Difference between revisions of "Summer1 2014 Ethics Course Study Questions"

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Return to [[Ethics Online Summer 2014]]
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Class Dates
  
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==Unit 1: May 20==
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==Monday May 19, 2014==
  
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1. Describe Ariely's "matrix test" on cheating and discuss it's implications, in your view.
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:*First Day, no study questions.
  
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2. How did Jonathan Haidt challenge the consensus in moral psychology established by Piaget and Kohlberg?
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==Tuesday May 20, 2014==
  
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3. What is the point of Haidt's "harmless taboo violations" research?
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# What were Ariely's findings on honesty?
 +
# What is the possible significance of his research for understanding the nature of ethics?
  
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4. What is ethics for, according to Haidt? Why does he think this (bring later content to bear on this question as well)?
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==Wednesday May 21, 2014==
  
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5. Reconstruct and evaluate Singer's analysis of relativism and subjectivism.
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# 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?
  
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6. What does it mean to say that ethical reasoning must involve universalizability?
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==Thursday May 22, 2014==
  
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7. How do utilitarians think about "interests"?
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# How do we use metaphors to think about the psyche, soul, and human identity?
 +
# 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 and what is its relevance to ethics?
  
 +
==Monday May 26, 2014==
  
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==Unit 2: May 24==
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# 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?)
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# What is the social intuitionist model of moral judgement?  (Start comparing to other theories, like virtue ethics.)
  
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1.  How does Aristotle argue that happiness is goal of human existence?
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==Tuesday May 27, 2014==
  
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2.  How are does our "function" or nature help inform our understanding of the good life and of the kinds of lives (identify them) that can't be the good life?
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# Do we have an inner lawyer?
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# Does it operate the way Haidt thinks?
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# How do you get the elephant to listen?
  
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3.  Why is virtue or excellence by itself not sufficient to realize our happiness?
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==Wednesday May 28, 2014==
  
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4. Why does virtue require formation through habit?
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# 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?
  
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5.  How are we suppose to find virtue as the "golden mean"?
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==Thursday, May 29, 2014==
  
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6. Is there really a virtuous amount of anger?
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# What is empathy?  What is sympathy?
 +
# 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?
 +
# Present and assess the evidence on monkey fairness.
 +
# What is de Waal's meta-ethical theory? (49-58)
  
 +
==Monday June 2, 2014==
  
 +
Holiday
  
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==Unit 3: May 29==
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==Tuesday June 3, 2014==
  
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1. Describe and evaluate historical (western) thought on the relationship between reason and emotion in Plato, Hume and Jefferson? 
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===Haidt, Chapter 4===
  
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2. How does research in evolutionary pschology (Haidt's and others) change the "moralism" of earlier 19th and 20th century "nativism"?
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# 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?
 +
# Given Haidt's view that intuition comes first, what is the function of moral 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.
  
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3. Explain the "rider and elephant" metaphor in Haidt's work. 
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==Wednesday June 4, 2014==
  
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4. What is Haidt's "social intuitionist" model of cognition?  How does it work? Evaluate and/or raise questions about it.
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===Haidt, Chapter 5===
  
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1.  What is WEIRD morality and what use does Haidt make of it?
  
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5.  What evidence do we have that "intuitions come first"?
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2.  Should we all try to be WEIRD about our morality?
  
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6.  What are some critical limits and practical consequences of the claim that "intuitions come first"?
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3.  What does Haidt mean by saying "the righteous mind is like a tongue with six taste receptors"?  What
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evolutionary account does he offer for this claim?
  
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7.  How does research on accountability, self-esteem, and confirmation bias support the claim that we engage in strategic reasoning to support our views and biases?
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4.  What is Haidt's critique of philosophical ethics?
  
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8.  Why does Haidt think that good reasoning requires social relationships?  Is he right?
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==Thursday June 5, 2014==
  
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==Unit 4: June 2==
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===Haidt, Chapter 6===
  
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1. Explain and evaluate "Veneer Theory" (drawing on later readings as well).
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# 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?
  
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2. Why were major theorists such as Huxley, Freud and Wright "dualists" about morality and evolution?
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==Monday June 9, 2014==
  
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3. What is a moral emotion?
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===Haidt, Ch. 7===
  
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4. How does de Waal organize his defintion of empathy and evidence for empathy on a continuum from simple to complex (and cognitive)?
+
# 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?
  
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5. Why link higher forms of empathy (including consolation behavior) to self-awareness?
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==Tuesday June 10, 2014==
  
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6. What is cognitive empathy?
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===Haidt, Ch. 9===
  
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7.  What evidence does de Waal offer for reciprocity and fairness (and limits to the same) in chimpanzees and monkeys?
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# How does an account of our "groupishness" provide a more complete picture of our moral life?
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# What is the evidence for group selection of cooperation and other traits related to moral life?
  
