Ethics Final: Chapters 7-18

Terms in this set (120)

What lesson have many people taken from the story of the Ring of Gyges
People are fundamentally self-interested
Which of the following is impossible, according to psychological egoism?
Acting to benefit others for the sake of others
Why isn't psychological egoism considered an ethical theory?
It aims to tell us how we do behave, not how we should behave
What does psychological egoism say about the acts of altruism?
They are impossible
Which of the following best describes the relationship between psychological egoism and ethics?
The truth of psychological egoism would mean that most of what we take for granted about morality would be mistaken
What is strictly conscientious action?
Any action performed because one believes it to be morally required
Which of the following must be true in order for the argument from expected benefit to succeed?
Both a and b
If one cannot conceive of any evidence that would refute psychological egoism, what does this suggest about the theory?
The theory is not being held rationally
According to the text, what does the evidence suggest about psychological egoism?
It is probably false, but it might be true
What would the psychological egoist say about someone who acts to avoid a guilty conscience?
Such a person acts out of a self-interested desire to avoid guilt
What is ethical egoism?
The theory that actions are morally right just because they promote one's self-interest
Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between ethical egoism and psychological egoism?
If psychological egoism is true, this supports ethical egoism
What would an ethical egoist say about a situation in which self-interest and morality conflicted?
Such a situation is impossible according to ethical egoism
Which of the following rights do we have, according to ethical egoism?
A right to pursue your own self-interest
According to the text, what is wrong with the self-reliance argument?
Both a and b
What is the relationship between libertarianism and ethical egoism?
Libertarianism and ethical egoism are inconsistent
According to the text, what is the best argument for ethical egoism>
Our moral obligations give us reasons, and all reasons come from self-interest
Which of the following is a problem for ethical egoism?
It violates core moral beliefs
According to ethical egoism, how should we regard the basic needs of others?
We should completely discount them
Which of the following claims about ethical egoism is not true?
It claims that everyone always behaves selfishly
Which of the following best describes the relationship between utilitarianism and consequentialism?
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism
What is necessary in order to gain moral knowledge, according to most utilitarians?
Accurately predicting the consequences of an action
Which of the following do most utilitarians believe determines the morality of actions
The actual consequences of the action
What determines the morality of the intensions behind one's actions, according to utilitarianism?
The expected consequences of the action
According to the text, what do most utilitarians believe about conventional moral wisdom?
conventional morality is mistaken in some ways but is mostly correct
What attitudes do most utilitarians take toward moral rules?
Moral rules can be helpful but can be broken if doing so is optimific
What attitude do utilitarians take toward non-human animals
If an animal suffers to the same extent as a human, the animal's suffering is equally important
In determining the moral permissibility of the death penalty, which is not a concern of a consequentialist?
Whether or not the death penalty is applied fairly
What does it mean for you to be a member of the moral community?
That you are morally important in your own right
Consequentialists all agree that
morality requires whatever act is optimific
Utilitarians can avoid the problem of adding up well-being by claiming that well-being consists in
the degree to which your desires are sissified
Utilitarianism requires that agents always
act to achieve optimific results
How would most utilitarians characterize the principle of utility?
It is a standard of rightness
Which of the following would the utilitarian regard as wrong in all possible circumstances?
Performing an action that is not optimific
Which of the following responses to the problem of injustice is not consistent with utilitarianism?
Justice is intrinsically valuable
What is the primary motivation for rule consequentialism?
It is thought to solve the problem of injustice
What is the attitude of most consequentialists toward rule consequentialism?
Other versions of consequentialism are preferable to it
According to utilitarianism, it is intrinsically morally right to
none of the above
Exemplary punishment is
punishment that makes an example of someone
An optimific social rule is a rule which
it is optimific when nearly everyone follows it
What is the fundamental principle of morality, according to Kant?
Act only on maxims that are universalizable
What did Kant believe is the relationship between rationality and morality?
Rationality requires us to be moral
Which of the following did Kant believe to be the central moral virtue?
Integrity
The principle of universalizability states that you should
act only according to maxims that are universalizable
According to the text, what is wrong with the principle of universalizability?
It permits the actions of principled fanatics
To have integrity is to
act in harmony with the principles you believe in
According to Kant, which actions have maxims?
All of the above
The Amoralist's Challenge is a direct challenge to what?
Kant's claim that immoral conduct is irrational
According to Kant, moral requirements apply to
all who possess reason
According to Kant, if two actions have the same result
none of the above
Which of the following is Kant's principle of humanity
Always treat a human being as an end, never as a mere means
When Kant talks about humanity, to whom is he referring?
All and only those beings that possess autonomy and rationality
What is autonomy?
The ability to decide which principles will govern your life
What is the only thing that has value in all circumstances, according to Kant?
The good will
When did Kant think that actions are truly praiseworthy?
When they are performed from the good will.
What is motivating a person who acts from the good will?
An understanding of what is morally required
What principle did Kant think tells us what criminals deserve?
Lex talionis
Which of the following characterizes cases of moral luck?
the morality of an action depends on factors outside of one's control
Which of the following claims, if true, would refute Kant's theory
People are not autonomous
Which of the following claims about non-human animals did Kant not endorse
It is permissible to treat them in any way we like
What does the approach known as proceduralism claim?
