Q&A Hero

Q: If no actual duty exists, then William David Ross says that we should follow the appropriate prima facie duty when making a moral decision.

Q: William David Ross provided a rank-ordered listing of prima facie duties, so people would know which duty is most important.

Q: Duties that you might have that others might not have (such as attending class or not cheating on this test) are known as particularist duties.

Q: Immanuel Kant would say that it is _____________ (possible, or impossible) to legitimately exploit some people for the benefit of others.

Q: Once we have decided that one prima facie duty is more important than others, that prima facie becomes an _____________ duty.

Q: Rules that on their face appear to be reasonable are known by the Latin phrase as _______ __________ rules.

Q: Deontology is the logical analysis of our ______________.

Q: Are Bernard Gert’s 10 moral rules more focused on doing good or eliminating evil? What is the reasoning for his focus?

Q: Describe Immanuel Kant’s approach to ethical decision making. Might it be difficult to apply in a mass media environment? Why or why not?

Q: List the seven prima facie duties described by William David Ross. Did he place them in an ascending or descending order of importance? Why or why not?

Q: The duty to not harm others is known as: A mercy.B. reparation.C. a perfect duty.D. beneficence.E. non-maleficence.

Q: This example – if we want a cookie, then we should be nice to our mom – is what Kant would call an example of: A. a hypothetical imperative.B. a categorical imperative.C. a maxim.D. an imperfect duty.E. a perfect duty.

Q: Immanuel Kant’s discussion of “pure reason” is related to: A. doing the right thing for the purest reason.B. doing the most ethically pure act.C. his notion that purity is essential to acting ethically.D. his notion that we are not moral unless we make autonomous use of ethical rules; that is, having “pure reason” instead of following authority’s rules.E. the fact that his theory is 99.44 percent pure.

Q: Which of these statements about Bernard Gert’s modern approach to moral rules is NOT true? A. It is better to focus on evil than on good.B. Rules should be obeyed impartially.C. It is always irrational to disobey a moral rule.D. It is sometimes rational to disobey a moral rule.E. Decision makers should focus on the correct “moral attitude.”

Q: Bernard Gert’s list of 10 moral rules includes all of these EXCEPT: A. Do not fail to do good.B. Do not cause death.C. Do not cause pain.D. Do not deceive.E. Do not cause loss of freedom.

Q: William David Ross’ list of prima facie duties includes all of these EXCEPT: A. non-maleficenceB. fidelityC. veracityD. reparationE. justice

Q: According to the ethical philosophy from _____________________, good ethical judgments are best made by appealing to a broad general principle that should be universally applied, while treating as people as ends unto themselves. A. John Stuart MillB. Immanuel KantC. Jeremy BenthamD. John RawlsE. William David Ross

Q: “Performing a particular act is good but not obligatory” (such as helping a classmate study for this test) is known as a ________ act. A. supererogatoryB. morally neutralC. teleologicalD. relativisticE. deontological

Q: A prima facie duty is another term for an actual duty.

Q: While Immanuel Kant advocated pure rules, William David Ross focused on prima facie and actual duties.

Q: Discuss the pros and cons of teleological ethical approaches to a specific mass media problem in your discipline.

Q: If a journalist publishes a photo of a drunken driver who caused an accident on the way to the prom, and justifies it by saying This may embarrass one person, but is worth it because it will benefit many others in the long run, then the journalist would be considered a: A. deontologist. B. utilitarian. C. nihilist. D. ethical relativist. E. A and C.

Q: When gatekeepers apply definitions of newsworthiness (impact, conflict, proximity, prominence, etc.), then their decision-making process is similar to that encouraged by: A. John Stuart Mill B. Immanuel Kant C. Jeremy Bentham D. John Rawls E. William David Ross

Q: If we say that TV violence leads to desensitization in viewers, then were describing TVs: A. utility B. function C. disorientation D. beneficence E. dysfunction

Q: William Frankenas Theory of Obligation includes all of these guidelines EXCEPT: A. One ought not to inflict evil or harm. B. One ought to prevent evil or harm. C. One ought to remove evil. D. One ought to punish those who do evil or harm. E. One ought to do or promote good.

Q: Most consequentialist thinking focuses on all of these EXCEPT: A. the duties you have.B. what might happen.C. how to do the most good for the most people.D. how to do the least harm.E. how to maximize happiness.

Q: Everything is situational under the principles of: A. the categorical imperative.B. act utilitarianismC. general utilitarianismD. rule utilitarianismE. Peirce’s epistemology

Q: A crude way to say it is that a consequentialist says the ends justify the means.

Q: If we face the choice of stopping to help an accident victim or keep a lunch date, a deontologist might say that a greater good will be served by helping the victim, while a teleologist might suggest we have a duty to keep our promises.

Q: A person using act utilitarianism thinking is more likely to choose the right result than someone using general utilitarianism thinking.

Q: Clifford Christians and others argue that teleology is inappropriate because it does not take a persons motives or moral obligations into account.

Q: A person using teleological theory recognizes that people may be hurt sometimes by your decisions.

Q: “Teleo-“ is a term that relates to “duty.”

Q: A deontologist thinker focuses on the ___________ that a person might have.

Q: ________________ took the theories of Jeremy Bentham with a more nuanced set of insights for people using teleological thought.

Q: Teleological or utilitarianism are two terms that define ________-based ethical thinking.

Q: Compare and contrast teleological theory with deontological theory. Provide a mass media-related example.

Q: For 5 through 7, match the category of utilitarianism with its description. 5. Rule6. General7. Act A. Determine which maxims will bring about the best result.B. No use of rules in determining which action might bring about the best result.C. Asking “What would happen if everyone were to do this?” when making a decision.

