A Miscellany of Philosophical Delights
What is inauthentic?
It's the highest of Kierkegaard's stages on life's way.
What is the religious stage?
According to Sartre, I cannot choose to not be this.
What is free?
Singer defines this as "a being who is capable of anticipating the future, of having wants and desires for the future."
What is a person?
By this phrase, Singer means that physical distance makes no difference when it comes to moral responsibility.
What is "the expanding circle"?
Sartre would say I'm doing this if I rigidly adopt a social role and let it define who I am.
What is acting in bad faith?
Some people never enter into Kierkegaard's life stages. Instead, they remain "devoured" by this.
What is the crowd? (Also acceptable: the public)
By this famous phrase, Sartre means that who we are is not fixed at birth. My "essence" is not determined by nature—nor is it determined by my upbringing—instead, it's the sum of my choices.
What is "existence precedes essence."
Singer agrees with Bentham when he writes that this thing "is the only defensible boundary of concern for the interests of others."
What is suffering?
Singer introduces his drowning child analogy in this work, though he revisits it and expands on it in later writings.
What is "Famine, Affluence, and Morality"?
According to this person, utilitarianism doesn't make sense because humans throughout history have rarely sought out happiness for themselves.
Who is Fyodor Dostoyevsky?
The enemies of this hedonistic stage of life are boredom, frustration, and dissatisfaction.
What is the aesthetic stage?
Sartre makes a distinction between our freedom, which is absolute, and this other thing, which limits the choices we can make and the actions we can take.
What is power?
In Animal Liberation, Singer differentiates between equal consideration and this other thing. To illustrate his point, he writes that it would be "meaningless" to discuss a dog's right to vote.
In this work, Singer uses the example of Bob and his Bugatti to argue that we are morally obliged to give away all money we don't need for necessities.
What is "The Singer Solution to World Poverty"?
Like Plato, and very much unlike Socrates, Mill thought humans do not always choose what they believe is best for themselves. As such, Mill acknowledges the existence of this.
What is weakness of will?
This stage of life requires us to make an absolute choice in the form of a passionate, principled commitment.
What is the ethical stage?
Sartre says his philosophy is characterized by this because "there is always the possibility that one day the coward may no longer be cowardly."
What is optimism?
According to Singer, it is only justifiable to conduct an experiment on non-human animals when it is also justifiable to do this.
What is conduct the experiment on humans?
Though it might seem like a good idea to dedicate one's time to volunteering at a charitable organization, Singer argues that we can best increase our charitable impact by seeking out these things instead.
What are lucrative careers? (Also acceptable: high-paying jobs)
She came up with the "fat man" variation of the trolley problem.
Who is Judith Jarvis Thomson?
The title of this life stage is a bit misleading since Kierkegaard writes that it is "not so much a question of choosing between willing the good or the evil, as of choosing to will."
What is the ethical stage?
Sartre uses this term for people who act in bad faith by making deterministic excuses like "It's just my lot in life to be a waiter" and "I had no choice."
What is les laches?
In Animal Liberation, Singer writes that this thing "is not a description of an alleged actual equality among humans: it is a prescription of how we should treat humans."
What is the principle of the equality of human beings?
In "The Drowning Child and the Expanding Circle," Singer writes "The ancients knew of" this thing, "according to which the more explicitly we pursue our desire for pleasure, the more elusive we will find its satisfaction."
What is the paradox of hedonism?