Critical Thinking HW Help
PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 1 Cou rse Learning Outcomes for Unit VIII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 5. Develop strategies for self -assessment. 6. Evaluate decision -making patterns that result in problem solving. 7. Detect bias and fallacies in messages from mass media and other sources. Reading Assignment Chapter 13: Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery and Manipulation Chapter 14: Develop As an Ethical Reasoner Unit Lesson Et hica l Life Ethics is the stud y of the goo d life. The re are two c omponen ts of this stud y. 1. W hat doe s it mea n to live a goo d life in the r ealm of human activity, though t, an d action ? 2. W hat doe s it mean to have a goo d life? W hat do I de sire, an d ho w can I bring tha t ultimately goo d life abou t in my own life? The r espo nses to the se aspe cts of life are numerou s throughou t the history of ph ilosoph y. Some philosophe rs ha ve focused on the actua l aspe cts of life tha t relate to the se que stion s an d how you can attain a high level of ethicality. Othe rs have attempted to groun d ethics in something universal tha t wou ld make de mand s on all human s. Final ly, some have taken up a spe cific ethical viewpo int an d the n used tha t viewpo int to ana lyze the goodne ss or badne ss of ethical issues in variou s fields of stud y an d social life. Most ethical philosophe rs be lieve tha t the re is, or are, universal ethical principles tha t make demand s on all human s. This is extremely impo rtan t an d it is whe re we will beg in. It is common folk wisdo m tha t the re are no uni versal ethical standa rds. It is pu zzling for man y philosophe rs to hea r studen ts claim tha t the re are “ no uni versal truths” or tha t y ou c anno t judg e the practices of ano ther culture be cau se “ wha t the y do is right for them.” Hop efully as you have engage d this c ou rse y ou ha ve bee n expo sed to the fallaciou s na ture of this thinking . If you were to c on sisten tly ho ld this po sition , it cou ld lea d to horrible ou tcomes for the indi vidual . W ha t is more, it is often impo ssible for tho se studen ts to avoid their own ethical un iversals when the y fee l the y have bee n trea ted un fairly or violently. For example, if you were to be r obbe d at gunpo int, an d you were an ethical relativist, you would no t be able to fund amen tally justify calling the police for he lp. Of cou rse, you migh t say tha t it was his ethical truth to r ely on the police when someon e tries to r ob ano the r pe rson . Ho wever, the pe rson do ing the r obb ing wou ld be making the ethical claim tha t it is accep tab le to stea l from othe rs using violen t mean s. The pu re r elativist wou ld have to say tha t the ethical truth for the thief ha s just as much r eali ty an d impo rt as the truth of the pe rson be ing robbed . Shou ld the pe rson be ing r obbe d the n no t call the pol ice be cau se r obbe ry is truth for the r obbe r? Almost all human s feel a dee p sense of violation an d injustice whe n the y unde rgo a traumatic robbe ry. The y UNIT VIII STUDY GUIDE Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery and Manipulation PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title call the pol ice an d express the ir disgu st at the action s of the pe rpe trator. All it takes is a gu n in y ou r face an d idea s abou t ethical relativism fly ou t the windo w. Le t’s loo k at ano the r example. Most peop le in ou r na tion c on side r the historical trea tmen t of ethnic mino rities in this coun try as ho rrific an d wrong. From the de cimation of Na tive American group s to the impo rtation of African s an d the ir subsequen t slavery, most peop le wou ld claim tha t this history ha s bee n on e of fea r, exploitation , violation , an d violen ce. In making these c laims, you are saying tha t the se action s were wrong . In his article on c ultural relativism, James Ra che ls po ints ou t tha t the r elativist wou ld have to loo k at this history an d claim tha t all the se action s were