Contemporary Moral Issues

There is no common ground in the abortion debate. True or False

False

This branch of philosophy explores reasoning, both formal and informal. Formal logic uses deductive arguments like modus ponens (If p, then q. p. Therefore, q.) and informal reasoning uses different inductive arguments (like abduction, anological reasoning, enumerative induction, etc.) and examines informal fallacies (like the "red herring" or "ad hominem" fallacies). Epistemology Metaphysics Logic Ethics

Logic

Ethical nihilism states that morality is a fiction and that there are no existing valid moral principles. True or False

True

The optimistic atheist, Bertrand Russell, thinks that there is no problem to thinking that human beings evolved into rational, thinking, moral beings with immense powers of perception. Theists like George Mavrodes claim that Russell's belief in objective moral principles (which are non-physical) makes no sense in a completely physical world. True or False

True

The argument that claims that languages are often so fundamentally different from each other that we cannot accurately translate concepts from one language to another is termed which of the following? a. Indeterminiacy of translation b. Translation unpredictability c. Translation difficulty d. Transliteration

a. Indeterminiacy of translation

Louis Pojman states that conventional ethical relativism entails disturbing judgments about which of the following? a. law b. marriage c. cultural norms d. religion

a. law

Which worldview holds the following view of human beings: humans are simply constructions of physical particles moving in fields of force. a. Personal Theism b. Pantheism c. Postmodernism (Radical, Constructivist versions) d. Philosophical Naturalism

d. Philosophical Naturalism

Which of the following (epistemological) theories states that all knowledge and justified belief is based in human experience? ontology rationalism empiricism hedonism

empiricism

Which of the following claims that an action is right if and only if it results in as much good as any available alternative action? Rule Utilitarianism (RU) Act Utilitarianism (AU) Virtue Theory (Kantian) Deontology

Act Utilitarianism (AU)

According to Louis Pojman, Friedrich Nietzsche and Ayn Rand's perspective claims that we ahve an inalienable right to seek our own happiness and fulfillment. Which of the following would deny us that right according to their philosophies? Altruism Values Morals Egoism

Altruism

The theory that we should sometimes act in favor of other people's interests is known as which of the following? Altruism Psychological Ethics Descriptive Morality Ethical Egoism

Altruism

"If a man accepts the ethics of altruism, his first concern is not how to live his life, but how to sacrifice it. . . . Altruism erodes men's capacity to grasp the value of an individual life; it reveals a mind from which the reality of a human being has been wiped out. . . . Altruism holds death as its ultimate goal and standard of value--and it is logical that renunciation, resignation, self-denial, and every other form of suffering, including self-destruction, are the vurtue of its advocates." Who said this? Ayn Rand Friedrich Nietzsche Thomas Hobbes Adam Smith

Ayn Rand

REASON is the only source of knowledge and guide to action - to live by the work of one's own mind. PRODUCTIVE WORK is the process by which man's mind supports and sustains life - encompasses the most complete and purposeful use of the mind. PRIDE is something one earns by working toward one's own moral perfection - we are required to reject any philosophy, doctrine or religion that preaches self-denial as a virtuous moral duty; to reject any role of sacrificial animal. Who claimed that we should care about these things? Ayn Rand Friedrich Nietzsche Thomas Hobbes Adam Smith

Ayn Rand

Which of the following are the UNIMPORTANT questions according to J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig? Can an atheist believe that objective moral properties (e.g., goodness, badness, rightness, wrongness) exist? If objective moral properties exist, can an atheist reasonably claim that we have an obligation to obey the moral law or adhere to objective moral values? Can an atheist live a moral life? Can atheists recognize moral values? On atheism, are we accountable to keeping (i.e. obeying/disobeying) the moral law (assuming it exists)?

Can an atheist live a moral life? Can atheists recognize moral values?

Which are the IMPORTANT questions according to J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig when discussing atheism and morality? (Presentation) Can an atheist say that objective moral properties (e.g., goodness, rightness, wrongness, badness) exist? On atheism, do humans have an obligation (or duty) to obey the moral law, or live in accordance with moral properties? Can an atheist live a moral life? Can atheists recognize moral values? On atheism, are humans accountable for keeping/not keeping (i.e. obeying/disobeying) the moral law?

Can an atheist say that objective moral properties (e.g., goodness, rightness, wrongness, badness) exist? On atheism, do humans have an obligation (or duty) to obey the moral law, or live in accordance with moral properties? On atheism, are humans accountable for keeping/not keeping (i.e. obeying/disobeying) the moral law?

