PHIL 3000 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Utilitarianism, United States, The Prisoners
12 Oct 2018
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Department
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PHIL 3000
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
One Step Closer to Gattaca
1. Sequencing the DNA in the blood of a pregnant mother to reveal the full genetic code of
the fetus
a. Allows the parent to detect birth defects
2. Implications
a. Rash decisions to terminate pregnancies
b. Could this cause some form of eugenics?
c. Will society's attitude toward abortion shift?
3. Ethical considerations
a. Is it ok to have an abortion because of birth defects?
b. How will this affect society?
c. Is this mercy killing or like euthanasia by not allowing the child to suffer?
d. Potential life deserve to be as highly valued as an actual life?
e. Normalized outcome → improve the genes of human race and make society
stronger and healthier
Teleological vs. Deontological Theories of Ethics
1. Teleological (consequentialist) → consequences of the act determines the morality
a. An action is good if it maximizes the benefits
b. No action is always wrong it depends on the consequences
i. Ex. lying is not always wrong
2. Deontological → consequences have nothing to do in determining morality
a. The morality or immorality of an action shouldn’t be viewed dependent of the
consequences
b. There are actions that are wrong in themselves
i. Ex. killing is wrong, lying is wrong
c. Religion, specifically the 10 commandments, is a deontological system
Psychological Egoism
1. Egoism → the tendency to promote our own self interest
a. Are we deeply egoistic or not?
b. We are partially designed through evolution for our own survival
2. Strong version: all our actions are done either solely or ultimately for the sake of self
interest
3. Weak version: altruism is never pure, whenever we act, one of our motives is a desire for
our own good
4. What is “self interest”?
a. Two main schools of thought about what we aim at when we aim to promote our
self interest
i. We try to satisfy a special kind of desire (desire fulfillment theory)
1. Our only motivation is to try to maximize the satisfaction over your
lifetime
ii. We try to achieve
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5. Counter examples? → selfless good deed (arguments by shoemaker against egoism)
a. What the target of the motivational desire is precisely? Just because pleasurable
feelings often accompany our satisfied desires, that doesn't at all mean that they
are the explanation for our doing what we did.
b. Ethical theories must be teachable: moral principles are in place to guide
people's behavior
6. Weak version 2: sometimes one of our reasons for acting is the good we do for others
for their sake; but it claims that we never act for the good of others when we think that
doing so would make us worse off
7. Ethics concerns human welfare, so we need to know what makes people better off and
what makes them worse off
8. Psychological egoism starts exploring the question of what is best for each person’s life
by asking what each person really wants for himself
9. If PE is true, that may dictate which moral theories are true and which are false
a. Morality can’t require you to perform actions that you’re physically unable to do
i. If moral theory can’t require you to do something you’re physically
incapable of doing, perhaps it can’t require you to do something that
you’re not capable of being motivated to do
ii. On this view, if PE is true, and your only motive is to promote your own
self interest, then no moral theory can ask you to help other people to the
detriment of your own welfare
10. “The unexamined life is not worth live”
a. Famous quote by Plato during his famous trial when asked why he philosophized
i. He could have saved himself by defending himself but if he defended
himself it would have gone against everything he believed so he chose to
be executed
ii. Accused of corrupting the youth by asking them questions and making
them thing and rise up against authority and the social norm
11. “It is preferable to suffer justice then commit injustice” -Socrates
a. According to Socrates morality and happiness go together and immorality and
unhappiness go together
b. Counter argument: The most corrupt people lead this world, the most corrupt
people have the most money, they seem the most happy.
12. The origin and nature of justice
a. All people seek to maximize their own self-interest
b. To do wrong is naturally good
c. Desirable and good to inflict injuries
d. But in society they quickly realize that the pains of being a victim far outweigh the
benefits of being the victimizer
e. To avoid being victims, people come together and forge agreements and dub
these agreements with the name “justice”.
i. Justice: agreement of the weakest to avoid to become the victims of the
strongest
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
One step closer to gattaca: sequencing the dna in the blood of a pregnant mother to reveal the full genetic code of the fetus, allows the parent to detect birth defects. Implications: rash decisions to terminate pregnancies, could this cause some form of eugenics, will society"s attitude toward abortion shift, ethical considerations. Is this mercy killing or like euthanasia by not allowing the child to suffer? stronger and healthier. Teleological vs. deontological theories of ethics: teleological (consequentialist) consequences of the act determines the morality, an action is good if it maximizes the benefits, no action is always wrong it depends on the consequences i. Ex. killing is wrong, lying is wrong: religion, specifically the 10 commandments, is a deontological system. If pe is true, that may dictate which moral theories are true and which are false. 9: morality can"t require you to perform actions that you"re physically unable to do i. ii.
