HS202 FINAL EXAM | QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (VERIFIED) | LATEST UPDATE | GRADED A+

Page 1 of 11 HS202 FINAL EXAM | QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (VERIFIED) | LATEST UPDATE | GRADED A+ 1A: Greene provides us with a natural definition of morality. What is it and why, according to Greene, did morality develop into our species? Correct Answer: Morality is a set of psychological adaptations that allow otherwise selfish individuals to reap the benefits of cooperation. Cooperation/morality was able to develop into our species because it offered a competitive evolutionary advantage. Take for example the Tragedy of the Commons. A cooperative group of herders understands that they should limit the sizes of their individual herds in order to maintain a sustainable food supply. An uncooperative group of herders follows the logic of selfinterest and adds more animals to their individual herds so they can reap more personal benefits. Consequently, the uncooperative group erodes their common and is unable to maintain their food supply. The cooperative group is able to take over, raise more animals, produce more offspring, and ultimately increase the proportion of cooperators in the next generation. Page 2 of 11 1B: According to Greene, what distinguishes his approach to thinking about morality from the way philosophers have been thinking about it for centuries? Correct Answer: Greene believes that society needs to gain a sort of self awareness—or metamorality—in order to achieve universal cooperation. A set of moral principles that works for one group may not work for another; every group has different circumstances that dictate the ways in which they decide what is right and wrong. Unlike other philosophers in the past, Greene incorporates brain imaging and cognitive sciences into his studies. This is unique because other philosophers have relied on abstract reasoning and arguments to better understand human morality. "Morality is nature's solution to the problem of cooperation within groups, enabling individuals with competing interests to live together and prosper. What we in the modern world need, then, is something like morality but one level up. We need a kind of thinking that enables groups with conflicting moralities to live together and prosper. In other words, we need a metamorality" (26). 1C: Does our wired tribalism/bias mean that we are hardwired for, for example, racial prejudice? Correct Answer: Despite numerous studies utilizing the Implicit Association Test to examine the strength and pervasiveness of racial bias, this does not mean we are hardwired for racial prejudice. Page 3 of 11 Greene uses our hunter-gatherer ancestors as an example of why it doesn't make sense for racial prejudice to be considered a hardwired trait. During this era of civilization, it would be unlikely for two people of different races to meet. Even though the "Them" that one tribe may have to compete for resources with is physically indistinguishable from "Us," there were other visual markers that separated the two groups. This suggests that race is something we use today as a marker of group membership. Being wired for tribalism does not mean we are hardwired for tribalism. Our brains can be rewired through experience and active learning. 1D: What does it mean to say that Trolleyology elucidates a clear joint in moral philosophy? Correct Answer: The Trolleyology problem presents two scenarios: switch and footbridge. Switch scenario: A trolley is on a track that splits into two different directions. On one path, there is one person tied down on the track. On the other path, there are five people tied down on the track. There is a lever near you that you can pull to decide which track the trolley will continue on. Page 4 of 11 Footbridge scenario: There is a bridge over the only track of the trolley. There are five people tied down on the track, but there is a large person with you on the bridge that would stop the trolley from running over the five people if you push him off of the bridge. This would kill the large person, but save the five other people that are tied down. Kantian vs. Utilitarian A Utilitarian would say the footbridge dilemma is best because it promotes the greater good — only one person dies instead of five. A Kantian would say the switch dilemma is best because, unlike the footbridge dilemma, it is impersonal. Pushing one person off a footbridge in order to save five people goes against Kant's categorical imperative — "Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never as a means only." The Trolley Problem asks the question: "When, and why, do the rights of the individual take precedence over the greater good?" 1E: What does it mean to say that Trolleyology elucidates a clear dual process model of human cognition/judgment? Page 5 of 11 Correct Answer: Greene argues that the trolley problem is a direct scenario that outlines someone's moral cognition. Depending on how you respond to each scenario will determine if you fall under Kantian or Consequentialist (Utilitarian) decision making. Kantian: Fast/Quick (lever) — System one Consequentialist (Utilitarianism): Slow/Deliberative (push) — System two When people are asked to make decisions quickly, our automatic response often tells us that pulling the lever to kill one and save five is okay, but that it's wrong to push someone off in order to save five other people. When you've had time to think about the two situations, most people realize that these two scenarios are the exact same. Trolleyology explains the dual act of morals and the dual process of human cognition — automatic and controlled response. 1F: According to Greene, "getting smart" requires three things. What are they? Explain each. Correct Answer: Acquisition of adaptive instincts Automatic — these can be shaped by our genes, cultural learning, and personal experience The ability to deliberately work through complex, novel problems Page 6 of 11 Manual — developed through new experiences/trial and error Metacognitive skill There is no photographer telling us where to point and shoot — we must decide how to behave for ourselves NOTE: the camera analogy is helpful in remembering the answer for this question. Automatic settings on a camera allow the photographer to shoot simple/straightforward pictures, like a portrait or a landscape. Automatic settings in our brain tell us things like "don't touch the hot stove" or "murder is bad." Manual settings on a camera allow the photographer to manipulate different components to create a specific image. Manual settings in our brain help us learn new skills, like how to drive. Only difference between a camera and our brain is that there is no one telling us how to behave. We learn how to do that for ourselves. 