View source for Ethics Final Study Guide

'''Hey team. 72 Questions total as of now which isn't including the study questions that Dr. Alfino hasn't put up from today. 
There are 31 of us on the e-mail list I have..If everyone could pick two that would be fantastic. If someone is feeling generous and wants to fill in 3 I think that everyone would appreciate it. 
Fill in the question but also try to put page numbers as to where you found your information.

There is also a group meeting Monday night in LoCro at 8:00pm. We can go over questions that we want to ask him there.'''


JANUARY 16
What were Ariely's findings on honesty?

'''Shredder condition (more likely to cheat), Payment condition (higher reward-> less likely to cheat), Probability of getting caught condition (no correlation was found- diff. experiments and conditions), Distance of payment condition (More cheaters), Presence of a cheater condition (More cheaters)'''

What is the possible significance of his research for understanding the nature of ethics?


JAN 21
How do we use metaphors to think about the psyche, soul, and human identity?

'''Plato gave us the metaphor or the charioteer and the horses: his metaphor of the soul. In the metaphor, the charioteer is in control of the horses. It represents our reason, because it is a self-conscious individual. In contrast, the horses represent our desires/emotions. Haidt disagrees and presents of a metaphor to describe our divided minds. The elephant is the unconscious (our emotions), while the rider is the rational, self conscious. But the elephant is the one in control, unlike in Plato's metaphor.'''

What organic features of consciousness does Haidt think we need to consider when doing ethics? How might they be usefull?

What picture of the mind does Haidt leave us with?

What is the the significance of defining ethics in terms of settling value conflict?

What, if anything, does the Zimbardo Experiment tell us about the nature of ethics?


JAN 23
Describe Haidt's research on disgust. What is its possible significance for understanding the nature of ethics.

What is Haidt's criticism of developmental psychology's past approach to understanding the nature of ethics?

Why does Haidt think that Turiel's and Schweder's research represent an improvement over the nature/nuture debate?


JAN 28
Present and evaluate Piaget's and Kohlberg's theories of development.

'''Piaget: Children's cognitive abilities need to mature with time, in orderly stages. Their understanding of morality isn't entirely innate, but isn't entirely learned either. It is a reconciliation of nature and nurture. Good moral reasoning is the end point of development.

'''Kohlberg: He gave children moral dilemmas, and evaluated the reasoning behind their responses. Concluded that there are stages of moral judgment (pre-conventional: judging physical world by superficial features, vs. conventional: they can understand rule and social convention manipulation, vs. post-conventional: value honesty etc., but may justify dishonesty in pursuit of a higher good).'''

What is the problem of relativism (include forms of relativism and subjectivism) and what is Singer's argument against them?

What kinds of reason-giving "count" as ethical for Singer?


JAN 30
How does Aristotle frame (structure and establish conditions for arguments) the discussion of happiness and the good life?

How does Aristotle evaluate various candidate answers for the good life?

What is Aristotle's view of the nature of the soul and why is that important for understanding the good life?


FEB 4
How does Haidt criticize philosophers on the topic of the relationship between reason and emotion?

How do evolutionary psychologists help us see the elephant talking? (And what does that even mean?)

What is the social intuitionist model of moral judgement? (Start comparing to other theories, like virtue ethics.)


FEB 6
Do we have an inner lawyer?

Does it operate the way Haidt thinks?

How do you get the elephant to listen?


FEB 11
What is virtue, according to Aristotle?
''According to Aristotle, virtue is the "Golden Mean" or a mean between two extremes of emotion. A classic example of this is courage. If you have too much courage you behave with rashness. If you have too little courage you behave as a coward.''

How do we know when we are achieving it?
''(1) Know they are behaving in the right way
(2) Choose to behave in the right way for the sake of being virtuous
(3) Behavior Manifests itself as part of a fixed virtuous disposition''

What is involved in deliberate choice for Aristotle?
''For Aristotle, a deliberate choice must be totally voluntary. This means that there must be NO pressure or compulsion and they have full knowledge of what the effects of their choice. It should also be noted that Aristotle points out that circumstances can influence our preferences''

FEB 13
What evidence does Haidt provide for the claim that we are constantly concerned with our status and that we tend to conserve our views even at the expense of good reasoning?

How does Haidt think this evidence ought to influence our view of politics?

Compare Haidt's view of social deliberation with Aristotle's view of deliberate choice.


FEB 18
What is Veneer Theory? Who believes it and why?

How does our "sociality" bear on the question of whether morality evolved from nature?

What evidence do Darwin, Smith, and Westermark cite for the naturalness of moral values?


