Study Questions for Ethics Summer 2007b

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June 4

No Questions for today - Review for Midterm

June 5

No Questions for today - Midterm

June 6

What are the textual sources for Hindu ethics?

1. The Rig Veda, (the oldest of the 4 vedas)

2. The Bhagavad Gita, part of the Mahabharata, (the worlds longest poem)

3. The Upanishads,

4. The Mahabharata

5. Guatama Buddha's Nyaya Sutra (200 b.c.e)

...jcook

Identify and understand the significance of key concepts, such as: Dharma, Rita, Artha, Kama, Moksha, the castes, and Karma.

Dharma: to support or nourish. Doing your moral duty supports the moral order of the universe and your society.

Rita: The moral order in the universe.

Artha: (Prosperity) Must be pursued as means, not ultimate end. Must be pursued with good intentions and good means.

Kama: (Pleasure) Also must be an extrinsic goal, moderate, acknowledgement of our embodiment. Excessive attachment to body should be avoided.

Moksha: (Freedom, liberation, self-realization)

The Castes: -Brahmanas: priests, intelligensia -Kshatriyas: warriors -Vaishyas: merchants, farmers, traders -Shudras: laborers and servants

Karma: Deed or act

~Paul G

What are the four goals of life for a Hindu?

1. Artha (prosperity)

2. Kama (pleasure):Has to be persued moderately.

3. Moksha (freedom, liberation, self-realization)

4. Dharma (duty) (over arching goal)

~Paul G

What are some of the key virtues in Hindu ethics?

Enlightenment of the individual is at the core of their values. They have a tradition that beleives in reincarnation. Life is reborn, but each time some new form of enlightenment is obtained by the soul.

~Paul G

Rita, the belief that the universe is morally ordered. Dharma, carrying out your caste duty. The golden rule. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge in yoga, self-restraint, non-violence, truth, absence of anger, serenity, compassion, modesty, energy, and humility are all important virtues according to the Bhagavad Gita.

-jcook

June 7

How does Swami Nikhilananda criticize Hindu ethics? Do his recommendations for greater emphasis on social justice find a parallel in contemporary Christian thought?

Nikhilananda criticizes Hindu ethics by saying it is weak on socail ethics and that dharma has lost its hold on people. He claims that Hinduism is meant to promote social goodness and cooperation, but has become too personal in recent times. Because of this failure of social ethics, he calls for an emphasis on social justice. This emphasis parallels contemporary Christian thought in its call for acceptance of other religions, something similar to that of Vatican II.

What are Kohlberg's six steps of moral development? How does he establish them?

Kohlberg's 6 stages are: Preconventional Level 1-Punishment / Obedience 2-Instrumental Relativist Conventional Level 3-Good Boy / Nice Girl 4-Law and Order Postconventional Level 5-Social Contract / Utilitarian 6-Universal, Principled Ethical Conscience He established these stages and levels through cross-cultural studies in which he asked participants for their responses to different types of moral dilemmas. One example of such a question is whether or not Heinz should steal a drug he cannot afford to keep his wife alive. Kohlberg studied the same subjects for 30 years, using their changing answers to categorized them into stages. --Lindsay Fiori

How does Kohlberg use his theory of moral development to analyze the My Lai massacre?

He uses his theory of moral development to identify how some of the soldiers responded to the orders. While some were simply following orders (this is the level of "conventional") there was one person who transcended the orders and critiqued them (post-conventional level) where he self-reflects the ethical system being addressed. (I am going to change this by adding names later)

June 11

What are the three signs of existence in Buddhism?

The three signs of existence in Buddhism include:

1) Dukkha- says that suffering is an intrinsic aspect of existence. To live in the world is to experience suffering.

2) Anicca- "change"- All life experiences change= impermanence.

3) Anatman- No self/ no soul- There is no stable, permanent idea of one's self. Gfischba

Identify and explain the significance of the concepts of dependent origin and Nirvana?

Dependent origin is the idea that everything is interrelated and connected, and that everything comes from everything else. This means that we have no identity on our own and are dependent on others. This concept is signifcant for the idea of anatman, or no-self. Nirvana is the goal of existence for a Hindu. It is realizing anatman and moving away from having a false sense of 'I'. Nirvana is significant because it is the ultimate goal of a Hindu and their way of life. --Lindsay Fiori

What are the four Noble Truths, the Eight Fold Path, and the Supreme Virtues?

