week of October 28:  On Monday of next week, you have your second test!!!!!!! Please post your questions or queries as well as your answers to other's queries here!!

You should be able to answer these study questions:

            Definitions:

natural evil, moral evil, “good 1”, “good 2”, “evil 1”, “evil 2”, “free will definition 1”, “free will definition 2”, moral agent, moral patient, intrinsic good, extrinsic good, categorical imperative, hypothetical imperative

Longer questions:

1. State and explain the atheist’s argument. What is it trying to prove?
   1. Are all of the premises true? Explain.
   2. Do they lead to the conclusion? Explain.
   3. Is the argument sound? Explain.
2. State and explain the argument posed as the Problem of Evil.
   1. What conflict underlies this argument?
   2. Why is there a conflict?
   3. What are the three GENERAL ways one might resolve the conflict?
   4. What is the argument trying to prove?
   5. What are three specific ways to deny that there is any evil in the world? Explain and evaluate each of these.
   6. What are specific ways to deny that there is any conflict between belief in God and belief that evil exists? Explain and evaluate these.
3. State and explain Pascal’s wager. What is Pascal trying to prove? What is his wager matrix? Draw and explain it.
4. 1. For each of the following objections: I. Explain it. II. Explain Lycan and Schlesinger’s reply to it. III. Evaluate L and S’s replies.
      1. My beliefs are not under my control.
      2. God would not reward a wagerer.
      3. The probability of theism being correct is not 50%.
      4. If I bet on theism, and there is no God, then my life is based on a lie.
      5. The Martyrdom Objection (Redraw the matrix to explain this objection)
      6. The Many God Objection
5. State, explain, and evaluate the Anthropic argument.
6. State, explain, and evaluate the Atheist’s argument.
   
   

CULTURAL RELATIVISM (CR):

1. Describe some examples of how cultures vary.
2. Explain the viewpoints/main tenets of CR.
3. Explain and evaluate the Cultural Differences argument.
4. Explain thoroughly the problems with CR.
5. What can CR teach us?

HEDONISTIC UTILITARIANISM

1. What is HU? What does it count as intrinsically good? To whom does it apply?
2. How does an HU go about doing a right act? Explain with an example.
3. Explain all of the problems with HU.

KANTIANISM

1. Explain Kant’s Supreme Categorical Imperative.
2. How does Kant judge the rightness of an act?
3. What four maxims does Kant use as examples?
4. Explain in full the problems with Kantian moral theory.

week of October 20:  After having heard about Kant's moral philosophy, think carefully about what you believe makes something morally right or good.  Do you believe it is one's motives?  The consequences of what one does?  The hardship involved?  Explain and justify your view.

week of Oct 14: Utilitarianism tells us to maximize net happiness.  Arguably, this might imply that we should frame one innocent man to prevent riots that would be highly likely to kill hundreds, including children.  Would you be willing to frame an innocent man for a crime in order to prevent riots and spare lives that would be lost in the riots?  Why or why not?  Do you really think such a framing would even maximize total happiness, everyone's happiness considered?

week of Oct 7:  Cultural Relativism, on one construal, says that what is morally right is time and place relative to each culture at each time.  Think about this.  What would this say about sexism or slavery or even genocide?  What do you think is positive to take away from this theory?  What is negative?