PHILO225-24A Take-Home Exam Instructions

The Take-Home Exam will open by 11:00am Wednesday the 29th  of May. At this time, you’ll be able to see the 5 specific prompts (from which you will pick three to answer).

You should respond to 3 of the 5 prompts by writing along answer of up to 500 words (approximately 3 short paragraphs) for each.

Use only the materials provided in this course and your own ideas to answer the prompts. Write proper sentences and paragraphs and use proper referencing.

Submit your answers in one document via the Take-Home Exam linkin Moodle (in the Assessments

block). Use Word or PDF. Your answers will go through Turnitin and be checked for AI text generation.

The Take-Home Exam is due before 11:00pm Sunday the 9th  of June.

Possible Prompts

The 5 actual Take-Home Test prompts will be chosen from these possible prompts:

Your theory of wellbeing

•    Explain your personal theory of wellbeing and a strong objection to it. Defend your theory

from the objection (THIS PROMPT WILL DEFINITELY BE ONE OF THE FIVE ON THE TEST)

Theories of wellbeing

•    Explain Aristippus’s theory of wellbeing. Outline a policy that a government might

implement based on Aristippus’s theory of wellbeing. Say why the policy would be good or bad for citizen’s wellbeing in your view.

•    Explain Intrinsic Attitudinal Hedonism. Outline a policy that a government might implement based on Aristippus’s theory of wellbeing. Say why the policy would be good or bad for

citizen’s wellbeing in your view.

The science of happiness

•    Explain and critique Richard Layard’s argument about how neuroscience proves happiness is an objective phenomenon (as discussed in his reading: “What is happiness?”).

•    Is Mathieu Ricard (discussed in the lectures on the science of happiness) the happiest person alive? Clearly explain what it would take to be sure of your answer to the question and what  you think the answer is.

•    Should subjective well-being surveys be used to inform policymaking? Why/why not? If so, how? Be sure to discuss the Richard Layard reading.

The science of happiness and you

•    Imagine that friend told you that “studies show that you will be happier in lockdown if you   use video chat rather than audio-only chat with your friends” . Explain how you would check whether the claim is true. Include a brief discussion of what elements would be present in a reliable study on this claim.

•    Is it possible to create a measure of wellbeing that works cross-culturally (such that, for example, a 7 out of 10 means the same in New Zealand as it does in China and France).  Why/why not?

•    Explain a gratitude intervention and critically discuss a potential risk of increasing someone’s trait gratitude by a large amount.

Happiness in the future

•    Critically assess the impact on society of a pill that made people experience 50% more

pleasure and 50% less pain (assume it has no side-effects, that the effect never exceeds the 50% change regardless of dose, and that a constant dose costs $50 per week).

•    Assuming pre-implantation genetic diagnosis advances and it becomes possible to select embryos that are more likely to be happy humans, what should we do? Should we fund it, permit it (but not fund it), or ban it? Justify your answer.

Happiness puzzles, traps, and myths

•    Explain the paradox of happiness and critically discuss whether it works as an objection to prudential hedonism.

•    Ed Diener and colleagues present data they say supports the “James Dean Effect” (as

discussed in “End effects of rated life quality”). Explain and critique the James Dean Effect.

The dark side of happiness

•    Explain and critique Clive Hamilton’s argument that advertising makes us unhappy (discussed in his: “ Identity”).

•    Explain and critique Clive Hamilton’s argument that advertising fails to make us happy (discussed in his: “Identity”).

FAQ

Can I use my notes for the take-home exam?

Yes. You should use your notes and look at key readings again to help you answer the take-home exam prompts.