PHI 325 Final

Which statement best characterizes the nature of a valid argument?

A valid argument is one in which the truth of its premises guarantees the truth of its conclusion.

Let's suppose that action A1 produces 20 units of happiness and action A2 produces 15 units of happiness. Also, suppose that A1 has .5 probability of occurring and A2 has .6 probability of occurring. If we calculate the expected utility of these actions, which action would be recommended (assume all other factors are equal)?

A1

Factory Farms are also called...

Confined Animal Feeding Operations

A passage needs at least three statements (i.e., units of a passage that can be true or false) to be an argument.

False

According to the selection you read from Kant, what is the only intrinsically good thing in the world?

Good will

Tooley argues that the debate over the morality of abortion comes down to what he calls the Potentiality Principle. How does Tooley argue against the Potentiality Principle?

He argues that considerations of "moral symmetry" falsify the Potentiality Principle.

According to the Land Ethic, which statement best characterizes human beings?

Humans are citizens of the land.

Which of these is a theory about the general nature of right and wrong actions?

Utilitarianism

The aim of a moral theory is to specify what?

What makes an action right (or wrong).

The harm principle applies to

both actions and omissions.

In doing philosophy, it is important to

use logic and be objective.

Identify the claim that most clearly represents a fundamental difference in the theories of Mill and Kant:

whether consequences or intentions are most important in determining right actions.

Identify all of the premise indicators in the following passage: "Climate change and global warming are real, and partially caused by human activity. Since these are the facts, and a healthy environment is crucial to the well-being of humanity, we should develop policies and plans of action now to prevent the worst results of climate change. And, given that no individual can do everything necessary to develop these policies and plans, we should require our governments to take the necessary steps. Therefore, the government has an essential role to play in our response to climate change and global warming."

"given that" and "since"

What kind of argument is one in which, if the premises are true, the conclusion is guaranteed to be true? (Two or more of the answers might be correct.)

- A sound argument. - A valid argument. - A valid argument with conjointly supporting premises. Choices a., c., and d. are all correct.

The main point of the Famous Violinist case, as related to abortion, is to show that... [choose the answer that best describes the main point of the case]

...although it would be nice if you did not abort, the fetus has no right against you to remain pregnant, therefore you are permitted to abort.

Which statement best completes the following claim: According to the Humanity formulation of the Categorical Imperative, a right action consists of treating other persons...

...as if they are autonomous beings, that is, ends-in-themselves.

Tooley argues for...

...distinguishing between "human being" and "person".

According to Peter Singer, the moral status of embryos depends solely upon... [choose the answer that best completes the statement]

...whether or not they are sentient.

Match the facts of the case with the person. 1. Request removal of feeding tube 2. Great pain from cerebral palsy 3. Dunked in chlorinated baths 4. Severely burned 5. Became an attorney

1. Elizabeth Bouvia 2. Elizabeth Bouvia 3. Dax Cowart 4. Dax Cowart 5. Dax Cowart

Which of the following most accurately presents the steps used in applying the Universal Law formulation of the Categorical Imperative?

1. Form the maxim, 2. Universalize the maxim, 3. Look for contradictions

Singer compares slapping what two sentient entities?

A horse and an infant

Which statement correctly identifies an implication of Cultural Relativism? (Suppose that Cultural Relativism is the true moral theory.)

A single culture's moral beliefs about some action, A, can vary over time—holding that A is permissible at one time and that A is impermissible at a later time—and yet their beliefs about A are always true.

Suppose that an entity, P, is a person if and only if P possesses consciousness and is able to communicate its desires. Furthermore, suppose it is true that it is morally wrong to abort a fetus if and only if the fetus is a person. Finally, suppose it is true that fetuses possess consciousness but are not able to communicate their desires. Which of the following conclusions follows from the above premises?

Aborting a fetus is not morally wrong.

Which of the following actions would a utilitarian recommend as morally right? (Choose the answer that best represents utilitarian thinking.)

Action 2, which creates 300 units of pleasure and 150 units of pain

Which statement best captures the core normative or moral concept of Regan's Intrinsic Rights View regarding animals' moral standing?

Animals are biographical individuals.

Which of the following best describes Descartes' main, general reason for denying that animals can feel pain?

Animals don't have any mental states.

Suppose someone, Paul, believes that the valuable future theory is true, thus Paul believes that it would be morally wrong to abort a fetus. What would be the most effective way, i.e, a way that goes right to the heart of the theory, to respond to Paul's stance?

Argue that any genetically complete human cell, if properly cloned, also has a valuable future, which is an absurd implication.

Suppose a competent, well-informed patient voluntarily states her request to die. She suffers from a malignant liver tumor with a very low probability of recovery, and she's likely to die painfully over the next two months. Identify how a Utilitarian would analyze whether the patient's request should be honored.