morally accep table ba ck the n an d no w thing s are just differen t. You canno t say tha t thing s are be tter toda y, becau se tha t wou ld involve having some un iversal standa rd by which on e c ou ld judg e the righ tne ss an d wrongn ess of society. Ho wever, acts such as the bombing of a Birmingha m chu rch tha t ende d in the dea ths of fou r African American girls incite a deep revulsion in us as we think abou t wha t ou r coun try was like an d the ha tred tha t was so socially rampan t. Image s of dog s biting y ou ths an d video s of firemen spraying protestors with ho ses show us how far we have c ome. Of cou rse the re is still rep ression in ou r system tha t need s to be overcome. Co nversely, in the r eal m of righ ts, we c an de finitely say tha t we have made some prog ress in the way tha t we trea t peop le in ou r na tion . Ho we ver, the rela tivist canno t say tha t this is prog ress. In fact, the r elativist wou ld have to say tha t the pe rson who bo mbe d tha t chu rch an d murde red tho se girls was just acting ou t his own ethical truth. By the way, the pe rson suspe cted of the bombing was cha rge d on ly with po ssession of dynamite, an d this cha rge was later drop ped after an investiga tion by the FBI. It see ms ab solutely un just that this man go t away with such an atrociou s act, an d the fact tha t tho se who were sworn to protect the c ommunity foun d tha t he ha d don e no thing wron g cr ea tes an even grea ter sense of the immorality tha t existed in the system at this time. If you are still no t convinced tha t ethical funda men tal principles exist or nee d examina tion , the n y ou c an stop read ing at this po int. For tho se who are interested in the phi losoph ical respo nses to the prob lem of morality, let’s loo k at some ways tha t ph ilosophe rs ha ve r esponde d to the question of the goo d life. Socra tes /Plato Most peop le have at lea st hea rd of Socrates an d P lato. Ac tually, Socrates was the tea che r of Plato an d we have no thing that was written by Socrates. All tha t we k now abou t Socrates was recorde d in dialogue s tha t his pupi l P lato c ompiled over the c ou rse of his caree r. Socrates appea rs as a c ha racter in the se dialogue s an d usua lly confron ts othe rs an d que stion s the m abou t fund amen tal c on cep ts such as love, justice, truth, holine ss, piety, knowledge , an d mode ration . Socrates usua lly run s into othe r peop le in the dialogue s an d starts up a conversation with the se peop le. Inevitab ly some slippe ry con cep t emerge s an d S ocrates (P lato) asks the othe r pe rson to de fine the c on cep t. Socrates find s the definition inadequa te an d usua lly presen ts a log ical refutation of the de finition tha t the othe r pe rson has supp lied . The y go back an d forth for a while ( sometimes like 20 0 page s) an d attempt to provide uni versal, solid definition s for the c on cep ts in que stion . Plato is though t to have recorde d some actua l dialogue s tha t Socrates ha d with othe rs, an d most peop le bel ieve tha t the Apolog y is an acc urate accoun t of Socrates’s trial. How ever, Plato also used S ocrates as a “ mou thpiece” for Plato’s own idea s. Tha t mean s tha t Plato presen ted some of his own ph ilosoph ical idea s throug h the c ha racter of S ocrates. Some themes tha t emerge ou t of the dialogue s can indicate S ocrates’s/Plato’s c on cep tion of the goo d life. Socrates claims tha t the unexamine d life is no t worth living . W isdo m an d the c ontinu al pu rsuit of kno wledg e can lea d you into the r eal m of highe r be ing for Plato. This world is a c orrup ted mode l ba sed on the idea l real m of the forms. The idea l real m is a world in which you wou ld have pu re k no wledg e of idea l forms of the con cep tua l ob jects tha t exist on ea rth. You shou ld strive to unde rstan d the c on cep ts tha t y ou use, an d pa rt of the process of the goo d life is engag ing in intellectua l an alysis of the se c on cep ts. Socrates did no t care much for material wea lth or adven tures. He claims to have only left A then