MIDTERM REVIEW

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MIDTERM REVIEW

• Philosophy 2010

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Midterm Format

• Your midterm will have two parts.
• The first part will consist of 25 multiple choice
  questions covering chapters 1-7.
• In the second part, you will select one of three
  possible essay questions to answer. Essays need
  only be 1.5-2 pages long. Please bring a Blue
  Book.

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Essays

• The essay will be worth 50 of your midterm
  score, and it will be graded according to the
  following criteria
• Does it adequately answer the question?
• Does it follow the proper format? (i.e. thesis,
  supporting points, conclusion)
• Is it clear and largely devoid of grammatical
  and spelling errors?

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Preview

• An essay question might ask you to defend or
  criticize a particular ethical theory (ex.
  utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics)
• An essay question might ask you to analyze a
  specific moral dilemma and to explain how
  utilitarians, deontologists, and virtue ethicists
  would approach the problem

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Preview Continued

• An essay question might ask you to compare and
  contrast different approaches within the same
  theoretical framework (for ex. Mills
  utilitarianism versus Benthams utilitarianism or
  Aristotelian virtues versus Nietzschean virtues)
• An essay question might ask you to identify a
  major problem with one or more of the ethical
  theories weve discussed and to provide a
  solution that would mitigate or solve the problem.

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Writing Tips

• Prepare an outline before beginning your essay.
  Figure out your primary thesis, and then come up
  with 2-4 points that support your claim.
• Back up your points with textual references,
  examples, and/or explicit reasoning

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Writing Tips Continued

• Be thorough too much information is better than
  too little information. Make sure you at least
  meet the minimum page requirement.
• Dont use informal language. (Ex.Kant sucks
  because)
• Proofread your essay before turning it in

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Multiple Choice Section

• This section will consist of questions much like
  those on your quizzes. To prepare you should
• Review the chapters paying particularly close
  attention to the review boxes
• Review the lecture notes
• Take a look at previous quizzes

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Chapter 7 (4 questions)

• You need
• A working understanding of the key elements of
  virtue ethics and how it differs from the other
  major theories weve discussed
• Definitions of key terms like virtue, eudaimonia,
  golden mean, etc..
• An understanding of how to evaluate the theory
  (ex. which criteria does the theory have
  difficulty meeting and why?)
• You also need to keep in mind major proponents of
  the theory.

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Chapter 6 (4 questions)

• You need
• A working understanding of the key elements of
  nonconsequentialist theories and how they differ
  from the other major theories weve discussed
• Definitions of key terms like perfect duties,
  categorical/hypothetical imperatives, doctrine of
  double effect, etc..
• An understanding of how to evaluate the theory
  (ex. which criteria does the theory have
  difficulty meeting and why?)
• You also need to keep in mind major proponents of
  the theory.

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Chapter 5 (4 questions)

• You need
• A working understanding of the key elements of
  consequentialist theories and how they differ
  from the other major theories weve discussed
• Definitions of key terms like egoism,
  utilitarianism, greatest happiness principle,
  etc..
• An understanding of how to evaluate the theory
  (ex. which criteria does the theory have
  difficulty meeting and why?)
• You also need to keep in mind major proponents of
  the theory.

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Chapter 4 (3 questions)

• You need
• A working understanding of the criteria for
  evaluating moral theories
• Coherence
• Consistency with considered moral judgments
• Consistency with our moral experience
• Usefulness in moral problem-solving
• Definitions of any bolded terms in the chapter

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Chapter 3 (5 questions)

• You need
• To be able to identify the elements of an
  argument (premises and conclusion)
• Definitions of bolded terms inductive arguments,
  deductive arguments, valid, strong, cogent,
  sound, etc
• To know what the listed fallacies are (ex.
  begging the question, equivocation, faulty
  analogy, etc..)

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Chapter 2 (3 questions)

• You need
• An understanding of what subjectivism,
  relativism, and emotivism mean
• Definitions of bolded terms objectivism,
  cultural relativism, etc
• An understanding of how to evaluate the theories
  (ex. which criteria does each have difficulty
  meeting and why?)

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Chapter 1 (2 questions)

• You need
• Definitions of bolded terms objectivism,
  cultural relativism, etc
• To be aware of the elements of ethics
  preeminence of reason, universal perspective,
  principle of impartiality, and dominance of moral
  norms

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• Any questions?
• 10 minute study break followed by the Chapter 7
  Quiz