Term
| Teleological: What is the teleological argument for the existence of god? How is it structured? |
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Definition
| God must exist because features of the universe show signs of purpose or design. |
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Term
| Teleological: In what way does the teleological argument depend on observation? |
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Definition
| If you found a watch in an empty field, you would logically conclude that it was designed and not the product of random formation |
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Term
| Teleological: What is one common objection to the teleological argument? |
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Definition
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Term
| Cosmological: What is the cosmological argument for the existence of god? How is it structured? |
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Definition
An infinite regression of causes ultimately has no initial cause, which means there is no cause of existence.Since the universe exists, it must have a cause.
Therefore, there must be an uncaused cause of all things.
The uncaused cause must be God |
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Term
| Cosmological:How does Aquinas argue that an infinite regress is impossible? Do you think the argument is successful, why? |
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Definition
| observation shows nothing can come from nothing and something can only come from something |
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Term
| Utilitarianism: Explain Utilitarianism. What is the major unit of moral evaluation? |
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Definition
| Happiness is the only thing that has intrinsic value |
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Term
| Utilitarianism: What is the principle of utility? |
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Definition
Happiness=pleasure, and the absence of pain
Unhappiness=pain, and the absence of pleasure |
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Term
| Social Contract: Explain Social Contract Theory. What is the major unit of moral evaluation? |
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Definition
| an agreement, entered into by individuals, that results in the formation of the state or of organized society, the prime motive being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some or all personal liberties. morality consists in the set of rules governing behavior, that rational people would accept, on the condition that others accept them as well. |
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Term
| Social Contract: Why is the social contract a Political conception of morality. What is John Rawls’ contribution to social contract theory. |
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Definition
| the only way to ensure that people will select fair principles of justice is to be certain that they do not know how the principles they select might affect them as individuals. veil of ignorance.more likely to construct a society |
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Term
| FAM: What is Peter Singer’s conclusion in “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”? How does he argue for it? |
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Definition
| as long as we are able/in the position to give we shall until all suffering is equal or has come to an end. |
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Term
| Relativism: Explain Ruth Benedict’s argument for relativism. Why does she think morality is relative to a culture? |
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Definition
morality is merely socially approved habits.
A "normal" action is one which falls within expected behavior for a particular society.
Majority of individuals in any cultural group are shaped into the fashion of their own cultural characteristic and not universal trait |
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Term
| Evil: Explain the argument from evil. What is its conclusion? How does it work? |
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Definition
| god is good god is omnipotent however evil exist. one has to b eliminated in order for the other two to be correct |
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Term
| It is sometimes argued that God doesn’t exist because the concept of God is incoherent. What is the conception of God that this argument has in mind? What properties does it attribute to God? |
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Definition
| an idea is incoherent if it is self contradictory. god is omnipotent, perfect, know everything. then he cant sin, he cant know what its like to sin.if god is perfect he has no needs. so no need to create. lift rock |
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Term
| Idealism: What is Idealism? Explain its main epistemological and metaphysical claims. Explain Berekley's "core argument" in general terms. |
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Definition
anything that exist must be thought as an idea
epistemology (what human beings know) against metaphysics (how human beings know that they know...
Epistemological idealism - a philosophy that what an individual assumes to know about the world around him or her is not reality per se, but exists only in the individual’s mind. This particular position is opposed to a philosophy known as epistemological realism. |
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Term
| Contextualism: What is contextualism? What are some context-sensitive terms? |
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Definition
any theory emphasizing the importance of context in examining solving problems or establishing the meaning of terms.
know, tall |
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Term
| Skepticism: What is Descartes’ skeptical problem? How does he argue for it? Why does he argue for it? |
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Definition
| If you can't rule-out every possibility that would make X false, then you do not know that X is true. though what he perceives with his senses may be false, he cannot deny that he perceives. wax is still wax because we cannot loggically rule out what we preseve just because we sense it differently. |
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Term
| Idealism: Please explain the following argument against Idealism. One criticism of Idealism comes in the form of a question: If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? What is the point of the question? Why is it supposed to be a challenge to Idealism? How would Berkeley respond? |
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Definition
| to challange the epistemology of our minds and to sugges that if no one is there to percieve it yet it still happens it leads to suggest god |
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Term
| Skepticism: David Hume offers a common sense response to the problem of Cartesian skepticism? How does that response work? It depends on the distinction between the practical and the theoretical? What does he mean by those terms? Do you think this response is intellectually satisfying |
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Definition
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Term
| Cosmological: What is a common objection to the cosmological argument? |
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Definition
Weaknesses of the argument
One of the weaknesses of the argument is that if all things need a cause to exist, then God Himself must also, by definition, need a cause to exist |
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Term
| Utilitarianism: Explain one example where utilitarianism seems to lead to the right conclusion. Explain where it seems to lead to the wrong conclusion. |
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Definition
It is asking too much of
people to be always motivated to promote the general happiness |
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Term
| Social Contacts: What is the Social Contacts state of nature, and what is it like? |
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Definition
| at one point man lived in a "state of nature" with no government, it was every man for him self. political authority comes only from a social contract agreed upon by all citizens for their mutual preservation |
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Term
| FAM: Should distance matter to moral evaluation, why or why not? |
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Definition
| yes because if it is in our ability to prevent something bad from happening then we shall. rather it is 1 foot away from us or halfway around the world...as long as we have been made aware of the situation we ought to do something |
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Term
| Relativism: What kinds of examples does Ruth Benedict use for relativism? What is the structure of her argument |
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Definition
these abnormals function at ease and with honor, and apparently without danger or difficulty to the society.
ancient Greek times, homosexuality was widely accepted and was not seen as an abnormal or immoral aspect of this society |
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Term
| Evil: Some replies to the argument for evil appeal to the importance of free will. Explain this response and assess in your own words how successful it is. |
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Definition
| god gave free will because although he knows what will happen he leaves it up to people to have a choice.. a choice to love a choice to do good other wise we would be like puppets on a string and real love would not exist |
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Term
| Incoherance: How does the argument from the incoherence of God’s properties work? |
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Definition
| objections to the consistancy of gods upholdings |
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Term
| Skepticism: How is Berkleys argument a response to Cartesian skepticism? Why might someone object to idealism? |
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Definition
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Term
| Skepticism: How is contextualism a response to Cartesian skepticism about our knowledge of the external world? |
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Definition
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Term
| Skepticism: What are some of the possible responses to skepticism about the external world? |
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