which element dominates -if the human being is dominated by reason he/she might seek knowledge truth and wisdom; dominated by spirit perhaps over power and successes, dominated by appetite might result in seeking possessions and wealth -Believed reason is the most important element -Plato was a rationalist: this is the belief that knowledge comes from exercising the human ability to reason -only reason cab show people the best way to live and how to properly developed the elements 2.4 Challenges to Essentialism (especially Study the Buddhist, Scientific and Feminist Challenges Existentialism) Buddhist -The self does not exist it is an illusion therefore arguing about the  12 self is pointless there is no self there is no essence of the self -belief in the: doctrine of impermanence- all things including humans beings are constantly changing and moving because we are in a constant state of change their can be no enduring characteristics over time -clinging to the notion of the self only causes pain and suffering; we cling to things that do not exist -the futility of their search leads to insecurity and anxiety; it creates destructive thoughts that promote egoism selfish desire and negative feelings towards others Scientific -Materialistic view of human nature denial of a soul or inherited essence -some scientists and social scientists have tried to challenge essentialism by reducing human nature to the basic elements of matter and mechanical processes -this is not a new idea, hobbes described human beings as machines -human beings are a sophisticated piece of biomechanical and biomechanical machines -thinking and reasoning are considered to be nothing more then the result of electro chemical actions of the brain -humans are little different from non human animals; we are just more evolved Feminist Challenge -This is a response to traditional western beliefs that the female of the human species (woman) are inherently inferior to men in heir capacity to reason  13 -This means that the essence of being female makes women inferior by nature -Feminist challenges the essentialists emphasis on reason as being the defining characteristic of human nature. -The emphasis on reason (which is traditionally associated with men) has led to the subjugation of women who are traditionally associated with emotions. Emotions are inferior to reason as they sometimes impaired the ability to reason. Soren Kierkegaard 1813 -1855 -Danish philosopher Soren Kierkagaard was the founder of existentialism -He grew up in a deeply religious home, however he rejected lutheranism -For Kierkegaard people must make and judge their own moral choices to do this people must move beyond judging their actions according to reason or the standards of society and become accountable only to the judgements of God -In his view authentic choices are very important. Authentic choices are those that involve consistency of perception, thought, and action. We have responsibility of creating ourselves -For Kierkegaard, life is not conductive to pleasure and happiness -He rejected traditional values and social conventions. He was skeptical of traditional rationalism and opposed essentialist belief. The existentialist challenge in the 20th century Existentialists examines the importance of the human existence over human essence -it emphasizes a good person is one who makes individual moral choices and takes responsibility for those choices -Existentialists believe that absolute moral values do not exist- the  14 idea of being true to oneself when making moral choices is the only virtue worth striving for -Existentialism also examines issues of despair, depression, anxiety, and meaninglessness -These themes recur in existential writing -Existential Angst is a permanent feature of modern humanity- (Angst is a German word for anxiety) Unit 3: Metaphysics Terms: free will supposed capacity to make humans make decisions or perform actions independently of any prior event or state of the universe. Human beings are radically free. Religious determinism Based on a beleif in God wheose knowledge has a premeditated not only history but also everyhuman action and deed Naturalism The understanding of the materail universe as a unified system Social Determinism Behaviours not so much based on your physical state but by the influences others call upon you atheism disbelief in the existence of a God or Gods agnosticism Personhood  15 Lesson # Review the following Concepts: 3.2 Aristotle & the Supreme Being Aristotle’s Beliefs: Aristotle came to disagree with Plato. He argues there are no universals that are unattached to existing things. If a universal does exist, then it must be something to which it is attached Aristotle disagreed with the location of the universals. Plato spoke about the world of forms, where all universal forms subsist, but Aristotle maintained that universals exist within each thing. 1.​ Material Cause The material out of which an object is created (What is it made from?) 2.​ Efficient/Agent Cause The means by which something is created or comes to exist (Who or what brought it into existence?) 3.