Outline Descartes ontological argument for the existence of God. Do you believe that it succeeds in proving that God exists or not?

Outline Descartes ontological argument for the existence of God. Do you believe that it succeeds in proving that God exists or not? Why do you believe as you do?
3. Write out and answer the questions. Check all spelling and grammar in MLA format.
4. Cite all sources direct quotes or indirect ideas using elliptic giving author AND page numbers i.e. (Soccio 26). Failure here could result in a 0%!
5. Include a Works Cited page at the end.
6. Make sure you submit the work in Turn It In in a single Word document in doc. or docx. or richtext format.
7. Each essay is between 250-400 words. Extensive quotes do not count toward this. If you cannot answer a question in these parameters use another question. Minimum
word count DOES NOT insure an excellent grade.
PHL 210 Fall 2013 Final
ESSAY Chapter 9
1. Outline Descartes ontological argument for the existence of God. Do you believe that it succeeds in proving that God exists or not? Why do you
believe as you do?
2. How might Descartes appeal to clear and distinct ideas be subject to criticism? Could Descartes respond to this criticism by distinguishing between
a first-person approach to his arguments (i.e. where they are aimed only at the person following them) and a third-person approach to them (i.e. where they are
intended to be fully accessible to others)? What might this response look like? Would it be satisfactory?
3. Do you have any reason to believe that you are not being systematically deceived by an evil genius right at this moment? Does it matter whether you
are being deceived or not? Explain your answer.
4. Do you believe that people have innate ideas? Would everyone have to have them for Descartes arguments to be sound? Explain your answer.
5. What are Descartes arguments for Cartesian dualism? Do you find them persuasive? If you do not do you endorse monism or not? Explain your answer.
6. What advantages might Descartes dualist view have for someone who believes that humans have free will?
7. Outline the coherence theory of truth. Do you believe that this is a correct view of what truth is or not? Explain your answer.
8. What method do you use for finding truth? How is this similar to or different from the rules that Descartes offered for finding truth?
ESSAY Chapter 10
1. What is a self according to Hume? What are his arguments for this view of the self? What philosophical position do they rest on? Do you agree with
them? Why or why not?
2. In what way might Berkeleys idealism support the view that God must exist? Does Berkeleys idealism necessarily support this view or could one accept
it and still be an atheist? Explain your answers to these questions.
3. Do you believe that Hume is more likely to agree with the philosophy of Plato or with the philosophy of Epicurus? Explain your answer outlining the
views of all three philosophers as you do so.
4. Does the external world exist according to Berkeley? If not how can he account for our common-sense view that it does? If it does in what form does
it exist? That is is it a materialist world or not? How can a world exist without being made of material stuff?
5. If one accepts Humes account of the degree to which we have knowledge of causation is science possible? Explain your view fully.
6. Why did Locke reject Descartes epistemology? Do you believe that this rejection was justified or not? Explain your answer.
7. Can an empiricist coherently believe in God? Explain your answer.
8. Do you agree with Lockes distinction between primary and secondary qualities? Why or why not? What are two possible objections to this distinction?
Do you agree with them or not?
ESSAY Chapter 11
1. Outline Kants account of what makes an action moral. In what ways is Kants view superficially like the Golden Rule (Do as you would be done by)
and in what way is it different? Is Kants account of morality objective or subjective? What about the Golden Rule?
2. Outline the sort of society that Rawls believes would be just. How does this reflect a Kantian concern with persons as ends? What is the objection that
Okin levels against Rawls view? Do you believe that Rawls could meet this objection? What other objections might be developed against Rawls position? Do you believe
that they could be met?
3. What are Kants objections to Humes epistemology? How did they lead him to develop his own views in response to Hume?
4. How does Kant allow for the possibility of human free will? How is this relevant to his account of morality?
5. How should we treat humanity according to Kant? What does this mean in practice? What arguments does he give for this view? Do you find them
persuasive or not? If not do you think that better arguments can be developed in support of his view or do you think that we should reject it? Justify your answer
in each case.
6. What is the distinction between a hypothetical imperative and a categorical imperative? How is this relevant to Kantian moral theory?
7. How does Kants account of morality differ from that of Hume? How do these differences reflect the epistemological differences between these two
philosophers?
8. What can be known according to Kant?
ESSAY Chapter 12
1. Outline the forms of utilitarianism developed by both Bentham and Mill. What are the principle differences between them? Which do you believe is the
most defensible and why?
2. In what way is utilitarianism a response to the social conditions of the nineteenth century? Do you believe that it is still relevant today? Explain
your answer.
3. How is Benthams view of morality different from that of Kant? Which is the more realistic? Does this also mean that it is the most correct? Explain
your answer taking care to define how you understand the term realistic.
4. What is Benthams view of pleasure? What is Mills? What are the problems associated with each?
5. Do you believe that pleasure is the ground of morality? Why or why not?
6. What are the similarities and differences between the utilitarian focus on happiness and Aristotles focus on eudaimonia?
7. What is ethical egoism? What is psychological egoism? What is the relationship (if any) between them?
8. What is altruism? Should we try to encourage it? If so why? If not why not?
ESSAY Chapter 13
1. How is Marxs criticism of capitalism linked to both (a) Kantian accounts of the moral community and (b) Aristotles account of the good human life?
Explain your answer fully.
2. How might Mill agree with Marxs criticisms of nineteenth century social conditions? Explain your answer and support it by referring directly to both
Marx and Mill. Do you agree with these criticisms? Do you think that they are applicable to society today?