Carl F. H. Henry said the following: "Biblical ethics discredits an autonomous morality. It gives theonomous ethics in its classic form--the identification of the moral law with the Divine will. In Hebrew-Christian revelation, distinctions in ethics reduce to what is good or what is pleasing, and to what is wicked or displeasing to the Creator-God alone. The biblical view maintains always a dynamic statement of values, refusing to sever the elements of morality from the will of God. . . . The good is what the Creator-Lord does and commands. He is the creator of the moral law, and defines its very nature." This is a good statement of __________________________. Divine Command Theory The Euthyphro Dilemma The Autonomy Thesis The Dependency Thesis

Divine Command Theory

"Does the soul exist?" is a theological, not a metaphysical question. True or False

False

(Philosophical Naturalism) Strong Scientism says that the hard sciences yield the best knowledge, but some other knowledge can sometimes be useful from the softer sciences (e.g. sociology and political science) and other disciplines. True or False

False

According to Immanuel Kant, moral obligations are hypothetical in nature. True or False

False

According to Kant the moral worth of an act is determined by its consequences. True or False

False

According to Kant, an obligation or "ought" is categorical when it is something we ought to do in order to achieve some ends or goals that we have. True or False

False

According to Kant, the shopkeeper who charges an equal price of all her customers because she likes them is acting "out of duty." True or Flase

False

According to Kant, to act with a "good will" means to do what will benefit others. True or False

False

According to Louis Pojman's text, the autonomous person is a rational person whose actions are motivated by the authority of others. True or False

False

According to the Roe v. Wade decision, the "right to privacy" is absolute True or False

False

According to utilitarianism, an act that makes some people happy and others unhappy can never be morally right. True or False

False

Both Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill hold that some pleasures are better in kind than others. True or False

False

CONTEMPORARY (i.e. POSTMODERN) TOLERANCE: A person holds her views as true and her opponents' as false. She still respects her opponent as a person. True or False

False

Cultural relativism is by itself able to establish the truth of ethical relativism. True or False

False

Deontology claims that good consequences make an action right. True or False

False

Dilation and Curettage (D&C) Abortion: Forceps are used to deliver the torso of the second- and third-trimester fetus before the skull is punctured and cranial contents [i.e. brains] suctioned out, and then delivery is completed. True or False

False

Empiricists claim that our ability to discern morality is based in the notion that knowledge is implanted into us by God. True or False

False

Ethical relativism as a doctrine states that there are universal moral standards that apply to all humans at all times. True or False

False

Finding one action that is right/wrong across all locations and all time periods humans exist would not show that ethical relativism (both forms--conventional/cultural and individual/subjective) is false. True or False

False

For John Stuart Mill, the spiritual or achieved pleasures tend to be short-lived and temporary. True or False

False

For the Ancient and Medieval philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas, there are no more ethical questions for the last person on earth because the whole ethical project consists of the rules of right and wrong with regards to other people. True or False

False

Frederick Copleston (Christian philosopher) debated the famous atheist, Bertrand Russell, on BBC Radio in 1948. In their debate, they did not discuss the Moral (Axiological) Argument for God's existence. True or False

False

Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) did not hold to "the autonomy thesis." True or False

False

Kant believes that morality depends upon human nature and changes over time. True or False

False

Knowledge is a word used in the study of philosophy to mean wisdom. True or False

False

Moral law is descriptive. It tells us how things are in the world. True or False

False

On CLASSICAL TOLERANCE, an attempt to persuade someone to believe something differently is immoral. True or False

False

One problem with the "Last Resort" requirement (of jus ad bellum) is that the requirement does not tell us what causes are just and not just. True or False

False

One problem with the "Last Resort" requirement of jus ad bellum, is that some causes may be worth fighting for even if there is no chance of success. True or False

False

One problem with the "discrimination" requirement (jus in bello) is that we never know if we have tried enough or if we've pursued all other possible means of avoiding war. True or False

False

PLATONISM is the view that the world is composed of only physical particles. No non-material entities (like souls, gods, love, etc.) exist. A future physics will describe all of reality True or False

False

Philosophical (Scientific) Naturalists believe in life after death for human beings. True or False

False

Phyiscal law is prescriptive (or normative). It tells us how things should be, or how things ought to be. True or False

False

Psychological egoism claims that we choose to do the act that we perceive is for the best interest of others because we know that is the proper course to take. True or False

False

RU486 (mifeprestone) is a chemical compound that prevents the blastocyst from embedding in the uterine wall. True or False

False

Sociobiology claims that social structures and behavioral patterns have a biological basis that is explained by evolutionary theory, but that morality is not explained in this manner. True or False

False

The "Diversity Thesis" states that all moral principles derive their validity from cultural acceptance. True or False

False

The "morning after pill" induces uterine contractions and explusion of the embryo. It must be used within seven weeks of a missed menstrual period. True or False

False

The Founding Fathers and authors of the United States Constitution did not believe in Natural Law as the source of our rights and morality. True or False

False

The belief that what is right in some circumstances is not necessarily right in others cannot be held by ethical objectivists. True or False

False

The consequentialist principle states that it is the means to the end that counts and, therefore, the means are justified. True or False

False

The ethical relativist could still find a way to declare the Nazi-ethic of the systematic destruction of the subhumans (Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies) problematic. True or False

False

The following is NOT utilitarian reasoning: In the New Testament, Caiphas, the High Priest, advises the Council to deliver Jesus to the Romans for execution: "You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish" (John 11:49-50). True or False

