Phil 102A S12: Final Exam Study Guide

Part I: Fill-in-the-blank. You should know the definitions of the following words:
  • Determinism
  • Fatalism
  • Predestination
  • The Free Will Problem
  • Hard Determinism
  • Soft Determinism
  • Libertarianism
  • Indeterminism
  • Existentialism
  • Anguish
  • Forlornness
  • Despair
  • Karma

Part II: Short Answer. You should be able to explain the following concepts and ideas:

  • Taylor's account of the four presuppositions of deliberation.
  • Taylor's account of the two components of our experience of freedom. 
  • The three components of Taylor's account of Soft Determinism.
  • Taylor's criticism of Soft Determinism.
  • Taylor's criticism of Indeterminism.
  • Which components of deliberation are violated by Soft Determinism and Indeterminism.
  • Taylor's account of the metaphysical presuppositions of agency.
  • Blatchford's definition of Free Will.
  • Blatchford's argument against Free Will.
  • The conclusions Blatchford draws from his account of free will.
  • Sartre's conception of existentialism and the differences between "existence comes before essence" and "essence comes before existence."
  • Sartre account of my responsibilities to others.
  • Sartre's accounts of anguish, forlornness, and despair.
  • Radhakrishnan's conception of Karma.
  • The problem of Karma and Free Will.
  • Radhakrishnan's solution to this problem.
  • The ethical conclusions Radhakrishnan draws from this.

Part III: Short Essay. You should be prepared to write a short essay comparing the views of two philosophers we studied this unit to the film A Clockwork Orange.

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