Category: Philosophy

For this video, choose one item that addresses a current issue and makes connections to class concepts. The item may be print or video—for example, an article from the current edition of a newspaper or magazine, a segment from a news or talk show, a YouTube video, vlog, or any program that features current affairs.
Your item (up to 2 minutes) will be embedded in a PowerPoint that you will use to supplement your presentation.
You may use clips of a video, pause a video as necessary to identify concepts, or use a clip for a full 2 minutes. However, you cannot use over two minutes of video in your own presentation.
Items cannot be more than 90 days old.
Clips and articles can be embedded in a PowerPoint that you will use to supplement your presentation or you can share your screen and show these separately during your presentation.
Remember, your PowerPoint is there to guide you during your presentation. Do not overload this with text.
Submit a 4-5 minute video in which you:
Use any software you are comfortable with, including Panopto, in order to record yourself speaking and presenting a PowerPoint at the same time. You and your PowerPoint must be visible during the entirety of the presentation. This cannot just be a recording of your face presenting and it cannot just be a voice over with your PowerPoint – Video and screen option should be selected on any media you use.
Clearly identify the argument. Present the premises and conclusion in your chosen article or video clip and explain their importance. Did the speakers/writers use deductive or inductive reasoning?
In your article or video clip, identify three of the following: vague/ambiguous language; credibility; cognitive bias; rhetoric; logical fallacies; generalizations; arguments from analogy; cause and effect reasoning; and value judgments about morality, law, or aesthetics.
Explain why you think the argument fits this concept. Also, identify if this was purposeful and why, and how this affects the strength of the argument.
Provide a conclusion to your video. Was the argument convincing? What is your position? (30 seconds max)
Length: 5 minutes maximum

Choose three out of the five following questions to answer and write a 300 word essay on each of your responses.  Your answers should not duplicate each other, for example, there may be some overlap in your answers, but I do not expect you simply repeat what you wrote as answer to one question as the answer to another.
This is an “open book” exam but make sure to footnote any sources you consult.  Each answer should discuss at least one of the philosophers we have read or discussed in this course (contemporary or otherwise). Make sure to give reasons and explain your response, in other words “I believe x” is not a reason, you may say “I believe x, because …”  Please upload your exam to Canvas by 11:59 pm May 14, 2024.
Many moral philosophers regard moral subjectivism as fatally flawed and contradictory? Compose a short essay arguing for or against this position.    
Is addiction a moral issue? Why or why not? (hint: make sure you define addiction)
To what extent should humans give moral consideration to the well-being of non-humans (trees, chimpanzees, and such)? Are some living things entitled to greater consideration than others?
Is “autonomy” a useful concept in discussing moral issues? Make sure to define autonomy before you come to a conclusion
Apply the “just war” theory to either the Israel/Gaza conflict or the Russia/Uk
IF I DIDNT  GET A GOOD GRADE OR PASS  ON THIS FINAL EXAM YOU WINT TAKE ANY MONEY 

Using the reading you have done, and the thinking you have been doing, write a roughly 1,250 word essay (1,150-1,750). The essay should answer the question posed fully, and it will be essential that you have a clear claim (thesis) in order for you to make your case. The more clear your thesis, the better your argument will be.
In addition to the philosophical texts drawn from the Norton anthology, your essay will need to include at least two (2) other sources. You may include more, if you wish. The inclusion of these sources will take the form of quotes, paraphrases, etc. 
In all instances you must cite the quotes and include a work cited page using correct MLA format. 
The essay must observe proper MLA formatting.
typed using Garamond or Times New Roman font
typed in a font size between ten (10) and twelve (12)
double spaced
margins no larger than one inch
name, class, professor’s name, and date at the top left
last name and page number in the top right (header)
The essay must adhere to standard grammatical and spelling conventions. 
Point Breakdown (rubric)
Proper MLA paper format (header, double space, etc.)-5 pts
Proper MLA in-text citations -10 pts
Proper MLA end citations -10 pts
No inclusion of first (I, me, us, etc) or second (you, your, etc) pronouns, including references to the class or the essay -5 pts
Inclusion of outside research source   – 10 pts each (0 pts for sources beyond the required two)
Content/argument of essay – 45 pts. 
Choose one of the following options for this essay. 
We have considered what identity means, and how much free will a person has.  Using two philosophers we have read since week six (Plato on), define what personhood is, and address a person’s choices as an individual (free will) and how those choices play in creating/shaping that person’s identity. In defending your position, offer what you believe are the most principled arguments you can make. Think of the strongest objection you can come up with against your own position and respond to it.
Philosophers we’ve studied:
– Hume
– Russell
-Descartes
-Searle
-Nagel
-Locke
-Parfit
– William’s
– Strawson
– Ayer
-Mill
-Arpaly
-Hursthouse
-Harman
-Foucault