​ Formal Cause The final shape of the object or the idea or plan that exists before it. 4.​ Final cause This is the purpose or end (teleos) of a thing realized in the full perfection of the object itself (The reason it was created or the realization of its fullest potential) An example of this principle being applied:  16 -​ A potter molds a flower pot out of clay, which will eventually hold flowers. Material cause: clay Agent /Efficient cause: potter Formal cause: the clay pot Final cause: to hold flowers Although Aristotle rejected the aspects of Plato's philosophy which located universal essences outside the physical realm, he made an exception when speaking about the vital principle behind the universe. The potentiality of all objects is located in their forms. Aristotle believed that all objects have efficient causes that allow them to move to actuality. For example, a seed must have been produced by a mature plant, and a child must have come from a parent. If everything in the world is, or has at one time been, dependent on something prior to it then there must be an ultimate source from which everything has come. Aristotle concluded that there is a supreme form that exists separately from matter which is responsible for sustaining the universe. Everything in the universe is in a continual process from potentiality to actuality. However, the supreme form is not subject to such processes and is perfect. The supreme form is immaterial, perfect and without motion. 3.4 Arguments for and Arguments for and against the existence of God Against the Existence of God FOR  17 The Ontological Argument The Ontological Argument was created by a christian theologian. His ontological argument begins by defining God as a supremely perfect being. Argued that if God was supremely perfect it follows that God is also all powerful God is the one thing that exists both as a concept in the human mind Anselm of Canterbury, who lived from 1033 to 1109. The Cosmological Argument In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim's discussions focused on whether the stars were made or "only just happened." Along the way, they might have discussed whether what caused the stars to exist was itself caused, and if so, what caused it, and if this thing was caused, what caused it. The cosmological argument begins with the simple observation that it is impossible for any natural thing in the world to be the sole source of its own existence. In other words, it is impossible for anything to create itself. Cosmologists say that this beginning point is a supreme being. Believes in a beginning point such as the big bang Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) The Argument from Design (Intelligent Design) the argument from design, or the teleological argument. Supporters of this argument say that the order that characterizes the universe could not have come from nowhere or from nothing, nor could it have emerged spontaneously at some distant point in the past. 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, for example, rejected the comparison between nature and human-made machines. Hume argued that the infinitely diverse world of nature does not fit the model of human-made machines because there are  18 simply too many differences between nature and machines. AGAINST Atheism They rejected the idea of the existence of an omniscient and omnipotent supreme being whose task it is to create and sustain the world, to create humans in his, her, or its image, and to give to human existence a purpose for living. One argument says that human history is a saga of calamity, evil, war, poverty, death, and suffering. Some theists have challenged this argument, saying that it is based on a false premise. Karl Marx, a 19th-century German- English sociologist, historian, and economist, wrote that religion is the opiate of the masses. A character in a book by Friederich Nietzsche, a 19th-century German philosopher, said that God is dead - and we have killed him. And the 20th-century French novelist, playwright, and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre wrote that the concept of God is a contradiction in terms, like the concept of a square circle. Marx, Nietzsche, and Sartre were atheists. - Atheism is the belief that there is no such thing as a deity. - Agnosticism is the belief that the existence of a deity of deities cannot be either known or proven. 1.​ The problem of evil: -​ Why is there evil if there is a God? -​ Why do bad things happen to good people? -​ Find a time of peace in history. (cannot find)  19 -​ It's inconceivable that a supreme being could create such an imperfect world. -​ Why would God allow us to destroy his creations? -​ A sticking point for Atheists. 2.​No Empirical evidence for God: -​ “I can't have faith unless I can understand” -​ Understanding is necessary for faith. -​ Materialistic view - No evidence therefore can’t believe it. -​ Scientific evidence fails to reveal any credible evidence for the existence of a supreme being. -​ Humans occupy a privileged place at the top of a great chain of being. 3.