False

The opposite of virtue is weakness. True or False

False

The reason why it is wrong to make a lying promise, according to Kant, is because if everyone did that the results would be bad. True or False

False

The setting of the Mad Max films (post-apocalyptic Australia) and the island where the children live in William Golding's The Lord of the Flies are two examples where individuals formed a social contract and trusted a Leviathan to enfoce it. True or False

False

The story of Abraham Lincoln and the little piglets in the stream was supposed to illustrate the truth of ethical egoism. True or False

False

The view that everyone ought to serve my self-interest only is called universal ethical egoism. True or False

False

Thomas Hobbes claimed that people can live decent lives (in the "state of nature") without the imposition of morality upon the culture. True or False

False

Tom Morris thinks that individuals have a choice whether to have a philosophy or not, of whether to become philosophers or not. We have to choose to operate out of a philosophy or worldview. True or False

False

Utilitarianism is a relativistic moral theory, for it recognizes that what is good in some circumstances is not always good in others. True or False

False

We normally know all of the long-term consequences of our actions. True or False

False

Science and technology can determine the difference between a good action and a bad action. True or False

False.

The late West Point philosopher, Louis Pojman, gives the following argument by William Lane Craig: P1) If there is no God, no moral absolute values exist. P2) Evil exists (which is a negative absolute value and implies that the Good exists as an absolute positive value) C) Therefore, God exists. Pojman writes, "Craig assumes that unless God is the ultimate source and authority of morality, it cannot have absolute or objective status. But if the autonomy thesis is correct, objective moral principles exist whether or not God exists. They are the principles that enable human beings to flourish, to make life more nearly a heaven than a hell. Rational beings can discover these principles independently of God or revelation--using reason and experience alone." (Pojman, 197) How would William Lane Craig respond to Pojman here? The "autonomy thesis" assumes Platonism or the view that immaterial entities (abstract objects like the moral properties of goodness/rightness) float around in the universe and organisms like human beings that evolved as a result of the mindless processes of chemistry and physics can discover and know these immaterial objects. This is a much more plausible view than personal theism, which grounds immaterial entities like moral properties in a Person, and also claims that human organisms were created with the mental and ethical capacities to discern these moral truths in the universe. First, this is the argument for God from evil. Second, the "autonomy thesis" (which claims Platonism is true) is unreasonable in light of the live option of personal theism. Thirdly, the "autonomy thesis" would not make any sense on physicalism (the most popular form of philosophical naturalism (atheism) today) since moral properties are not physical properties and the physicalist only believes in the existence of physical properties. Craig would quote William of Occam: "The hatred of God, theft, adultery, and actions similar to these actions according to common law, may have an evil quality annexed, in so far as they are done by a divine command to perform the opposite act. But as far as the sheer being in the actions is concerned, they can be performed by God without any evil condition annexed; and they can even be performed meritoriouslyby an earthly pilgrim if they should come under divine precepts, just as now the opposite of these in fact fall under the divine command." Craig would quote Kant: "[Christianity] has enriched philosophy with far more definite and purer concepts than it had been able to furnish before; but which, once they are there, are freely assented to by Reason and are assumed as concepts to which it could well have come of itself and which it could and should have introduced. . . . Even the Holy One of the Gospels must first be compared with our ideal of moral perfection, before we can recognize him as such."

First, this is the argument for God from evil. Second, the "autonomy thesis" (which claims Platonism is true) is unreasonable in light of the live option of personal theism. Thirdly, the "autonomy thesis" would not make any sense on physicalism (the most popular form of philosophical naturalism (atheism) today) since moral properties are not physical properties and the physicalist only believes in the existence of physical properties.

"I regard Christianity as the most fatal and seductive lie that has ever existed—as the greatest and the most impious lie . . ." The reality of Christian morality imposed upon Europe was "the most repugnant kind of degeneracy that civilization has ever brought into existence." . Who said this stuff? Ayn Rand Friedrich Nietzsche Thomas Hobbes Adam Smith

Friedrich Nietzsche

In considering the question, "Can God make a rock so big S/He can't lift it?" Arthur suggests that a theist's response might be that God can certainly make such a rock, since S/He can make any rock God can make the rock in question, but he will be able to lift it Such a rock implies a contradiction and cannot be made, not even by God God cannot make such a rock, but S/He can simply have somebody else make it so heavy that S/He can't lift it.

God can certainly make such a rock, since S/He can make any rock

According to Arthur, one consequence of the Divine Command Theory (DCT) is that If God had not commanded us not to steal and murder, these things would not be wrong. The omnipotence of God is treatened by his role as moral commander. People who believe in God have to follow his commands, but other people do not. Conscience is the voice that God uses to issue divine commands to everyone

If God had not commanded us not to steal and murder, these things would not be wrong.

(Former) Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O Connor thought that the decision in Roe v. Wade to ground personhood in viability was problematic for the following reason: Viability is "wishy-washy" Abortion rights should be grounded in the equal opportunity clause of the Constitution instead of this fictitious "right to privacy" If technology advances to the point where fetuses are viable soon after conception, then abortion rights will vanish. We should be judicially conservative when it comes to a decision that will last for eternity.

