Unit 3

Question 1

Value Theory

Answer 1

Explores questions about what is good, valuable, or desirable. It explores what we value and why, and what makes something “good.”

Question 2

Well-being (Flourishing)

Answer 2

This focuses on what is good for a person, not just what’s good in an abstract way. It’s about living a flourishing life. What makes a good life? What makes someone happy and fulfilled?

Question 3

Well-being (Flourishing)-Hedonism

Answer 3

Well-being is equated with pleasure and the absence of pain. Philosophical hedonism includes mental and emotional pleasures, not just bodily ones. Critics argue pleasure is too inconsistent and personal to be a solid basis for ethics.

Question 4

Well-being (Flourishing)-Objective Goods

Answer 4

Certain things are inherently good for all people, regardless of their desires (e.g., knowledge, virtue, friendship). For example, a balanced diet and exercise are objectively good for health, even if someone desires unhealthy food. Philosophers who propose that there are objective goods frequently focus on knowledge, virtue, and friendship as ways to evaluate and understand well-being.