​ Fulfills a psychological need: -​ Way to pacify human beings. -​ Faith fulfills a deep-seated human emotional need for security, order, and meaning. -​ God is an invention by humans that satisfies a deep-seated, human-emotional craving for authority. - Sartre -​ Religion is the childhood of the mind. - Sartre -​ Psychological maturity requires people to overcome this. 4.​ Neurological Perspective: -​ Belief in a supreme being can be explained as a function of the chemistry of human brains. -​ What people interpret as religious experiences, such as talking to God, represents nothing but changes in the activity of certain parts of their brains. -​ To support this claim, neuroscientists have conducted experiments showing certain kinds of artificial neuro-electrical stimulations in the brain can trigger religious experiences and experimental subjects. Supporters:  20 -​ Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzche, Jean-Paul Sartre 3.4 Pascal’s Wager -​ French Mathimatictian -​ He experienced several religious conversions throughout his life. -​ One was brought about by an illness that temporarily paralyzed him, another by a near-death experience and a third was brought on by a miraculous cure of his neice. -​ Cannot prove nor disprove a supreme being. -​ God-shaped hole in every person- why people are always seeking/longing for something they cannot find- never satisfied once they have it. -​ The fact that religion has been a part of almost all human societies. -​ Many indicate that there is a sense that this life is not all there is. -​ Therefore people are drawn to God. -​ Metaphysical proofs of the existence of God were so remote from everyday experiences and so complicated in logical structure that they had little success in convincing people of the existence of God. -​ God’s existence as a bet (wager): -​ “I bet that God either is or is not” - I either win or lose. -​ Stipulations: 1.​ God's existence cannot be either proved or disproved by science. 2.​ Ir is possible for us to know something “is” without exactly what it is. 3.​ We will all die, we just decide if we believe in God’s existence or not. -​ Conclusions: 1.​ If I bet that God exists and I win, he actually does exist, I go to heaven 2.​ If I bet that God exists and I lose, he does not exist, I have gained some earthly pleasure/given up some. 3.​ If I bet that God does not exist and I win, he does not exist, I have a short period of pleasure, I will never know the difference, I'm dead. 4.​ If I bet that God does not exist and I lose, he does actually exist, I have an eternity of suffering knowing that I lost my chance at eternal happiness. -​ Pascal says, the largest loss comes from betting God does not exist, with the  21 consequences of eternal hell. 3.5 Theories of the self - Rene Descartes (1596-1650). SUBSTANCE - He was a dualist. - Dualism: the mind is separate from the body, a substance capable of existing independently of all things besides the sustaining power of God. Which he believes is necessary for anything to exist. - Sets out to prove his own existence by beginning with extreme skepticism. - He concludes; all thinking things exist. I think, therefore i am. - He defines the self as a determinate and urinary thing, a substance that persists over time. - The self i s a substance that cannot be divided and is not subject to decomposition and chance. - As the subject of experience, the self supports changing experience but itself does not. - David Hume (1711-1776). BUNDLE - Denies the existence of a soul/self that is unchanging and permanent. This self is in constant flux. This theory holds that the self is like a bundle or collection of bits and pieces of experience. Hume argues that when he thought about himself he did not find anything like a self waiting to be discovered- all he discovered were the memories of experiences, impressions, ideas and desires, etc. He found no unity or threat that gave him continuously. He concluded that the self is nothing but a loosely knit collection, or a bundle of perceptions.​ - Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005). NARRATIVE - The narrative is not just a story but refers to the way in which humans experience time and future potentialities. - He points out that we experience time in two diff ways. We experience time as linear  22 succession, we experience the passing hours and days and the progression of our lives from birth to death. - This is cosmological time. - The other is phenomenological time; time experienced in terms of the past, present, and future. - We draw disparate past events into a whole establishing causal but meaningful connections between them. - The self is described by self and unity. - People make sense of their experiences by narrating them. - The narrative is connected to other narratives, whatever unity the self possesses is a function of the unity of the narrative under which it is identified. - A fragmented narrative is a fragmented self. ​ - Jean Paul-Sartre (1905-1980). PROJECT - There are 2 types of reality that lie beyond our conscious experience. - There is the existence of the object of consciousness and consciousness itself. - An essential feature of consciousness is its negative power by which we can experience nothingness. - This power is also at work with the self where it creates a lack of self-identity. - The unity of the self is understood as a task for itself. - In order to ground the self it needs a project and the desire for being lies within individual consciousness. - The self should be thought of more as an event in time rather than a thing. - The self is neither static nor a bundle, nor an ego at the center of one's experience. - It is a dynamic, future-oriented project, the self is always under construction and never finished. 