If technology advances to the point where fetuses are viable soon after conception, then abortion rights will vanish.

John Hick tells the story of an ant who wakes up to find himself understanding truths of socio-biology (evolutionary theory) and finding himself possessed of free will . . . Hick says, "Suppose him to be called upon to immolate himself for the sake of the ant-hill. He feels the powerful pressure of instinct pushing him towards this self-destruction. But he asks himself why he should voluntarily . . . carry out the suicidal programme to which instinct prompts him? Why should he regard the future existence of a million million other ants as more important to him than his own continued existence? . . . Since all that he is and has or ever can have is his own present existence, surely in so far as he is free from the domination of the blind force of instinct he will opt for life--his own life." . What is the point that theistic philosopher, John Hick, is trying to make? We have not been able to show that reason requires the moral point of view, or that all really rational persons should not be individual egoists or classical amoralists. Reason doesn't decide here. The picture I have painted for you is not a pleasant one. Reflection on it depresses me . . . . Pure practical reason, even with a good knowledge of the facts, will not take you to morality. A duty is something that is owed . . . . But something can be owed only to some person or persons. There can be no such thing as duty in isolation . . . . The idea of political or legal obligation is clear enough . . . . Similarly, the idea of an obligation higher than this, and referred to as moral obligation, is clear enough, provided reference to some lawmaker higher . . . . than those of the state is understood. In other words, our moral obligations can . . . be understood as those that are imposed by God. This does give a clear sense to the claim that our moral obligations are more binding upon us than our political obligations . . . . But what if this higher-than-human lawgiver is no longer taken into account? Does the concept of a moral obligation . . . still make sense? . . . . the concept of moral obligation [is] unintelligible apart form the idea of God. The words remain, but their meaning is gone. If we grant the philosophical naturalist the assumptions of atheism and naturalistic evolution (i.e. all living things and all ASPECTS of organisms are the product of the random, unguided forces of nature), then moral sentiments are probably just the product of natural selection. Based on the origin of these moral feelings, we should ignore them and save ourselves. All we have is this present life. There is no life after death. Our deeds do not "echo in eternity" as Russell Crowe said in Gladiator. The Moral Law does not give us any grounds for thinking that God is 'good' in the sense of being indulgent, or soft, or sympathetic. There is nothing indulgent about the Moral Law. It is as hard as nails. It tells you to do the straight thing and it does not seem to care how painful, or dangerous, or difficult it is to do. If God is like the Moral Law, then He is not soft.

If we grant the philosophical naturalist the assumptions of atheism and naturalistic evolution (i.e. all living things and all ASPECTS of organisms are the product of the random, unguided forces of nature), then moral sentiments are probably just the product of natural selection. Based on the origin of these moral feelings, we should ignore them and save ourselves. All we have is this present life. There is no life after death. Our deeds do not "echo in eternity" as Russell Crowe said in Gladiator.

The case of the spy, Robert Hanssen, as seen in the movie Breach (2006). He is used to illustrate which objection to Act Utilitarianism? Requires too much sacrifice of individuals Ignores the distribution of happiness Ignores duties Too much calculating to apply Some actions are inherently wrong Nietzsche's objection

Ignores duties

Imagine that I need to get $100 to give to cancer research, and that I have to get this money from people in the class. I have a choice: (A) Take $10 from every person in the room, or (B) Take $100 from just one student . Act A: 10 people get 5 dolors (negative hedons) each Act B: 1 person gets 50 dolors. A = B. It doesn't matter whether I take it from one person, or take it from ten people in the class. This example illustrates which objection to Act Utilitarianism? Requires too much sacrifice Ignores the distribution of happiness Ignores duties Takes too much calculating to apply Some actions are inherently wrong Nietzsche's objection

Ignores the distribution of happiness

Why is viability problematic as a criterion of personhood? It is dependent on technology rather than any characteristic of the fetus. It is based solely on the developmental stage of the fetus and does not take into account new technologies that can keep very premature infants alive. It is based on the Catholic concept of ensoulment and not everyone is Catholic. Because Roe v. Wade forbids states from passing laws protecting viable fetuses

It is dependent on technology rather than any characteristic of the fetus.

"If...there are...objective values, they make the existence of a god more probable than it would have been without them. Thus we have a...defensible...argument from morality to the existence of a god." . Which famous atheistic philosopher said this? J.L. Mackie Michael Ruse Jean-Paul Sartre Peter Singer

J.L. Mackie

". . . If God does not exist, we find no values or commands to turn to which legitimize our conduct. So, in the bright realm of values, we have no excuse behind us, nor justification before us. We are alone, with no excuses." . Which famous atheist said this? J.L. Mackie Michael Ruse Jean-Paul Sartre Peter Singer

Jean-Paul Sartre

"Morality is a biological adaptation no less than are hands and feet and teeth.... Considered as a rationally justifiable set of claims about an objective something, [ethics] is illusory. I appreciate that when somebody says, `Love thy neighbor as thyself,' they think they are referring above and beyond themselves.... Nevertheless,... such reference is truly without foundation. Morality is just an aid to survival and reproduction,... and any deeper meaning is illusory...." . Which famous atheist said this? J. L. Mackie Michael Ruse Jean-Paul Sartre Peter Singer