Assuming no family members and none of the medical staff are negatively affected, and the patient would have greater overall happiness (due to negating the pain that would occur if the request were not honored), the patient's request should be honored.

Why is it the case that the moral theories of Utilitarianism, and Cultural Relativism, cannot simultaneously be true? (Choose the best answer, the one that logically shows why the two theories are not consistent with each other.)

Because Utilitarianism is a universal theory, whereas Cultural Relativism is a relativist theory.

Why, or how, does the Valuable Future Theory not rely on the concept of a person?

Because it holds that some entity could, in principle, have a valuable future even though it is not a person.

According to Regan's Intrinsic Rights view of animals, which of the following claims is true?

Both human and non-human animals have intrinsic moral worth.

Is the following question primarily a question regarding metaphysics, epistemology, or ethics? "How can we be justified that our perceptions match or correspond to real events and objects?"

Epistemology

Ethics, as one of the main branches of Philosophy, overlaps with questions from what other branches of Philosophy?

Epistemology and Metaphysics

Which is the major error in reasoning in the argument below? (Choose the clearest answer.) "In the abortion debate, we can argue for the pro-life position by focusing on the fact that an embryo is biologically human; for example, normal embryos have 46 chromosomes and are genetically human. From these facts it follows that the embryo has the moral rights of a human."

Equivocation (ambiguity).

Suppose every competent, conscious patient with a fatal disease has the moral right to end their life-sustaining treatment (that is, they have the right to refuse further medicines or technologies that keep them alive). Suppose further that there is no moral distinction between killing and letting die (that is, suppose that Rachels is right). Given these suppositions, which of the following statements is most accurate? (Ignore the role of the physician in this question: just focus on the rights of the patient.)

Every competent, conscious patient, besides the moral right to end life-sustaining treatment, also has a moral right to active euthanasia.

According to the Land Ethic developed by Aldo Leopold, the land has genuine value only because of its relation to inherently valuable beings like humans.

False

Almost all physicians (medical doctors) are required to swear to the classical version of the Hippocratic oath.

False

Assume the point-of-view of a conscious, competent patient, S, in making decisions about S's own medical procedures. True or False: Mill's Harm Principle is theoretically relevant to assessing decisions at all three levels in the standard hierarchy of medical decision-making: informed consent decisions coming from S, substituted judgments about S, and decisions made in the best interests of S.

False

Both the moral theories of cultural relativism and utilitarianism postulate that the same moral rules hold true for all cultures.

False

Marquis' strategy in arguing that abortion is immoral is to identify the particular feature of fetuses that makes it wrong to kill them, whether or not this particular feature is what makes killing adults and children wrong.

False

One rival theory about the wrongness of killing that Marquis explicitly discusses and rejects in defending his Valuable Future Theory, is the Utilitarian-based theory that killing does not maximize happiness.

False

Suppose it is true that, as some scientific evidence suggests, fetuses cannot feel pain until 29 weeks of development. Suppose also that they cannot feel pleasure until this point. Lastly, suppose you are a doing a Utilitarian assessment of the morality of abortion. Given these assumptions, is the following statement true or false? "Prior to the fetus achieving 29 weeks of age, abortion is always morally permissible since the fetus feels no pain or pleasure."

False

Suppose that non-human animals have the capacity to experience pain and pleasure, and thus to suffer or be happy. True or False: Utilitarianism implies that we should take the above-mentioned capacities into account in assessing our dietary and scientific practices that involve animals, but only if the pain and suffering the animal experiences as a result of our practices also causes us (the humans) to have sympathy for the animals.

False

Supposing Utilitarianism is true, it implies that acts of abortion are always permissible when the abortion maximizes happiness for the mother.

False

The official position of the American Medical Association regarding physician-assisted suicide is consistent with (that is, compatible with) the state of Oregon's position on this issue as specified in its Death with Dignity Act?

False

True or False: The anthropocentric view necessarily implies that humans should give no consideration whatsoever in regards to how non-human animals are treated. In other words, the anthropocentric view is incompatible with humans giving consideration to animal welfare.

False

Warren argues that since fetuses have the potential to possess some of the five criteria she claims are important for being a person, abortion is not morally permissible.

False

When evaluating an inductive generalization, it's not important to ask if the sample size truly represents the population.

False

Whereas utilitarianism (e.g., Mill's moral theory) contends that both the intentions and the consequences of actions matter in ethical assessment, deontology (e.g., Kant's moral theory) contends that only the the consequences matter in ethical assessment.

False

Suppose that someone objects to Utilitarianism by arguing that it is too degrading to humans, because it allows, in principle, that a pig's life could possibly contain more happiness than a human's life. Which of the following best captures the essence of Mill's response to this objection?