3.8 Free Will & Each of Free Will: -​ This theory proposes that the will is perfectly insulated from all external the Determinisms causes. -​ No matter how powerful the external influence, supporters of this theory say that the will remains unperturbed.  23 -​ Though the body and brain are physical entities that are subject to the deterministic laws of nature, the will remains outside these laws. -​ It is not part of the brain although it can interact with the brain and send it messages to perform an action. -​ According to this theory, even prisoners in chains enjoy freedom of will; they may not be able to act freely but they can will freely. -​ Existentialist support the view that human beings are radically free.Sartre argued that it is entirely up to human beings to define themselves because there are no predetermined blueprints, no moral absolutes, no divine commandments and no innately given values exist to guide people's decisions on how to be.Human beings are alone and abandoned in the universe. -​ The price of being free is a disturbing sense of the groundlessness of all values, ideals, and projects. -​ This sense of groundlessness of all values, ideals and projects can lead to moments of existential angst or anxiety -​ Some people say they are condemned to be free. This is something they must bear at all times and -​ in all situations. -​ One cannot give someone freedom nor take it away; although they can deny it and pretend it does not exist. -​ Naturalism The first challenge is called: Naturalism. Today,this is probably the most widely held philosophy. Naturalism understands the material universe as a unified system. In it everything is shaped by physical, biological, and psychological and environmental processes.These philosophers would argue that there is no spiritual dimension to human life, only material. Everything can be explained, or will be explained by physical and biological processes.  24 In this theory, everything, including humans, are part of one grand chain connected to the past by cause and effect. In this philosophy, science reigns supreme. If we want to prove something is true, it must be proven using the scientific method. For naturalists, who we are is directly linked to our genes. The human self is not an ‘intending’ self. There is no human spirit or culture; humans, and human activity, are the result of the natural selection process. Naturalism makes a direct assault on human freedom. If DNA defines who you are, then your genes rule supreme. Your genes determine who you are and what you will become. Promises and commitments do not come from motives and intentions but from a genetic predisposition. Therefore, freedom is a delusion. Naturalism denies the possibility of ethics and morality. How can you be responsible for your actions if what you do is a natural process over which you have no control over? At present, the evidence for genetic determination is far from convincing. There is some evidence to support that there is an interaction between the genetic code and human behaviour. Humans cannot act without their bodies. In the same way, your spirit is an embodied spirit. Future research will explain more precisely how genes and freedom go together. But there will always be resistance to saying that freedom is nothing more than our genes at work.  25 ​ Religious Determinism Historically, some churches within Christianity have also denied human freedom. They have done so based on a belief in God whose knowledge and will have predetermined not only history but also every human action and deed. This belief is called Predestination. Today most Christians believe in Providence, that is, in God’s influence upon human actions. If it is God’s plan to save some and to damn others, then what role does human freedom play? In this scenario, there is no respect for human freedom. Catholic teaching maintains that human freedom and God’s providence do not conflict. Salvation is what God desires for each one of us, but it requires our own co-operation. The Catholic tradition has always been a great defender of human freedom. We can either choose to follow God’s plan for us, or not. ​ Social Determinism In many ways Social Determinism is like Naturalism A Social Determinist would say that your behaviour is determined not so much by your physical state as by the influences of others upon you: your parents or culture, your psychological state, any traumatic experiences you may have had, and your history and social background such as: race, status, gender, religion and education. According to this view, your actions can be explained by what you have