Value theory
Define the difference between facts and values.
Bonus points: What other term can be used to talk about the fact-value distinction?
Facts are objective statements about the way things are in reality. Values are subjective statements about the way one thinks reality should be.
Bonus: Is-ought distinction (Hume)
What theory/theorist of ethics argued that morality can be known a priori?
Kant's deontology
Why does Susan Wolf reject subjectivism?
Bonus points: What are the normative standards for meaningfulness according to Wolf?
If we don't have an objective way of measuring meaning, we end up letting a lot of things "count" as a meaningful life.
Bonus points: Not harmful to others, not trivial, recognized by society as valuable.
What fundamental contradiction leads Camus to the concept of absurdity?
Humans want meaning and clarity. The natural world is silent and indifferent. Absurdity is the relationship between these two facts, according to Camus.
Who is Professor Misiak's favorite philosopher?
Bonus points: One philosopher who Professor Misiak has called "not a great guy."
Simone de Beauvoir
Bonus: McGinn, Searle, Heidegger, Sartre
Define the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic value.
Bonus points: Example of each
Intrinsic value: valuable for its own sake
Extrinsic value: valuable for the sake of something else/means to an end
What are two of the core ideas of Confucianism?
Humans are fundamentally interdependent, importance of familial relationships, morality is relational/role-based, ritual/cultivating morality
How does Irving Singer's theory of Subjective Naturalism define love?
Commitment, emotional investment, and creative involvement. Meaning grows over time through continued investment.
Describe the idea, "Existence precedes essence."
We exist first and then define ourselves/our essence through our actions. Nothing is a given, we are radically responsible for the self that we create.
According to the guest lecture, what is one explanation for why AI "acts" in a way that is negative?
Fictional sources included in parameters (potentially mimicking fictional evil AI), bias in parameters/pulling negativity from sources such as online message boards.
What do the terms monism and pluralism mean in the context of value theory and fundamentality?
Monism: One fundamental intrinsic value that is the foundation for all other values.
Pluralism: Multiple fundamental intrinsic values.
How do Utilitarians determine the morality of an action?
Bonus points: Name one of the seven categories
Hedonic/Felicific Calculus
Bonus: Intensity, duration, certainty, remoteness, fecundity, purity, extent.
What kind of theory is Aquinas's Natural Law Theory of meaning?
Bonus points: Name at least one part of the Hierarchy of Goods
Supernaturalist/Objectivist
Bonus: Self-preservation, care for family/community, contemplation and worship of God
Describe Gabriel Marcel's critique of modern life.
Modern life is too focused on having instead of being, confusion between problems and mysteries (ex. fascination with technology leads to individuals taking pride in their control over the world, leading them to be incapable of "controlling their own control")
What is Camus's fundamental question in reaction to absurdity?
Bonus points: Example?
How are we supposed to stay alive in a world that is absurd? Not just about physical suicide, but philosophical suicide.
Bonus: Philosophical suicide is giving into any worldview that attempts to give comfort in the face of absurdity.
How does Metaethics differ from Normative Ethics?
Metaethics is the branch of philosophy that investigates the nature, origins, and meanings of moral concepts. Metaethics asks questions about what ethics are, as opposed to normative ethics which asks questions about what is ethical.
How does Kant's deontology determine morality?
Bonus points: Example of a choice that would not pass this test.
Categorical Imperative:
Universal law formulation: When we act, we must only act in a way that could be universalizable. If everyone acted in the way that you acted, could we say that we live in a moral/functional society?
Humanity formulation: Treating others as valuable/never as "mere means" but ends in themselves
Why does Schopenhauer value asceticism?
Asceticism is a lifestyle of self-discipline/denial of the self. If we desire less, we have less opportunities to be disappointed/get stuck on the cycle of suffering.
What does de Beauvoir mean by saying that individuals are both subjects and objects?
Bonus points: One example of how this idea is applied
Subjects: free, Objects: constrained by outside forces
Bonus: Situated freedom, Ethics of ambiguity - freedom to do as we wish versus limits of our situation, Ideas of the Self - freedom to create the Self versus limits of the Other
Name and describe one thought experiment from earlier in the semester that was discussed in the AI ethics conversation.
Searle's Chinese Room, Lycan's Harry the Robot
Broadly describe the Herodotus passage and identify the theory that it introduces.
One culture who eats their dead and one culture who cremates their dead - both are equally horrified by and judgmental of the other. This is the first recorded description of cultural/moral relativism.
Give an example of a moral dilemma where a Utilitarian and a Kantian Deontologist might come to different conclusions.
Ex. Running a red light on an empty road in an emergency situation, lying to protect someone's feelings, etc.
Explain Nietzsche's use of the term, "God is dead."
Bonus points: How does Nietzsche think that we can live well?
Nietzsche felt that old foundations of morality, social order, and a sense of meaning were no longer applicable to modern life.
Bonus: Nietzsche gives the example of the Übermensch, one who: creates their own values, affirms life fully, and turns existence into a work of art.
How do Sartre and de Beauvoir differ in their definitions of meaning?
Sartre is individualistic, while de Beauvoir is relational.
Draw Schopenhauer's cycle of suffering on the board
Desire/will -> attempts ->
Obstructions -> suffering/irritation or Success -> Fulfillment/happiness (temporary distraction
All lead to Boredom, starting cycle over again