Question

Briefly identify and explain the significance of any 5 of the following items. A
short paragraph (2-4 sentences) should be sufficient in nearly all cases. In the case of a
quotation, please identify the author and explain what theory or principle it illustrates or
exemplifies.

1. GE Moore.
2. The Prisoner’s Dilemma.

3. “Then it must follow that no one willingly chooses to do evil or what he thinks to
be evil.”
4. Ruth Benedict.
5. “Over himself, over his own mind and body, the individual is sovereign.”
6. Karl Menninger.
7. Retributivism.
8. Peter Singer.
9. “We thus conclude that virtue or excellence is a characteristic involving choice,
and it consists in observing a mean relative to us, a mean which is defined by a
rational principle . . . . It is the mean by reference to two vices, the one of excess,
the other of deficiency.”

Answer 1

1. G. E. Moore, full name George Edward Moore was an influential British philosopher of the twentieth century. He is well known for his common sense concepts,and have made significant contribution in metaphysics and ethics.

2. The prisoner's dilemma is an exemplary game used to illustrate the noncooperation on the part of rational individuals even if it's best for them. It was framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher in1950.

4. Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist. Her theories were particularly influential in the area of culture and personality. She has contributed profoundly to cultural anthropology.

5. "Over himself, over his own mind and body, the individual is sovereign.” This is a quote by John Stuart Mill from his philosophical essay On Liberty. In this quotation Mill is voicing the limit of the power of the state over individuals.

6. Karl Menninger, full name Karl Augustus Menninger was an American psychiatrist belonging to Menninger family of doctors who pioneered the psychiatric treatment in the twentieth century. He along with his family founded the Menninger Foundation and Menninger clinic in Kansas.