PHI 107 WEEK 6 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

PHI 107 WEEK 6 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Problem One 
Your friend Joe is a warm and friendly person who is quick to provide aid and comfort to his distressed friends.  He becomes angry and resentful when treated unfairly but is well known for being a peacemaker among his friends (he prevents fights and is often successful at reconciling conflicts among his friends).  Joe, however, never reflects on his ethical principles or ethical beliefs.  It is not that Joe is stupid; it is just that reflective consideration of ethics is something he has never done.  When Joe comforts a friend in distress, or prevents a fight, or patches up a conflict, would you count him as acting ethically?  Would you count Sam - a chimpanzee who is similar to Joe in comforting friends and preventing conflicts, and who likewise never reflects on his ethical principles or beliefs - as acting ethically?



Problem Two: 
As an intelligent and scientifically literate person, you recognize that the human species is very closely connected to other species.  Yet you may be very skeptical of the idea that other species could be ethical actors, and perhaps even skeptical that nonhuman animals have any moral standing whatsoever.  If so, what distinct step in the human evolutionary process sets humans apart in their special and unique moral status?