Unit 1 philosophy exam
what are the several parts of dualism ?
-God-only Dualism -Vitalism. -Descartes' Dualism (Cartesian Dualism) -Epiphenomenalism (Epi)
Circumstantial Moral Luck
A case in which a person would be morally different in different circumstances, and it is not in their control which of those circumstances they end up in.
An example in which Jane decides to play, and plays, Happy Birthday; and God would prevent anything from happening that would lead Jane not to decide to play, or not to play Happy Birthday, although no such thing ever happens
A case showing that an action can be free, even if it could not have been otherwise.
Compatibilism (Soft Determinism). The Moral Perspective Libertarianism all have what perspective on human behavior?
A perspective on human behavior that implies that many of our choices and actions are free, and we are morally accountable (responsible) for many of those choices and actions, and in some cases appropriately punished or rewarded.
A case in which a person would be morally different in different circumstances, and it is not in their control which of those circumstances they end up in.
Circumstantial Moral Luck
In connection with issue of free will and determinism, we discussed the 'Thesis of Determinism'. Which of the following best describes the thesis of determinism?
Every event in the universe is necessitated by prior circumstances and the laws of nature.
What best describes the case of Sarah and Sally discussed in lecture?
Faced with exactly the same morally relevant circumstances, Sara and Sally would respond to them in different ways.
Hard determinism implies which of the following:
Freedom of the Will is just an illusion.
According to soft determinist when is a decision free and when is it not free?
If it was caused by ones own plans and decisions, it was free; it was caused in some other way, it was not free.
Hard Determinism implies that Free Will and Determinism are incompatible. To say they are 'incompatible' means:
If one view is true, the other must be false.
When does the process of breaking down things into their parts comes to an end ?
It comes to an end when we reach parts of things that themselves have no parts.
What are the 5 branches of philosophy
Logic, Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Ethics
The case of 'the murderer (M) and would be murderer (WBM)' would be an example of moral luck, if which of the following is true?
M and WBM are morally different due to something they cannot control, e.g., that one intended victim trips and avoids the bullet, and the other does not.
Our choices and actions in response to all the morally significant situations that we in fact face or could face.
Moral Character.
What is Moral Luck ?
Moral Luck is present in situations in which the common assumptions are not true. In other words, people are morally good or bad or morally different from each other due to factors they have no control over. (There will be several cases described later.)
what is moral luck ?
Moral Luck is present whenever there are moral differences between people due to factors over which they have no control.
when is moral luck present?
Moral Luck is present whenever there are moral differences between people due to factors over which they have no control.
Suppose that all moral differences are due to choices people make, and the choices people make that determine moral differences are influenced by genetics and early childhood training. Given these assumptions, which of the following would be true?
Moral Luck would exist.
A person being a moral monster due to factors that are in their control.
None of the Above
The fact that we cannot know all the consequences of our actions.
None of the Above.
Suppose the thesis of Determinism is true and applies to all events in the natural world including Oedipus's murdering his father and marrying his mother. (Oedipus is a famous character in ancient Greek tragedies.) Which of the following would be true of Oedipus?
Oedipus' feeling that alternative futures are equally available to him when he decides to kill an old man on the road (whom Oedipus does not realize is his father) is an illusion.
What is moral character?
Our choices and actions in response to all the morally significant situations that we in fact face or could face.
Constitutive Moral Luck.
People are morally different due to differences in their moral character, and differences in moral character are due to differences in early childhood training and genetics
Constitutive moral luck
People are morally different due to differences in their moral character, and differences in moral character are due to differences in early childhood training and genetics.
Moral luck would be present, if which of the following were true:
People are morally responsible for their choices, and but their choices are determined by factors that are not in their control.
Given the assumptions of Hard Determinism, a justification for punishing criminals would be:
Punishing criminals in a public way has social benefits: it tends to influence others not to commit crimes that they otherwise might have committed.
What is the thesis of determinism ?
The idea that given all the facts about the internal constitution of things, the totality of the environmental influences, and the laws of nature, everything that happens, including our choices and actions could not be different than they are.
what is hard determinism ?
The idea that given all the facts about the internal constitution of things, the totality of the environmental influences, and the laws of nature, everything that happens, including our choices and actions could not be different than they are.
what is the Incompatibilist Thesis ?
The view that if determinism is true, then the following are illusions--free will and also that in reflective choices, our feeling that there are alternative futures equally available to us.
What is soft determinism?
The view that what makes an actions and choices free is not that they are uncaused, but that they are caused in the right way. allows for some element of free will.