s for military service, so he did no t travel much. Instead , he spen t a lot of time wande ring aroun d A then s engag ing othe rs in ph ilosoph ical discussions. In the Apolog y, Socrates claims tha t he shou ld r eceive free mea ls as his pun ishmen t for all the service tha t he provide d Athen s. He c laims tha t he neg lected his bu sine ss affairs be cau se he c ared more abou t the states of Athen ian sou ls. The goo d life for Socrates was on e in which a pe rson s ough t wisdo m an d cr itically evalua ted his or he r presupp osition s in orde r to c ome into kno wledg e of the truth. This truth see ms to lie in ano the r realm tha t is distinct from the ea rth. Y ou c anno t trust the sen sible world to provide the truth. Instead , you see k a vision of the Goo d in the idea l real m of the forms. PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 3 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title Aristotle Ar istotle wrote abou t everything from na ture an d logi c to metaph ysics an d ethics. He re we will talk abou t his most well-kno wn ethical work called Nicomachea n E thics . In this work, Aristotle ou tline s his own r espo nse to the que stion of the goo d life. Aristotle claims tha t all human action s see k some good . All human s de sire on e thing in all their action s, an d tha t thing is happ ine ss. Happ ine ss he re is a tran slation of the Gree k word eudai moni a, an d s hould be though t of more as “ hu man flou rishing ” rathe r tha n happ ine ss. Aristotle says tha t all human action s try to bring abou t a state of human flou rishing . So, do not think of someon e ea ting a lollipo p an d saying , “W ow I am so happ y righ t no w…” as be ing an example of Aristotle’s con cep t of human happ ine ss. Instead , human s be come happ iest when the y are maximizing their arête (this word is often tran slated as virtue ). The word arête is be tter though t of as “be coming wha t you are.” W e all have an ide a of wha t we are in ou r deepe st be ing . Most of us be lieve tha t the re are un tappe d poten tials an d abil ities tha t are in us an d we see k to un lock tho se po ten tials. Maximizing tho se po ten tials is something that is extremely difficult to do , bu t Aristotle claims tha t the goo d life is do ing exactly tha t. Ar istotle splits up the virtue s into the moral an d intellectua l virtue s. In the r ealm of the moral virtue s (tho se in the r ealm of action ) Aristotle claims tha t we must c hoo se the intermed iate be twee n the extremes of excess (too much) an d defect (too little). The virtuou s act lies in a mea n betwee n the two extremes, an d the mea n c an differ depend ing on the pe rson , situa tion , and tempo ral con text. For example, on e of the moral virtue s tha t Ar istotle spea ks of is cou rage . The c ou rag e tha t is neede d for someon e figh ting in a war will be qual itativ ely differen t from tha t of someon e who ha s be en asked to k ill a sna ke in the c ompo st pile. How ever, both of the se even ts wou ld r equ ire c ou rage . Cou rag e is the mea n tha t lies be twee n the extremes of too much c ou rag e (foolhardine ss) an d too little c ou rag e (c owardice). Someon e who is no t afraid of an ything is foolha rdy, an d you c an find numerou s examples of this exc ess on You tub e or Ebau msworld. How ever, if you jump on the c ou ch an d start screaming be cau se the re is a Dad dy Lon g Leg s spide r walking across the floo r, you are sho wing too little cou rag e (c owardice). For Ar istotle, on e must choo se the r igh t amoun t of cou rage , in the righ t place, at the r igh t time, in the righ t way, with referen ce to the righ t ob jects, an d in r elation to the r igh t peop le. Some of the moral virtue s tha t Aristotle men tion s are gene rosity, cou rage , friend ship, magnani mity, prope r pride , an d sen se of humor. M aximizing moral virtue for Aristotle involves find ing the mea n be twee n the extremes an d c on tinual ly practicing virtuou s acts un til the y be come ha bitual. In add ition to the moral virtue s, Aristotle also claims