Homework answers / question archive / Gmail Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Section 1 Collaborative Class Notes - LC 29 O 1) What is absolutely good? Why? a) Absolutely good: a good will Ethan- Goodwill, others things like intelligence, courage, wealth, or status could be used for good but also could not

Gmail Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Section 1 Collaborative Class Notes - LC 29 O 1) What is absolutely good? Why? a) Absolutely good: a good will Ethan- Goodwill, others things like intelligence, courage, wealth, or status could be used for good but also could not

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Gmail Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Section 1 Collaborative Class Notes - LC 29 O 1) What is absolutely good? Why? a) Absolutely good: a good will Ethan- Goodwill, others things like intelligence, courage, wealth, or status could be used for good but also could not. Goodwill is always a good thing, even if it does not yield good results. b) Can be useless, fruitless, and still COMPLETELY good 2) What is the relation of reason to the highest good for the human being? (And again: what makes a will to be good?) “Since reason is not sufficiently competent to guide the will surely with regard to its objects and the satisfaction of all our needs . . . and since reason is nevertheless given to us as a practical faculty, ... then, ... the true vocation of reason must be to produce a will that is good, not perhaps as a means to other purposes, but good in itself, for which reason was absolutely necessary.” (p. 51-52) Reason: for a good will, not happiness (so when we choose, we should aim at a good will and not happiness) O 3) How do we distinguish actions that are moral (and performed from duty and from reason) from actions that are done according to inclination or instinct? Ann-Clory-An action is moral when it conforms to the law, but actions that are done according to our instinct are not based on moral but based on our feelings and experiences. Actions done from inclination - NO moral worth ONIY moral worth comes from an action ???? 4:12 1 Gmail reason) from actions that are done according to inclination or instinct? Ann-Clory- An action is moral when it conforms to the law, but actions that are done according to our instinct are not based on moral but based on our feelings and experiences. Actions done from inclination - NO moral worth ONLY moral worth comes from an action done in conformity with the moral law - AND out of respect for the moral law 4) Does the purpose sought by the action play a role in determining its moral worth? Mackenzie- Kant writes that when an action is done out of a sense of duty, with no other motivation, then there is valid moral worth. The purpose sought is irrelevant to the moral worth of an action - the only purpose that counts is respecting the moral law. 5) Kant has said quite a bit about duty – but what is duty? Anna-Duty is an action that is crucial to getting done. Mackenzie-Duty comes from a good will and is an obligation that Kant writes comes with some restrictions. “Duty is the necessity of an action done out of respect for the law” (13). What is this law that commands the will? Ryelle-The law that commands the will is moral law O “I ought never to act except in such a way that I I could also will that my maxim should become a universal law.” (p. 14) 7) What good is it to us to be aware explicitly the supreme principle of morality? It allows us to order out actions in accordance to what is good, rather than what we perceive as good in the situation as augmented by our inclinations and instincts. 4:16 1 Gmail Nietzsche, On The Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life (Class notes - April 21) Brainstorming 1) What are advantages and disadvantages of history? Observing patterns - keep/repeat what is good - but how do we know what is good? Remembering the bad things that have happened to avoid them happening again or stopping them so they don't happen again Using history for inspiration and a sense of place Understanding identity A disadvantage about history is that it could be misunderstood or misinterpreted by others. Regla: History is good because you can learn from mistakes made in the past so that as the say goes one does not repeat history, however a disadvantage of history would be that people can take history and apply it negatively to the present. 2) What do you think history is for? Preface Reading questions: Why is he writing? Is history good or bad, according to Nietzsche? Why does Nietzsche call his reflections untimely? 1. Nietzsche claims that we require history for what? a. Being good b. Happiness Life d. Its own sake C. etion 4:16 1 ..11 Gmail 2. Section Nietzsche thinks that his reflections on history are untimely, given the way history is viewed in his time and culture. Section a. True b. False Section Section 1 Unhistorical, historical, and the superhistorical Reading questions: What is the difference between men and animals that Nietzsche highlights in this section? What does it mean to live unhistorically? What does it mean to live historically? How does Nietzsche connect happiness with living historically/unhistorically? How can history destroy a culture? Which is more important: the historical or the unhistorical? Living in which way allows man to be man, according to Nietzsche? How is the unhistorical, as Nietzsche describes it, the “cradle not only of an unjust, but rather of every just deed”? Who is the superhistorical man? What is the attitude of the historical man? How should we value history, according to Nietzsche? How should the relation between history and life (or life and wisdom) be understood? 4:16 1 Gmail a. 3. What is the difference between men and animals that Nietzsche highlights in this section? (Choose the answer in his terminology.) Men have reason; animals do not. b. Men are unsocial by nature, but they need to be socialize and live in society in order to achieve their highest good. The souls of men were created individual and unique by God; the souls of animals were not. d. Animals forget the past and live unhistorically; man lives historically, with memory of the past. C. a. 4. All acting requires what, according to Nietzsche? Forgetting b. A great deal of knowledge Other people d. God C. 5. According to Nietzsche, history can destroy a culture. Section a. True b. False 6. Section Nietzsche thinks that the man envies the animals that live without memory, and yet the man would not wish to live without his memory. Section a. True b. False 4:16 1 Gmail a. ug b. A great deal of knowledge Other people d. God C. 5. According to Nietzsche, history can destroy a culture. a. Section True b. False 6. Section Nietzsche thinks that the man envies the animals that live without memory, and yet the man would not wish to live without his memory. Section a. True b. False 7. Section The superhistorical man has more wisdom, but the less historical man will have more of a future. Section a. True b. False 4:191 ... Gmail < ot Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Section 1 Collaborative notes - LC 29 1. What is absolutely good? Why? (p. 7-8) 2. What makes a good will to be good? (p. 8) 3. What is the relation of reason to the highest good for the human being? And again: what makes a will to be good? (p. 8-9) 4. How do we distinguish actions that are moral (and performed from duty) from actions that are done according to inclination or instinct? (p. 10-12) 5. Does the purpose sought by the action play a role in determining its moral worth? (p. 12-13) 6. Kant has said quite a bit about duty – but what is duty? (p. 13) 7. What is this law, that commands the will? (p. 14) 8. What good is it to us to be aware explicitly the supreme principle of morality?