philosophy

1) Explain Edmund Gettier’s argument from his article, Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? Present an argument either in defense or against Edmund Gettier’s objections to the justified-true-belief notion of knowledge.  2) Explain Peter Unger’s argument from his piece, An Argument for Skepticism. Do you think Peter Unger is correct to claim that certainty is required for knowledge? If so, then offer an argument in defense of his position. If not, then offer an argument in objection to his position.  3) Does Descartes argument about his own existence give us reason to reject Unger’s claim that certainty requires one to be dogmatic, and thus it is unreasonable to claim certainty? If so, then offer an argument in defense of this position. If not, then offer an argument in objection to this position.

Compare how Aristotle, Galen, Vesalius and Harvey approached and explained the anatomy of a human being.  You can choose to focus on a single organ (if they all studied it) or stay more general, with discussions of each’s approach to the field.  Make sure to use citations and proper APA formatting for references.

We live in a world saturated by technology. Our world changes rapidly, in a manner that it never did before. The world into which we were born will not resemble the world in which we will die, if we die at all. This is because of technology. I would ask you to think through the question raised by Francis Fukuyama in Closer to the Truth: how should we think about the place of technology in our lives? Does it change the way we see the world? If so, does it do so for better or for worse? How has it changed the way we relate to other human beings? Should we be worried about AI, and how much?

Sexual Morality” by Roger Scruton (starting on page 557)Write a short, objective summary of 250-500 words which summarizes the main ideas being put forward by the author in this selection.

We continue our topic of free will – now looking at another approach. We saw that according to Determinists like D’Holbach, we really do not have free will, there are only a physical, causal chains of events, and our actions are included in those: therefore free will is an illusion.Now we will address the approach called Compatibilism: Compatibilism says that, yes, the universe is deterministic insofar as it is subject to the laws of physics, but that doesn’t mean that there are certain actions we nevertheless understand, and describe as resulting from our free will. So free will and determinism are compatible.  Read on to find out how this idea can be made out.We continue our topic of free will – now looking at another approach. We saw that according to Determinists like D’Holbach, we really do not have free will, there are only a physical, causal chains of events, and our actions are included in those: therefore free will is an illusion.Now we will address the approach called Compatibilism: Compatibilism says that, yes, the universe is deterministic insofar as it is subject to the laws of physics, but that doesn’t mean that there are certain actions we nevertheless understand, and describe as resulting from our free will. So free will and determinism are compatible.  Read on to find out how this idea can be made out.Required reading:1) W.T. Stace, Free will & Determinism are compatibleActionsExcerpt from W.T. Stace, 1952, (pp. 248-258) in Religion & the Modern Mind, HarperCollins: London. 2) Ansgar Beckermann, ‘Compatibilism’ ActioExcerpted from Ansgar Beckermann, ‘Free will in a Natural Order of the World’, The Determinism and Freedom Philosophy Website.Open source. Downloaded 08/06/2017 from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctytho/dfwBeckermann.htmlPrompt: Describe the theory of Compatibilism. Do you think it works?Please write a minimum 200 word response to the prompt; and then write a 100 word response to one of your fellow students’ posts

This topic looks into the intriguing question as to whether we humans really have free will – that is, are we really free to make any choice, to do whatever we will, in a way that is NOT predetermined by something that happened in the past? Or, was the story of our lives already decided at the beginning of time, and we only have the illusion that we are running the show?Required reading:1) Elliott Sober on Free Will ActionsExcerpt from Elliott Sober, Core Questions in Philosophy, Chapts. 24 & 25, Pearson: Boston, 2013.2) Baron D’Holbach: Free will & Determinism are IncompatibleActionsExcerpt from Baron D’Holbach, ‘Of the System of Man’s Free Agency’ in A System of Nature (1770), (Trans). H.D. Robinson.required videoPrompt: Describe D’Holbach’s argument for why we do not have free will, even though it might appear to us that we do. Is he right?Please write a minimum 200 word response to the prompt; and then write a 100 word response to one of your fellow students’ posts.

Pick a political current event in the international/national/CA state news within the last 2 months in which there’s controversy. It must involve gov’t and must be from an official news source (E.g., not what someone said on Twitter or Facebook). It must be about what a government ought to do or how a government ought to be. Citations, references, and the name of news sources must be provided whenever relevant Introduction with thesis statement saying what you’re going to present and what side you will argue for. ______________________________ Present the details of the issue, clarifying technical terms/details. E.g., if you’re invoking utilitarianism, explain what utilitarianism means. If you’re talking about global warming, briefly explain what this is. Present the arguments that have been given on both sides of the debate. Provide your own original new argument(s) on the case. Anticipate and deflect at least two possible counter-objections using original arguments in defending yourself. E.g., “One might say that a utilitarian will object against my argument by saying X. However, the utilitarian is mistaken because of Y.” At least one counter you anticipate must come from a philosopher or philosophical theory we discussed earlier in the semester. – Each part of the structure should be understood as its own distinct entity. Keep these in order. No double dipping between parts 4 and 5.

Length: 6-7 pages Formatting: double-spaced, 12-point font, 1” margins, Times New Roman Write a paper in response to prompt: 1. The analogical design argument (i) Explain the analogical design argument for God’s existence as presented by the character Cleanthes in Hume’s Dialogues concerning Natural Religion (p. 15). Along the way, explain what an argument from analogy is. (ii) Present what you consider to be the two best objections to Cleanthes argument. You may use objections from the Dialogues, but you don’t have to. (iii) Give a response or responses to your objections on behalf of Cleanthes. (iv) Evaluate. Can the argument be adequately defended against the objections raised against it? Why or why not?

Topic Suppose you have an opportunity to either: (1) send $800 to Africa to save a dozen people from starvation or (2) give the money to your little sister to buy books for college. Which would you do? Why? Explain which moral theory aligns with your decision making process. Use your course texts to help you respond to the topic, and when you quote and summarize from the course texts, include information about the page reference. You are discouraged from using additional sources. If you do choose to use an outside source, be sure to cite your source, just as you do when you use the course texts. If you use a quotation or an example from a website, cite the website’s url and the date accessed.

Topic Suppose you have an opportunity to either: (1) send $800 to Africa to save a dozen people from starvation or (2) give the money to your little sister to buy books for college. Which would you do? Why? Explain which moral theory aligns with your decision making process. Use your course texts to help you respond to the topic, and when you quote and summarize from the course texts, include information about the page reference. You are discouraged from using additional sources. If you do choose to use an outside source, be sure to cite your source, just as you do when you use the course texts. If you use a quotation or an example from a website, cite the website’s url and the date accessed.