Phil 263 Final Exam

Question	Answer
What is the moral concept of God? What does it consist of?	The moral concept of God is an unknowable noumenal object of faith consisting of three divine attribute 1) Holiness; 2) Benevolent Rule; 3) Justice
Describe God's holiness in the context of Kant's theodicy.	God's holiness is the first divine attribute on trial in Kant's theodicy. It is on trial because of the question if God's holiness existed and emanated throughout the earth how is moral evil able to exist?
Describe God's benevolence in the context of Kant's theodicy.	God's benevolence or goodness as ruler is the second divine attribute on trial in Kant's theodicy. It is on trial because of the question if God's benevolence existed why do good people incur pain and suffering?
Describe God's Justice in the context of Kant's theodicy.	God's justice is the third divine attribute on trial in Kant's theodicy. It is on trial because of the question if God's justice existed why does good suffer while evil flourishes?
According to Kant what makes humans deserving of happiness?	Happiness is a cosmic gift bestowed by the universe, or God, almost at random. Humans do not receive happiness for being moral as this is what's expected of them, but through being moral humans can assure they deserve the happiness they are given.
According to Kant is pleasure immoral?	Pleasure if immoral if it is sought through immoral means (treating your body or others as means to an end), however, if pleasure is a by- product of moral action then it is condoned.
To Kant is it reasonable to desire happiness?	Kant believes that people should strive for a moral life and that happiness can be a well deserved side- effect of this, similar to Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia that one cannot achieve true happiness without moral good.
To Kant does moral behavior guarantee happiness?	In Kant's opinion living a moral life does not guarantee the individual happiness. Individuals are not rewarded happiness for simply doing what they ought to do, which is to live morally. Happiness is a gift bestowed, if not deity, by the universe and one cannot control if they receive the gift but they can control whether or not they deserve it.
Aligning your thought with Kant's, what is the distinction between the truth of a statement and the truthfulness of affirming that statement is true?	Caitlyn D: truth = objective. It's a fact truthfullness = whether you believe something to be true You can't always be 100% about the truth of something (you might be mistaken) but you must be certain of the truthfullness - because in the latter case you are stating what you hold/believe as true.
Describe the significance of sincerity in the context of faith.	Sincerity is a principle requirement in matters of faith; it is in opposition to the human inclination to lie which is the greatest ill of all human nature.
Who was Job and how did his views contribute to Kant's view of faith?	Job was a scriptural Jewish figure, he was a devout, pious and moral man who despite his piety was punished by God. “Till I die, I will not remove mine integrity from me.” Job has a faith in God, in spite of the problem of evil. Job bases his faith on morality (which according to Kant is correct) instead of basing his morality on faith.
What is the problem of a blind profession of faith according to Kant?	The problem with a blind profession of faith is that it doesn't not allow for reflexive formal conscientiousness. If an individual is blindly professing the purity of their faith without proper evaluation they are not open to the idea that the notion they are professing themselves to may be untrue.
Who was the philosopher Leibniz, and what is his relevance to Kant's essay?	Leibniz was a french philosopher who coined the term "theodicy" through his essay "La Theodicee" (1709) which posed the question as to why evil exists in a world with a supposedly good God.
What was the Candide and who made it?	The Candide was a french satire by Voltaire making fun of Leibniz's concept of the "best possible world" through the main character brushing off hardship with the excuse "It could be worse".
Who was Frederick the Great?	He was a protestant leader who was comfortable with discussing religion and science philosophically, he was an open supporter of the "academy" of natural science.
What is Kant's definition of hostility and how does it factor into his views on morality?	Kant defines this as a primary kind of evil . "...none other than the evil of hostility, or to put it mildly lack of love."
What is Kant's definition of mendacity and how does it factor into his views on morality?	Kant defines this as the second kind of evil, it is human's tendency to self- deceive. Kant states that the second kind of evil is that of mendacity which is "falsity, even without intention of harm."
What is the definition of a theodicy?	A defense of the creator against the question of why an omniscient, omnibenevolent and omnipotent God would allow for evil to exist in the world.
Are human beings noumenal or phenomenal?	Human beings are both noumenal and phenomenal at once. Metaphysical concepts such as free- will, intent and morality are noumenal while more physical aspects of humans such the body and actions.
How does Kant feel about lying?	Lying is the ultimate sin to Kant. It is always counterpurposive as it violates the categorical imperative in the sense that no one can be comfortable in a world in which people use their own discretion and rationality to justify lying as individuals can never be sure if their rationale represents the truth.
