Primary Source Analysis – Ethics

Answer the
following questions completely using only the primary sources in the weekly
module. Be sure to cite page #s from the source (when available). Use and analyze
evidence from the sources to fully explain the concepts/problems.

Thomas Gray, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742)

1. What is the meaning of ignorance and wisdom according to Gray in the poem? Is he really encouraging ignorance in the final two lines of the poem?

Zizek, What is Philosophy?

1. How does Zizek define the central task of philosophy?

Cornel West, What is Philosophy?

1. What are the three central tasks of philosophy according to West?

Plato’s Apology (300s B.C.E.)

1. Why exactly does Socrates become so hated by many powerful Athenians, according to the Apology text?

Trolley Car Scenarios

1. What is different and similar about the four scenarios? Give some examples from the scenarios of how slight changes in the situation can make a big moral difference. How would you respond to the scenarios?

Martha Nussbaum, Love’s Knowledge

1. What does Martha Nussbaum say about “Schematic philosophers’ examples” (she has in mind examples like the Trolley Cars Scenarios)? What else do we need to do Ethics well? Why?