Philosophy 26: Third Essay Exam

Procedure: This exam consists of two parts: an essay and a set of short answer questions. The essay should be word processed. Put your name and section # on its first page. Do not put the essay into any sort of folder. Place the essay along with your 882-E scantron into my Lock Box which is outside my office (Mendocino 3024) or slide them under my office door or hand them in to the Philosophy department secretary (Mendocino 3000) by the due date and time as indicted on the syllabus. Absolutely no late exams will be accepted.

Part 1: Answer each part of this question. Do not include any extraneous information. Follow the format indicated below for writing philosophy papers. Otherwise, you will lose 15 points at the outset. The essay should be about 2 ½ to 3 pages. It is worth 70 points.

In the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant gives two examples, one of a self-interested shopkeeper (p. 986, left hand column), the other of a reluctant benefactor (p.987, left hand column). The examples are intended to distinguish between an act done out of desire, such as the desire to keep one’s customers, and acts done out of duty.

1. Briefly describe in your own words each of these examples. Use a quote to support some part of each of your descriptions.

2. What conclusion about moral worth does Kant use these examples to illustrate? Put the conclusion in your own words and use a quote to show that Kant is saying what you say he is saying.

3. Give your own example of a moral act that could be done either out of the desire to make someone else happy or out of duty. Do you agree with Kant that if your perform the action in your example out of duty, then the act has more moral worth than it would have if you were to perform it out of the desire to make someone else happy. If you agree, say why you agree. If you disagree, say why you disagree.

Format for Essay:

1. Open your discussion by restating the question, saying which part of the question you will discuss first, which part second, and so on. Answer the parts of the question in the order in which they are posed.

2. Use quotes only where appropriate to substantiate, illustrate, or amplify what you are saying. Put in parentheses the page number of the text where the quote can be found. Be sure to quote accurately.

3. Use the first person when you give and defend your opinion in (3) of the question.

4. Connect your paragraphs in a logical way, even if that means that you have to say something like “Having discussed x, I will now consider y,” where “x” and “y” stand for parts of the question.

5. Close with a paragraph that summarizes your entire discussion. That is, repeat the parts of the question that you have answered, saying that you have answered each part.

6. Use a dictionary to look up words whose meaning or spelling you are unsure of and pay attention to word usage, sentence structure, consistency in verb tenses and subject-predicate agreement. You will be marked down for poor spelling and grammar in addition to the 15 points for not following the format directions.

7. Bibliography or footnotes are not required unless you consult outside sources. Please consult the plagiarism rules on the syllabus because any kind of cheating will earn you an F in the course.