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Q:
Which of the following was not one of the founders of utilitarianism?
a. James Mill
b. Jeremy Bentham
c. John Stuart Mill
d. Rene Descartes
Q:
Which of the following is not necessary to act morally according to utilitarianism?
a. To consider all the variables involved in an action.
b. To act as the majority wishes.
c. To consider all people to be of equal value.
d. To produce a result that produces the greatest good for the greatest number.
Q:
Rule Utilitarianism asks that we consider the consequences of each act
a. Separately.
b. According to a clear set of rules.
c. As a general practice.
d. On the greatest number.
Q:
According to utilitarianism which of the following is an intrinsic good?
a. Love
b. Justice
c. Pleasure
d. Power
Q:
The trolley problem is used to illustrate which of the following?
a. The complexity of calculating morality using a cost-benefit analysis.
b. The difficulty involved in making utilitarian decisions.
c. The morality of public vs. private transportation.
d. The basis of rule utilitarianism.
Indicate one or more answer choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.
Q:
During which centuries did Bentham and Mill publish their utilitarian theories?
a. The 1600s and 1700s (A.C.E.).
b. The 1700s and 1800s (A.C.E.).
c. The 1800s and 1900s (A.C.E.).
d. The 1900s and 2000s (A.C.E.).
Label as the better choice on utilitarian calculations, A or B, using a scale of -10 (very painful) to +10 (very pleasurable) for degrees of pleasure or happiness.
Q:
A will bring 5 people each 8 days of pleasure and 3 people each 2 days of pain,
B will bring 8 people each 3 days of pleasure and 1 person 3 days of pain.
Q:
A makes 10 people very happy and 2 people very unhappy,
B makes 8 people moderately happy and 1 person mildly unhappy.
Of which kind of reasoning, Act (A) or Rule (R) Utilitarianism, are the following examples?
Q:
We ought to observe copyright rules because if we did not then no one's intellectual property would be safe and this would be a very bad outcome.
Q:
If everyone cut in that line, then there would be chaos and that would be bad, so I ought not cut in the line but go to the end.
Label as the better choice on utilitarian calculations, A or B, using a scale of -10 (very painful) to +10 (very pleasurable) for degrees of pleasure or happiness.
Q:
A makes 5 people happy and no one unhappy,
B makes 9 people happy and me unhappy.
Of which kind of reasoning, Act (A) or Rule (R) Utilitarianism, are the following examples?
Q:
According to utilitarian moral theory, happiness is an instrumental good.
a. True
b. False
Q:
In his work, Utilitarianism, Mill's test or basis for distinguishing higher from lower pleasures is the preference of those who have experience of both.
a. True
b. False
Q:
According to utilitarianism, an act that makes some people happy and others unhappy can never be morally right.
a. True
b. False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Q:
Describe the ways that Adam Smith's economic theory and Ayn Rand's social philosophy are similar.
Q:
Explain the prisoner's dilemma. How does the prisoner's dilemma pose a problem for egoism?
Q:
Utilitarianism is an egoistic moral theory.
a. True
b. False
Q:
In his Utilitarianism Mill answers those who say that his theory is a crass pleasure theory, fit only for beasts, by suggesting ways that humans make qualitative (and not just quantitative) distinctions between types of pleasure.
a. True
b. False
Q:
According to act utilitarianism, if it produces more net utility (or "happiness") to give money to famine relief, even though I had promised to payback a friend with that money, then I ought to give the money to the relief fund.
a. True
b. False
Q:
According to Bentham, some pleasures may be more valuable than others but only in so far as they are of greater intensity or duration.
a. True
b. False
Q:
In the reading from Utilitarianism Mill writes that we have learned by experience that murder and theft are wrong because they are generally injurious to human happiness.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Utilitarianism says that utility is identical to pleasure.
a. True
b. False
Q:
The reason that Mill believes pleasure is the only intrinsic good is because he believes it is the only thing that everyone desires for its own sake.
a. True
b. False
Q:
According to Mill, the only evidence we have that something is desirable in itself (as an end) is that people do, in fact, desire it.
a. True
b. False
Q:
The following is an example of the reasoning of a rule utilitarian: "If the practice of lying is bad, then one ought not to lie now, even if in this case to lie would actually bring about better consequences."
a. True
b. False
Q:
Both Bentham and Mill hold that some pleasures are better in kind than others.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Utilitarianism is a relativistic moral theory, for it recognizes that what is good in some circumstances is not always good in others.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Which of the following is NOT true of Hobbes' social contract theory?
a. It is both a political and a moral position.
b. It assumes that a person's agreement to social rules will be grounded in self-interest.
c. It assumes that the outcome of the social contract will be a democratic government.
d. It assumes that a person's agreement to social rules will be rational.