Choose three out of the five following questions to answer and write a 300 word essay on each of your responses.  Your answers should not duplicate each other, for example, there may be some overlap in your answers, but I do not expect you simply repeat what you wrote as answer to one question as the answer to another.
This is an “open book” exam but make sure to footnote any sources you consult.  Each answer should discuss at least one of the philosophers we have read or discussed in this course (contemporary or otherwise). Make sure to give reasons and explain your response, in other words “I believe x” is not a reason, you may say “I believe x, because …”  Please upload your exam to Canvas by 11:59 pm May 14, 2024.
Many moral philosophers regard moral subjectivism as fatally flawed and contradictory? Compose a short essay arguing for or against this position.    
Is addiction a moral issue? Why or why not? (hint: make sure you define addiction)
To what extent should humans give moral consideration to the well-being of non-humans (trees, chimpanzees, and such)? Are some living things entitled to greater consideration than others?
Is “autonomy” a useful concept in discussing moral issues? Make sure to define autonomy before you come to a conclusion
Apply the “just war” theory to either the Israel/Gaza conflict or the Russia/Ukraine conflict and offer a conclusion as to whether either party meets the criteria for a just war.

My philosophical Question: Do we have a predetermined fate or destiny to suffer, or is suffering purely a result of personal choices? 
(by preditermened fate or destiny to suffer, I mean people who are born with certain diseases or illnesses, or people who are born in abusive households for example.) 
My position: I believe that we have a predetermined fate to suffer.
– I am not using my classmates responses in my essay, so that part can be skipped. 
– We don’t have to use other sources for this essay, it’s optional. However, it should look like a personal discussion, it should not revolve around other sources and basic definitions. 

Was (or is) there something deeply important missing in philosophy (or in religion, or in anything we do with words and ideas — in politics or government, for example)? Did philosophy forget the first thing about itself — that it is first a self? That being a “self” means something more than just thinking and reasoning, and so on? How is it, then, that Nietzsche could say that perhaps philosophy is like a raven, inspired by a “little whiff of carrion [that is, dead flesh]”?

Do you believe that Nietzsche’s concept of the “will to power” is one that still remains relevant and meaningful today? Explain…

Nietzsche grills poor Socrates for his seemingly obsessive concern with “reason” — for his insistence, often at the expense of anyone he debated with, on providing an “account” of some crucial idea that came up in discussion. This is really clear in the Euthyphro, where Socrates does not relent in his desire for Euthyphro to provide a rational account of the “form” of holiness. And Euthyphro can’t do it! Do you think that Nietzsche’s criticism of Socrates on this point means that Nietzsche is abandoning “reason” altogether? Or is something else — possibly not even having anything to do with “reason” itself — going on? Do you think Nietzsche is advocating for irrationalism?

Question 2:
Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau justify civil disobedience by arguing that unjust
laws can be disobeyed because unjust laws have no moral force.
On the other hand, almost all the authors (but not all) you have read in Curtis’s two volumes
argue that laws must be obeyed, that individuals have neither the right nor the power to say
which laws are just or unjust.
Compare and contrast the two opposing positions on civil disobedience. Pick a side. Discuss
what an unjust law is. Besides discussing Thoreau and King, you must also discuss at least 1
other assigned author from the Civil Disobedience book. Do not rely on an author from Blaisdell
I did not assign. You must also use at least two authors from Curtis, but are encouraged to use as
many authors from Curtis as you wish; again, do not include authors from Curtis I have not
assigned in class.
Must use books: Essays on Civil Disobedience by Bob Blaisdell 
The Great Political Theories by Michael Curtis (both volume 1 and 2)

Develop a summary of the main concepts from the article 750 -1000 + words double spaced, Use APA 7th edition format. Do not duplicate the articles abstract. Short direct quotes are acceptable but avoid long quotes or many.
Be sure to include core points from the article. In your own words interact with the article.
Appropriate comments for the journal article should include but not be limited to, insights gained from reading the article, thoughts you may have that may enhance the discussion of the article, your subjective comments in this section must be clearly tied to main points from the article, not peripheral ideas.
You are highly encouraged to consider any other information from previous articles or textbooks youmay have read in previous courses, or in other places you have encountered information relating to the themes in the article you are reviewing, be sure to cite and reference your sources.