tha t peop le must maximize the ir intellectual virtue s. Aristotle splits up the mind into multiple pa rts, bu t we will focus on the du ality of the human mind in r elation to the practical an d the theo retical. Aristotle claims tha t the goo d of the practical side of the mind is pruden ce (ph rone sis). Pr uden ce is the ability to bring abo ut the goo d in you r own life. It involves deal ing with c on crete ob jects an d situa tion s an d making de cision s tha t lea d to an ultimately flou rishing life. For example, tho se who were prud ent be fore the econ omic do wnturn did no t comm it themselves be yon d wha t the y c ou ld hand le finan cially. The y were ab le to live within the ir mean s an d were ab le to circumven t the lack of flou rishing tha t be came pa rt of man y peop le’s lives. The othe r side of the mind is the theo retical aspe ct of the m ind an d A ristotle c laims that the goo d of this side is wisdo m (sophi a). W isdo m is kno wledg e of fund amen tal principles tha t are graspe d throug h tha t part of the mind tha t is un chang ing . In orde r to prope rly flou rish in the real m of the mind , you must have “ stree t smarts” as well as “theo retical k no wledge .” It is no t enoug h to just have stree t smarts or theo ry; you must have bo th in orde r to maximize the virtue of y ou r mind. So, Aristotle tells us tha t the goo d life is the maximization of ou r action s in the r eal m of moral virtue , as well as the maximization of the intellect both practically an d theo retically. The goo d life is be coming wha t we k no w we are an d un locking tho se po ten tials tha t we see in ou rselves. Stoicism W he n a stoic confron ts his or he r world, he or she sees the goo d life be ing on e in which he or she ha s let go of all emotiona l bond s and attachmen ts. This migh t see m hea rtless at first. Ho we ver, the go al of relea sing one self Too Little Virtue Too Much Cowardice Cou rage Foolhardiness PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 4 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title from emotion al attachmen ts is to avoid the pa ins tha t ne cessarily arise when we lose those ob jects. Epictetus was a Ro man slave in the secon d c en tury who ou tline d Stoic do ctrine in multiple writing s. He claims tha t on e shou ld no t think of family as loved one s, bu t merely as strange rs. Tha t way, whe n the y die, you will no t be disturbed . One shou ld live simply an d ea t meage rly. Peop le shou ld no t go to ga mes (he re the glad iatorial games, bu t we c ou ld tran slate tha t to spo rting even ts toda y), an d if the y do go , the y shou ld no t sho w much emotion . One shou ld r efrain from using vile language . One shou ld live justly, pruden tly, an d hono rab ly. One shou ld k ee p dea th in focus, tha t way on e will no t ge t up set whe n someon e spills wine on the c arpe t. Thinking abou t you r own dea th makes it ha rd to ge t up set abou t the little thing s. Epictetus tells us to do the se thing s so tha t we will not be sub jected to the emotiona l pa ins of existen ce. W he n we c are too much abou t the world we ope n ou r lives up to suffering . The goo d life for the Stoic is relea se from tho se emotiona l attachments so tha t he or she c an live comfortably an d pea cefully. Epicureanism/Hedonism Hedon ism is the ide a tha t the goo d life is on e that maximizes plea sure. Epicurus ge ts a ba d na me be cau se he was affiliated with this idea. Ho wever, peop le wou ld much r athe r listen to simple statemen ts abou t hedon ism tha n stud y E picurus so let’s turn ou r atten tion to wha t Epicurus actua lly says abou t plea sure an d the goa l of life. First, you must unde rstan d wha t Epicurus mean s by plea sure. In his “Le tter to Menoe ceu s”, Epicurus claims tha t plea sure is freedo m from pain in the bod y an d troub le in the mind . This sound s a lot more stab le tha n tho se who c laim tha t Epicurea n hedon ism is life ba sed aroun d sexua lity, drun kenn ess, an d r ock n’ roll. In fact, Epicurus’s ow n idea s abou t plea sure align much more