Q:
The term 'altruism' refers to
a. Universal ethical egoism.
b. Selfishness.
c. Selfless action.
d. Psychological egoism.
Q:
What is reciprocal altruism? How can psychological egoism and/or ethical egoism account for reciprocal altruism? Can psychological egoism and/or ethical egoism account for all forms of altruism (even apparently non-reciprocal instances)?
Q:
All of the following are used to evaluate ethical egoism except
a. Grounding in Psychological egoism.
b. Consistency and coherence.
c. Conformity to commonsense morality.
d. Effectiveness in satisfying individual interest.
Q:
According to individual ethical egoism one should
a. Ignore the needs of others.
b. Help others to help themselves.
c. Do what is in one's self interest.
d. Do what makes one happy at the moment.
Q:
For psychological egoism to be valid, we must show that people
a. Act with an aim of achieving self-satisfaction.
b. Get self-satisfaction from their actions.
c. Use others in selfish ways.
d. Need to make other people happy.
Q:
In the story questioning Lincoln's ability to be selfless, Lincoln
a. Talked to the family of a fallen soldier.
b. Rescued a pig.
c. Entered the fight about Texas' right to become a slave state.
d. Ignored a person in need.
Q:
Which of the following is NOT an example of ethical egoism?
a. We should treat others well because we want to be treated well in return.
b. We should treat others well so they will treat others well.
c. We should work hard because a "job well done is its own reward."
d. We should work hard because doing so is a good model for our children.
Q:
The ring of Gyges can best be described as which of the following?
a. A ring of inheritance indicating royalty
b. A ring that represents a committed romance
c. A ring that can make the wearer invisible
d. A geological formation in ancient Greece
Q:
What does Glaucon want to demonstrate by giving two people rings?
a. Even "good" people will do evil if they can act without consequence.
b. The people have a deep bond with each other.
c. The people are children of the king.
d. People can be trusted with great power.
Indicate one or more answer choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.
Q:
What is the difference between these two claims:
Claim 1. "You shouldn't lie because lying will always come back to haunt you."
Claim 2. "You shouldn't lie because lying always causes someone to suffer."
a. Claim 1. would be a counsel of prudence, but claim 2. would be a moral claim.
b. Claim 1. would be a moral claim, but claim 2. would be a counsel of prudence.
c. Claim 1. would be an example of individual ethical egoism, but claim 2. would an example of universal ethical egoism.
d. Claim 1. would be an example of universal ethical egoism, but claim 2. would an example of individual ethical egoism.
Q:
Which of the following terms describes an economic system with minimal government regulation or intervention?
a. laissez-faire capitalism
b. capitalism
c. socialism
d. communism
Q:
What is akrasia?
a. Weakness of will.
b. A character in Plato's dialogues.
c. A form of psychological egoism.
d. A form of ethical egoism.
Q:
Where did Ayn Rand immigrate to the United States from?
a. France
b. China
c. Argentina
d. Russia
Q:
Adam Smith believed that economic self-interest produces the best general outcome.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Psychological egoism is a theory that holds that we each ought to do what is in our own best interest.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Cooperation cannot be explained from an egoistic perspective.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Ethical egoism is a descriptive theory.
a. True
b. False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Q:
According to psychological egoism people
a. Act in ways that are harmful to them.
b. Often act against their own self interests.
c. Act in the way they perceive to be best for them.
d. Act out of deep subconscious needs.
Q:
Give an example of situational differences that does NOT imply relativism. Explain how/why the situational differences in your example defy relativism.
Q:
Discuss the relevance of moral uncertainty to both the relativist and non-relativist positions. Why does the relativist claim that moral uncertainty leads to relativism? How does the non-relativist counter the relativist argument? Which position do you find most convincing?
Q:
Describe Nussbaum's "central capabilities" approach. Why does your text refer to such an approach as both "weak relativism" and "soft universalism?"