What is ecclesiastical faith?	Ecclesiastical faith is faith founded on revelation, i.e. the empirical historical sources of religious belief and practices (e.x. worship services). This can provide a vehicle for pure religious faith but at the risk of confusing priorities.
What is the meaning of the term counterpurposiveness and how does it factor into the question of a theodicy?	The English translation of the German term "das Zweckwidrige" footnoted in Kant's first mention of the term counterpurposiveness means improper, inappropriate or incorrect, in terms of this essay what is incorrect tot the world. It means that which is contrary to its purpose (how can evil exist in the world contrary to a good God?).
What is the first kind of counterpurposiveness and how does it directly relate to the three divine attributes?	1) Absolute counterpurposiveness is the existence of moral evil in the world. This is conceptualized as a direct refutation to God's holiness, therefore, creating questions surrounding how moral evil can exist in a world omnisciently governed by God's holiness.
What is the second kind of counterpurposiveness and how does it directly relate to the three divine attributes?	2) Conditional counterpurposiveness is the concept of good people experiencing pain and suffering. This is conceptualized as a direct refutation to God's benevolence, therefore, creating questions surrounding how God's benevolence can exist in a world where good people suffer.
What is the third kind of counterpurposiveness and how does it directly relate to the three divine attributes?	3) Injustice (?) is the third type of counterpurposiveness and it is the concept of good suffering while evil flourishes. This is conceptualized as a direct refutation to God's justice, therefore, creating questions surrounding how God's justice can exist in a world where good suffers while evil flourishes.
What is the categorical imperative and how is it expressed?	General thought: Never perform and action you would not wish to see universally repeated. 1) Act only on the maxim by which you can at the same time will it to become a universal law. 2) Act as though the maxim of your action were by your will to become a universal law of nature. 3) Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or another always an end never as a means.Treating ourselves and others as if we have dignity rather than something to be used merely as means.
Why is art and artistic wisdom relevant to a theodicy?	Artistic wisdom is the concept of finding evidence for theodicy, and the existence of God, in nature that does not require an objective reality for our speculative faculty of reason. This is in opposition to moral wisdom which is that the world could have been put in place by a "perfect" creator- the sensible world creates an appearance of another, unattainable world.
What is formal conscientiousness?	An individual seeks to know but recognizes the impossibility of knowing, as to Kant individuals cannot know if what composes their truth (i.e. empiricism and rationalism) truly represent the world as it is. In other words an individual who has intellectual curiosity but recognizes their limits. The formally conscientious person does not pretend to hold anything true if they are not conscious of holding it as true.
How would a materially conscientiousness person act in issues of intellect.	A materially conscientious person refrains from making any sort of claim about something (e.g. piety) because they know they may be incorrect. In other words, this silencing personal intellectual curiosity for fear of wrongness. Example: Euthyphro is the OPPOSITE of a materially and formally conscientious person because of his constant, emphatic re-assertion of his views despite his lack of knowledge and lack of acknowledgement that his viewpoint may not represent the truth.
Who was Frederick William II?	He was a serious Rosicrucian about Christian mysticism. He claimed censorship ideals were founded in religion... meaning he thinks certain things cannot be said of religion. He enforced the declaration of the Peace of Westphalia.
Define authentic theodicy.	This theodicy is dictated by God's voice, the world can be looked at as the purposes of God's wills. It is the deity engaging with the question of why bad things happen in a world governed by a good God (e.x. Book of Job)
Define a doctrinal theodicy.	This type of theodicy is a rational inference from God, given utterances with other recognized purposes of God. "The world is often a closed book for us, and it is so every time we look at it to extract from it God's final aim even though it is an object of experience", this type of interpretation is doctrinal. It aims to give proofs of God and definitive answers.
Define Practical Reason.	Practical reasoning is about moral goals, and the categorical imperative. Moral rationality supposes the existence of things that we cannot prove but need in order to have morality make sense, this is a universalizable concept and the "thing" mentioned above exist in the noumenal realm.
What was the Rosicurcian society?	A secret philosophical community. (more in depth definition may be necessary)
What is the hypothetical Imperative?	It is any conditional rule of action, concerned with means and ends rather than duty for its own sake. Kant called any action based on desires a hypothetical imperative, meaning by this that it is a command of reason that applies only if one desires the goal in question.
Describe God as the law giver.	In this definition God is the law giver or creator of laws, with the intention of the morality of the world being good not evil. Kant believed this is how certain people were able to derive their moral codes.

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	Created by Claire Frye over 9 years ago