FEB 20
What is empathy? What is sympathy?

'''Empathy: The condition of experiencing another's emotions...When our emotions effect others' emotions... It is a more complex form of emotion.

'''Sympathy: Specific response to someone's pain etc. Involves an expression of emotion in response to their emotions'''

Distinguish relatively simple forms of empathy from more complex ones using examples from de Waal.

What are some of the apparent prerequisites for cognitive empathy?


FEB 25
Present and assess the evidence on monkey fairness.

'''- The experiment with Capuchin monkeys: (De Waal 44-49).  The capuchin monkeys were broken up into pairs where one monkey would be the subject and the other would be the one to receive rewards.  The first test was an equity test (a control where both monkeys received food of the same value; they took the food).  The second test was an inequity test (one monkey received a better reward than the subject and the subject responded by refusing to barter and rejected the lesser valued reward).  The third test was the effort control test (one monkey got the better reward for free and the subject monkey hated this and practically rejected bartering and receiving any reward).  The fourth test was the food control test (which showed that the subject monkey was not drawn to the more valuable food item for what it was, but actually because the conspecific received the better food item and he/she didn't).'''

'''- What it shows: animals other than humans recognize fairness between individuals.  However, the monkey fairness was more egocentric because had it been a full sense of fairness (even a moral sense), the monkey that received more for no legitimate reason would have given some of his/her share to the less fortunate monkey.  They had an expectation for how they should be treated individually, while other species do not have the same expectation. De Waal posits that full-blown fairness starts somewhere, and that is with the egocentric idea of fairness.''' 

'''- This test also brings up the point that these monkeys might be driven by social emotions, like humans, whereas other primates are not.'''

What is de Waal's meta-ethical theory? (49-58)

- He believes morality is a "logical outgrowth of cooperative tendencies" (55). (To be continued...)


FEB 27
Why isn't Korsgaard impressed with Veneer Theory?

How does she argue against de Waal's gradualism (or continuity thesis)?

How might Haidt respond?


MAR 4
What is Singer's view of Veneer Theory and de Waal's relationship to it?

How does Singer argue against gradualism? Is he successful? What view does that lead us to?


MAR 18
What is WEIRD morality and what use does Haidt make of it?

Should we all try to be WEIRD about our morality?

What does Haidt mean by saying "the righteous mind is like a tongue with six taste receptors"? What evolutionary account does he offer for this claim?

What is Haidt's critique of philosophical ethics?


MAR 20
What does it mean to say that culture creates its own "triggers" for our evolved psychology? To what extent can these diverge from the original triggers?

Describe each moral foundation, including the speculative or theoretical claims advances for its reality.

How do conservatives and liberals participate differently in each of the moral foundations?

Does Haidt's theory of "Moral Foundations" explain key aspects of our moral and political experience?


MAR 25
Describe the relevance of the Moral Foundations research conducted by Haidt and Graham.

What is the difference between a Millian and Durkheimian society and how does it relate to MF?

What is the Liberty/Oppression foundation and what is the basis for distinguishing it as a sixth foundation?

How do Public Goods games help us think about the Moral Foundations?

How do Libertarians approach justice?


MAR 27
Develop a succinct summary of the main approaches and problem utilitarian theory takes on both as an ethical theory and a theory of justice.

What is the basis for Mill's defense of liberty. Is it consistent for him to make this defense as a utilitarian?

Can we distinguish higher and lower pleasures. Should society invest more in higher pleasures?


APR 1
How does Kant think about the value of reason in us and it's implications for freedom and responsibility toward others?

What is the categorical imperative, why does it have to be categorical to have moral value, and what does it direct us to do or not do?


APR 3
What is the theoretical basis for choosing principles from behind a "veil of ignorance"?

What makes a contract fair? How does particular cases test the fairness of a contract?

Explain the rationale behind the difference principle and offer an assessment of it.


APR 8
Are we at a point in history where our political and moral values will need to adjust to a different horizon than the nation state?

How would competing moral theories assess our obligations to those in absolute poverty or engaged in slave or forced labor?


APR 10
What are the primary arguments of social justice in the climate change issue?

What considerations go into a "fair distribution" of burdens on climate change?

What are some approaches to addressing climate change and how do they vary in relation to diverse views of justice?


APR 17
How does an account of our "groupishness" provide a more complete picture of our moral life?

What is the evidence for group selection of cooperation and other traits related to moral life?


APR 22

What is Haidt's hyposthesis about the "hive switch" and how does he support it?

Should we be trying to cultivate experiences of the hive switch in our lives? How?