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Study Guide for the 1^st Ethics Exam
Fall, 2009

 

The quiz will consist of a number of short essay questions. For each of the philosophers that we have covered, you should be able to do the following:

1. Give an account of the basic claims and the arguments that support these claims. 

2. You should be able to apply the theories to a concrete situation. 

3. You should also know some major criticisms that can be offered of each philosopher and each theoretical perspective. 

4. You should be able to compare the claims and arguments of the philosophers that we have studied.

4.  You should be able to explain the meaning of quotations from the philosophers that we have studied.

 

 

1.      Here is a list of basic claims made by Hobbes that you should review and for which you should know the arguments.

1. People are self-interested, rational, and basically equal in capacities.
2. The state of nature equals a war of all against all in which there are no winners and there is no security. 
3. It is rational to end this state of nature with a social contract.
4. A strong centralized government (preferably a monarchy) is needed to enforce the social contract and to maintain social order.
5. The laws of the state define justice.
6. Revolution can never be justified.
7. In conflicts between states, no appeal to justice makes sense, because there is no social contract.
   
    

 2.     Here is a list of basic claims made by Locke that you should review and for which you should know the arguments.

1. Even in the state of nature, there are natural rights. 
2. The purpose of the social contract is protecting the natural rights of its citizens. 
3. The best government is a representative democracy with branches of government that check and balance one another’s powers. 
4. In the state of nature something unclaimed becomes property when someone mixes his labor with it.  Certain conditions apply on how much can be claimed until money is in common use. 
5. Only certain people have full rights of citizenship, and slavery is legitimate under some circumstances. 
6. There is a right to revolution under certain circumstances.  (Under what circumstances does Locke see revolution as morally justified?  What is his argument for it?)
7. War between states does not negate the natural rights.
   
   
    

3.  You should also be able to define negative rights, positive rights, and collective rights, and you should be able to give examples of them.
           

 

4.   You should review the material deductive arguments.  You should know what a premise is.  You should be able to indicate whether a particular deductive argument is valid and sound.

5.   There will be extra credit questions on the Guatemala presentation.
 

Here are some sample questions:

Why does Hobbes believe that there can be no winners in the war of all against all?

Can there be an unjust law from Hobbes’ point of view? What about from Locke’s point of view?

Would Hobbes believe that an aggressive war to take the resources of another country was unjust?  Why or why not?

What defect in the state of nature does Locke say makes it desirable to move to enter into the social contract?

Explain Locke’s argument about how land can be justly claimed in the state of nature?  Be sure to discuss any limitation on land claims.  Next, describe two arguments that might be presented against his position.

What is Locke's argument against absolute monarchy?

Does Locke think slavery can ever be legitimate?  Why or why not?


 

Author: Hollace Graff
Oakton Community College

Updated: September 15, 2009