experienced at the hands of others.You are not free because you are the product of what others have  26 done to you. To the Social determinist, your past determines who you are. Your behaviour is explained by social factors, not by your decisions. However, if your actions today are entirely determined by your past experiences and prior learning, how can you be rresponsible for those actions? Unit 4: Ethics Terms: morality The moral belief and practices of a culture, community, religion, a code of system of moral rules, principal of values ethics Evaluating human rights Utilitarianism All pleasures are equal Absolutism (Absolute Truth) Their is only one good life to lead. A person lived a good life pr not Eugenics A set of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the human population through controlled breeding. Lesson # Review the following Concepts: 4.5 Plato and the Good Life According to Plato, evil is due to a lack of knowledge. If we discover the right or the good then we would do good: “To  27 know the good is to do the good”. In his famous work: The Republic, he describes an ideal life or society. It is one ruled by philosopher kings. Finding the nature of the good life is an intellectual task. He believed that in training people to lead good lives we must help them develop: Virtuous habits of behaviour and Mental power through study. Plato was an absolutist. He believed that there is only one good and only one good life to lead. A person either lived a good life or not. Goodness exists independently of humankind in the world of form that could only be accessed through reason. Plato is arguing for the objectivity of moral principles. i.e. a course of action is right or wrong absolutely and independently of anyone’s opinion. ‘Thou shall not kill’ is an absolute and objective law. 4.5 Aristotle & The Good Life (Virtue Ethics) The good life for people is a life of happiness. Humans find happiness within community. To be happy is to live well and to do well, i.e., to act virtuously by developing good habits.  28 Human activity aims at achieving the good. Since the highest capacity of humans is to be rational, the highest form of happiness is based on rational behaviour. Be moderate in all things. (See notes on the Doctrine of The Mean). The focus should Not be on balance, but moderation, to avoid extremes. The Mean will vary from person to person. There are many kinds of good lives, not just one. Aristotle does not agree with Plato that a knowledge of the good will necessarily lead to virtuous behaviour. Knowledge of what we ought to do is not sufficient without the kind of self-discipline necessary to ensure that we do it. 4.5 Socrates & The Good Life For both Socrates and Plato the life worth living-the good life, means a life of ethical action within a community made up of family, friends and the society around them. 4.3 Aquinas: The Divine Command Theory, Aquinas used the ideas of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and Natural Law applied them to a Christian system of philosophy. Aristotle taught that in a good person, the rational part of human nature controls the sensory appetites by choosing to follow a middle path between the extremes of deficiency and excess. For example, courage is the virtuous ‘mean’ between the accompanying excesses of cowardice  29 and foolhardiness. The use of good nutrition is the golden mean between the accompanying excesses of gluttony and bulimia. In the Thomistic philosophy of Aquinas, God has given human beings reason, and human beings are expected to follow God's eternal and natural laws that can be discovered through the use of reason. Moreover, God's divine laws can be discovered in Sacred Scripture. Because God and human beings share the ability to reason, people can use this ability to come to know God's commands. Irrationality is an obstacle to the actualization of a human being's God-given potential. What makes an action morally bad is its influence to move the person not toward, but away from, his or her ultimate goal - union with the creator, God.  30 4.3 Bentham/Mill: Utilitarianism For Bentham (1748-1832) the underlying moral principle is the principle of utility, or the "greatest happiness principle". The right act or policy was that which would cause the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. His principle is also known as a hedonistic theory. He developed a hedonistic calculus by which one could determine the right course of action based on a prediction of the amount of pleasure it would cause for a guestimated number of people. His hedonistic calculus was comprised of six categories to effectively measure pleasure. They were intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity (nearness), purity and extent. One of the problems with Bentham's version of utilitarianism was that all pleasures were equal, he did not allow for a differentiation in the quality of pleasures. This was a complex version of a pros and cons list. John Stuart Mill (1806 -1873), Bentham's godson, attempted to further perfect the principle of utility such that it would take into consideration the quality of pleasures. For