Michael Ruse

The term that reflects that we are responsible not only for the consequences of our actions, but also the consequences of our non-actions is which of the following? Negative responsibility Prescriptive responsibility Negative consequentialism Non-active involvement

Negative responsibility

Utilitarianism is parasitic on a long-forgotten Christian morality. There is no reason to care about the happiness or pleasure of anyone else unless Christianity is true. To do so assumes that human beings are made in God's image (the Imago Dei), and utilitarianism is supposed to be an atheistic moral theory. This idea is behind which objection against Act Utilitarianism? Requires too much of individuals Ignores the distribution of happiness Ignores duties Too much calculating to apply Some actions are inherently wrong Nietzsche's critique

Nietzsche's critique

The fact that the best way to attain happiness is to sometimes forget about it is known as which of the following? Dispute of authenticity Paradox of Hedonism Hedonism Psychological Altruism

Paradox of Hedonism

Assume (for this question) that there is no God. Since mindless evolution produced humans, humans are no more special than are other sentient animals. To claim--as Kant and Aristotle did--that the capacity to reason in humans should distinguish them as the most valuable animals on the planet is question-begging. Of course, humans would pick this unique trait in which to ground our value. But why not choose speed (cheetah) or the ability to swim under water (sharks) or to survive a nuclear winter (cockroaches). All animals have some unique feature to them that would distinguish themselves from other species. Picking RATIONALITY is arbitrary and simply favors humans. No animal on the planet earned value - all animals came from the same mindless, non-rational process--naturalistic evolution. To claim that humans are unique and deserve special consideration is to be a proponent of SPECIESISM! Discrimination against other species for no solid metaphysical reason. . Which famous atheist held to the above sentiments? J.L. Mackie Michael Ruse Jean-Paul Sartre Peter Singer

Peter Singer

The late philosopher at West Point, Louis Pojman, thought he had cornered the Hebrew or Christian Divine Command Theorist in a corner with the "morality is arbitrary" problem that adherents of the DCT (Divine Command Theory) have. Pojman thinks that there is no way around the moral instability that would result if the DCT is true. Many problems surface. For instance, Pojman thinks that the Divine Command Theorist is left with the epistemic problem of figuring out if the Judeo-Christian Scriptures (i.e. the Bible) are true. Also, if morality is arbitrary then moral commands from God might be the same as moral commands from the devil (depending upon the day). Finally, a God of love seems inconsistent with the ability to make it right to rape, torture, and kill people. (Pojman, Discovering Right and Wrong, p. 196) What does your instructor (C.R. Hammons) think about Pojman's analysis? Pojman is blowing rhetorical smoke on his readers. In fact, he alludes to the answer (the third way out of the Euthyphro Dilemma) in his accusation. Pojman says that the Christian is committed to the view that God is love (I John 4:7-8), and your instructor thinks that is the key for the Christian to know that God's character can be trusted to design morality so that it is not just arbitrary, but intelligently designed so that what is right and good allows human beings to flourish. Pojman is right on when he says the Divine Command Theorist must claim that Auschwitz could be considered God's loving act to the Jews. Pojman does a great job of presenting all three ways out of the Euthyphro Dilemma and he is fair to his opponents. He does a wonderful job of showing how these really tough epistemic problems should destroy the faith of believers. Pojman's speculations are real worries that Jews, Muslims, and Christians must deal with before they can rationally believe in theism.

Pojman is blowing rhetorical smoke on his readers. In fact, he alludes to the answer (the third way out of the Euthyphro Dilemma) in his accusation. Pojman says that the Christian is committed to the view that God is love (I John 4:7-8), and your instructor thinks that is the key for the Christian to know that God's character can be trusted to design morality so that it is not just arbitrary, but intelligently designed so that what is right and good allows human beings to flourish.

The late philosopher from West Point, Louis Pojman, defends Bertrand Russell's view that secular ethics can be saved, since "secular morality based on a notion of the good life is inspiring in itself, for it promotes human flourishing and can be shown to be in all of our interests, whether or not a God exists." (In Pojman's Discovering Right and Wrong) What is your instructor's response to Pojman? Lecture Pojman's defense of Russell's view is in the vein of Aristotle - the problem I have with this kind of defense is that the Aristotelian view is unsupportable, metaphysically, in light of current evolutionary biology. The concept of "flourishing" is on the verge of a robust teleological view and I would like to see Louis Pojman (who is a moral objectivist) show how this could fit with a naturalistic worldview. If you ground your ethics in feelings or sentiments, then we are stuck with a form of relativism, since everyone's feelings differ about moral acts. Jeffrey Dahmer's argument is powerful. If God does not exist, then humans have no moral duties and moral accountability. So, why not become a mass murderer and cannibal if that is what you want to do? 1) Evil exists 2) Evil presupposes an objective moral Good 3) Therefore, some objective, non-physical ground of Good must exist and this we call God.

