Spring 2013 Ethics Course Practice Exam Questions

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We'll use this page for you to post some practice exam answers. Please follow the pattern below in posting your answers:

(pseudonym)

(Answer)

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Hannah Montana

Aristotle argues that happiness is the goal of human existence because it is an end, not a means. Things like wealth and status are a means to make a person happy-so how can these things be a goal of existence? He also argues that an end goal should come from within yourself, it shouldn't be granted to you by another person. People may argue against it by saying that reaching an afterlife(like the Christian Heaven) is the goal to life. This argument, however, is not necessarily plausible because you are trying to reach happiness- whether is be your own or trying to make God happy.

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Muhammad

Happiness is the goal of human existence because everything we do works up to it. Little goals we have ultimately are aimed toward our happiness and even when these smaller goals change over our lives, happiness as a goal remains. Someone could argue against it.

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Party Joe

One could argue that another goal to human existence is experience. People need experiences whether good or bad to learn. Bad experiences are not define with happiness, but one could say they are necessary to learn about life. People often say how they learned more about themselves or got more out of experiencing hardships and coming back from it, than just coasting through life without these experiences.

--- Plato Jr.

Aristotle sees human beings as pleasure seeking organisms and each of us are only concerned with our plearure (happiness). This view defines human existance of self serving.

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