PHLA10H3 : Lectures 1-8 notes

Philosophy 

Reflection Question: What do you value?

I value vacations and playing video games. I put forward the idea these are valuable things to me. However, playing video games is only an instrumental value. In other words, young students play video games because they receive joy and satisfaction from playing video games. Do you agree?

Question 1: Is traveling the world (vacations abroad) desirable because it is instrumentally valuable, i.e., only valuable because it will help you achieve or acquire other things you desire? Is this because you think it is bad (unpleasant) in itself or just neutral (neither desirable nor undesirable)? Or is traveling the world also intrinsically valuable, i.e. valuable for its own sake? If so, why?

Question 2: Is playing video games (Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch) desirable because it is instrumentally valuable, i.e., only valuable because it will help you achieve or acquire other things you desire? Is this because you think it is bad (unpleasant) in itself or just neutral (neither desirable nor undesirable)? Or is playing video games also intrinsically valuable, i.e. valuable for its own sake? If so, why?

A driver is suing the state highway department after an accident on a curved freeway. The driver lost control and crashed into a tree located a short distance from the outside edge of the curved roadway. The driver is claiming that the radius of curvature of the unbanked roadway was too small for the speed limit, causing him to slide outward on the curve and hit the tree. You have been hired as an expert witness for the defense, and have been requested to use your knowledge of physics to testify that the radius of curvature of the roadway is appropriate for the speed limit. State regulations show that the radius of curvature of an unbanked roadway on which the speed limit is must be at least . You build an accelerometer, which is a plumb bob with a protractor that you attach to the roof of your car. An associate riding in your car with you observes that the plumb bob hangs at an angle of from the vertical when the car is driven at a safer speed of on the curve in question. What is your testimony regarding the radius of the curve?