Identify two of the topics listed below — you must select one topic from numbers 1 to 3 and one topic from numbers 4 to 6 — and compose two 300-400 word short essay responses to answer the questions posed in your chosen topics. Explain specific philosophical reasons and examples to support your interpretations for each selected topic rather than reporting quotations or reflecting on your opinions, since your grade will be based on your demonstrated understanding of philosophy (and keep in mind that a definition is not an explanation).
Topics
Explain Aquinas’ second way, his cosmological proof for the existence of God which extends from the experience of causality. How does Hume criticize this kind of argument? Explain how Hume’s refutation relates to his epistemology.
Explain Anselm’s ontological proof for the existence of God. How does Kant challenge this kind of argument? Which do you think is stronger: Anselm’s proof or Kant’s criticism? Why?
Identify which major position on human freedom (or lack thereof) you think seems most reasonable: hard determinism, indeterminism, or compatibilism and briefly explain how it addresses the problem of free will. Briefly explain libertarianism — the metaphysical position described in the text, not the social-political position — and give a reason why it is better or worse than your initially chosen position. [Note: The words “predetermined” or “predestined” should not be part of your answer for this topic, nor should you discuss human rights or issues of legal freedom.]
Explain the three classes in Plato’s just society including how they reflect his theory of the tripartite soul. Briefly explain Marx’s concept of alienation and how it might be used to criticize Plato’s vision of the ideal republic.
Rawls claims that a fair government must sometimes treat its citizens differently. Such a position may seem to be counterintuitive, so explain how Rawls justifies such a conclusion. Does Rawls’ theory account for feminist concerns about the injustices related to the separation of public and private life as Okin explores? Why or why not?
Distinguish the expressionist and formalist classifications of art. Explain how they are related to objectivist and subjectivist positions of aesthetic evaluation, including what position the “feminist art movement” (the goal of which is given in the Lacy declaration) would take and why.