Philosophy

Q: Present arguments for "fair chase" from each of the following perspectives: consequentialism, virtue ethics, deontological ethics.

Q: Peter Singer compares "speciesism" with racism. Explain Singer's point. Using the concepts you've learned (from this and earlier chapters of your text) evaluate Singer's argument.

Q: What is the difference between animal welfare concerns and animal rights concerns? (Be sure to incorporate a discussion of moral agency and moral patience into your answer.)

Q: Explain the difference between therapeutic technologies and enhancement technologies. What are some conceptual criticisms made of this distinction? What are some ways that the distinction is claimed to be ethically relevant?

Q: What is the difference between genetic screening and gene therapy? Present a consequentialist argument in favor of either genetic screening or gene therapy. Then, present a nonconsequentialist argument against either genetic screening or gene therapy.

Q: The Human Genome Project was designed to alter and perfect the human genetic code. a. True b. False

Q: Some opponents of stem cell research argue that the early undifferentiated cells of the blastocyst have the full moral status of a person, and thus cannot be used in medical research. a. True b. False

Q: One of the central issues in the debate over embryonic stem cell research is the moral status of the human blastocyst, a fertilized ball of cells that is smaller than a grain of sand. a. True b. False

Q: According to the Human Genome Project, human beings' genes are 99.9% identical, regardless of race or sex. a. True b. False

Q: The "yuck factor" argument against human cloning holds that we ought to trust our gut reactions to certain procedures as indicative of their moral nature. a. True b. False

Q: In most cases, GMOs are an example of an enhancement technology. a. True b. False

Q: Embryonic stem cells are called omnipotent, because they can develop into many different kinds of tissue. a. True b. False

Q: All successful cloning produces a genetically identical reproduction of a full animal or plant. a. True b. False

Q: In most cases, prosthetic limbs are an example of an enhancement technology. a. True b. False

Q: Mammals have never been cloned. a. True b. False Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Q: If animals have value only in so far as they are useful for humans, then they have only instrumental, not intrinsic, value. a. True b. False

Q: We have duties toward animals only if they have rights. a. True b. False

Q: All vegetarians are vegans. a. True b. False

Q: A so-called "right" refers to a strong and legitimate moral claim. a. True b. False Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Q: Sentience refers to an animal's ability to a. Reason. b. Be aware of existence. c. Suffer. d. Communicate.

Q: Arguments that animals have rights usually appeal to a. Utilitarianism. b. Categorical imperative. c. Relativism. d. Natural law.

Q: Justifications for animal experimentation typically appeal to __________ reasoning? a. Utilitarian b. Categorical imperative c. Relative d. Natural law

Q: Globally, how many animal species are considered to be endangered? a. Almost 500 b. Almost 20,000 c. Almost 5000 d. Almost 15,000

Q: Singer begins his argument by comparing animal rights to a. Human rights. b. Children's rights. c. Women's rights. d. Natural rights.

Q: From the anthropocentric perspective the idea that we should curtail human activities to preserve a nonhuman species is generally anchored in which of our ethical theories? a. Utilitarianism b. Categorical imperative c. Relativism d. Natural law

Q: About how many animals are used for experiments each year in the US? a. 1.5 million b. 25 million c. 30 million d. 70 million Indicate one or more answer choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.

Q: Which of the following moral perspectives best represents Singer's approach to animal ethics? a. Natural law b. Kantianism c. Care ethics d. Utilitarianism

Q: Which of the following is true of vivisection, as it is practiced today? a. A conscious being is dissected. b. An animal is involuntarily euthanized. c. A person is involuntarily euthanized. d. A vegetable is involuntarily dissected.

Q: In light of the discussion in your text, which of the following gives the best reason to believe that animals have intrinsic value? a. Animals are interested in their own survival. b. We love our pets. c. Humane farming produces a better product. d. Hedgehogs are so cute!

Q: What would convince you to be a vegan? In your argument, incorporate the difference between veganism and vegetarianism. Be sure to refer to specific moral criteria (e.g., consequentialist theories, non-consequentialist theories, care ethics, etc.).

Q: Animals are moral patients if what we do to them matters morally. a. True b. False

Q: The article by William Baxter utilized primarily _____________ reasoning. a. Natural law b. Ecocentric c. Relativism d. Anthropocentric

Q: The word environment comes from an Old French word meaning a. Nature. b. Earth. c. Turning around in. d. A small boat.

Q: Ecocentrists are distinguished by their rejection of the anthropocentric idea that _____________. a. Only humans have intrinsic value. b. The environment does not matter. c. Endangered species are of no concern. d. Global warming is not a true concept.

Q: What does it mean for ecocentrists to regard a tree or a fish as a moral patient? a. It means that we must care for these life forms as a medical doctor cares for patients. b. It means that we must care for these life forms for their own sake, and not just for the sake of how it might ultimately impact us. c. It means that we can have indirect, rather than direct duties to these life forms. d. It means that we must, like physicians, "do no harm" when it comes to these life forms.

Q: In Deep Ecology, through what means is happiness gained? a. Through simple communion with one's local ecosystem. b. Through meditation and deep thought. c. Through possession of things. d. Through the search for satisfaction of wants and desires.

Q: According to anthropocentrism, what has intrinsic value? a. Humans only. b. Humans and the resources necessary to sustain human life. c. All intelligent life. d. The entire ecosystem.

Q: The old Native American saying, "before you act, consider the consequences on the next seven generations," is best described as what kind of thinking? a. Ecocentrism b. Utilitarianism c. Anthropocentric d. Relativistic

Q: What does a biocentrist/ecocentrist believe? a. A biocentrist believes that biology, not nurture, is the major determining factor in human development. b. A biocentrist believes that only biology can supply answers to fundamental problems facing the environment. c. A biocentrist believes that intrinsic value is not limited to humans d. A biocentrist believes that biological organisms may have a higher moral status than cyborgs, but they are not as physiologically advanced.

