PHI 107 WEEK 7 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Problem One
Two weeks ago, your good friend Joe spent his entire Saturday helping you move all your stuff into your new apartment. This weekend, Joe is moving into his apartment. You promised to help Joe move. Besides, even if you had not promised, you feel that you ought to help Joe; after all, he's a good and loyal friend, and he generously helped you just a couple of weeks ago. Suppose you say: "I know I really ought to keep my promise and help Joe move; but I have got a chance to go to the beach for the weekend, and I really love the beach; so I am afraid I am going to skip out on Joe."
That is a rotten thing to do to your friend; but still, under strong temptation we have all failed to do the right thing on one or two occasions. But suppose you said: "I know that I really ought to keep my promise and help Joe; I know it is the right thing to do, and helping Joe would certainly be good. But I have no inclination whatsoever to help Joe. I fully understand that it is the right thing to do, and that helping Joe would be good; but although I recognize that helping Joe is good, I am not at all inclined to do the right thing." Would it make sense to say that?
Suppose one of your friends said: "Look, that is nonsense. You cannot say you know it would be good to help Joe, and then say that you have no inclination to help him. Either you do not really think that helping Joe is good, or you are confused about the meanings of the words. If you really know that helping Joe is the right thing to do, you must have some inclination to do it." Would your friend be right?
Problem Two:
"Astronomers maintain that black holes exist in our galaxy. A black hole results when a massive star implodes, and all its mass is compressed into a very small volume. This produces an object so dense, and with such powerful gravitational force, that no light can escape. Therefore, you cannot really 'see' a black hole, we can reasonably conclude that a black hole exists: it is the best explanation for those motions. Likewise, you do not really 'see' a moral fact; but by observing the convergent conclusions and behavior of people who think calmly and carefully about a moral issue, we can conclude that a moral fact exists: it is the best explanation for that convergent movement." Is that a good analogy?
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