PHIL 160 MIDTERM REVIEW-COKELET QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
finally good vs instrumentally good - Answers - Finally good things are good on their
own ex: friendship, knowledge. Instrumentally good things are tools that get you there
ex: Facebook. Facebook is the instrument that helped you make friends.
Hedonist's account of final prudential value(prudential value means what's good for the
person) - Answers - Getting the most pleasure and the least amount of pain is all that
matters.
Objections to Hedonism - Answers - 1) Leaves out things that are important for the good
life like a)rationality b) being in touch with reality c) importance of living up to our values.
AKA what kind of life would you living if you are a mindless happy person with no
purpose or real friends.
2) Miss-classifies some pleasures and pains like a)immoral pleasures ex: alcoholism or
drug abuse b) fitting pains ex: some pains are good like feeling sad over losing a loved
one instead of feeling good about their death.
Tiberius's Subjectivist account of final prudential value - Answers - Only thing that
matters in life is fulfilling your subjective values
Objections to Subjectivism - Answers - People do things that are unhealthy for them(ex:
drugs) and lower their moral standards to be happy.
Class example: Someone is kidnapped and put into a pleasure machine. They feel the
maximum pleasure in the opinion of the kidnapper so that's the best possible thing for
them.
Another example is serial killers love to kill and think its good for themselves to do that.
Besser-Jones case for moral virtue - Answers - Moral virtue is necessary (but not
enough) for a good life.
Her points
1) Humans have an innate need for relatedness
2) Our need for relatedness requires that we be on good terms with people we relate to
3) Our need for relatedness requires that we have relationships with other directed care
and respect
Schwitzgebel's account of jerks - Answers - Jerks fails to appreciate and treat others as
moral and epistemic peers
1) What about getting back at someone by being a jerk?
2) I am going to ignore his/her interests
and he/her does not deserve better.
AND ANSWERS
finally good vs instrumentally good - Answers - Finally good things are good on their
own ex: friendship, knowledge. Instrumentally good things are tools that get you there
ex: Facebook. Facebook is the instrument that helped you make friends.
Hedonist's account of final prudential value(prudential value means what's good for the
person) - Answers - Getting the most pleasure and the least amount of pain is all that
matters.
Objections to Hedonism - Answers - 1) Leaves out things that are important for the good
life like a)rationality b) being in touch with reality c) importance of living up to our values.
AKA what kind of life would you living if you are a mindless happy person with no
purpose or real friends.
2) Miss-classifies some pleasures and pains like a)immoral pleasures ex: alcoholism or
drug abuse b) fitting pains ex: some pains are good like feeling sad over losing a loved
one instead of feeling good about their death.
Tiberius's Subjectivist account of final prudential value - Answers - Only thing that
matters in life is fulfilling your subjective values
Objections to Subjectivism - Answers - People do things that are unhealthy for them(ex:
drugs) and lower their moral standards to be happy.
Class example: Someone is kidnapped and put into a pleasure machine. They feel the
maximum pleasure in the opinion of the kidnapper so that's the best possible thing for
them.
Another example is serial killers love to kill and think its good for themselves to do that.
Besser-Jones case for moral virtue - Answers - Moral virtue is necessary (but not
enough) for a good life.
Her points
1) Humans have an innate need for relatedness
2) Our need for relatedness requires that we be on good terms with people we relate to
3) Our need for relatedness requires that we have relationships with other directed care
and respect
Schwitzgebel's account of jerks - Answers - Jerks fails to appreciate and treat others as
moral and epistemic peers
1) What about getting back at someone by being a jerk?
2) I am going to ignore his/her interests
and he/her does not deserve better.
