Phil 103 – The Committed Life 
[ Spring 2013 ]

Take-Home Exam  


DUE
:  Wed, May 8, 4:00 p.m. (or sooner).  Deliver hard copy to professor’s mailbox in CH 300.  No emailed copies without prior permission.


SPECIFICS :  worth = 25 points, length = 3-4 pp. (typed, 1.5-space, Times New Roman, 12-pitch, with 1-inch margins) 

INSTRUCTIONS :  Do one (1) of the three questions below.  Each of them involves two aspects: (a) a focus on one of Wolff's chapters/topics, and (b) its relation to the views of Hegel,  Marx, or Mill.  The first focus is more straightforward and should not be difficult if you've read the chapters carefully and paid attention in class.  The second requires more thought.  Begin, of course, with a basic consideration of the respective thinkers' views, and only then THINK of their implication for the concrete policy issues addressed by Wolff. This is the more challenging part of each question, but also the more interesting and creative portion.
  1. What is so 'bad 'about crime, and so 'good' about punishment?  How would Mill respond to Wolff's analysis (both portions) and why? 
  2. What different kinds of questions confront policy decisions about gambling?  How would Mill address the issue, and how convincing would he be on the matter? How do some of the unresolved difficulties in his position reveal themselves in this analysis?  
  3. Contrast Hegel's and Marx's conceptions of freedom. Then apply each of them to either (a) the formulation of gambling policy, or (b) the justification of legal punishment. That is, pretend to be a Hegelian or a Marxist trying to formulate policy in either case, justifying your policy in term of 'your' philosophy. (Be sure to avoid caricature!)  
As in previous papers, refer to the sources we have read (i.e., Abramson and Wolff) and use in-text references to cite or quote from them.  Add a Works Cited page at the end (not part of the length requirement).  Also, follow all of the rules about writing noted earlier in the semester.  


       
        P.S.: You may pick up your exams and any unretrieved papers in the department office after exam week.