1. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Hackett, ISBN 0872204642.
2. Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morality, Hackett, ISBN 087220166X.
3. Mill, Utilitarianism, Hackett, ISBN 087220605X.
4. Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, Hackett, ISBN 0872205541.
5. Sartre, Existentialism and Human Emotions, Citadel, ISBN 0806509023.
I want you guys to put each question and it’s answer below it. Answer all of the questions. In answering please USE THE PROVIDED BOOKS AND DO NOT USE ANY OTHER SOURCES FROM THE INTERNET.
Here are the questions:
The first 5 questions will be short answers and the answer should be in about a paragraph, so I need the whole five questions to be fitted in 2 pages.
I. Short answers, to be answered in about a paragraph
1. The Oracle at Delphi pronounces that no man is wiser than Socrates. What does Socrates take this to mean? What is the source of his wisdom and what does he claim to know? Finally, say how this attempt to uncover his own wisdom led him to become a ‘gadfly.’ What does Socrates mean when he says that the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being?
2. In what sense can it be said that an inchoate social contract theory is found in Plato’s Crito? What does this mean? Why does Socrates argue that he has an agreement with Athens? What effect does this agreement have?
3. In making sense of what a good human being is, Aristotle gives the function argument. How does appealing to function permit Aristotle to outline excellence or virtue? What is the function of a human being? How does this provide us with an understanding of human virtue? What are the moral virtues, how are they acquired, and how do they relate to a flourishing life?
4. In determining the morality of an action, Mill and Kant focus on different areas. First explain the position of each philosopher with regard to such a determination. What is morally relevant to each?
5. Explain the three human emotions that Sartre thinks emerge from existentialism. What is ‘bad faith’? What is the relationship between bad faith and the existential emotions (especially the first one)? Finally, how does this connect to Sartre’s claim that existentialism offers an ‘optimistic toughness’?
These are the second type of questions and each answer should be in one page, so 3 questions (3 pages total)
II. Short essay questions, to be answered in about a page
6. For Aristotle happiness (eudaimonia) is the chief good or final end. For Kant, by contrast, the only unconditional good is a good will. Thus, while for Aristotle happiness is central for understanding morality, for Kant the pursuit of happiness could not provide a moral motive. First, describe the role of happiness in Aristotle’s and Kant’s theories. Next, say why they disagree on happiness’ moral importance. Finally, briefly state your position on this matter.
7. Mill advocates a utilitarian framework for ethics wherein an activity is ethical if it maximizes utility. Thoroughly explain Mill’s principle of utilitarianism and what it entails. What does the greatest happiness principle mean? Why does Mill distinguish between different types of pleasures? Next, assess some of the problems with utilitarianism. Do you think Mill’s discussion of justice can adequately solve some, all, or none of these problems? Where does utilitarianism succeed and where does it falter?
8. To a certain extent, ethics depends upon the notion of freedom. Why is this so? What is lost if human freedom is discounted? Kant and Sartre are two thinkers who offer us very different accounts of human freedom. First, how does Kant think of autonomy and what does it entail? If Kant’s conception of autonomy is correct, what does this mean for responsibility? How does autonomy relate to Kant’s categorical imperative? Next, how does Sartre view human freedom and from where does it arise? Why is Sartre’s conception of freedom so central to an existentialist ethics? What does Sartre mean when he says that human beings are condemned to be free? If Sartre’s conception of free will is correct, what becomes of responsibility? How does Sartre’s notion of freedom relate to the universalizability of choice? With which of these two thinkers do you find yourself agreeing with regard to freedom? Why?
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]