The four noble truths:

1) Suffering is universal

2) Craving/desire is the cause of suffering

3) We can free ourselves from suffering through our actions

4) Follow the 8-fold path

The 8-Fold path= You must follow/accept/pursue the RIGHT: resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

Resolve= The right attitude, attention, self-criticism. It is "right thinking/thought"

Speech= Ask yourself: "Is it causing harm?" Right speech= sharp language. Right speech= right words.

Conduct= The right deeds. Doing good.

Livelihood= choosing careers that don't induce suffering

Effort= Realizing the capacity to control the mind through the will

Mindfulness= Becoming self-reflective, self-aware, becoming patient.

Concentration= Mediation; Awareness of the emptiness of the self. "Samadhi"

Supreme Virtues: Compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, impartiality

Compassion: Theraveda- Individual salvation. Mahayama/ bodahisatra= achieving nirvana. Compassion= Achieving personal salvation but helping others alleviate their suffering. ???

Loving-kindness: Seeing all beings in terms of their well-being and progress through enlightenment.

Sympathetic Joy: Experiencing deep inter-connectedness with others well-being, others joy/happiness. Bask in their glory. Congradulate them. Be happy with them and their accomplishments.

Impartiality: See all others equally- not becoming indifferent. Realizing that everyone's happiness/suffering is equal. Gfischba

June 12

Could we pursue the Eight Fold path as a set of ideals for our moral psychology? How would you respond to someone who criticizes these ideals as a "sucker's strategy"?

It would be fairly easy to use the ideas of the Eight Fold Path as a guideline for our morals because many of these ideas are already a part of our lives, but we may have not catagorized them this way. We may choose to exclue parts of the Eight Rold Path (such as realizing there is no self) that do not go along with our own personal or religious beliefs, but can still use the majority of it for our benefit. Right view, right resolve and right speech would be very easy to use in our daily life because I think many people try to do this anyway, just think of it as 'good words, good thoughts and good deeds'. Right conduct and right livelyhood also seem like a natural process--trying to alleviate your own as well as others' pain, and choosing a career that tries to do this as well. Right effort would be easy to integrate into our daily lives, one just needs to realize the capacity of their own will and mind, and realize they can change their own mind. Right mindfulness is something I feel we use often; being patient, being aware of our own frustrations and agitations, and exercising the effort to get past these psycological faults and moving on. Right concentration is another area I feel we could use at least part of, and that is using practices of meditation to reinforce the other parts of the path, and becoming self aware. If one chooses to believe in the idea of no self, meditation would also help to increase ones notion of this idea. --Meredith

Even if we could pursue Buddhist moral ideals as a goal, should we?

Buddhit moral ideals are good goals for moral behavior. They are very similar to Christian values and promote peace, equality, and selflessness. If someone is going to pursue these these moral ideals, it is important to adapt them to modern society becuase you cannot aleviate all suffering in the modern world so it is moral to recognize that there is a system of property and family that should come first for the individual. -isabel

June 13

Who was Joseph Paul Franklin?

Joseph Paul Franklin was a killer who shot, but didn't kill, Larry Flint, the publisher for Hustler. His mission was to rid America of blacks and Jews, and of whites who like blacks and Jews. He killed civil rights leader Vernon Jordan,killed two black men jogging with two white women in Tennessee, robbed several banks, bombed a synagogue in Tenn., shot a black man and white women coming out of a Pizza hut in Chattanooga,and opened fire on a group of worshipers coming out of a synagogue in Illinois. Gfischba

How do we traditionally assign responsibility based on a assumptions about the difference between mind and body? Why are researchers starting to question these assumptions?

Traditionally, humans have thought of the mind and body as seperate systems. This has led to the belief that everyone has an equal chance of achieving a strong moral character through will power. But this common belief is being called into question because we have realized that the mind is controlled by the brain and is therefore a function of the body. - Jonny

June 14

What is the relationship between biological altrusism and moral altruism, according to Ruse?

According to Ruse: Biological Altruism= a symbiotic/beneficial relationship between organisms. Moral altruism: acting on a value in which we intend a benefit for another person. Relationship: Moral altruism is natures way of tricking us into being biological altruists. Nature fills our head w/ ideas of moral altruism to get us to be biological altruists. Gfischba

June 18

What is a "species specific mental adaptation"?

Species specific mental adaptation is the way we as a species have adapted to thinking about something.

i.e. Mating--> Somebody who thinks, "Be with me because I'm attractive" thinks that this will land them the girl/guy of their dreams.

The majority of people in our culture tend to agree with this approach.

~Paul G