In the case of Sally and Sarah, we claimed that there is moral luck present because they have different moral characters, and because the difference in their moral characters is due to differences in their genetics and early childhood training (over which they have no control).
True
CP-Corollary:
Two people ought not to be morally assessed differently if the only other differences between them are due to factors beyond their control
Control principle (CP)
We are morally assessable only to the extent that what we are assessed for depends on factors under our control.
The Perspective of Determinism implies what about our reflective choices?
When we reflect on various options, exactly one option is available to us. The feeling that different options are available is an illusion.
Circumstantial moral luck
a person would be morally different in different circumstances, and it is not in their control which of those circumstances they end up in.a person may not have control or the situation they're in but they do gave control over how they respond to the situation
what is an objections to the soft determinist view?
an action or choice cannot be free if it is determined. If it is free the person must be able to do otherwise; but if it is determined, the person cannot do otherwise.
Logic
concerned with how we ought to reason: it develops systems to help determine which conclusions are supported by a certain body of evidence, and which are not.
In discussing Circumstantial Moral Luck, we claimed that Hal would have different Moral Characters in Germany and in Argentina, because he would be a moral monster in Germany and morally good in Argentina.
false
The case of Sam and Dave discussed in the notes and the video is an example of Circumstantial Moral Luck.
false
What is the soft determinist response to objections
free-will does not require the ability to do or choose otherwise. such as Frankfurt Cases
Hard determinism implies...
freedom of will and choice is an illusion
What is A Frankfurt Case?
holds that an agent is morally responsible for an action only if that person could have done otherwise.
What is the belief of Dualists?
if there is only matter at the ultimately level, then certain things that are part of the universe wouldn't exist: they cannot be built from matter alone both matter and mind/spirit are required at the ultimate level.
what is the belief of materialist?
in order to get from one end to the other, all that is needed is more and more complex organization of matter.
what do libertarians accept?
incompatiblism
To libertarians, what makes a choice one of free will?
it cannot be determined by causes. so the total set of facts about the constitution of the person making the choice, and their environment do not determine what choice they make.
what is one main advantage of the Soft determinist view ?
it grants that humans are part of the natural world, and subject to the laws of nature like comets, sugar in water, electricity, metals, etc.—and yet their choices and actions can be free
Causal Moral Luck
luck in "how one is determined by antecedent circumstances"
Resultant Moral Luck
luck in the way things turn out and are out of our control
what are libertarian's extremely strong claim about the limits of scientific explanation?
science will never develop a theory of human behavior like science has developed a theory of the motion of the planets.
what does the soft Soft Determinist deny?
that Free Will and Determinism are incompatible:
what do libertarians think of free will and individual responsibility?
that both are real
what do libertarians deny ?
that determinism applies to human choices and actions
what is the consequence argument?
that determinism is incompatible with free will because if determinism is true then all humans actions are determined consequences of the laws of nature and prior conditions
What is compatibilism?
the belief that determinism is true and there is free will
what is the evidence for determinism?
the long history of science in providing deterministic explanations of many, many phenomena in nature—the motion of the planets, the behaviors of metals, gases, and liquids in a large number of conditions.
What is Ultimately Real?
the simplest elements of reality that cannot be broken down into anything simpler
Ethics
tries to answer in a reasonable way questions like, what makes an action morally right?, and is morality relative or absolute? Is there anything more to moral truth than the moral codes adopted by different societies and religions?concerned with issues about what are morally right and wrong actions.
Hal in Germany faces exactly the same choices as he would have faced had the outcome of the coin flip been different, and had he ended up in Argentina rather than Germany.
true
In the case of the German Prison Director and the Argentinean businessman, Hal ended up in Germany and not Argentina due to circumstances beyond his control, namely, the outcome of a coin flip.
true
Moral Luck can be avoided if we assume that the free choices people make are entirely in their control, and the free choices people make completely determine their moral evaluation
true
Whenever people are morally different--e.g. when Bill lies and Sara tells the truth--there is moral luck present.
true
What do libertarians believe?
we do have free will and determinism is not real
What is A slogan that expresses the Soft determinist view?
what makes a choice or an action free is that it is determined by the right kind of causes, rather than (what the Libertarian assumes) not determined by causes. Again, what makes an action or a choice free is that it is determined or caused in the right way.
what does the perspective of determinism imply?
when we reflect on various options , exactly one option is available to us . the feeling that different options are available is an illusion.
What is the evidence for free will?
when we think about the reflective choices we make, it seems obvious to us that different futures are equally available to us, and we have the power to choose which will come to pass.