Q: Of the seven dimensions of utility defined by Bentham, which one does NOT apply to individuals but instead applies to groups? A. intensityB. durationC. extentD. purityE. certainty

Q: Which philosopher outlined a “hedonic calculator” of pleasures and pains? A. John Stuart MillB. Immanuel KantC. Jeremy BenthamD. John RawlsE. William David Ross

Q: Most mass communicators, without deep thinking, tend to use consequentialism as their focus when facing an issue.

Q: Why does contemporary society depend upon propaganda?

Q: Why does propaganda work best on people with closed minds?

Q: To “do persuasion” morally, it is important to balance all of these EXCEPT: A. minimizing harm vs. truth telling.B. maximizing good vs. accountability/transparencyC. accountability/transparency vs. loyalty.

Q: Which of these is NOT a type of propaganda defined by Jacques Ellul? A. integration/socializationB. democratic/socialisticC. agitation/political

Q: Jacques Ellul argues all EXCEPT ONE about propaganda: A. It works best on closed minds.B. It is how contemporary society holds itself together.C. Intellectuals are often likely to fall prey to it.D. It is inevitable in contemporary society.E. It is not needed in contemporary society.

Q: The term “propaganda” comes from a Latin term meaning: A. providing semi-truths to the public.B. propagating truth-telling to citizens.C. telling stories.D. pinning new shoots of a plant into the earth to produce new plants.E. the creation of proper agendas.

Q: An advocacy culture assumes: A. buyer beware.B. seller beware.C. neither buyer nor seller beware.D. both buyer and seller beware.

Q: Former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart argued that the First Amendment makes possible free discussion; A. however, it does not guarantee it.B. furthermore, it also guarantees it.C. it makes it morally obligatory.D. also, it makes persuasive communication subject to government control.E. however, state laws also play a role.

Q: The textbook argues that persuasive communication can be ethical: A. at no time; it is inherently unethical.B. when it is transparent.C. when the persuader includes complete information on all sides of the topic.D. when the persuader includes a website with more information.E. only in written communication; never oral.

Q: People who advocate that the market can work fairly with little government intervention buy into ___ ________ ________ approach. A. a professional responsibility.B. a laissez faireC. an American idealD. a traditional utilitarianE. a moral relativist

Q: VNRs are to broadcast organizations as printed press releases are to newspapers.

Q: Product placement:A. involves companies being paid by moviemakers to show their products in films.B. involves where products are put on store shelves.C. occurs when companies pay media organizations to show or mention their products in movies, blogs, etc.D. is illegal.E. is inherently immoral.

Q: A persuasive communicator often may find it difficult to balance loyalties.

Q: Propaganda we agree with often leads to cognitive dissonance.

Q: By definition, propaganda is something only the bad guys do.

Q: Transparency suggests knowing the messenger, the message, and the motivation of the messenger.

Q: Early PR practitioner Edward L. Bernays argued that the public should not know it is being manipulated.

Q: Public relations practitioners like to call themselves PR counsel because their role is exactly like the role of a lawyer.

Q: Asymmetrical models of persuasion are more likely to be ethical than two-way symmetrical models of persuasion.

Q: It is against the law for the U.S. government to use propaganda on its own citizens within its borders.

Q: Persuasion and propaganda are inherently unethical.

Q: Milton Rokeach said the extent to which a person has an _______ mind is the extent to which a person can receive, evaluate and act on information based on its own merits.

Q: Caveat emptor means let the _____________ beware.

Q: Advertisements designed to look like news stories are called _____________.

Q: Apply the text’s model for moral persuasion in critiquing a recent political or advertising campaign.

Q: Describe the characteristics of a propagandistic message. Contrast it with a non-propagandistic message.

Q: What is the relationship between propaganda and cognitive dissonance?

Q: Describe the relationship between privacy and moral development, as suggested by Ferdinand Schoeman: “When privacy embraces some aspects of autonomy, it is defined as control over the intimacies of personal identity. At the broadest end of the spectrum, privacy is thought to be the measure of the extent to which an individual is afforded the social and legal space to develop the emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and moral powers of an autonomous agent.”

Q: Discuss at least five other values that sometimes come into conflict with privacy. Provide an example of each.

Q: In journalism, the key ethical struggle is between invading privacy and: A. causing harm to the person/group whose privacy you have invaded.B. the public’s need to know intimate details.C. laws involving privacy.D. knowing that if you don’t report it, someone else will.E. losing advertisers.

Q: This future Supreme Court justice, along with Samuel Warren, wrote an influential 1890 article in the Harvard Law Review that called for a constitutional amendment for a right to privacy. A. Hugo BlackB. Louis BrandeisC. Oliver Wendell HolmesD. John JayE. Thurgood Marshall

Q: Which of these is NOT a definition of privacy? A. The right “to be left alone.”B. The right to have “personal space.”C. The extent to which a person has “social and legal space to develop the emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and moral powers of an autonomous agent.”D. The right to “not have others talk about you without your permission.”E. The right to “to control dissemination of information about himself.”

Q: Ethical issues involving privacy occur in mass media that include: A. news organizations.B. online sites, such as social media.C. advertising and marketing.D. entertainment programming.E. all of the above.

Q: The key ethical issue involving privacy and public life is the ___________ _______ involving privacy and the good that can come from others having information. A. ethical issueB. balancing actC. categorical imperativeD. legal requirementsE. theoretical implications

Q: Most media organizations see privacy as a prima facie value that should be considered against competing values.

Q: Privacy issues are limited to our rights to be left alone.

Q: The internet has made it easier than ever to protect information that you dont want to become public.

Q: The U.S. Constitutions Bill of Rights includes a specific right of privacy.

Q: Ancient Greeks noted that there should be a distinction made between a persons public life (polis) and private roles.