REVIEW FOR FIRST EXAM

The exam on Monday 27 September will have two parts, one comprised of six multiple-choice (or true-false) questions (5% each) targeting the reading as discussed in lecture and section, the second a philosophic essay (75%). In preparation for the essay, review the following ethical theories or claims:

1. The libertarian political theory of John Stuart Mill along with his “harm principle.”

2. The hedonism of Charvaka and the premise that everyone in fact seeks pleasure.

3. The value pluralism of the Kamasutra and the position that duties are relative to “stage of life” and other factors.

4. The authoritarianism of Hsun Tsu and the argument that since humans have dispositions that are by nature evil they need forcibly to be trained.

5. The ahimsa teaching of Jainism and the argument that acknowledgement of others (including animals) as selves demands practice of non-injury.

6. Gandhi’s teaching that passive resistance is the morally best strategy given a context where one sees an evil in current government.

7. The naturalistic ethics of Zera Yacob and his harmony criterion for distinguishing right from wrong practices and religious teachings.

8. Al-Farabi’s elitist political philosophy and position that the best ruler should be the person who knows what is good for the citizenry and enacts policies to achieve it, along with his definition of happiness and identification of happiness as the only true value.

9. Fanon’s justification of violence for decolonization.

10. The ethical pluralism of Ross and his “best lights” approach to ethical reasoning.

11. Berlin’s defense of value pluralism and political liberty.

You should also be able to use in your essay relevant facts from the readings from Judge Gray and Orhan Pamuk in particular.

An example of a true-false question:

12. Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish novelist, claims in ``The Anger of the

Damned'' that anti-American feeling is often whipped up and used to distract

the attention of the poor from local corruption and mismanagement

as well from the widening gap locally between the poor and the rich

or a military elite.