Study Questions for 2^nd Midterm

1) Choose one of the following two statements, and defend it with the best arguments you have found in this course. Explain what you take to be the strongest and weakest points of your argument. Discuss and criticize some argument(s) for the statement you do not defend. a) Abortion is hardly ever morally permissible; b) Abortion is morally permissible in quite a few cases.

2) Choose one of the following two statements, and defend it with the best arguments you have found in this course. Explain what you take to be the strongest and weakest points of your argument. Be sure to include some discussion of the topic of whether killing and letting die are morally equivalent or not. Discuss and criticize some argument(s) for the statement you do not defend. a) Active euthanasia is hardly ever morally permissible. b) Active euthanasia is morally permissible in quite a few cases.

3) Explain the role of (A) privacy or autonomy and (B) compelling state interests in the legal opinions that we have read. How do these concepts figure in the Supreme Court decisions about withdrawal of medical treatment and abortion? Critically evaluate these arguments, and give your opinion of them. How important is the distinction between legal right and moral right in evaluating these arguments?

4) According to Hobbes, what rights does a person have in the state of nature, and what rights are not given up under a government? Explain why these rights are retained. Answer this same question for Locke. Explain what the state of nature is. How is it different in the views of Hobbes and Locke? What are the consequences of these differences for the possibility of revolution according to each author?

5) Explain Locke's justification of private property, including his argument that unequal property does not necessarily violate anyone's rights. Why should we regard Locke's premise that you own yourself as morally controversial?

6) Explain the following terms from Rawls: original position, veil of ignorance, difference principle. Explain what the two principles are and why they might be chosen in the original position. What are the controversial or doubtful points of Rawls' theory of justice? Do you agree that equal liberty ought to have priority over the difference principle? Why or why not?

7) Describe some of the processes that take place in capitalist society as a result of the conflicts within that society. Explain why the continued existence of capitalism is not in the best interests of workers, according to Marx and Engels. Is capitalism unfair? Describe the stages of society that will follow the overthrow of capitalism. Will "equal rights" be realized in one or more of these stages? What is distribution according to need, and how would it differ from distribution according to labor? If you were to accept the social/political analysis of Marx and Engels, and were a utilitarian, would you advocate the continued existence of capitalism? What if you were a Kantian?

8) What does Nielsen mean when he claims that equality is both an intrinsic and instrumental good? What does he mean by equality? Is he right?

9) Why is it wrong for the government to tax some people in order to help others, according to Hospers? What are the legitimate functions of government in his view? Would people be bettor or worse off if Hospers' ideas were implemented?

10) What is a liberal according to Dworkin? What kind of equality does a liberal advocate? What are the conflicts and difficulties in the liberal's ideas about equality? Should the U. S. redistribute income and property more or less than it does now, if liberal principles are correct?

11) Why, according to Hardin, should the poor not be helped? In what ways is trying to help them actually harmful? Why does he claim that saving a life in India makes the remaining Indians have a lower quality of life? What are the defects or doubtful points of his argument?

12) Give an example of a collective good, i.e., one that can not be obtained without cooperation. What are some of the means to ensure cooperation so that collective goods may be obtained?

13) How, according to Stroup, Baden and Fractor (SBF) does private ownership promote the best use of natural resources? Why is government ownership not as good, in their view? What are some of the problems and difficulties with their view?

14) How, according to Erlich and Erlich, is assessing social risks difficult, and in particular, more difficulty than assessing individual risks? What is their argument that a lot of money should be spent to reduce green house gasses, and, more generally, to avoid environmental catastrophes? What are some strategies for estimating risks, and why do they give different results?

15) Do we have moral obligations to the land, plants or animals? Why might moral analysis of environmental issues require this? Why, according to Baxter are penguins more important than rocks? Could it ever be more important to feed a bear than a person? Does the environment have rights? Explain.

16) Describe and evaluate Wasserstrom’s argument that moral nihilism is incorrect. What does is means to say that someone is an “innocent” victim in a war. Can the fact that a war has many innocent victims show that the war is wrong?

17) What are the 8 main factors of “traditional” just war doctrine, and how does Weigel thing they apply to the Gulf war? Which of these factors are actually not present, according to Zunes? Which of these authors is more nearly right in their evaluation of the morality of U. S. participation in the Gulf War?