Philosophy - Two Parts Short Assignment

PART A

Pick one question below and write a substantive post with >100 words. Please try to provide evidence(s) to support your idea(s). Questions: • Why does Marx hold that there is nothing natural about our

fundamental moral convictions, and that in fact they are the product of forces of which we are entirely unaware? What forces does he have in mind?

• Why would a Marxist be suspicious of the contemporary moral/political focus on rights and liberties? How would they critically interpret such a moral/political focus?

• What does Marx mean when he claims that morality is inherently bourgeoisand a product of false consciousness? Is he right to do so?

• Is Marx critical of all morality, or only a bourgeois morality? Could there be a Marxist account of a ‘morality of the future’ once we overcome the inherent class conflicts within capitalist society? Would there be any need for morality in such a future society, if Marx is right?

• Why does Nietzsche hold that morality is a means by which the ordinary impose their will over the exceptional, and thereby enforce mediocrity?

• What does Nietzsche mean when he argues that morality arises out of ressentiment? Does it?

• What are the two main elements of the ‘morality of the weak’, according to Nietzsche? How are they meant to undermine and frustrate the will of those who are exceptional?

• Why does Nietzsche argue that the ‘death of God’ leads to both a crisis and an opportunity?

• What are the main points on which Marx and Nietzsche are in agreement in their respective critiques of morality? (Try to list at least three points of agreement).

• Have capitalist societies made moral progress since (say) the second world war? How might this issue be relevant to evaluating Marx and Nietzsche’s critiques of morality?

• To what extent could it be argued that Marx and Nietzsche’s critiques of morality effectively presuppose a Kantian or utilitarian conception of morality? How might one appeal to virtue ethics to respond to these critiques?