example, pleasures of the intellect were different from pleasures of feelings, sensations, and imagination. In his work Utilitarianism, Mill illustrates his point when he suggests that it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, and it is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. Mill further clarified the theory so that it is not the agent's own greatest happiness which is the targeted end, but instead, the greatest amount of happiness altogether which is the standard of evaluation. This makes the  31 theory much more complex and worthy of consideration than if the desired end aimed at were merely that of one's own happiness. Utilitarianism is known as a consequentialist theory (focuses on consequences), and as such is in direct opposition to Kantianism which focuses on intent rather than on effects. Mill attempted to defend utilitarianism against those who criticized it as a selfish theory focused on pleasures. 4.3 Kant: Categorical Imperative Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher who attempted to separate religion from morality to the greatest extent possible. One of the problems with Thomism (another name for the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas) was the reliance on Sacred Scripture. Kant attempted to rid ethical discussion of the need for God. Reason was in a sense Kant's "god". It is human reason that is all important for Kant and due to the fact that it can be universal and objective, reason serves well as a basis for determining the moral law. Kant developed a categorical imperative which is another name for a fundamental rule of conduct which does not admit exceptions. There are three formulations of the categorical imperative, but for our purposes we will focus on two. 1. Act in such a way so that you treat humanity either in your own person or in that of another always as an end in itself and never as a means to some other end. In other words, do not use  32 other people as a means for another purpose. Remember earlier on when we were examining ethical scenarios. The Scenario My Best Friend's Girl/Guy illustrates this point. Kant would be opposed to the act of befriending someone in order to get close to someone else, since this would be in effect using another person. He felt that so far as we are rational beings with a will we deserve respect as persons. Our dignity lies in our rationality and our distinct ability to reason and will ourselves to action. This is why we ought never to be used as things or instruments for some other purpose. 2. Act in such a way so that you could will that your action become a universal law. In other words, you need to be able to imagine a world in which everyone would act in the manner you choose. When attempting to decide which course of action you should take, you would need to ask, could I will that my action be done by everyone. Take for instance the Litter Bug Scenario or the Sticky Situation Scenario of earlier on. What would a world in which no one recycled, or in which everyone littered or disposed of stale gum on the sidewalk be like? Could we imagine such a world as being desirable? That is, could we as rational persons universalize this maxim? For Kant the only thing which is good in itself (good apart from any consequences or conditions) is good will. Kant focused completely on the intent behind an action in order to determine its moral worth. He felt that the purity of will, the purity of the intent or motive is what is all important. Think of the To Give or Not to  33 Give Scenario. For Kant, if you choose to give money to the beggar out of the goodness of your will, your intent being pure, then the act is good regardless of whether or not he/she chooses to purchase alcohol with your donation. 4.6 Plato- Plato’s Republic For Plato, the important ethical question was, "What makes someone a good person?" In The Republic through the voice of Socrates, Plato attempts to establish that a good person is a just person. A just person has each part of the soul working as it should so that desires are kept in check by both correct reason and will-power. This type of person will know the right course of action to take. There were, however, even in the times of Plato, those who did not seem to possess this knowledge, or who did not believe such knowledge possible, namely, the moral skeptics. Plato, through the character of Socrates, attempts to deal with the moral skeptic Thrasymachus in The Republic. Thrasymachus challenges Socrates to prove to him why one ought to be just in an unjust world. He believes the people only lead a good or just life since if they did not, and got caught, there would be dire consequences. Thrasymachus states that people are only good involuntarily because they lack the power to be bad and get away with it. He devises a scenario that he thinks proves his point. Imagine there was such a thing as a magical ring that a person could wear to  34 become invisible and commit unjust acts without the threat of being caught. Thrasymachus thinks that everyone would use this magical ring, and if they did not, they would be foolish. 4.6 Eugenics and the good life