with Stoic idea s tha n with tho se who misrep resen t tho se ideas toda y. Epicurus claims tha t dea th is the en d of all sen sation . Epicurus be lieved tha t when peop le die, the ir con sciou sness turns off an d they en ter a state of no n- con sciou sness (da rk, drea mless sleep ). Becau se dea th is the ab solute en d of rationa l an d ph ysical existen ce, Epicurus claims tha t we nee d no t fea r dea th. Think of a nigh t of da rk, dreamless slee p an d you have the pe rfect imag e of wha t the afterlife will be . Freedo m from the fea r of dea th is on e step in free ing the mind from its own troub les. Epicurus claims tha t y ou can promote plea sure by ea ting a simple diet, having practical wisdo m (pruden ce), cau sing trou ble to no one , living hono rab ly, living justly, retiring from the world, having goo d friend s, an d ha rmoni zing with thing s tha t you c an not con trol. You c an see tha t Epicurus ge ts a ba d name from tho se who do no t rea d him. The plea sures tha t he promotes are more in line with r eligiou s an d S toic con cep tion s of the goo d life. The good life for Epicurus was freedo m from pa in in the bod y an d trou ble in the mind an d you achieved this throug h simple plea sures. Ka ntian De ontology Immanue l K an t sough t to groun d ethics in something universal tha t wou ld make de mand s on all peop le at all times. Kan t’s goa l in his ethical phi losoph y was to estab lish the fund amen tal principle of morality. Kan t believed tha t so lon g as morality lacked this principle, it was ope n to pe rversions an d m isrep resen tation s. K an t also bel ieved tha t whe n peop le m ixed the pu re moral law with c on crete examples of morality or social customs, the y were no t doing ethical phi losoph y bu t merely do ing anthropo log y. Kan t’s ph ilosoph y is called deon tolog y, which mean s du ty-ba sed ethical phi losoph y. Acc ording to K ant, you have a du ty to ab ide by the moral law. The moral law exists prior to expe rien ce (K an t calls this form of human k no wledg e a priori kno wledge ). It na turally arises ou t of the will of the hu man an d the law itself makes de mand s on tha t human will. W ha t is this law? K an t calls this law the c atego rical impe rative, an d he provide s at lea st three formulation s of the c atego rical impe rative in his work The Ground work for the M etaph ysics of Morality. He re are some ways tha t Kan t pu ts the uni versal law into language . 1. I ough t onl y to act in such a way tha t I cou ld will the r ule of my action uni versally. 2. I ough t onl y to act acc ording to laws tha t I cou ld make uni versal laws of na ture. 3. I ough t always to trea t othe rs as end s, ne ver as mean s. 4. I ough t onl y to act acc ording to r ules tha t I wou ld make if I were the law- maker of the Kingdo m of End s. Kan t claims tha t the se are all verba l examples of the universal law tha t reside s in the hu man. W hat do all the se c laims mean ? Le t’s loo k at three . W ha t doe s it mea n to treat someon e as an en d an d no t as a mean s? W ell, tha t ba sically mean s tha t we c an never use peop le. To trea t someo ne as an en d is to r ecogn ize tha t the PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 5 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title pe rson ha s inhe ren t digni ty, an d tha t you must promote the pe rson’s own ends (desires) over you r own. You canno t merely use ano the r hu man be ing. Peop le use ea ch othe r for sex, ride s to the airpo rt, emotiona l sup port, an d he lp with moving , ride s to work, he lp with ho mework, or wha tever it m igh t be . W he n we go to othe rs be cau se we k now the y will provide for us withou t an y rega rd to the ir feeling s or own de sires, an d we merely go to them for no othe r rea son tha n tha t we k no w the y will do wha t we ask, we are using the m as mean s. Kan t claims tha t this is always una cc ep tab le. You must think of you r action s in terms of ho w you will be promoting the de sires an d goa ls of you r friend s, an d even tho se with who m you are