Introductory Philosophy Short/Long Answer Questions

Take Home Midterm Exam for PHIL
Given that this is a take-home exam, the questions on this exam will require higher-order thinking skills, that you’ve been
cultivating through close careful reading of texts, and your practice thinking through and writing out questions posted
each week for live session, rather than simple regurgitation of material. You have all your course materials available to
you, so you want to show off how well you’ve synthesized the material, your critical thinking skills that you’ve
developed, and depth of thought. These are not research questions, and don’t require anything beyond the course
materials and the power of your own mind. If you’ve been keeping up with the material, this shouldn’t take you too long
to finish.
Instructions:
No external sources beyond the course material (readings and the content posted) are to be used to complete this
midterm. Given that this is the requirement of this exam, doing so is a violation of academic integrity. Please
review the section on Academic Integrity in your syllabus and what it entails. No collaboration is permitted on the
exam, either
Your exam submission should be a maximum of 4 pages double-spaced. You need to answer all 4 questions below
within this page limit, so make good judgments about how long to spend on each questions, being sure to spend more time
on the 2 longer response as they are worth more than the short answer.). This page limit does NOT include an additional
works cited page, which you will need to have, as you will be needing to cite your readings in your responses at times.
Exams over 4 pages will be penalized 10%.
It should be typed, double-spaced, 1” margins, normal font size (e.g. 12 pt Times New Roman), and submitted via
Blackboard in PDF format. Please use MLA style for all your in-text citations.

How to submit your exam via Blackboard: Go to the main page for the course on Blackboard, Click on Course Content.
Find the folder at the top called “Assignments, Exams, Essays”. Click on this. Click on “Midterm Exam”. You will then
see a box at the bottom that says “Attach Files”. Attach your midterm as a PDF. And then press “Submit”. I believe
you’ll get a notification telling you that it was successfully submitted, so be sure you look out for this. Be mindful that
technology can fail, so don’t leave it up to the last minute to submit your exam. Submit it a bit earlier in case you have to
resubmit due to glitches.
Late penalty: 10% per 24 hr period. See syllabus for more information on this.
Given that this is an exam, I will be happy to answer questions about the questions themselves, if you don’t understand
what they mean. However, I will not answer questions about the material the exam is based on once you start the exam.
As mentioned, live session and office hours are the times to be sure you understand the theories and the readings, ask
question, bounce off your ideas and arguments to questions I post, and ask me for help in clarifying anything.
Important reminders:
• No point form. You must use complete sentences to demonstrate understanding and your ability to communicate
at a university level.
• Answer all parts of the question and label your responses, accordingly (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4). Don’t put the exam
question in your exam. Just respond to the questions.
• Avoid fill your responses with fluff and padding that’s completely unrelated to the question asked. You
want to show you understand what is relevant and what is not relevant to giving a robust answer to the questions.
A helpful thing to remember is that everyone starts off equally with 0% on the midterm and then it’s up to you to earn the
grade you want. So put in as much effort as you can to show off your skills! In other words, you have to let what you
know show! Do your best and have faith in your abilities ����.
Questions
Total /30
Remember: These are not essay questions. Just dive right into your response! You must answer all 4
questions below.

Short answers (5 points each)
1. PASSAGE EXPLICATION: Explicate the following passage by Aristotle (i.e. Explicate = Explain fully what he is
arguing in the given passage, being sure to draw out and explain all the important claims, concepts, logic and ideas
that Aristotle is presenting here (NOTE: Do not simply restate the passage, changing a few words.) .
“Now if the function of man is an activity of the soul which follows or implies a rational principle, and if…any action
is well performed when it is performed in accordance with the appropriate excellence…human good turns our to be
activity of the soul exhibiting excellence…” (374).

2. APPLICATION: Kumar is a university student who’s into social activism. He’s worried in particular about the
environment and the tragic number of homeless people in Edmonton. In his philosophy course he has learned about
Taoism and wu wei, and thinks that it is advising us to be too passive in the face of pressing social issues that need a
lot of effort. How would a Taoist respond to Kumar concerning his criticism of Taoism?
Longer response (10 points each)
3. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: It might be argued that there are some interesting points of connection between
Epictetus’s Stoicism, and Buddhist philosophy. Draw out 2 commonalities between Epictetus’ Stoicism, and
Buddhist philosophy, explaining what 2 features you see as similar between theories, being sure to also explain
clearly how the features you select manifest in each of the two theories. In your response you must make use of
and refer to the readings by both Epictetus and Gowans, by citing (quoting, using in-text citations) textual
evidence (from the readings) to back up your claims.

4. ARGUMENTATION: Taylor and Wolf have different views about the criteria for a meaningful life. Do you think
Taylor or Wolf offers a better view, in terms of the criterion for a meaningful life? Offer one well-defended argument
for your view. How might someone object to your argument? How might you reply showing why your argument still
stands?
Tips for Q4:
• First, think about what they each argue. Next, think about the disadvantages and advantages of each
position they take on the criteria for a meaningful life. Then, think about which you think is more
persuasive and why given your evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages. Then you’re ready to start
writing your response!
• You will obviously need to refer to both Taylor and Wolf in your argument to make it clear why one is
more persuasive to you than the other, because it makes no sense to only discuss one of them when you
have to show why one is more persuasive than the other.
• Remember that your arguments must be well-defended! (Note: Each part of that argumentative back and
forth—your initial argument, the counter, your reply—is an argument).
• You are welcome to cite parts of the readings in your response.
• Your response should be organized into 3 paragraphs, with proper connecting topic sentences: 1) your
initial argument; 2) your counter argument or objection; 3) your reply showing why your position can
withstand the counter argument and is still more persuasive.