Pojman's defense of Russell's view is in the vein of Aristotle - the problem I have with this kind of defense is that the Aristotelian view is unsupportable, metaphysically, in light of current evolutionary biology. The concept of "flourishing" is on the verge of a robust teleological view and I would like to see Louis Pojman (who is a moral objectivist) show how this could fit with a naturalistic worldview.

The theory that states that we always do acts that we perceive are totally in our own best interest and that we cannot be motivated by anything other than what we believe will promote our own self interests is known as which of the following? Personal egoism Individual ethical egoism Universal ethical egoism Psychological egoism

Psychological egoism

On William Lane Craig's view, if personal theism (belief in God) is assumed, three things are guaranteed in the ethical project. Below, click on the one that is NOT one of the three. The existence of objective moral values or a moral law Obligation or Duty to uphold those values or act in accordance with the moral law Accountability to keeping the moral law . Reasons to avoid suicide

Reasons to avoid suicide

Imagine that epilepsy surgery is the same price as knee surgery (to fix a torn ACL and MCL). If a random child in Kansas would derive 1000 hedons from a surgery to help with his epilepsy, and my own son would derive 800 hedons from getting his knee fixed (which would enable him to play ball again), the ethical thing for me to do would be to pay for the stranger's son's surgery. The above case is used to illustrate the following objection against Act Utilitarianism. Requires too much sacrifice Ignores the distribution of happiness Ignores duties Too much calculating to apply Some actions are inherently wrong Requires too much impartiality

Requires too much impartiality

It claims that every decision should maximize pleasure in the world. How can my choice to go see the new Sylvester Stallone movie, John Rambo [a.k.a. Rambo IV], be ethical when I could give that $9.00 to tsunami relief? This question is in line with what critique of Act Utilitarianism? Requires too much sacrifice of individuals Ignores the distribution of happiness Ignores duties Requires too much calculating to apply Some actions are inherently wrong Nietzsche's objection

Requires too much impartiality

The "Man Argument" from Roe v. Wade claims that Roe should free men from non-consensual responsibility. It runs something like this . . . Men urinate standing up, so they have no right to say anything to the woman if she decides to either have a child or obtain an abortion. Responsibility is consensual NOT causal. So, when Roe gave a woman to have a choice whether or not to have a child, the same freedom to choose should apply to the father of the child. So, a man should not be forced to suffer by paying for a child he did not choose to have. The woman can choose, so the man should have the same choice. Responsibility is causal--not consensual. So, just like I did not consent (or choose) to break the window when I hit the baseball, I am still responsible since I caused that particular effect in the world. Analogously, if a man causes a pregnancy, he is responsible whether or not he chose to cause that pregnancy or not. Responsibility is a combination of causal and consensual factors.

Responsibility is consensual NOT causal. So, when Roe gave a woman to have a choice whether or not to have a child, the same freedom to choose should apply to the father of the child. So, a man should not be forced to suffer by paying for a child he did not choose to have. The woman can choose, so the man should have the same choice.

Christian philosopher George Mavrodes leveled three arguments against the atheist Bertrand Russell and others who think it is possible to establish a secular ethics (without God). These arguments are popular arguments theists use against atheistic ethical theories. Which of the following is not one of the arguments a theist like Mavrodes would use against an atheist like Russell? Secular morality makes people believe that pornography and prostitution are good things. The Russellian world of secular morality can't satisfactorily answer the question "Why should I be moral?" for, on its account, the common goods, at which morality in general aims, are often just those that we sacrifice in carrying out our moral obligations. Why should we sacrifice our welfare or self-interest for our moral duty? Secular ethics is an oddity. It is superficial and not deeply rooted. It seems to lack the necessary metaphysical basis afforded by a Platonic worldview (i.e., the view that reality and value essentially exist in a transcendent realm) or a Judeo-Christian worldview. "Values and obligations cannot be deep in such a [secular] world. What is deep in a Russellian world must be such things as matter and energy, or perhaps natural law, chance, or chaos. If it really were a fact that one had obligations in a Russellian world, then something would be laid upon man that might cost a man everything but that went no further than man. And that difference from a Platonic world seems to make all the difference."

Secular morality makes people believe that pornography and prostitution are good things.

Which of the following is not an important question in the modern abortion debate: Do women have the right to an abortion (and/or infanticide)? Does the proper legal status of abortion follow directly from the moral status of abortion? Should abortion be legal even if it is sometimes (or entirely) wrong? Should childless couples adopt more babies?

Should childless couples adopt more babies?

