Philosophy 310 Final
(Improperly termed law according to Austin) Declaratory laws - ANS-laws that explain other laws
but do not affect the duties of the governed. These "laws" are not commands although
sometimes "laws declaratory in name are imperative in effect.
(Improperly termed law according to Austin) Imperfect laws - ANS-laws that do not include
sanctions and thus are not binding. They are technically not a law but only counsel expressed
by superiors to inferiors.
(Improperly termed law according to Austin) Permissive laws - ANS-laws that repeal other laws.
These are not commands but they are often indirectly imperative.
According to Hart, laws exist as a response to deficiencies in other kinds of social rules, such
as: - ANS-Uncertainty—People disagree about what a rule of custom requires—or even on the
matter of the existence of a rule.
Static—rules can't be changed deliberately, even if the original rationale for their existence is no
longer relevant.
Inefficient—rules of custom lack an organized way to respond to violations
Act utilitarianism - ANS-the view that each individual action should be assessed based on the
results it alone produces
Active euthanasia (aka mercy killing) - ANS-directly causing death, either with or without the
patient's consent
Ad hominem - ANS-Attacking one's opponent in a personal or abusive way as a means of
ignoring or discrediting his or her criticism or argument
Example: Woman (to a man): "Since you can never get pregnant, your argument concerning the
ethics of abortion is irrelevant."
Aesthetics - ANS-the study of the feelings and judgments that arise from our appreciation of art
and nature
affirming the antecedent - ANS-1. If A, then B.
2. A.
Conclusion: Therefore, B.
*Always Valid
Affirming the consequent - ANS-Affirming the consequent of a conditional statement and then
inferring the affirmation of the antecedent.
Premise 1: If A, then B.
,Premise 2: B
Conclusion: A.
EXAMPLE:
Premise 1: If a cat is an indoor cat, it will live a long life.
Premise 2: Percival is a cat who has lived a long life.
Conclusion: Percival is an indoor cat.
*Always Invalid
Appeal to common opinion - ANS-(also known as the Bandwagon fallacy or appeal to the
crowd)—arguing that because a large number of people accept a position, it should be accepted
Example: "If tanning beds were really unsafe, millions of Americans would not be using them
every week. Therefore, they are safe."
Appeal to irrelevant authority - ANS-attempting to support a claim by appealing to the judgment
of one who is not an authority in the field, or an unidentified authority, or an authority who is
likely to be biased.
Example: A marketing agent for Merck, the company that made Vioxx, said the drug is both safe
and highly effective; therefore Vioxx is safe.
Appeal to Tradition - ANS-Attempting to persuade others of a point of view by appealing to their
feelings of reverence or respect for a tradition instead of to evidence
Example: "You should have your son circumcised because boys in our culture have traditionally
been circumcised."
Aquinas - ANS-Born in southern Italy, educated by Benedictine monks; encountered.
Dominicans while attending the University of Naples and became a begging Dominican friar
against his family's wishes.
Studied Aristotelian philosophy in Paris & Cologne.
Taught in France & Italy while writing extensively on philosophical and theological subjects. His
writings are the most successful attempt in the Middle Ages to produce an integrated system of
Christian philosophical theology
Defends a naturalistic, or Aristotelian, Christianity.
Believed humans have free will and are responsible for their actions.
Offered five ways to prove God's existence using reason. But believed the full meaning of "God"
can only be understood through faith.
Aquinas' Natural Law Theory - ANS-There are four kinds of law: Eternal law, Natural Law, Divine
Law, Human Law
Argument - ANS-A set of sentences, one of which (the conclusion) is taken to be supported by
the other sentences (the premises)
Attacking a straw man - ANS-Misrepresenting an opponent's position or argument, usually for
the purpose of making it easier to attack.
, Example: If a politician wants to decrease the military's budget, his opponent accuses him of not
believing in providing necessary support for our troops.
Authenticity - ANS-notion introduced by Martin Heidegger and employed by Sartre. The mode of
being of those who seek to understand their existential situation and their freedom to realize
their existential possibilities, consciously assuming the responsibility for their freedom. (Sartre
calls inauthenticity bad faith.)
Bourgeoisie - ANS-the capitalist class: owners of the means of production and employers of
wage labor. As the economically dominant class, they also control the state apparatus and
cultural production
Circularity - ANS-either explicitly or implicitly asserting, in the premise of an argument, what is
asserted in the conclusion of that argument. This is a begging-the-question fallacy.
Example: Clear and distinct ideas are reliable because God guarantees them; and we know
God exists because we have a clear and distinct idea that he does. (Cartesian circle)
Civil - ANS-legal matters concerning conflicts between private individuals
command (Austin) - ANS-a signification of desire by a party that has power to cause some form
of suffering or inconvenience for the person(s) to whom it is directed if that person does not
comply. All commands involve sanctions: As long as there is a small chance of incurring a small
evil for failure to comply, the expression of a wish is a command. Commands and duties are
correlative: Whenever a command is signified, a duty is imposed. Thus there are no laws that
simply create rights; they are also tacitly imposing a duty that correlates to the right.
Contributory negligence (Tort Law) - ANS-conduct that creates an unreasonable risk to oneself.
May partially or entirely prevent one from collecting damages from another party.
It can be used as a defense in a case of gross negligence but not in the case of willful & wanton
conduct. failure of an injured plaintiff to act prudently, considered to be a contributory factor in
the injury suffered, and sometimes reducing the amount recovered from the defendant.
Crime & Punishment - ANS-novel offering psychological analysis of Raskolnikov, who murders a
pawnbroker due to "ideological intoxication" in the form of a belief that humanitarian ends justify
evil means. He subsequently experiences nightmarish guilt. The novel is set in St. Petersburg,
Russia, in the mid-1860s. interested in the idea of "judgment" - judgment of self, of others,
judgment of and by society, and judgment of and by religion. The novel asks us to judge not only
the characters, but also the characters' judgments of each other. The prize that we and the
characters seek as we travel through this maze of judgment and judging is "justice," or, in plain
language, "fairness." Rask. thinks that there are two types of people in society: the elite and the
masses.
