Explain how two of these theorists represent a break from past ways of thinking about morality.

On the final exam for this course, you will be asked to answer the following question in clearly written paragraphs.

You do not have to follow a formal essay-writing format in answering this question – no introduction,or conclusion is required. Just imagine that you are diving into the body of an essay in which you are asked to summarize and evaluate philosophical arguments.

The Question

In the last three weeks of the course, we examined moral philosophy through the lens of existentialism and feminist theory in the writings of Sartre,Beauvoir and Baier. Their perspectives put moral theory on a new footing in comparison to how it has been approached in the past.

Explain how TWO of these theorists represent a break from past ways of thinking about morality.

Of the theorists you discuss, which do you think provides the most promising new direction for moral philosophy? Or is it a promising direction at all?

Defend your answer.

Note that this question will make up the totality of your exam. You should devote ¾ of your answer to summary and ¼ to evaluation of philosophical arguments.

Answer Guidelines

• As with your essays, the goal is to demonstrate what you know about our course readings and discussions of them in as much depth as possible and in your own words. The learning materials I have posted are meant to guide you through these readings; they are not a substitute for them. And keep
especially in mind that I am interested in what you learned from our class,not what you learned from the internet, so do not use secondary source summaries of our course material as though they were our primary source readings – this is not a learning objective of the course.

• You do not have to provide detailed summaries of philosophical theories studied earlier in the course when referring to “past ways of thinking about morality”; you can refer in a more general way to how those thinkers approached moral questions to demonstrate what is new and different about
the two philosophers who are the focus of your answer.

• In presenting your argument summary and evaluation, follow the same standards outlined on the “essay writing checklist” that was included with your essay assignments