Many argue that American Law seems contradictory when it comes to the questions of abortion and the personhood/value of the fetus. Which of the following is not something cited in your instructor's lecture (PowerPoint) to illustrate the contradictory nature of the legal status of fetuses in America? In certain rulings, the Supreme Court conferred legal rights on (mostly) inanimate entities such as valleys, alpine meadows, beaches, and ridges; yet, at the same time, human fetuses are denied the same legal rights. Connor's Law makes "feticide" (or the killing of a fetus by a third-party) equivalent to murder. Yet, abortion rights law claims that if the mother desires for the fetus to be eliminated, the doctor performing the abortion is not charged with "feticide." Problem Case: What if the woman driving to an abortion clinic (with the intent to have her pregnancy terminated) is killed? Should we charge her killer with feticide if the mother didn't intend for that fetus to live? So-called "dead beat dad" laws force biological fathers to pay child support. Women can choose to have an abortion after sex. Men do not have that choice. Is it fair to stick men with the financial burden of a child when no choice (post-pregnancy) is available? Pre-Natal Child Abuse. In some states, the state can intervene or collect damages for the child if the mother's lifestyle harms the fetus. Ironically, this is contingent upon the fetus being born. If the mother makes fetus-harming choices (e.g. smoking crack, unsafe sex, etc.), and ends up aborting the fetus, she will avoid all charges of pre-natal abuse.

So-called "dead beat dad" laws force biological fathers to pay child support. Women can choose to have an abortion after sex. Men do not have that choice. Is it fair to stick men with the financial burden of a child when no choice (post-pregnancy) is available?

"The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe when man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil. There is no reason to be human. There is no restraint from the depths of evil which is in man. The Communist torturers often said, 'There is no God, no hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.' I have heard one torturer even say, 'I thank God, in whom I don't believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.' He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflected on prisoners." . This example (from one tortured by Communists in Romania during the Cold War) was given in the presentation to illustrate what? Moral properties (goodness, rightness, etc.) do not exist. Most atheists are evil people Atheists are not aware of moral values. Some atheists (like Jeffrey Dahmer) are aware that there is no afterlife where judgment can occur for immoral behavior. In other words, there is no ultimate accountability for doing evil if God [or another source of accountability like karma] does not exist.

Some atheists (like Jeffrey Dahmer) are aware that there is no afterlife where judgment can occur for immoral behavior. In other words, there is no ultimate accountability for doing evil if God [or another source of accountability like karma] does not exist.

1. Morality does not originate with God (although the way God created us may affect the specific nature of morality). 2. Rightness and wrongness are not based simply on God's will. 3. Essentially, there are reasons for acting one way or the other, which may be known independent of God's will. What is this view called? Divine Command Theory The Euthyphro Dilemma The Autonomy Thesis The Dependency Thesis

The Autonomy Thesis

In the 1992 Supreme Court case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the justices reaffirmed the conclusions of Roe without defending the initial reasons for Roe (e.g. that historical abortion laws only cared about the life of the mother - abortion law did not grant "personhood" or Constitutional protections to fetuses. This was discovered to be false.). Instead, two additional arguments were given. Which of the following was not one of them? The guilt and depression that some women feel after abortion procedures is negligible compared to the life-long benefits of reproductive freedom for the tens of millions of women that have had abortions since 1973. Women have relied on abortion rights for almost twenty years (since 1973), and if the Court overturned Roe v. Wade it would disrupt the lives and sexual practices of American women. Women rely on their abortion rights and plan their lives around the option abortion rights give them to not reproduce. Overturning Roe would make the U.S. Supreme Court look foolish and it would undermine the confidence of the average American in the ability of the Supreme Court to decide important cases. Precedent should continue to rule at this point. Women should keep the abortion rights given them in 1973.

The guilt and depression that some women feel after abortion procedures is negligible compared to the life-long benefits of reproductive freedom for the tens of millions of women that have had abortions since 1973.

Louis Pojman states that utilitarians could and would misuse the legal or medical system to carry out their plans if this would benefit their overall goal, and that this is one of the criticisms of utilitarianism. Which of the following problems does it represent? The integrity objection The publicity objection The justice objection The absurd-implication objection

The justice objection

For want of a nail The shoe was lost; For want of a shoe The horse was lost; For want of a horse The rider was lost; For want of a rider The battle was lost; For want of a battle The Kingdom was lost; And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. This poem illustrates which objection to Act Utilitarianism? Presentation Requires too much sacrifice of individuals Ignores the distribution of happiness Ignores duties Too much calculating to apply Some actions are inherently wrong Nietzsche's objection

Too much calculating to apply

A former student in this course had a child at 20 weeks (in 1998). Viability, for her, was 20 weeks. (At the time this question was written, your instructor observed that the child was now ten years old and very smart.) True or False

True

A lot of college students adopt moral relativism because they find this view to be more "tolerant" than objectivist theories. One problem with this reasoning is that tolerance might not be a virtue shared by any moral culture in the world--intolerance might be the primary virtue of every society. In that case, it is unreasonable to use tolerance as a criterion for accepting relativism. A second problem is that to appeal to tolerance as a universal moral principle ("Everyone should be tolerant") is to find one universal moral principle that is true of reality. In that case, relativism is false. To show relativism to be false, you simply need to affirm one universal moral principle. True or False

True

A philosopher's ethical theory is partly (if not wholly) determined by her metaphysics of the human person. True or False

True

A teleological view of human nature sees humanity and each individual as having a plan designed by God or a divine nature and that any deviation from the norm is to be considered morally wrong. True or False

