STUDY QUESTIONS
The following study questions are designed simply as a guide to help
you in studying for the final exam. The actual exam questions will
be based on the skills these questions emphasize, but they be reformulated
to get at the same concepts from a different angle. So you should
make sure that in studying you actually try to learn the material to which
the study questions refer, rather than simply trying to memorize answers
to specific questions.
Study Questions for the Comprehensive Essays
For the final exam, you should be prepared to:
1. Describe how Bierce’s short story, “The Story of a Conscience” illustrates Kant’s moral philosophy?
2. Describe the relationship between the principle of utility and the theory of good in utilitarian ethics.
3. Explain whether Nozick’s “experience machine” thought-experiment supports or refutes Mill’s quasi-ideal theory of value.
4. Describe and apply Chang’s analysis of the ideal Confucian ruler.
5. Apply any of the four moral theories we’ve studied (Utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, Confucian ethics, and Aristotelian ethics) to a specific case. Also think about what cases or examples you would use yourself to illustrate the theories.
6. Compare and Contrast any two theories (of our choosing). (Note: the same criteria regarding what makes a good C&C paper apply here as well).
Aristotle Study Questions coming soon
For the final exam, you should be prepared to:
1. Understand Aristotle’s teleological conception of nature and
how it fits into his moral theory.
2. Explicate Aristotle’s function argument for eudaimonia as
the highest good.
3. Articulate and apply his conception of virtue (think about his definition of virtue). Also be able to explain why the virtues are a necessary part of the good life for Aristotle.
4. Articulate the distinction between intellectual and moral virtues, and the relationship between the two.
5. Articulate and apply Aristotle’s 4 categories of virtue (virtue, continence, etc.).
6. Explicate the difference between Aristotelian virtue ethics and relativistic virtue ethics. (Think especially about this question in relation to 1).