3. In what ways was Marx influenced by Hegel? In what ways did his thinking depart from that of Hegel?
4. If history is governed by social and economic forces and not by ideas why do you think Marx was so intellectually engaged? Explain your answer fully.
5. What are Marxs criticisms of capitalism? Do you believe that they are (a) factually accurate (b) legitimate? Explain and justify your answers.
6. Do you agree with Marxs claims concerning alienation and surplus value? If so what do you think is the most powerful criticism of themand why
do you think that it is mistaken? If not why not?
7. What is dialectical materialism? What are the historical stages that marx identified? Do you believe that his identification of these stages was
correct or not? Explain our answer.
8. In what way in Marxs view of history a deterministic view? Explain your answer. Does this mean that people are not masters of how their society is
organized? What would Marxs response be and do you agree?
ESSAY Chapter 14
1. What does Kierkegaard mean by a leap of faith? Would such a thing be easy to do?
2. How is the methodological approach of existentialism similar to that of Marxist philosophy? Explain your answer.
3. What for Kierkegaard are the different Ways of Life and how are they related?
4. What does it mean to live an authentic life? Would such a life necessarily be a happy one? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
5. How does (a) happiness and (b) eudaimonia feature in Kierkegaards approach to the question of how to live?
6. How does Kierkegaard understand subjectivity?
7. What is Kierkegaards conception of truth?
8. What are the main points of difference between the views of Descartes and Kierkegaard? Illustrate your answer with examples.
ESSAY Chapter 15
1. Is science any more objective than religion according to James? What implications might his view have for current discussions on teaching creationism
in science classes? Do you agree with James here?
2. Do you believe that you have free will? Justify your view taking into account the arguments of both James and Stace as you do so.
3. Which of the four major ancient schools of thought is James pragmatism closest to? In answering this question you should outline the relevant aspects
of each school of thought and show how it is similar to or different from that of James pragmatism.
4. How do the views of James and Peirce differ? Which do you think is the most persuasive and why?
5. Do you believe that pragmatism is a subjective approach to philosophy? Explain your answer.
6. Of the three theories of truth that you have encountered so far in this volume which do you believe is the most accurate and why? Explain your
answer outlining each of the three theories of truth as you do so.
7. Outline the distinction between being healthy-minded and morbid-minded. Do you believe that this is (a) an accurate distinction and (b) a useful one?
8. Outline the pragmatic method. Do you think that this would be useful in your own life? Explain your answer.
ESSAY Chapter 16
1. In what was way Nietzsche influenced by Schopenhauers work? How did his views depart from it?
2. Do you believe that Nietzsche would have approved of mass movements such as Nazism or Socialism? Explain your answer.
3. What did Nietzsche mean when he claimed that God is dead? Do you agree with his view here? Explain your answer.
4. Can you see any positive characteristics of the underman and any negative characteristics of the overman? If so how do you think that Nietzsche would
respond? If not why not?
5. Do you agree with Nietzsches criticisms of morality? Why or why not? is there any particular moral theory that you think might be especially immune
to his criticisms? If so which oneand why?
6. Do you believe that Nietzsche would have endorsed the pragmatist approach to truth? Why or why not?
7. In what way is Nietzsche a modern philosopher in the sense of modern outlined in this chapter? In what way does he reject modernity?
8. What is the will to power? Do you agree that this is a significant motive force in persons lives? Why or why not?
ESSAY Chapter 17
1. What is it to live a distinctively human life? In answering this question you should draw on Heideggers work. Do you believe that he was right?
2. How was Heideggers approach to ontology influenced by the work of Aristotle?
3. Do you believe that a person own life can be divorced from his or her philosophical work? Argue for your answer drawing as you do on the lives and
works of Nietzsche Wittgenstein and Heidegger.
4. Why did Wittgenstein believe that he had solved all the problems of philosophy and why did he change his mind?
5. Who are the they and what are they contrasted with? Do you believe that there is anything objectionable to being one of them?
6. How is Heideggers view of death similar to and different from that of Epicurus?
7. What is Heideggers attitude towards technology? Do you share it? Why or why not?
8. What are the main differences between analytic and Continental philosophy? Do they share any characteristics? If so what? If not why do you think
this is?
ESSAY Chapter 18
1. Outline Singers response to the problem of famine relief. Do you agree with him or not? Explain and justify your answer.
2. Do you believe that human life is more sacred than that on a dog? Do you believe this in all cases?even in cases where the human being is severely
impaired? Explain and justify your answer.
3. Do you believe that philosophers have a social responsibility to advocate for wise public policy decision? Why or why not? Offer examples of persons
who have done so in answering this question.
4. In what way are persons forced to be free? Is this a good thing or not? Do you believe that it is actually the case?
5. What ancient influences can you detect in the philosophy of both Sartre and Nussbaum?
6. Do you believe that steps should be taken to make the profession of philosophy more inclusive? If so why? If not why not? In either case justify your
answer.
7. Is ethical theory of any use in real life? Explain and justify your answer.
8. Do you believe that wisdom is found only by reason? Why or why not? In answering this question you should draw on the views of some of the
philosophers discussed throughout this text.

Need Help Writing an Essay?

Tell us about your assignment and we will find the best writer for your paper.

Get Help Now

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH AMAZON PAPERS TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT

The post Outline Descartes ontological argument for the existence of God. Do you believe that it succeeds in proving that God exists or not? appeared first on Wise Papers.