Exam: Part A examples

1. "There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till ..." -Plato
Agree or disagree?

Agree:
- gov't link: objective because of need of evidence (philosophers are subjective)
- Locke: use senses (empirical evidence used)
- Utilitarianism: greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people, philosophers would look out for more people than the gov't (ex: Fort Erie has closed hospital rooms to save money)
Disagree:
- nothing can be known, therefore a ruler is not any more knowledgable (Pyrros)

2. What is the nature of being human?
- theism: believing that a supreme being created everything and is interested in the well-being of its creations; need for supreme being to give purpose to life
- Locke: scope of intelligence separtes us from other animals, as do reason and reflection (Locke does allow for non-humans to fall into the criteria of being "human")
- deism: a god created the world but does not interfere with it's running; therefore we can make our own decisions because there is a belief that we are created in God's image, link to personhood because we are keepers
- Descartes: use of imagination (thoughts and decisions separate us from animal)
- pragmitism: acquisition of knowledge, looking for more (John Dewey)

3. "The opposite of love is not hate ..." (Wiesel)
Comment on and defend/reject this statement ...
Defend statement:
- Descartes: substance theory (cannot be changed - being)
- Hume: Bundle (objects in purse); perception of experiences in life that change you, need to experience it in order for it to affect you
- metaphysical continuum: perception of experience is not indifference
- Monism: Spinoza realties exist of one particular thing and everything else is an expression of that one thing (God is the one thing, everything branches off it); in this case indifference is the one thing that everything branches off of