Questions about theories and principles
What does the theory say about a particular case?
A useful type of question is to ask how a principle, definition or theory would apply in a given case. Given a particular theory or principle, you can ask what it would entail about a particular example or case.
When thinking about how to make use of peer instruction in your lectures, it is good idea to use as much of your existing material as possible. You may already have a lecture where you want to talk about what various competing theories have to say about particular cases or examples. You might already verbally ask students questions like: "So what would this theory say about this case?" You can quite easily turn this into a peer instruction question. For example, in a lecture on ethics, you might use some standard thought-experiments to discuss two different moral principles: a sanctity of life principle and a consequentialist principle. You might then introduce the following case:
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THE SPARE-PARTS SURGEON Five patients are in need of transplants in order to save their life. One patient has five healthy organs, which could be used to save the five. The surgeon can kill the one such that no one knows, and such that the five others are saved. QUESTION: May the surgeon kill one to save the five? What does the Sanctity of Life principle say? A. Yes, it is permissible. B. No, it is not permissible What does the Best Consequences principle say? A. Yes, it is permissible. B. No, it is not permissible |
You can have a sequence of questions of this kind which ask how the theory would apply to different cases. Where you have two or more competing theories, you can ask how each of them would apply to the cases and compare the differences.
You can make this kind of question more interesting by asking students to vote on what they think about the case first. So in this example, you might first ask students to vote on whether they think it is permissible for the surgeon to kill the patient to save five, before asking them about what the two competing principles say. That can make vivid to students the process of evaluating philosophical theories by comparing them to intuitions about particular cases. In this way, it gives students a little practice at actually doing some philosophy, as well as serving as a useful check for you and them on whether they have understood your explanations of the theories themselves.
Which principle applies to a given case?
A variation on this kind of question asks which one of several principles applies to or conforms to a given case.
| Jones believes that his wife is having an affair on the grounds that he saw his wife with a strange man in a cafe. As it turns out, his wife is having an affair, but not with the man Jones' saw her with. On which theory of knowledge would Jones count as knowing that his wife is having an affair? A. Justified true belief B. Causal theory of knowledge C. Nozick's theory D. None of the above |
Which case conforms to the principle?
A second variant of this kind of question asks which of several cases or examples (listed in the responses) a particular principle or theory applies to.
| Suppose somebody takes your wallet, and runs away with it. Afterwards they are caught, and asked why they did it. Consider these possible replies: I. Anyone in my position would have done it. II. It was in my interests to do it. Too bad if it harmed someone else. III. Although the person I robbed is worse off, I needed the money more than they did. According to Singer's theory, which of these might be considered attempted ethical justifications? A. None. B. I and II. C. I and III. D. III only. |
Consequences of a principle or theory
More generally, you can also ask questions about what a particular theory or principle entails. Some examples:
| Suppose you endorse the Sanctity of Life principle. In that case, which of the following types of killing are impermissible? I. Executing a murderer as a form of punishment. II. Inadvertently killing civilians during warfare. III. Turning the run-away trolley to save the five. A. I and II. B. II only. C. II and III. D. III only. |
| Which of the following arguments would be valid according to the compatibilist theory of freedom? A. The world is deterministic, therefore there is no freedom. B. Freedom exists, therefore the world is not deterministic. C. There is no such thing as freedom, therefore the world is deterministic. D. None of the above. |