Ethical theorizing should begin by identifying a method for distinguishing right from wrong
When is an action morally right, according to contractarianism?
When it is permitted by the rules that free, equal, and rational people would agree to
What is the term for a situation in which everyone is made worse off when all pursue self-interesnt
Prisoner's dilemma
What was Thomas Hobbes's term for a condition in which there is no government to maintain order?
The state of nature
What did Hobbes think is the only way to escape from the condition in which there is no government to maintain order?
To mutually agree on a set of rules for social cooperation
How do contractarians seek to justify basic moral rules?
By showing that free, equal, and rational people would agree to such rules
How does contractarianism regard the status of moral rules?
They are objective
When is it permissible to break moral rules, according to contractarianism?
Whenever most others consistently fail to abide them
What is Rawl's veil of ignorance?
An imaginary device for ensuring that contractors make fair choices
When does contractarianism claim that civil disobedience is justified?
Whenever a law is grossly unjust
Which of the following best characterizes the attitude of Hobbes's character "the Fool"
He believes that breaking promises is unjust but doesn't care
Which of the following best describes the free-rider problem?
People can sometimes enjoy common goods without contributing to them
What is the ultimate point of morality, according to contractarians?
To promote self-interest through mutually beneficial agreements
What is the term for the idea that we have agreed to obey the law simply by living where we do?
Tacit consent
What is the conclusion of the consent argument?
Many people do not have a duty to obey the law
According to contractarianism, what fixes our basic moral duties?
The agreements we would make if we were free, rational, and seeking cooperation
What is Rawls's veil of ignorance thought to ensure?
Both a and b
Which of the following is a problem for the idea of veil of ignorance?
It is unclear why we should follow agreements made by people unlike us
According to contractarianism, what motivates the contractors to select the rules they do?
Rational self-interest
Which of the following are members of the moral community, according to contractarianism?
All contractors
Ethical egoism, utilitarianism and contractarianism all fall into what family of theories?
Ethical monism
What is the term for an ethical rule that may never permissibly be broken?
An absolute rule
What does it mean to say that an ethical rule is fundamental?
It is not explained by some deeper, more basic rule
Which of the following would an ethical pluralist not accept
In questions of morality, there are no truths
What is the argument from disaster prevention supposed to show?
There are no absolute moral rules
What is the term for the view that we are sometimes permitted to act in ways that forseeably cause certain harms, even though we are never permitted to intend those harms?
The Doctrine of Double Effect
Suppose someone could show that any two moral rules are bound to conflict at some point. What would this show?
There can be, at most, only one absolute moral rule
In what sense is ethical absolutism sometimes thought to be irrational?
Adherence to absolute rules can frustrate the underlying purpose of the rules
Which of the following claims states the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing
It is always morally worse to do harm than to allow the same harm to occur
According to the text, which of the following is a problem for the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing?
All of the above
What is prima facie duty?
A permanent, non-absolute reason to do something
Which of the following claims would Ross accept?
Justice is always an important moral consideration
Which of the following is not included on Ross's list of prima facie duties?
Promotion of beauty
According to Ross's theory, regret
is evidence that something of value has been sacrificed
Which of the following does Ross's theory explain?
Why we sometimes experience moral conflict
What did Ross think is the relationship between justice and well-being?
Sometimes behaving justly is more important than promoting well-being and sometimes not
How does Ross think we can know our prima facie duties?
They are self-evident
How does Ross think we can know what the right thing to do is when our prima facie duties conflict?
None of the above-Ross did not think there was a definite method for determining right action in such cases
Which of the following would ethical particularists accept?
There is sometimes a fact of the matter about what we ought to do
According to the text, what is the most serious problem for ethical particularism?
Some things seem to possess moral importance
What notion should be at the heart of ethical theory, according to virtue ethics?
Moral character
What is the relationship between duty and virtue, according to virtue ethics?
Duty is defined as what a virtuous person would do
What is a moral exemplar?
A person who serves as a role model
Which of the following does virtue ethics have a hard time explaining?
How we can know who our role models should be
What does moral understanding require, according to virtue ethics?
Emotional maturity
How did Aristotle think that virtue could be acquired?
Virtue is acquired through education and training
How do virtuous people differ from vicious people?
All of the above
What do people seek above all else, according to Aristotle?
Eudaimonia
What is a tragic dilemma?
A situation in which a good person's life will be ruined, no matter what she does
Which of the following is a statement of the priority problem?
Virtue ethics wrongly defines duty in terms of virtue instead of vice versa.
Which of the following philosophers believed that women are the moral equals of men?
None of the above
Which of the following best describes feminist ethics?
It is a family of ethical theories
According to the text, which author allowed feminist ethics to "come into its own"?
Carol Gilligan
Which claim did Carol Gilligan argue for In a Different Voice?
Women tend to react to moral conflict differently from men
What relationship plays a central role in the ethics of care?
Mother/child
Which of the following carries great moral value, according to the ethics of care?
Partiality
According to the text, what attitude do many feminists take toward rights?
they have been overly emphasized in moral philosophy
Which of the following is the supreme principle of morality, according to feminist ethics?
None of the above
How do feminists claim we can come to have moral knowledge?
By sensitively considering the particular circumstances
According to the text, which of the following is not a challenge for feminist ethics?
Partiality is sometimes permissible
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