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8.  What is the connection, for de Waal, between morality and aggression to outgroups?
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==Wednesday June 11, 2014==
  
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9.  Reconstruct and evaluate Singer's critical essay on de Waal's, "Morally Evolved."
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===Haidt, Ch. 10===
  
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==Unit 5: June 6==
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# What is Haidt's hyposthesis about the "hive switch" and how does he support it?
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# Should we be trying to cultivate experiences of the hive switch in our lives?  How?
  
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1.  What is WEIRD morality, accoding to Haidt?
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==Thursday June 12, 2014==
  
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2.  What is Shweder's moral anthropology and how does Haidt think it helps explain harmless taboo violations?
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===Sandel, Utilitarianism===
  
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3. How does Haidt think the Enlightenment went wrong in itself emphasis on reason or "systematizers" over nature?
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# 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?
  
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4. How does the evolutionary psychology of moral values work according to Haidt?  What are triggers?  Identify and discuss some of the original and current triggers for some of the sources he discusses.
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===Singer, One World, Ch. 1===
  
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# 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?
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# How would competing moral theories assess our obligations to those in absolute poverty or engaged in slave or forced labor?
  
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==Unit 6: June 11==
 
  
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1. Why doesn't Haidt find "homo economicus" a persuasive model for values?
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==Monday June 16, 2014==
  
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2. How do the five "moral foundations" of politics lead to diverse liberal and conservative political views?
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# 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.
  
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==Tuesday June 17, 2014==
  
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3.  Give a moral analysis of Truman's decision to drop the bomb, taking into account Anscombe's objections.
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===Singer, "Rich and Poor"===
  
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4. How does Kant distinguish categorical from hypothetical imperatives?
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# In what ways is the decision not to alleviate absolute poverty like and unlike murder?
 +
# What principle does Singer advocate for determining our obligations to the poor? What does it obligate us to?
  
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5.  What is the Kantian analysis of what's wrong with lying and Anscombe's criticism?
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===Sachs, "Can the Rich Afford to Help the Poor?"===
  
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6.  In the Case of the Inquiring Murderer, how would Kant defend truth telling? Give two standard criticisms to Kant's view, along with your own analysis.
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# How does Sachs characterize and analyze the task of funding the UNMDGs?
 +
# Why is he so confident that the rich can afford to help the poor?
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# How can you connect his analysis to Rawls' difference principle?
  
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==Unit 7: June 17==
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==Wednesday June 18, 2014==
  
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1. Compare and contrast utilitarian and traditional moral analyses of euthanasia, marijuana use, and animal rights.
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===Korsgaard, "Morality and the Distinctiveness of Human Action"===
  
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2. What is Rawls basic theory of justice?
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# Why isn't Korsgaard impressed with Veneer Theory?
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# How does she argue against de Waal's gradualism (or continuity thesis)?
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# How might Haidt respond?
  
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3. How would a Rawlsian look at common problems of distributive justice?
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==Thursday June 19, 2014==
  
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4. Reconstruct and evaluate Singer's criticisms of equality of opportunity as a social/political goal?
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==Monday June 23, 2014==
  
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5. How is affirmative action in higher ed admissions justified?  What is the current Supreme Court position on admissions policies designed to promote diversity?
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# How does Haidt's intend his moral theories in ''The Righteous Mind'' to affect the way we engage in politics, particularly the way we assess political and moral views other than our own?  Critically assess his views including both potential benefits and limits to his approach.
  
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==Unit 8: June 19==
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==Tuesday June 24, 2014==
  
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1. What is the "hive switch," how is it activated and how is it related to fascism, according to Wilson?
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Holiday
  
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2. What is Oxytocin and what effect does it have on people?
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==Wednesday June 25, 2014==
  
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==Thursday June 26, 2014==
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==Unit 9: June 21==
 
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1.  Reconstruct and evaluate Singer's argument that not aiding those in absolute poverty is the moral equivalent of killing them.
 
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2.  What is the obligation to alleviate absolute poverty according to Singer?  What does it require of us in your opinion?
 
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3. Is religion like sports?  Evaluate.
 
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4. How do new atheists, such as Dawkins and Dennett, and anthropologists, such as Haidt, Atran and Henrich, look at religion differently?
 
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5. How does religion help us with morality, according to Haidt?  Why isn't it a straightforward benefit?
 
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6. Evaluate the follow two possibilities in terms of which is more likely and more preferable:  a) religion can unite all human beings in a common community (syncretism); b) cooperation across group must be based on some non-religious normative ethics such as utility, social contracts, or duty (secularism).
 
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==Unit 10: June 23==
 
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1.  How can we disagree more constructively?
 
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==Unit 11: June 30==
 
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Work on your papers and take home essays.
 

Latest revision as of 15:28, 18 June 2014

Class Dates

Monday May 19, 2014

  • First Day, no study questions.

Tuesday May 20, 2014

  1. What were Ariely's findings on honesty?
  2. What is the possible significance of his research for understanding the nature of ethics?

Wednesday May 21, 2014

  1. Describe Haidt's research on disgust. What is its possible significance for understanding the nature of ethics.
  2. What is Haidt's criticism of developmental psychology's past approach to understanding the nature of ethics?
  3. Why does Haidt think that Turiel's and Schweder's research represent an improvement over the nature/nuture debate?

