Summative Essay 2 (Due Fri, 20 Apr by 3pm)

Instructions:

  • Write a 1,500 word essay that answers one of the following questions.
  • Submit your essay via the Turnitin link on the course Moodle page.

Questions:

Q1 Present and evaluate an argument in favour of substantivalism (or in favour of relationism) about space.

Q2 Is there a satisfactory response to Benacerraf's problem, that we appear to have no good account of both mathematical truth and mathematical knowledge?

Q3 Is it possible to carry out a supertask?

Q4 Explain the key principles of classical utilitarianism as outlined by Mill, and present one objection to this moral theory. Can the theory be defended against the objection you have presented?

Q5 Reconstruct and evaluate Mill's "proof" of the principle of utility in Chapter 4 of Utilitarianism.

Q6 Explain the "murderer at the door" problem for the moral theory presented by Kant in the Groundwork. Can Kant's moral theory be defended in light of this problem?

Q7 Critically evaluate Mill's arguments in Considerations on Representative Government (Chapter 3) for the superiority of representative government over enlightened despotism.

Q8 Should the members of representative assemblies be chosen through lotteries rather than elections?

Q9 Critically evaluate Susan Wolf's "fitting fulfilment" view of meaning in life.

Q10 Does the arbitrariness and cultural specificity of our projects render life meaningless? Discuss with reference to Thomas Nagel's essay on "The Absurd".

Formative Essay 3 (Due Mon, 15 Mar by 3pm)

Instructions:

  • Write a 1,500 word essay that answers one of the following questions.
  • Submit your essay via the Turnitin link on the course Moodle page.

Questions:

Q1 [Lectures 15-16] Are we morally obliged to give as much money as we can to alleviate poverty and suffering?

Q2 [Lectures 17-18] In elections, should the votes of more educated voters carry greater weight than those of the less educated?

Q3 [Lectures 19-20] Does the fact that everything of value to us will eventually be annihilated render life meaningless?

 

Formative Essay 2 (Due Mon, 12 Feb by 3pm)

Instructions:

  • Write a 1,500 word essay that answers one of the following questions.
  • Submit your essay via the Turnitin link on the course Moodle page.

Questions:

Q1 [Lectures 11-12] Evaluate McTaggart's argument that time is not real.

Q1 [Lectures 13-14] Evaluate Russell's logicist account of numbers.

 

Instructions:

  • Write a 1,500 word essay that answers one of the following questions (Q1-Q5).
  • You cannot simply resubmit a formative essay as a summative essay or reuse exactly the same argument, or copy and paste large amounts of text. This is known as 'self-plagiarism' and is not allowed.
  • Submit your essay via the Turnitin link on the course Moodle page.

Questions:

Q1 [Lectures 1-2] Evaluate whether G.E. Moore's (1939) argument for "the existence of things outside of us" is valid, sound, and satisfies Moore's conditions for a "rigorous proof".

Q2 [Lectures 3-4] "There is no hard problem of consciousness". Discuss.

Q3 [Lectures 5-6] Either:

(a) Present one criterion for personal identity, and evaluate this criterion.

Or:

(b) Present one account of how objects persist through time, and evaluate the account you have presented.

Q4 [Lectures 7-8] Either:

(a) Is free will incompatible with physical determinism?

Or:

(b) Do the Libet experiments show that we do not have free will?

Q5 [Lectures 9-10] Either:

(a) Does Darwin’s argument in the Origin of Species decisively refute Paley’s argument from design?

Or:

(b) Is there a convincing argument from the big bang to the conclusion that the universe has a creator?

Write a 1,500 word essay in response to one of the following prompts.

Submit your essay via the Turnitin link on the course Moodle page.

1. Scepticism [Lectures 1-2] Descartes argues that "arithmetic, geometry, and other disciplines of the same kind... contain something certain and indubitable" (pg.15). Critically evaluate this argument: either (a) present an argument against Descartes; or (b) present an argument that defends Descartes from one interesting objection.

2. Materialism [Lectures 3-4]. Present an argument either for or against materialism about consciousness. Evaluate the validity and soundness of the argument you have presented.