Philosophers + beliefs v2

Question 1

Aristotle

Answer 1

• Virtue-based approach (when we are virtuous we achieve happiness)
• Claims human beings have one end (happiness)
• Believes moral theorizing should begin by trying to understand what it takes to be a virtuous human being and what kinds of actions a virtuous human being would perform in various circumstances

Question 2

Arnauld

Answer 2

• He denies basically that we can clearly and distinctly understand or conceive is always a guide to what is metaphysically possible.
• Claims a proposition’s being clearly and distinctly conceivable entails its being possible only if we have a ‘complete and adequate’ grasp of the essences or natures of the items the proposition concerns
• ex. understanding a triangle has 3 sides but doesn’t know Pythagorean theorem
• “hidden natures”

Question 3

Elisabeth of Bohemia

Answer 3

• objects to Descartes’s theory
• The Nexus Thesis—If C is a cause of E, then C’s causing E proceeds via a
  “nexus,” an interface whereby an object figuring in C transmits power
  to an object figuring in E.
• The Contact Thesis—The causal nexus is or involves spatial contact.

Question 4

Mill

Answer 4

• Utilitarianism
• Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote overall human happiness

Question 5

Singer

Answer 5

• Strong singer principle (saving a drowning child no matter what)
• Holds that actions are right or wrong depending on the extent to which they promote happiness or prevent pain

Question 6

Nozick

Answer 6

• Libertarian liberalism
• Patterned conceptions of justice
• Entitlement theory
• If all goods were originally acquired in a just way, and if all subsequent transfers of goods were voluntary, then whatever distribution of goods that ultimately results is just - whether or not it fits any patterned conception
• thinks that his view of justice respects and promotes individual liberty and that liberty is at odds with patterned conceptions of justice like Rawls’

Question 7

Scheffler

Answer 7

• problem of world ending
• he says We would not be indifferent, Few would weight the pros and cons of the earth’s destruction, Most would respond with grief, sadness and distress
• thinks projects would be especially vulnerable if either (a) their success is expected to take place far in the future or (b) the value of the project stems from benefits to large numbers of people distributed over a long period of time

Question 8

Wolf

Answer 8

• meaning of life
• fitting fulfillment view: Meaning arises from loving objects worthy of love and engaging with them in a positive way
• subjective and objective parts