PHIL 2120: Introduction to Ethics

Dr. Robert Lane

Fall 2009

 

Study Guide for Exam 1

·         Date: Monday September 28

·         This test will be worth 30% of your total course grade.

·         This will be a timed test. You will have 50 minutes to complete it. The test will begin promptly at the official start time of class (10am for section 1, 11am for section 2) and will end promptly at the official ending time (10:50am for section 1, 11:50am for section 2). It is important that you be in your seat and prepared to begin at the official start time. If you arrive late for the test, you will not be given extra time to finish.

·         You are required to provide your own blue book for the test. Blue books are small notebooks designed especially for writing tests. They are available from the UWG Bookstore and at the cart in the atrium of the TLC.

·         Do not write your name on your bluebook; identify yourself only with your student number.

·         Do not tear any pages out of your bluebook before or during the test.

·         See my online test archive for examples of past tests in this course:

http://www.westga.edu/~rlane/testArchive/testarchive.html

 

 

Section I: Identification of Argument Forms (6% of total test grade). I will give you examples of arguments (real English-language arguments, not just argument forms). You will be required to identify each argument as having one of the following forms:

You will also be required to indicate whether the argument is valid or invalid.

 

 

Section II will consist of definitions (10-20% of total test grade). I will give you a list of terms and phrases to define. Typically, only a sentence or two is necessary for a satisfactory answer. The terms and phrases will come from the following list:

·         inquiry

·         philosophy

·         ethics

·         argument

·         premise

·         conclusion

·         validity

·         invalidity

·         soundness

·         infanticide

·         moral skepticism

·         moral realism

·         polygamy

·         inculcation

·         divine command theory

·         omnipotent

·         omniscient

·         dilemma

·         genuine inquiry

·         pseudo-inquiry

·         sham reasoning

·         fake reasoning

·         prima facie moral obligation

·         obligatory

·         supererogatory

·         equivocation

·         begging the question

 

 

Your definitions should as be as detailed, clear and precise as possible. For example, the following is not an adequate definition of validity: "”the conclusion follows from the premises.” This would get you partial credit, but not full credit. A much better definition is this: “In a valid argument, the truth of the premises would guarantee the truth of the conclusion; in other words, it is impossible for the premises to be all true and the conclusion false at the same time.”

 

 

Section III will consist of short answer questions (24-34% of total test grade). Your answers to these questions should be as detailed, clear and precise as time allows. Typically, a paragraph of about five to seven sentences is sufficient for a satisfactory answer. The questions will be drawn from the following list:

 

·         Explain the concepts of objectivity and subjectivity, and illustrate those concepts with your own examples (examples not given in class).

·         State one version of the Limited Cultural Differences Argument (LCDA) and explain how Rachels would criticize it.

·         State the Provability Argument and explain how Rachels criticizes it.

·         State the five claims that go together to make up Moral-Cultural Relativism.

·         State the three claims about God that are implied by Divine Command Theory (these are the claims that have to be true in order for it to be possible that Divine Command Theory is true).

·         Explain the moral categories and sub-categories into which an action can be sorted.

 

 

Section IV will consist of one discussion question, worth 50% of your total test grade.

 

You will be given two questions and allowed to choose one question to answer. Your answer to this question should be as detailed, clear and precise as time allows. In other words, tell me everything you know about the question asked. If you omit something that is relevant to the question, I will assume that you do not know the material you are omitting.

 

The essay you write should incorporate material covered in the lecture notes and your readings, as well as your own thoughts on the subject at hand. The purpose of this question is to test (1) your understanding and memory of the material covered in class and (2) your ability to engage in original thought about that material. The majority of the grade you get on your essay question will be based on requirement (1); but for full credit, I will require that you state and defend your own position(s) on the issue at hand, thus fulfilling requirement (2).

 

The two questions from which you may choose will be drawn from the following list:

 

·         Discuss the three arguments that Rachels presents against Moral-Cultural Relativism. As part of your discussion, you should include examples that illustrate the point of each argument. Do you think any of these arguments work? Why or why not?

·         Discuss the Platonic Argument Against Divine Command Theory (DCT). As part of your discussion, you should explain in detail the consequences that are supposed to follow if DCT is true and the consequences that are supposed to follow if DCT is false. Do you think this is a sound argument? Why or why not?

·         Discuss (1) Don Marquis’s account of why it is wrong to kill an innocent human being and (2) his FLO Argument against abortion. Do you think his argument is sound? Why or why not?

·         Discuss EITHER Judith Jarvis Thomson’s pro-choice view and the arguments she employs to defend it OR Mary Ann Warren’s pro-choice view and the arguments she employs to defend it. Do you think the arguments of the philosopher you are discussing show that she is right about abortion? Defend your answer.

 

By requiring that you answer one of these essay questions, I am assessing your ability to engage in informed moral reasoning about the issue at hand. In studying for this portion of the test, I recommend that you practice composing essays that explain the arguments and other moral considerations relevant to each issue and that incorporate relevant facts (from the lecture notes and/or the textbook) where appropriate.

 

I expect that you will spend between 25 and 35 minutes on this essay during the 50 minutes you will have to take the test. I realize that, for some essay questions on this study guide, we may have covered more material than you can address in that length of time. So in preparing for the test, you should select which claims and concepts you plan to discuss while writing your answers.

 

**

 

It is very unwise to study simply by reading through the lecture notes and textbook again and again and then to attempt to compose your answers “on the fly” while taking the test. In preparing to take the test, you should actually practice taking the test by writing your definitions, short answers, and essays as much as possible. You should also practice for section I by practicing writing the four argument forms and coming up with your own examples of English-language arguments that have those forms. The efficacy of this study method, which requires that you put away your books and notes and engage in active recall of the course material, has been demonstrated by recent psychological research; see David Glenn, “Close the Book. Recall. Write It Down,” Chronicle of Higher Education 55 (34): May 1, 2009 (available online through GALILEO, accessible via the UWG Library website).

 

 

Please don’t hesitate to talk to me if you have any questions about the test.