Thursday May 22, 2014

  1. How do we use metaphors to think about the psyche, soul, and human identity?
  2. What organic features of consciousness does Haidt think we need to consider when doing ethics? How might they be usefull?
  3. What picture of the mind does Haidt leave us with and what is its relevance to ethics?

Monday May 26, 2014

  1. How does Haidt criticize philosophers on the topic of the relationship between reason and emotion?
  2. How do evolutionary psychologists help us see the elephant talking? (And what does that even mean?)
  3. What is the social intuitionist model of moral judgement? (Start comparing to other theories, like virtue ethics.)

Tuesday May 27, 2014

  1. Do we have an inner lawyer?
  2. Does it operate the way Haidt thinks?
  3. How do you get the elephant to listen?

Wednesday May 28, 2014

  1. What is Veneer Theory? Who believes it and why?
  2. How does our "sociality" bear on the question of whether morality evolved from nature?
  3. What evidence do Darwin, Smith, and Westermark cite for the naturalness of moral values?

Thursday, May 29, 2014

  1. What is empathy? What is sympathy?
  2. Distinguish relatively simple forms of empathy from more complex ones using examples from de Waal.
  3. What are some of the apparent prerequisites for cognitive empathy?
  4. Present and assess the evidence on monkey fairness.
  5. What is de Waal's meta-ethical theory? (49-58)

Monday June 2, 2014

Holiday

Tuesday June 3, 2014

Haidt, Chapter 4

  1. 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?
  2. Given Haidt's view that intuition comes first, what is the function of moral reasoning?
  3. How does Haidt think this evidence ought to influence our view of politics?
  4. Compare Haidt's view of social deliberation with Aristotle's view of deliberate choice.

Wednesday June 4, 2014

Haidt, Chapter 5

1. What is WEIRD morality and what use does Haidt make of it?

2. Should we all try to be WEIRD about our morality?

3. 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?

4. What is Haidt's critique of philosophical ethics?

Thursday June 5, 2014

Haidt, Chapter 6

  1. 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?
  2. Describe each moral foundation, including the speculative or theoretical claims advances for its reality.
  3. How do conservatives and liberals participate differently in each of the moral foundations?
  4. Does Haidt's theory of "Moral Foundations" explain key aspects of our moral and political experience?

Monday June 9, 2014

Haidt, Ch. 7

  1. 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?
  2. Describe each moral foundation, including the speculative or theoretical claims advances for its reality.
  3. How do conservatives and liberals participate differently in each of the moral foundations?
  4. Does Haidt's theory of "Moral Foundations" explain key aspects of our moral and political experience?

Tuesday June 10, 2014

Haidt, Ch. 9

  1. How does an account of our "groupishness" provide a more complete picture of our moral life?
  2. What is the evidence for group selection of cooperation and other traits related to moral life?

Wednesday June 11, 2014

Haidt, Ch. 10

  1. What is Haidt's hyposthesis about the "hive switch" and how does he support it?
  2. Should we be trying to cultivate experiences of the hive switch in our lives? How?

Thursday June 12, 2014

Sandel, Utilitarianism

  1. Develop a succinct summary of the main approaches and problem utilitarian theory takes on both as an ethical theory and a theory of justice.
  2. What is the basis for Mill's defense of liberty. Is it consistent for him to make this defense as a utilitarian?
  3. Can we distinguish higher and lower pleasures. Should society invest more in higher pleasures?

Singer, One World, Ch. 1

  1. 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?
  2. How would competing moral theories assess our obligations to those in absolute poverty or engaged in slave or forced labor?


Monday June 16, 2014

  1. What is the theoretical basis for choosing principles from behind a "veil of ignorance"?
  2. What makes a contract fair? How does particular cases test the fairness of a contract?
  3. Explain the rationale behind the difference principle and offer an assessment of it.

Tuesday June 17, 2014

Singer, "Rich and Poor"

  1. In what ways is the decision not to alleviate absolute poverty like and unlike murder?
  2. What principle does Singer advocate for determining our obligations to the poor? What does it obligate us to?

Sachs, "Can the Rich Afford to Help the Poor?"

  1. How does Sachs characterize and analyze the task of funding the UNMDGs?
  2. Why is he so confident that the rich can afford to help the poor?
  3. How can you connect his analysis to Rawls' difference principle?

Wednesday June 18, 2014

Korsgaard, "Morality and the Distinctiveness of Human Action"

  1. Why isn't Korsgaard impressed with Veneer Theory?
  2. How does she argue against de Waal's gradualism (or continuity thesis)?
  3. How might Haidt respond?

Thursday June 19, 2014

Monday June 23, 2014

  1. How does Haidt's intend his moral theories in The Righteous Mind to affect the way we engage in politics, particularly the way we assess political and moral views other than our own? Critically assess his views including both potential benefits and limits to his approach.

Tuesday June 24, 2014

Holiday

Wednesday June 25, 2014

Thursday June 26, 2014

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