Q:
Social contract theory is a form of reciprocal altruism.
a. True
b. False
Q:
One form of psychological egoism asserts that we always try do what we think is in our own best interest.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Ayn Rand believed that egoism was morally wrong.
a. True
b. False
Q:
To say that something is a normative theory is to say that it tells us what we ought to do.
a. True
b. False
Q:
One reason that people don't always do what is best for them may be weakness of will.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Social contract theory assumes that human beings are psychological egoists.
a. True
b. False
Q:
This type of ethical relativism holds that ethical judgments are the result of the moral outlook and attitudes of particular persons:
a. Cultural relativism.
b. Individual relativism.
c. Objectivism.
d. Atheism.
Q:
Which of the following sayings is commonly used to express cultural relativism?
a. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."
b. "To each his own."
c. "What comes around goes around."
d. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
Q:
G.E. Moore held that goodness is a specific quality that attaches to people or acts. This is a form of
a. moral pluralism.
b. moral realism.
c. moral relativism.
d. subjectivism.
Q:
Which of the following viewpoints necessarily implies that there are no universally applicable moral norms?
a. Metaethical relativism
b. Subjectivism
c. Descriptive relativism
d. Objectivism
Q:
According to your text, what is a straw man?
a. An argument that sets up an easy-to-defeat version of an opposing position
b. A scarecrow
c. A normative claim
d. An argument against relativism
Q:
Weak forms of ethical relativism hold that there are objective moral principles, even though they will need to be applied differently in different contexts.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Which of the following philosophers does your text describe as a proponent of perspectivism?
a. Nietzsche
b. Rawls
c. Nussbaum
d. Pojman
Q:
If two people have the same moral values, then they will always reach the same conclusions about what is right and wrong.
a. True
b. False
Q:
The view that moral rules or principles have no exceptions and are context-independent is known as
a. absolutism.
b. objectivism.
c. metaethical relativism.
d. pluralism.
Q:
The belief that what is right in some circumstances is not necessarily right in others cannot be held by ethical objectivists.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Strong ethical relativism holds that there is no objective good or bad, right or wrong.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Social or cultural relativism holds that what is right is whatever one's society or culture holds to be right.
a. True
b. False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Q:
Strong ethical relativism holds that
a. There is no objective right and wrong.
b. Right and wrong are not really knowable.
c. Some actions are more right than others.
d. All actions are equally moral.
Q:
According to Martha Nussbaum, the central capabilities
a. Provide the basis of respect for differences.
b. Can be realized independent of individual taste.
c. Can each be concretely realized in different ways.
d. Are contradictory to living an ethical life.
Q:
According to W.D. Ross, the fact that there are several prima facie duties means
a. That ethical absolutism is the correct approach.
b. There is a hierarchical structure to the universal value system.
c. That we are obligated to fulfill all of them.
d. That there will be conflicts of values.
Q:
Absolutism is described as the view that
a. It is impossible to know somethings.
b. What is good in a concrete case differs from person to person.
c. Moral principles are context-independent.
d. There are no universal norms.
Q:
Which of the following is not a reason for supporting ethical relativism?
a. Moral uncertainty
b. Diversity of moral views
c. Situational differences
d. Social cohesion
Indicate one or more answer choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.
Q:
Which of the following is NOT among Nussbaum's "central capabilities?"
a. Life
b. Religion
c. Bodily integrity
d. Play
Q:
Descriptive relativism necessarily implies metaethical relativism.
a. True
b. False
Q:
According to the text, moral skeptics hold that it is difficult or impossible to know what is good or bad, right or wrong.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Richard Rorry argues that there is no algorithm to determine precise answers about which beliefs are better than others.
a. True
b. False
Q:
According to individual ethical relativism, I cannot be objectively mistaken in my moral judgments.
a. True
b. False
Q:
If people disagree about some moral matter, their disagreement will always be due to their having different moral values.
a. True
b. False
Q:
In which society did tolerance and pluralism originate?
a. Western Europe, during the enlightenment.
b. Ancient Greece.
c. Ancient Rome.
d. Many societies across the world, throughout history.
Q:
After which major international conflict was the United Nations formed?
a. World War I.
b. The Boer War.
c. The Civil War.
d. World War II.