Phil 103 Final

Samantha Teem
010104520
Phil 103
Final Exam
1A. According to Kant, good will is the only thing that is absolutely good without qualification. Good will is the only thing that is unconditionally good. Good will is what makes all other good things truly good. Things can be good, but not without qualification. The will is good because the intention itself is good, rather than a desired result or some outside reasoning. All in all it is the honest and unselfish intention of a will.
1B. Aristotle believed that the chief good is in reaching a life of virtue that is created by doing what is purely right. He describes these in two categories, the ethical virtues and the intellectual virtues.
1C. The Kingdom of Ends is what we as individuals create when we learn to act in accordance to the categorical imperative. This existence is composed of rational beings who all act with good will and never treat each other as means to an end. Kant hoped that we as a society would one day be able to accomplish this as a whole
1D. The state of nature is Hobbes’ description of what human beings lived like prior to the existence of a state or civilized society. In this existence, all humans were equal in that they all wanted to achieve their ultimate end and they all had the right to do what they thought necessary for survival
1E. The inside of the cave is where we live a life of comfort and familiarity. We choose to live a mundane life in which we accept and follow the social norms of our society rather than questioning what is accepted as knowledge. The outside of the cave is the real world in which real knowledge exists only by an individual learning things on their own through nature. The outside of the cave is a world of learning in which society cannot manipulate or control learning.
1F. The idea of existence preceding essence of Sartre is the basic principle of existentialism. This means that a personality is not built over a previously designed model or a precise purpose, because it is the human being who chooses it’s personality.
1G. Jen is what makes humans unique. It is translated as ‘human-heartedness’ and envelopes feeling and thinking; thus it is the foundation of human relationships. This is significant because it shows that Confucianism emphasizes the importance of the heart rather than the mind. To live without Jen is not a life worth living.
1I. The First Noble Truth that of suffering. The Pali word dukkha also refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or compounded of other things. Even something precious and enjoyable is dukkha, because it will end. The Second Noble Truth teaches that the cause of suffering is craving. We continually search for something outside ourselves to make us happy. But no matter how successful we are, we never remain satisfied. The third noble truth is that the complete cessation of dukkha is possible, and the fourth noble truth identifies a path to this cessation.
2A. According to Plato, the really real world is the other world where the forms give essence to the things in this world. The Things in this world are only copies of the forms in the other world.
2B. Happiness cannot consist in pleasure, money, or fame because it depends on the cultivation of virtue. Happiness is only achieved through both physical and mental well-being. Aristotle saw happiness as a central purpose in human life.
2C. Socrates believed that wisdom did not lie in what a person knows or thinks they know, rather it is about knowing that you do not know something. A truly wise individual can admit and recognize that they do not know or completely understand something.
2D. According to Hobbes in the state of nature, we get an overall idea of anarchy. This is because people are constantly moving against each other in the pursuit of their own survival. This pursuit is so desperate that humans tend to disregard the needs and treatment of others.
2E. According to Aristotle we do not have innate ideas because we are all born with a mind that is like a blank slate or tabula rasa. This means that when you are born you have no ideas or knowledge already in your mind. Rather, you develop ideas and knowledge through experience throughout your life.
2F. Human beings experience anguish because when we decide what we are going to do, we are making that choice for everyone. When you decided something, you are essentially saying that this is how anyone should behave in the same circumstance. If you do not feel anguish it is simply because you are forgetting about your responsibility to yourself as an individual.
2G. Hobbes saw people as not being sociable by nature because we are basically egotistical and are not concerned with others or their lives. We are too caught up in our own pursuit of self-preservation that we cannot be bothered to socialize with others who are trying to accomplish the same thing independently.
2H. According to Kant, if you are acting only out of duty and respect for the law, or because you have to it has no moral worth because we did not choose to do so simply because it is the right thing to do. If we do something because of an outside force rather than because it is the morally right thing to do, then it has no moral value.
2I. Kant believed that the maxim of making a false promise cannot be universalized because it is something that we choose to do only because there is no other alternative. It cannot be universalized because it is only in these SPECIFIC circumstances that we have been forced to do this. In other situations circumstances will be different, which means there is an alternative option.
2J. The only thing that is good without qualification is good will because it is the only thing that is good because it has a pure intention. It is not good because there is a goal or accomplishment in mind. It is simply good because its intention was.