Humans, unlike pigs or other non-human animals, are capable of a higher, intellectual type of pleasure.

Which of these arguments most likely does NOT commit the fallacy of hasty generalization?

In a group of 100 people, the first 80 who received medicine X were healed; therefore, all the people in the group will be healed when they take X.

According to the "human fetus argument' for the conservative view on abortion, the fact that a fetus is genetically human implies that the fetus has a right to life and therefore abortion should not be done. What assumption does this argument make that makes it ineffective in establishing its conclusion?

It assumes that the fetus having human genetics implies that it is a human person.

Tooley suggests that infanticide is important to discuss when thinking about the morality of abortion. Why?

It forces one to specify, even more so than when considering abortion, the exact nature of persons.

What kind of evidence would best refute Mill's response to the "too degrading" objection to Utilitarianism?

It is discovered that non-human animals are capable of intellectual and bodily pleasures.

Consider this argument: "If Darwin is right that evolution by natural selection occurs, then all species are the product of natural forces. All species are the product of natural forces. Therefore, Darwin is right that evolution by natural selection occurs." Which statement best describes the above argument?

It is not a valid argument.

Which of the following observations would most plausibly challenge the Cartesian view (Descartes' view) that non-human mammals do not feel pain? (Descartes believes that none of the non-human animals feel pain, but for the sake of this question and the answers let us just consider non-human mammals.)

It is observed that the same kinds of neurons, in the same areas of the brain, that are active when humans display behavior associated with pain, are also active in non-human mammals when they display behavior typically associated with pain.

Which of the following best describes Judith Jarvis Thomson's own assessment of the Famous Violinist case?

It might be true that you ought to be a Good Samaritan and keep yourself plugged into the violinist, but the violinist has no right to have you stay plugged in.

Which of the following is a plausible counterexample to the claim that "it is always morally wrong to lie"?

Lying to your friend in order to keep her from knowing you're planning a surprise birthday party for her.

What action was Dr. Kenneth Edelin accused and initially found guilty of? (Choose the most accurate, specific answer.)

Manslaughter

The Valuable Future Theory, as discussed by Don Marquis, requires that which of the following claims is true?

None of these choices accurately identify requirements of VFT.

According to the Moral Symmetry Principle (as advanced by Tooley) which of the following is most accurate? (Let A be an action that can start C, where C is a causal process that will lead to an entity, E, with a serious right to life; B is an action that can stop C, once C has started, thus preventing E from coming into existence.)

Not doing A, and doing B, are morally equivalent provided that the intentions are the same for both actions.

Which of the following statements accurately describe a consequence or implication of cultural relativism?

Over time, contradictions can arise in the beliefs of a single culture. Any contradictory beliefs between different cultures are equally true.

What is the only intrinsically good thing, according to Utilitarianism?

Pleasure

How does Warren argue that potential persons are not equivalent (in terms of rights, etc.) to actual persons?

She uses a thought experiment concerning the potential of the cells of a space explorer.

Which statement best characterizes English's graded view of the moral justification of abortion?

Sometimes late-term abortions are justifiable, and sometimes early-term abortions are justifiable.

Why does Kant disagree that consequences determine the rightness of actions?

Sometimes the way that supposedly good consequences are obtained is actually immoral.

Which view of animal rights could someone possibly accept, while at the same time accepting the "three R's" (replace, reduce, refine) in reforming medical research using animals?

The Anthropocentric view The Utilitarian view Both of the above views

The implications of the intrinsic rights view of animals is most similar to the implications of which of the following principles (in terms of how the principle applies to humans)?

The Humanity formulation of the Categorical Imperative.

Which account (or theory) of the wrongness of killing, discussed by Marquis as an alternative to his valuable future theory, most closely matches the account (or theory) put forward by Tooley?

The desire account.

In discussing the ethics of suicide, Kant states that "we see at once that a system of nature of which it should be a law to destroy life by means of the very feeling whose special nature it is to impel to the improvement of life would contradict itself, and therefore could not exist as a system of nature..." What is the most accurate way to characterize the conclusion in the argument above?

The intention to commit suicide creates a contradiction in conception.

In assessing whether we are morally obligated to help someone in need of charity, Kant suggests that a universal law could exist in accordance with this principle or maxim: "I will take nothing from him nor even envy him, only I do not wish to contribute anything to his welfare or to his assistance in distress." Yet, Kant contends that we should not accept this maxim. What is the best explanation of why we should not accept it, according to Kant?

The maxim leads to a contradiction in will.

Some moral theorists object that Mill's Utilitarianism is too impractical, because it takes too much time to calculate all the consequences, and therefore the utility, of a given action. Which statement best describes how Mill responds to this objection?

There are moral 'rules of thumb' that humankind has developed over generations that are justified by the Principle of Utility, and if these rules are followed they will tend to maximize happiness.

