Assignment
Read the following instructions carefully. Write a paper totaling 2,000 words, answering one question from Section A (1000 words) and one question from Section B (1000 words).
Include little to no quoted material in your paper. The point is to get you to describe and characterize the material, not to just import the words of others. If you must quote, just include a parenthetical citation at the end of the quote, like this: "(Author Name, Book Title, Page Number)." There is no need to provide a bibliography. Do not go significantly over or under the word limit. Going significantly over is an indication that you were not able to summarize the material in the amount of words given, and going significantly under is an indication that you did not need the extra words due to your summary already including everything that is necessary to adequately articulate the positions.
Refer to Class Schedule for due date. Send the paper as an attachment to my email (see syllabus) by the due date and time. A late penalty will be applied to any paper turned in after this time. The penalty is: one third of a letter grade deduction for each day the paper is late. So, for example, if a paper is turned in at 8:15 AM the following morning, and if the paper without the late penalty is given the grade of B, it will become a B- due to its being turned in one day late.
Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B.
Section A - Answer one from the following options
1. Explain how philosophy is both a subject and a method. On the subject side, give a detailed description of the main divisions. On the method side, provide some characteristics of a philosophical question, and use those characteristics to describe what the philosophical method might be like. Go over the difference between deductive and inductive arguments, and the properties of validity, soundness, strength, and cogency. Finally, what did Plato, through the Allegory of the Cave, have to say about the value of philosophy?
2. How is a fact different from an opinion? What is the difference between an objective and a subjective claim? Explain the theory of cultural relativism. Give a breakdown of reasons for being a relativist and reasons against being one. What is ethical subjectivism? What role does it give emotions or feelings within its explanation of right and wrong? Ultimately, which do you ?nd more reasonable, and why?
Section B - Answer one from the following options
1. What does it mean to say that "if God is dead, everything is permitted?" What is an argument for thinking that only God can create morality? What is the Divine Command Theory? Explain and criticize. What is the Natural Law Theory? Explain and criticize. In the end, is either theory successful in your view? Why or why not?
2. What is Psychological Egoism? Explain and criticize. What is Ethical Egoism? Explain and criticize. The concept of altruism should feature into your exploration of both. In the end, is either theory successful in your view? Why or why not?
3. What is Social Contract Theory? How is Thomas Hobbes connected to this view? In what way is this theory different from other ones? Give a breakdown of reasons for being a social contract theorist and reasons against being one. What is the prisoner's dilemma? In the end, is this theory successful in your view? Why or why not?