‘Kevin’ and Free Will

Essay I: ‘Kevin’ and Free Will. For this essay you must take the situation of ‘Kevin’ as described in the Radiolab clip we listened to in class (here is a link if you
want to listen again)

(http://www.radiolab.org/story/317627-fault-line/)

and analyze it in terms of the three theories of free will we discussed in class. These theories are Hard Determinism, Soft Determinism/Compatibilism, and
Libertarianism. For each of the three theories you must explain the theory and then explain what a proponent of that theory would say about ‘Kevin’s’ situation, with a
particular emphasis on how a proponent of that theory would or would not blame ‘Kevin’ for what he did.
Essay II: Writer’s Choice. Compare and contrast the views of two authors we studied this semester. You may pick whatever authors you want, but one must be from Unit I
and the other from Unit II. The units are listed below. In answering this questions you should explain the positions of the authors you discuss and identify at least
two differences and two similarities between them.

Unit I: Epistemology
 Socrates, “The Apology”
 Descartes, “Meditation I”
 Berkeley
 Hume
 Ayer
 Gettier
 Narayan, “Feminist Epistemology”
 Buddhist Epistemology
Unit II: Metaphysics
 Descartes, “Meditation II”
 Ryle, “The Ghost in the Machine”
 Churchland
 Nagel, “What is it like to be a bat?”
 Turing
 Searle
 Montero
 Hinduism and the Self
 Buddhism and the Self

Grading Criteria for Exam Essays: The goal for the student is to provide evidence that s/he has read and considered the course material and is able to write
intelligibly about the concepts covered therein. You want to identify the prompt to which you are responding and provide evidence that you have understood the
material.

To earn an A, your responses provide evidence of the ‘B’ standards below, plus that you have really thought about the concepts covered in the reading and lectures:
 You use very original examples to illustrate the concepts of the reading.
 You apply very specific events or discussions from the reading to some new situation.
 Your writing is excellent and/or your style is very interesting
To earn a B or higher, your responses provide evidence of your having read and comprehended the material. In addition to the ‘C’ standards below:

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