Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Monday, November 9, 2020
breakdown of total points (miniterm, 2020)
this is a tentative breakdown of points for our miniterm semester:
attendance: 20 p.
homeworks 6 (5 p. each) = 30 p.
2 tests (20 p. each) = 40
final paper: 10
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My grades are qualitatively, not quantitatively-based. The grades in blackboard will reflect letters, not points (except attendance). Final grades are inputted on Friday, December 18.
Saturday, October 31, 2020
Friday, October 30, 2020
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Friday, October 23, 2020
final paper sample (fall 2021)
Annie B. Wolf
Phi 2064, #4940, Fall 2021
Final Paper
What is the right choice?
Once again, I have had a chaotic summer. It was very challenging to balance a social life, schoolwork, and work. However, as it is coming to an end, I feel that I have done something wrong. I had high expectations for this summer, sadly I let myself down. I did not take as many trips to the beach, I did not see my friends as much, I did not go to any museums, I did not travel, etc. I substituted these with doing homework, laundry, or going to work. As the fall semester is approaching, I wonder If I made the right choices.
However, there are good news. Taking this philosophy class was special. Why? It brought my attention to moral theory as it relates to my life. Yes, I'm living through a situation right now, where I could profit from some of the norms and advice of the many philosophers studied in class. It has to do with my own marriage. And I don't need to go into the details.
I'm talking about when something is right and what a person needs to be good. Sometimes after the morning class I'd ask myself (like Kant did), "what is the right thing to do?" Last semester I chose to work over and above my obligations here at MDC. I've kept a full load and have a 3.8 average (one goal of mine is to bring that GPA up so I can get into the school of my choice). As a result, I felt exhausted all the time and got a "C as final grade in my Calculus class. I noticed the consequences after I already made the choice.
Why did I not think about all that first?
It seems weird, but I felt that there was no other choice. I needed the money. See? According to egoism, I maximized my interest alright, but was it my best interest? It benefitted my parents (they needed money) but I was negatively affected. What would Kant have said? My action happened out of a sense of duty. Therefore I did something right.
But what if because of my "C" I start having doubts about myself? What if these doubts prevent me from seeking higher goals? Professor Triff have made an interesting point in class about the nature of reality: "You are your worst enemy," he said.
This kind of reasoning I didn't have before this class. I mean, yes, one can pretty much debate inside oneself, but before, I didn't have "the arsenal of critical tools" (as again, Triff has stated in class). So Philosophy helps me look at the bigger picture. In twenty years of life, I have seen this too much and I have even been told to do other things, but what was missing was the reasoning of the arguments.
There is this common idiom in the English language: “always look out for number one”. This is similar to ethical egoism, where right actions are the ones that you make to better your life. I feel that this type of thinking is now more attractive to me. Not that I don't find Kantian ethics more attractive, but it is like the discussion between the altruist and the egoist. The altruist always finds fault with the egoist's actions, and yet, the psychological egoist is thinking: "you're just like me, only you don't want to see that you do what you do because it makes you happy."
You may think I think too much, but I am still wondering if I made the right choice last summer. Maybe I won't get a final answer. Talking about what is morally right has made me realize that we are responsible for our own choices, and more importantly, our happiness. We can think about all the good and bad consequences, and never be certain about what will happen.
From now on I am not going to extensively wonder if I am doing something wrong. I would do what is in my best interest and go on living. It is not worth it to dwell on the past and it is important to live in the present.
The present. Reality is perfect! Specially for us, young people with all the future ahead of us.
This is a lesson that I would take with me thanks to this class.
Thursday, October 22, 2020
Monday, October 12, 2020
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
topics for our upcoming midterm exam (fall 2021)
ethics portion of the exam
lecture on evolutionary development of moral values & consensus,
defensible moral judgments, cultural relativism,
critical thinking portion of the exam
necessary and sufficient conditions,
deductive and inductive arguments,
(the midterm exam will be posted on october 1)
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Friday, September 4, 2020
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
what is critical thinking?
Critical thinking (CT hereon) is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully, analyzing, evaluating and applying information gathered from observation, experience, reflection and communication, as a guide to belief and action.
CT is based on universal intellectual values, such as clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.
It entails the examination of those elements of thought implicit in reasoning: purpose, question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences and very importantly: alternative view points.
CT is incorporated in a family of modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking.
CT can be seen as having two components: 1) belief generating and processing skills, and 2) using those skills to guide behavior.
We need to contrast CT with:
1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated;
2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and
3) the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results.
4) No one is a critical thinker through-and-through, but only to such-and-such a degree, with such-and-such insights and blind spots, subject to such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion. For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor.
Monday, June 29, 2020
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Thursday, June 4, 2020
final exam (open book, fall 2021)
this exam is based on the following lectures:
lecture on Aristotle's virtue morality,
whatever in underlined in yellow requires 40 words minimum.
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1. Explain why ataraxia is such an important tool for the hedonist.
2. Explain the place of reciprocity in the philosophy of the ethical egoist.
3. Why is breaking a promise wrong according to Kant? Explain (inform your answer of Kant's categorical imperative's reversibility and universalizability angles).
4. How can one disrespect oneself. Applying Kant's definition of respect give a personal example where you may do (or have done) precisely that.
5. What is the relationship between virtue and eudaimonia in Aristotle's virtue morality? Explain.
6. John is a "C" average student, but he has decided he wants to become an "A" student and apply for Honors College. Supposed you are a seasoned college advisor. How would you counsel John to go about becoming an A student based on Aristotle's idea of right habits?
7. Why is character so important for Aristotle? Explain.