Suppose that Rachels' cases of Smith and Jones show that there is no moral distinction between 'X killing Y' and 'X letting Y die' (where X and Y are persons). Which of the following implications is most accurate?

There is no moral distinction between active and passive euthanasia regardless of whether it is voluntary or non-voluntary.

According to Singer's utilitarian analysis of animal experimentation, there are specific conditions under which an animal researcher should also be willing to perform the same experiment on a human as they would on an animal.

True

It is important to be familiar with the time line of fetal development in order to discuss possible points at which the fetus becomes a person (e.g., first movement, nervous system development, viability).

True

Kant's moral theory maintains that humans have moral duties to not lie, not commit suicide, do charitable actions, and seek self-improvement.

True

Searle's criticism of the Cartesian view of animal minds claims that, roughly, speech is a poor indicator of whether an entity (animal or human) has a mind.

True

Singer's view of the moral status of embryos maintains that once an embryo becomes capable of feeling pain, then there is something wrong that can be done to it because it then has interests.

True

Suppose someone argued (i) that there must be a precise cut-off point for when the fetus is a person or not, but since (ii) infants are in fact persons (as such, the fetus will certainly become a person when it becomes an infant), but (iii) we cannot say when the fetus is NOT a person, we should conclude that fetuses are persons from the moment of conception. True or False: In response to the argument above, Jane English would contend that person-hood is vague and complex, and gradually develops over time.

True

Suppose that an animal researcher could, and is willing, to save thousands of humans by experimenting on a chimpanzee with a specific capacity, C, to suffer. According to Singer's utilitarian analysis, the animal researcher should also be willing to experiment on a human with the exact same specific capacity, C, to suffer. (Suppose in both cases that the outcome would be identical in terms of pleasure and pain produced, all things considered.)

True

Suppose that one objects to the Moral Symmetry Principle by saying that positive duties are more important than negative duties. True or false: Tooley responds to this objection by emphasizing that when motives/intentions are the same in two actions, then there is no difference between them even though in one you do something positive while in the other you refrain from doing something. [You can assume the results of the two actions are the same too.]

True

Supposing that Cultural Relativism is true, if the people of a specific culture, C, believe that euthanasia is morally permissible, then that is a moral truth for people in C regardless of what other cultures believe about the morality of euthanasia.

True

Taken as a response to Singer's view of the moral status of embryos, the Valuable Future Theory provides a basis for arguing that embryos have rights or interests before gaining sentience.

True

The following theory of personhood is stated in the proper philosophical form for a conceptual analysis of person: P is a person if and only if P possesses (i) self-consciousness and (ii) rationality. (The question is NOT asking if conditions (i) and (ii) are true; rather the question is asking if the theory is stated in the proper form.)

True

The point of Thomson's hypothetical story of a child growing without limit in your house, in which you have no escape so that the child will eventually crush you to death, is to demonstrate that you have a right to defend your life (i.e., kill the child) even if others (third parties) aren't allowed to help you.

True

The valuable future theory, as discussed by Marquis, does not exclude the possibility that some non-human animals may also have valuable futures that give them rights.

True

Thought experiments--such as the cases of Smith and Jones, and the violinist analogy--are important in studying ethics because they help us test the limits of our values.

True

True or False: the conclusion of this argument must be true if the premises are in fact true. (P1) If embryos are persons, then ordinary human cells are potential persons. (P2) It is not the case that ordinary human cells are potential persons. (C1) Therefore, it is not the case that embryos are persons.

True

True or False: the following argument is valid. (Let A = any animal.) (P1) If A has a valuable future, then A has a moral right to its valuable future. (P2) A does have a valuable future. (C1) Therefore, A has a moral right to its valuable future.

True

Warren and Thomson both agree, at least, that some abortions are morally permissible. But, Warren believes Thomson makes a mistake in granting to the pro-life advocate the assumption that the fetus is a person.

True

What is wrong with lying, according to Kant's moral theory, is that when you form the maxim that permits you to tell a lie, you are willing that there exists a universal law that is inherently contradictory: you are holding, essentially, that it is okay to attempt to deceive the person you lie to, while also holding that it is impossible for you to deceive the person you are lying to.

True

Which two actions listed below do the values of Self-Determination and Individual Well-Being support as morally permissible, as discussed and argued by Dan Brock?

Voluntary active euthanasia and voluntary ending of life-sustaining treatment.

If Mill's Harm Principle is true, then what does it necessarily imply about the morality of abortion?

Whether abortion is permissible or impermissible depends on whether it causes harm.

Warren argues that since the fetus meets none of the criteria for being a person, abortion is therefore always morally permissible. What is Warren assuming in making this argument?

Whether the fetus is a person is in fact relevant to the question of the morality of abortion.