not friend s. No w, can you still ask a frien d for a ride to the airpo rt? Of cou rse y ou c an . Ho we ver, the re is a way to do it tha t recogn izes the frien d as an en d ( pe rhap s giving ga s mone y, writing a than k you no te, or taking the frien d ou t to dinne r) rathe r tha n as merely a way to ge t to the airpo rt. W hen ever we use peop le, we are go ing aga inst the moral law tha t Kan t bel ieves lies in all of us. Le t’s loo k at on e no w. W he n K an t says tha t we shou ld act in such a way tha t we c ou ld will the r ule of ou r action s uni versally, he is saying tha t we c an on ly do thing s tha t we wou ld pe rm it all peop le to do in all instan ces an d times. For example, let’s supp ose tha t you were thinking abou t chea ting on a test. You c ou ld formulate a r ule tha t wou ld app ly to this expe rience. You c ould say something like, “It is uni versally acc ep table to chea t on tests.” Kan t says tha t we c an test the accep tability of ou r acts by see ing if we c an uni versalize the rules of ou r action s. W ha t wou ld happe n in a world whe re c hea ting on exams was uni versalized ? W ell, you can imagine that tea che rs would take some strict mea sures to try to preven t this chea ting . Perhap s tea che rs wou ld beg in giving indi vidua l exams an d wou ld stan d abo ve ea ch studen t as he or she wrote the exams. This is on e of hund red s of po ten tial ou tcomes of this pol icy, bu t you can imag ine wha t a difficult an d un comfortab le situa tion it wou ld be if ea ch studen t ha d to take the exam by him or he rself an d was overlooked by the ten se ga ze of the professor the en tire time (something that appea ls ne ithe r to the professor no r the studen t). It wou ld be impo ssible to un iversalize the ide a tha t you shou ld be allowed to c hea t on an exam. The refore, according to Kan t, you canno t pe rform this act. No tice at the same time tha t when y ou c hea t, you trea t othe rs as mean s to you r own en d of a be tter grade . You trea t you r fellow studen ts an d tea che r with a lack of respe ct as well. For Kan t, ethics is the result of a un iversal principle that arises from the human will. This principle is c alled the catego rical impe rative. It is the du ty of the human to act acc ording to this principle. Kan tian deon tolog y also focuses on r espe ct be tween hu man s an d the r ecogn ition tha t the othe r human ha s a worth be yon d price. The goo d life for Kan t is ha rmony of the will with the c atego rical impe rative in a life tha t doe s no t deviate from abiding by the universal law. Utilitarianism The fina l ethical theo ry tha t we will examine he re is calle d utilitarian ism. Joh n S tua rt Mill presen ts a tho roug h acc oun t of utilitarian ism. Utilitarian ism is a value- maximizing theo ry tha t claims that an act is goo d when it promotes the grea test amoun t of something of value . Utilitarian ism is also c alle d c on seq uen tialism be cau se it focuses on the ou tcomes of action s in de termining the be st act. Mill c laims tha t the goo d tha t utilitarianism promotes is happ ine ss. W ha t is happ ine ss? M ill claims tha t happ ines s is plea sure an d the ab sen ce of pa in. The refore, according to Mill’s grea test happ ine ss principle, an act is righ t whe n it maximizes happ ine ss or minimizes pa in for the grea test numbe r of peop le; an act is wron g whe n it maximizes pa in or minimizes happin ess for the grea test nu mbe r of peop le. Before we think tha t Mill is redu cing us to a bun ch of animalistic plea sure see kers, we must see wha t Mill says abou t plea sure. Mill claims that the re are variou s qua lities of plea sures, just as the re are variou s qu antities of plea sures. Quan tity of plea sure r efers to the amoun t. Six hou rs of read ing A ristotle is be tter tha n fou r hou rs of read ing Aristotle, be cau se y ou are ab le to rea d it for a longe r pe riod of time. Ho we ver, qual ities of plea sures differ be twee n variou s type s of plea sures. Mill recog nizes tha t human s are no t ani mals tha t will be satisfied