Q: How, in Aldo Leopolds ethics, are right actions to be distinguished from wrong ones? a. Right actions ensure the continuity of the natural world for future generations; wrong actions rob them of that inheritance. b. Right actions act in such a way that all members of the biotic community could will them simultaneously; wrong actions use some members as means. c. Right actions tend to preserve the stability and beauty of nature; wrong actions tend to do otherwise. d. Right actions preserve nature as a productive resource for valuable ends; wrong actions destroy it. Indicate one or more answer choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.

Q: A prudential argument for vegetarianism would be that it is a healthier diet for humans. a. True b. False

Q: By calling something a moral agent, we mean that it is a being that has rights. a. True b. False

Q: The idea of "equal consideration" refers to an equal consideration of moral rights. a. True b. False

Q: From a utilitarian perspective, animals have rights so long as they may suffer. a. True b. False

Q: Descartes thought animal consciousness was equivalent to human consciousness. a. True b. False

Q: According to your text, the "animal welfare" approach may serve as an intermediate approach, between animal rights perspectives and more anthropocentric perspectives. a. True b. False

Q: Ecocentrism relies on what form of moral reasoning? a. Utilitarianism b. Kantian c. Relativism d. Natural law

Q: A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.

Q: We ought to be concerned with the "greenhouse effect" and the resulting climate changes that may make life unfit for human beings.

Q: If there is no overriding reason to pluck the flower then I ought to let it be for its own good is to continue existing.

Q: If we destroy that species, then our children and our children's children will not be able to enjoy it.

Q: We ought to preserve wildernesses because they provide a place for personal rejuvenation, and aesthetic and mystic experiences.

Q: We ought to preserve the tropical rain forests because they are the sole source of lifesaving medicines like quinine, our most potent weapon against malaria.

Q: What is Transcendentalism? Name some main proponents of Transcendentalism and discuss both its precedents as well as its influence on subsequent environmental movements. Which contemporary approaches to environmental ethics strike you as closest to the Transcendentalists?

Q: Contrast an anthropocentric and an ecocentric view on deforestation. Consider specific forms of each approach, and the way each employs the various moral perspectives you've learned about in your text. Which approach do you most agree with, and why?

Q: What is the main disagreement, as described in your text, between ecofeminism and deep ecology. How does this difference affect the way the two perspectives approach environmental advocacy? When answering, be sure to consider the diversity of views within the ecofeminist tradition.

Q: The view known as deep ecology is most essentially concerned with the idea that people depend on their environment in many ways. a. True b. False

Q: Cost benefit analyses involve both assessments and evaluations. a. True b. False

Q: Because human interests in a livable environment often compete with other human economic interests, many find cost-benefit analyses useful for judging, weighing, and comparing benefits and costs. a. True b. False

Q: Some ecofeminists believe that the source of our environmental problems lies in the fact that we relate to nature by trying to assert dominance over it. a. True b. False

Q: Anthropocentrists value nature for its own sake. a. True b. False

Q: To say that a wilderness has prima facie value means that it must be preserved no matter what the cost to do so. a. True b. False Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Q: The cost of life in prison without parole compared to an execution is a. Slightly higher. b. Significantly lower. c. About twice as much. d. About the same.

Q: I'm going to work for that anti-pollution measure because if it doesn't pass even my own local rivers will be damaged, and then my health might be endangered and my sports and aesthetic interests in the rivers threatened.

Q: Which country has the highest incarceration rate in the world? a. United States b. Singapore c. China d. Russia

Q: To suggest that capital punishment is a different moral question for nomadic peoples living in tents, or other temporary shelters, than it is for societies with maximum-security prisons, involves what kind of reasoning? a. Utilitarianism b. Natural law c. Relativism d. Kantian Indicate one or more answer choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.

Q: Which of the following approaches to legal punishment best describes Davis' decarceration argument? a. Restorative justice. b. Deterrence. c. Retributive justice. d. Natural law. Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):

Q: There should be no legal punishment for crimes that persons are forced to commit for they are not really responsible for these crimes.

Q: While sure and swift punishment may not work for all, it surely works for those who understand the real threat of being punished if they break the law.

Q: Punishment ought to fit the crime.

Q: If we could be sure that a person was going to commit a crime, then we would be doing the right thing to stop this by putting him in prison.

Q: It is only right that someone who has broken the law should be punished by the law.

Q: To the extent that a person could not help what they did in committing a crime, his legal responsibility (and appropriate punishment) is diminished.

Q: At least while they are in prison they cannot do any harm to those outside the prison.

Q: Some crimes are so horrible that those committing them are appropriately punished with life imprisonment without parole.

Q: Describe the potential arguments against the deterrence approach to legal punishment. Describe the potential arguments against the retributivist approach to legal punishment. Which do you believe to be the more justified approach: deterrence, retribution, or some other approach to criminal justice? (Explain and justify your position.)

Q: Explain the role of structural bias in Angela Davis' argument for decarceration. What are some alternatives to incarceration that Davis suggests? Do you think decarceration is a viable approach to criminal justice? Explain your position by considering the relationship of punishment to criminal justice.

Q: Compare the positions of Mill and Kant with regard to the death penalty. Explain whether each defends or denies that the death penalty is morally justified. Be sure to explain the reasoning behind each of their positions.

Q: Since 1989, there have been _____________ convicts who were found innocent due to DNA testing. a. 17 b. 88 c. 134 d. 302

Q: Which of the following philosophical movements does your text associate with American Transcendentalism? a. Existentialism b. Utilitarianism c. Romantic idealism d. Empiricism Label as Anthropocentric (A) or Ecocentric (E):

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