PHIL152 – review sheet for 1^st midterm

1, You should have read chapters 1, 3, 4, and 7. Note the book has a glossary also.
2, You should have been taking notes that in some way correspond to the flow of our classroom discussions.

If you have not completed (1), spend the weekend catching up. If you have not done (2), see if a classmate is willing to review with you. In fact, reviewing with a classmate is an excellent idea either way – highly recommended.

In Chapter 1 – basics of moral reasoning, different theories of individual and social morality, different types of moral considerations, such as the harm principle, principles of fairness or rights, the principle of utility, Kantian respect, Aristotle on virtues and human well-being (recall our discussion of integrity), social values such as freedom, equality, and pluralism; the challenge of relativism.

In Chapter 3 – traditional views of sexuality contrasted with more permissive views, whether and why sexual activity might deserve special status, the role of consent, reasons to regard same-sex/multi-partner/solo sex/prostitution as permissible or forbidden, relation of sex to marriage, Vatican statement.

In Chapter 4 – question of personhood, moral status of fetus, actual vs potential life, slippery-slope fallacies, rights issues, Marquis’ argument, Thomson’s argument, Warren’s argument.

In Chapter 7 – nature of punishment generally, theories about the proper aim of punishment, capital punishment as effective deterrent vs just retribution vs unjustified, problems of judicial error or systematic bias, Primoratz’ argument, Van den Haag’s argument, Bedau’s argument.