with full bellies an d lots of sex. Instead , the highe r qual ity plea sures includ e the intellectual , moral, an d artistic plea sures. Hu man s like to see othe r hu man s do virtuou s acts, an d we often expe rien ce plea sure whe n we know we ha ve acted virtuou sly. In add ition , no on e wou ld trad e a diploma or you r kno wledg e for a wee k, mon th, yea r, or lifetime at Disne y W orld. This is be cau se we value the intellectua l plea sures over tho se of mere enjoymen t. Fina lly, few wou ld prefer a nigh t of goo d sex over 30 yea rs of an intimate an d loving relation ship ( althoug h peop le often act the othe r way whe n the y are un faithful). Mill claims tha t whe n y ou are ab le to promote the highe r qual ity plea sures in y ou r own life, tha t pe rson will expe rien ce the be st type of life. It is difficult to come to love virtue , wisdo m, an d beau ty, bu t if we c an , the re is a who le ne w world of expe rien ce an d en joymen t tha t are po ssible for the human . Mill also claims tha t we should promote the se good s in the lives of othe rs as well. If you have an ethical c ho ice, y ou must think of all the factors involved in the c hoice and choo se the op tion tha t promotes overall hap pine ss for the grea test numbe r. The be st type s of happ ine ss are PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 6 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title tho se of the highe r qual ity plea sures over the ba se plea sures. Acc ording to Mill, acting in the world in this way will lead to equal ity, flou rishing , an d the elimina tion of poverty an d disea se. Con clusion W e have ou tline d some theo ries abou t wha t it mean s to live a goo d life. This is the most impo rtan t que stion tha t we all face. Ho w can we live a goo d life? This que stion ha s multiple an swers an d often c hange s throughou t the c ou rse of ou r lives. This que stion haun ts us when we do no t make decision s tha t align with wha t we k now we are. This que stion looms whe n we m ake de cision s abou t ou r c aree rs, ou r families, ou r friend s, an d the way we interact in ou r worlds. All the r espo nses abo ve (an d man y more for that matter) are answers to this que stion . This cou rse ha s bee n focused on the que stion of the goo d life an d ho w we c an make de cision s tha t lea d to ou r ultimately flou rishing existen ce. You are en cou rage d to think abou t this que stion often , to evalua te y ou r life in terms of wha t you wan t, an d to live in such a way tha t you are ope n to c hang e an d willing to adap t acc ording to principles tha t promote no t on ly you r own c on cep tion of the goo d life, bu t also the goo d lives of you r friend s, ne ighbo rs, coworkers, an d strange rs. W e have all bee n given spe cific social an d iden tity real ities. W e can on ly work an d interact in wha t we have bee n given . Try no t to ge t bogge d do wn in chang ing the W ORLD , an d instead , focus on y ou r ow n little world an d the ways tha t you c an make tho se worlds be tter. Re member tha t critical thinking is a metho d of evalua ting life an d de cision s tha t will hop efully lea d to a be tter existen ce. It takes yea rs of practice, bu t hope fully you all feel that you have an unde rstand ing of the founda tion s of this mod e of though t. Kee p r eminding y ou rselves of tho se principles an d fix you r eyes on the fallacies an d de cep tion s tha t are inhe ren t pa rts of the human mind . This is the way to unde rstan d truth an d to make tho se de cision s tha t will lea d to the goo d life. Learning Activities (Non -Graded) To gain further knowledge of the material, including key terms, please view this HTML presentation. This will summarize and reinforce the information from these chapters in your textbook. Click here to access the lesson presentation for Unit VIII. Non -Grade d Lea rning Ac tivities are provide d to aid studen ts in the ir cou rse of stud y. You do no t have to sub mit them. If you have que stion s con tact you r instructor for furthe r gu idan ce an d information.