Short Paper Assignments

1. Due Tuesday, September 4, 2001, 10:00 a.m
Epicurus (in both "Letter to Menoeceus" and "Principal Doctrines") categorizes desires. Explain the kinds of desires he distinguishes and their differences. Give examples of each kind of desire. Which desires, according to Epicurus, should be fulfilled and which not? Why?

2. Due Monday, September 10, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
Paragraph 3 of Chapter IV of Mill's Utilitarianism contains a string of argument. Lay out the argumentation clearly and sympathetically. Then critique it.

3. Due Monday, September 17, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
What does Mill have in mind by "higher pleasures" (in chapter II of Utilitarianism? What is his argument that they are more valuable? Lay out the argument and critique it.

4. Due Monday, September 24, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
Explicate (carefully lay out) Aristotle's Argument in Nicomachean Ethics Book I chapter 7 that happiness is the chief end.

5. Due Monday, October 1, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
In chapter 5 of Value and the Good Life Thomas Carson explores various versions of Aristotelian functionalism. Carefully explain one such view (e.g., A1 or A2 on page 141, or A3 on page 142). Explain Carson's objections to that view. Critically dicuss. (For example, are Carson's objections decisive or can they be adequately answered, or could the view be revised to avoid them?)

6. Due Monday, October 8, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
In "Value as Any Object of Interest" (Chapter 5 of General Theory of ValueRalph Barton Perry offers a theory of value. Explain what the theory is (and expressed in section 49). Give examples. How does it differ from the theory of S. Alexander (see sec 50)? Critique Perry's theory. Attempt to defend Perry's theory against your critique.

7. Due Monday, October 15, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
Thomas Carson in Chapter 3 ("The Desire/Preference Satisfaction Theory of Value") of Value and the Good Life distinguishes between (i) theories that appeal to actual desires and those that appeal to ideal desires, (ii) summative vs. global theories, and (iii) restricted vs. unrestricted theories. Develop and carefully state a desire/preference satisfaction theory of value which chooses one of the options for each distinction (i) - (iii). Explain the theory and how it differs from theories which choose the other option. (So you will contrast your theory with three other theories.)

8. Due Monday, October 22, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
John Rawls in section 61 of (chapter 7) of A Theory of Justice identifies three "stages" of a definition of good. Explain each stage and give examples of things that are good according to each stage (and show how the definition applies to them).

9. Due Monday, October 29, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
What is the principle of implicit generality, as explained by C. L. Stevenson? How does Stevenson attempt to account for this principle? Is his account plausible? Critically discuss.

10. Due Monday, November 12, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
Explain J. L. Mackie's "argument from queerness" and its various parts. (Whenever explaining an argument for a philosophical paper, be sure to make clear what the conclusion and premises are.) Explain what Mackie means by speaking of "companions in guilt."

11. Due Monday, November 12, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
What does David Brink mean by "internalism?" Explain the kinds of internalism Brink distinguishes. Explore the relationship among these kinds of internalism.

12. Due Monday, November 19, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
According to Carson, Harman and Sturgeon disagree about the interpretation of a counterfactual. Explain this dispute and what it has to do with moral realism.

13. Due Monday, November 26, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
In Chapter 6 of Value and the Good Life Thomas Carson distinguishes criteria for a normative theory. Explain his criteria and how his theory of what good is (which you should state) meets or fails to meet these criteria. Critically discuss.

14. Due Monday, December 2, 2001, 11:59:59 p.m.
In Chapter 8 of Value and the Good Life Thomas Carson proposes something he names "COR." Explain COR.


Richard Lee, rlee@uark.edu, last modified: 29 November 2001