Study Guide for Ethics Exam # 3

 

 

1.      This exam is cumulative.  About half of the questions will involve material from the first two-thirds of the class.  Consult the earlier study guides in planning your review.

 

2.      Be to explain just war theory and how it might be criticized.  Know the six criteria that must be satisfied for a war to be just and the three criteria for fighting justly within a just war.

 

3.      Also know the philosophical guidelines that followers of Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Mill, and Marx would use when evaluating whether a war is just.

 

4.      Review the general outlines of the current crisis with Iraq.  There will be some simple questions on the historical background, the current situation, and the geography of the region.  For example, you should know the important groups within Iraq and why their perspectives may differ.

 

5.      Understand the pro-war arguments and the anti-war answers to these arguments.  Also understand the anti-war arguments and the pro-war responses to these arguments.  Understand how all pro-war and anti-war arguments must be grounded in ethical theories that make general claims about when wars are just.   I will not ask questions that require you to remember which authors have taken which positions with one exception; you will need to know the arguments presented by Powell for the Bush administration.

 

6.      Understand the current debate about the occupation of Iraq and about what course of action is just now.

 

7.      Understand the arguments for and against the U.S. building an empire or acting as a global hegemon.

 

8.      Be prepared to explain what philosophical perspective is contained within a quotation.

 

9.      There will be extra credit questions on current events.    If you have been following the news, you should be able to answer these questions.