GROUP QUESTIONS
You must show your preparation essay at the beginning of each discussion session. This essay must be written out in complete sentences. It must be at least one printed page--longer if hand written. Please make two copies, one for the instructor and one for the person who writes the group report. The group report should be a creative synthesis of the views of the group, including a "minority" report of dissenting views.
Note: The group report must have the group number on it, each member of the group should read the final draft of the report, and all students who participated in the discussion must sign the report in order to get credit.
RULES FOR GROUP DISCUSSION
Everyone has the responsibility to listen carefully and with respect to the others in the group.
Everyone has the responsibility and the right to contribute to the group task.
Everyone has the responsibility and the right to ask for help from the group when needed.
Everyone has the responsibility to help others in the group when asked.
Each person should be persuaded by logic or by evidence. Reach consensus, not majority rule. Minority dissent is completely acceptable.
Group Questions for the First Day: Contemporary Moral Issues. Please click here.
PLEASE CHECK THE SYLLABUS FOR THE DUE DATES FOR THE FOLLOWING GROUP WORK
1. In your opinion where do moral laws comes from? God, nature, society, or individual human beings? Choose one alternative and defend it with good arguments. Show how the other alternatives fail as a foundation for morality. How does your choice relate to the distinction between ethical objectivism and ethical subjectivism? (See link for definitions.) Note: "nature" does not mean "nature tooth and claw" but "human nature." So one might say that humans are born with natural inclinations to be moral. Some philosophers have located this in a moral faculty called "conscience," a natural ability to tell right from wrong. 10 points for your preparation essay.
2. Group questions for the Dhammapada. 10 pts. for prep essay; 10 pts. for group paper.
Group 1&5. Discuss the passages in the Dhammapada that express the Buddhist belief that anger and hate are disorders of the soul. A good Buddhist should never get angry and should never hate. The logic of Buddhist psychology of hate is that if one hates then one becomes hatred itself and spreads hatred in her surroundings. What do you think of this as an ethical policy? Read these articles on anger (anger2) and see what you think.
Groups 2&4. What do you think about extending the Golden Rule to animals? (chap. 10) Recall tha the Golden Rule is "Do unto others as they would do to you." The Buddhist argument is that they seek "happiness" just like we do. Although they may not be persons in the traditional sense, animal rights philosophers claim that animals have "interests" in their lives that must be respected. Furthermore, even though many animals do not follow the Golden Rule, does not our superior moral awareness require that we follow it with regard to them?
Group 3: Check every reference to the Buddha and explain how the Dhammapada sees him. What do you think the difference between the Buddha and Buddhas is? Be aware of different translations concerning the Buddha's knowledge at the beginning of chapter 14. They range from "omniscience" to "infinite vision."
Not assigned. Chap. 20 is the most philosophical of the piece and contains much of the early Buddhist philosophy you have been introduced to. Analyze it, pick out the important points, and give your own critique.
Not assigned. Find evidence of the Four Noble Truths in the Dhammapada and comment on these passages.
3. Choose one of the following options for human nature and give good reasons why you think it is the right one. What is your opinion of Mencius' example of the child falling into the well?
a. It is neither good nor evil (Gaozi).
b. It is good or evil, depending on who rules (or environment?). Gaozi appears to switch to this position in 6a2.
c. There is intrinsic goodness (Shun) and intrinsic badness (Shun’s father).
d. It is good or more precisely: humans have the potential for goodness (Mencius).
e. It is evil or more precisely: humans tend to evil (Xunzi =Hsün-tzu).
Ten points for your prep essay and 10 pts. for your group report.
4. Read the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17; Deut. 5:6-21) and answer the following questions: (a) Do you see any problem with God's jealousy in Ex. 20:5 (Deut. 5:9)? (Click here for God's jealousy, here for the prohibition against killing, and here for worshipping only one God.) (b) Do you see any problems with collective punishment through five generations? Is it inconsistent with our belief in individual moral responsibility? (c) compare and contrast the Ten Commandments with the Buddhist Five Precepts; (d) Do the Commandments-Precepts express ethical subjectivism or ethical objectivism? (e) Should the Ten Commandments or the Buddhist Precepts be the law of the land and bring all citizens under their jurisdiction? Note: Do all sections of this question. 10 pts. prep; 10 pts. report.
5. "Morals excite passions and produce or prevent actions. Reason is utterly impotent in this regard." The following examples may support the truth or falsity of Hume's claim that the emotions, not reason, are the source of morality. Do the question assigned to your group and give your reasons why Hume might be right or wrong.
Group 1: Think of how moral rules might have come into existence in the evolution of human culture.
Group 2: Ponder the case of killing in self-defense.
Group 3: Think of the case of lying to protect the life of a friend.
Group 4: how some people have overcome racism or sexism.
Group 5: Consider why some people hesitate to show affection in public.
Note: Hume concedes that reason may be the "mediate" (indirect) cause of our actions but never the direct cause of them.
6. Krishna and Meeta are happily married (in a civil ceremony) and Ram is their closest friend. Krishna has a serious accident and one of the results is that he is no longer able to sexually satisfy Meeta. After some deliberation they ask Ram if he, out of friendship for them, is willing to become Meeta's lover. Ram, a single man, very reluctantly accepts their offer. Do these people violate the first and/or the second formulation of Kant's categorical imperative? You must give maxims for each and be generous in formulating their own rules for acting. (Even if you decide against them, it should not be necessary to use the word "adultery" at all.) For the second formulation you must determine whether there is sufficient respect for persons. Compare this scenario from a Kantian perspective with the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar (Gen. 16). What are the differences, if any? 15 pts. prep; 15 pts. report. For this complex question two typed pages minimum will be required.
7. Ancient Chinese Women. Each group will do its assigned story and then (a) interpret the women's experiences according to the theories Ivanhoe sets out in his article; and (b) offer your own comments about these women. Read Ivanhoe's "Women and Virtue" and O'Hara, Position of Women in Ancient China on library and department reserve. Ten points for your prep essay and 10 pts. for the group report. Section 13: Please check the possibility of new group members. There is no longer any Group Six.
Group #1: Meng Mu--Mencius' Mother, O'Hara, pp. 41-42.
Group #2: Ji of Wei, O'Hara, pp. 51-52.
Group #3: Ming Fu, Wife of the Charioteer, O'Hara, pp. 68-69.
Group #4: Queen Man of Deng, O'Hara, pp. 76-78.
Group #5: Wife of Jie Yu, O'Hara, pp. 70-71.