2A: Describe the first stage of moral development according to Baird. Correct Answer: Based on classical conditioning In the beginning of moral development, the rational agent becomes conditioned by positive and negative feedback they receive on their actions. Page 7 of 11 Essentially, babies gain an understanding of what actions to continue doing and which ones to stop based on the reactions of people around them. In turn, they remember these sensations, and adapt to the new situations they encounter based on past experiences. 2B: The shift from the sort of development occurring in the "foundational" period (stages 1 & 2) and adolescence is marked by two major features. What are they? Explain each. Correct Answer: From someone else's Quizlet: "Baird states that the shift in development is defined by "the coming online of the capacity for abstract thought" and the "moral dictatorship [shifting] from parents to peers." The first features is when adolescents are able to imagine and assess hypothetical situations more frequently, allowing them to practice thinking in different scenarios. The imagination functions as a training ground for their brains. The second feature is when adolescents start to follow the social rules set by their peers rather than their parents. Children grow up only listening to their parents until they arrive at this shift where they begin to listen to their friends and classmates instead of their parents." 2C: Tell me about the insula and why, for Baird's research, it's of extreme interest. Correct Answer: Baird is particularly interested in studying the insula because that is the part of the brain that regulates and listens to the abdomen (aka the "gut feeling" that people experience). Interestingly, this is the most active part of the brain for adults when Page 8 of 11 distinguishing good decisions from bad decisions, but for adolescents, the most active part of the brain is the frontal lobe. 2D: Are adolescents morally responsible for their actions according to Baird? Explain your reasoning carefully. Correct Answer: In Baird's eyes, adolescents are still in the process of gaining moral responsibility. While they are at a stage in life where they have acquired enough knowledge of what actions are permissible and which ones are not. Their moral compass is guided by a limited range of past experiences. Thus, adolescents are not completely morally responsible yet as they still have more experience in life. The brain is not fully developed, leaving them to continue making rash decisions. 3A: What is Veneer Theory and why does de Waal discuss it? Correct Answer: de Waal describes the Veneer Theory as a standpoint that views morality as a cultural veil that hides people's harsh and selfish nature to avoid scrutiny or punishment (de Waal, 6). The theory states that cultural conditioning and social interactions are what encourage people to adopt moral behavior, but de Waal disagrees with this and argues that humans are in fact moral by nature. de Waal says that the Veneer Theory is not a good way to measure human morality because it does not consider the instances in which animals, and specifically primates, display moral behavior. He argues that animals displaying moral behavior proves that Page 9 of 11 acting morally goes beyond cultural conditioning and lies within our evolutionary roots (De Waal, 29). 3B: de Waal most certainly is not one of those despicable Veneer Theorists! What is the alternative? How does de Waal characterize his own "school's" view? Correct Answer: 3C: What is the PAM model? Explain it and its significance to de Waal's thesis in Morally Evolved. Correct Answer: 4A: What, according to Bloom, is the 'moral sense' and how has work at the Yale Baby Lab demonstrated its existence in very young children? Correct Answer: 4B: What is the difference between empathy and compassion according to Bloom, and what is the relationship between the two concepts? Correct Answer: Empathy is the process of experiencing the world as others do, to put yourself in another's shoes, and/or to feel their pain. Compassion is a more distanced love, kindness, and concern. Page 10 of 11 "Imagine that the child of a close friend has drowned. A highly empathetic response would be to feel what your friend feels, to experience, as much as you can, the terrible sorrow and pain. In contrast, compassion involves concern and love for your friend, and the desire and motivation to help, but it need not involve mirroring your friend's anguish." (pg. 5-6) An individual can have compassion without necessarily having empathy for another. 4C: Why is Bloom "Against Empathy"? Correct Answer: Empathy blinds us to the long-term consequences of our actions. Motivates particular biased sorts of thought and action: Reflection of automatic, paradigmatically System 1 type behavior. Comparison to anger: Both are geared towards other people and are a moral response — empathy motivates kind behavior, whereas anger is often a response to unfair/cruel/immoral actions. However, there are irrational, arbitrary, and self-destructive aspects of anger. We wouldn't want to possess too much anger — the same can be said for empathy. 4D: What, according to Korsgaard, is autonomy, and why does it matter for morality? Correct Answer: Autonomy — self government Page 11 of 11 We as humans not only have intentions, but we are capable of assessing and adopting them: - This is where morality emerges - The morality of one's action is not a function of the content of one's intentions, it is a function of the exercise of self-government - IN NORMAL PEOPLE WORDS: morality isn't necessarily about whether one's intentions are good or bad. It's about whether or not they decide to act on them 4E: How are Bloom and Korsgaard in agreement concerning their mutual opposition to de Waal? Correct Answer: