Exam question ideas for selected questions

Annotations:

• Libertarianism, free will and determinism (2013 paper) 01 Examine the role of conscience in libertarianism.      (30 marks) 02 ‘Libertarianism is good in theory, but cannot work in practice.’      Assess this view.      (20 marks) Virtue Ethics (2012 paper) 03 Summarise Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics.      (30 marks) 04 ‘Friendship is the most important aspect of human nature in Virtue           Ethics.’ How far do you agree?      (20 marks) Religious views on sexual behaviour and human relationships (2011 paper) 05 Examine the ways in which one religion uses scripture as a basis for its       teachings about  sexual behaviour.      (30 marks) 06 Assess how far these teachings can be said to have any relevance       today.      (20 marks)

1. Libertarianism, Free Will and Determinism
   1. Examine the role of conscience in libertarianism
      1. What is the conscience?
         1. A person's "Moral compass" of right and wrong. BUT different scholars will have different perspectives.
      2. Libertarianism
         1. the concept of having free will and moral responsibility.
            1. but accept things like personalities are determined, but not the moment of choice.
      3. so we have free will to be able to choose to listen to our "conscience" or ignore it, and so our actions have consequences that we can be morally responsible for.
2. "Libertarianism is good in theory, but cannot work in practice". Assess this view.
   1. For
      1. we can't just exercise our free will without thinking about the impacts of those actions on other people
         1. responsibility limits our freedom
      2. Conflict of wills
      3. Uses the 'harm principle' - but who can say when an action doesn't harm someone?
      4. in criminal trials, could it ignore deterministic factors, where people cannot be morally responsible?
      5. How free actually are we?
         1. John Locke's "locked room".
   2. Against
      1. if we do something wrong, then we are responsible for our actions, so libertarianism can work in practice.
         1. True if we believe free will is true
         2. If we aren't responsible for our actions, then no one can be punished and so can get away with their actions.
3. Virtue Ethics
   1. Summarise Aristotle's Virtue Ethics.
   2. "Friendship is the most important aspect of human nature in Virtue Ethics". How far do you agree?
4. Religious views on sexual behaviour and human relationships
   1. Examine the ways in which one religion uses scripture as a basis for its teachings about sexual behaviour.
   2. Assess how far these teachings can be said to have any relevance today.