True

A worldview (or a "philosophy of life") is "any coherent system of thought that answers the big existential questions of the human race." True or False

True

Abortion is the intentional termination of a pregnancy that destroys or kills the embryo or fetus. True or False

True

According to Act Utilitarianism (AU), if it produces more net utility or pleasure to give money that I had promised to return to a friend to Hurricane Katrina Relief instead, then I ought to give it to the Katrina Relief fund. True or False

True

According to Bentham, some pleasures may be more valuable than others but only in so far as they are of a greater intensity or duration. True or False

True

According to English Philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, all altruistic actions and behaviors done by human beings are really at their core disguised acts of selfishness. True or False

True

According to Kant, because persons are ends they ought not to be used as means to ends. True or False

True

According to Kant, one can do what is right and that action still may not have "moral worth." True or False

True

According to Plato, teleology means that the development of anything follows from the fulfillment of the purpose for which it was designed. True or False

True

According to individual ethical relativism (subjectivism), I cannot be objectively mistaken in my moral judgments. True or False

True

According to the last resort requirement (jus ad bellum) , we should try "everything" short of war first. True or False

True

According to the principle of discrimination, it is wrong to ever do what risks deaths of civilians in war. True or False

True

According to utilitarian reasoning, abortion is morally unjustified if it will lead to more unhappiness than happiness. True or False

True

After William Lane Craig establishes that an objective moral law (and objective moral properties) exists, he thinks that we have to decide if Platonism is true (and the moral law just exists without explanation in the universe), or if a Personal God is behind the moral law. True or False

True

An argument in the philosophical sense is a set of statements in which one or more of the statements attempt to provide reasons or evidence for the truth of another statement. True or False

True

An empiricist is one who believes that all knowledge and justified beliefs are based in human experience. True or False

True

Aristotle claimed that virtues are somewhere in between the vice of excess and the vice of deficiency. True or False

True

Barcalow's objection from "green-skinned babies" is the "some actions are inherently wrong" objection reformulated for Rule Utilitarianism. True or False

True

C.S. Lewis claimed, "Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered." True or False

True

CLASSICAL TOLERANCE: A person holds her views as true and her opponents' as false. She still respects her opponent as a person. True or False

True

CONTEMPORARY TOLERANCE: A person believes that all views are equally true. No person can judge another person's view as wrong. All views are correct. True or False

True

Certain metaphysical problems could shipwreck the whole ethical project: (1) Free will/determinism; (2) The Problem of Natural Agency (for scientific atheists or "metaphysical naturalists"); (3) the Nonexistence of moral properties (like goodness and rightness); (4) lack of God or law of karma to hold people accountable in the afterlife for misdeeds; (5) etc True or False

True

Finite theists (e.g. those who whold the LDS Mormon worldview) think logic and mathematics are autonomous from God (like morality according to the autonomy thesis). Many Christian theologians (like Saint Augustine, William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, etc.) think that the best explanation of the existence of immaterial entities (abstract objects) like moral properties, mathematical entities, and the laws of logic is to locate them in the mind of God. A similar debate is between the Neo-Platonists and Christian Theists when we ask if these non-physical (immaterial) universals exist on their own or if they are located in the mind of a person--God. True or False

True

For Kant, when an action is morally valuable it always must have an accompanying good will. True or False

True

If sacrificing the lives of 50 innocent people would produce much more pleasure and less pain than not sacrificing them, the Act Utilitarian would say the sacrifice is justified. True or False

True

If something is teleological it is goal-directed. Naturalistic (non-theistic) evolution is non-teleological (i.e. without goals our purposes). True or False

True

If you find one ethical principle binding on all human beings in all cultures at all times, then you have refuted ethical relativism. (For instance, "It is always wrong to torture babies for the fun of it.") True or False

True

If you speak English (i.e. you have the capacity to speak a language), but you do not speak Russian, we could say that you have the second-order capacity to speak Russian. True or False

True

Imagine that Al Qaeda takes over the world and everone in the world submits to their brand of radical Islam. As a result, the planet praises those who carried out the 9/11 attacks as just and honorable. If you are a moral objectivist who thinks that those acts of terrorism against innocent civilians were wrong, you may argue against everyone on the planet. If you are a cultural relativist (conventionalist), then you are forced to agree with the masses that 9/11 was a great good. True or False

True

Immanuel Kant believed in the dignity of rational beings only. True or False

True

Immanuel Kant thought that the idea of God serves as a completion of our ordinary ideas of ethics. (The ideas being an afterlife where we can continue working towards moral perfection AND the idea that there is moral accountability in the afterlife). True or False

True

In 2007, The United States Supreme Court (in Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood) upheld the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act which President George W. Bush signed into law. This was the first time that the Court agreed with the ban of a specific abortion procedure. True or False

True

In John Stuart Mill's work, Utilitarianism, his test or basis for distinguishing "higher" from "lower" pleasures is the preference of those who have experience of both. True or False

True

In William Lane Craig's strategy to show that personal theism is the only plausible explanation (compared to Platonism and physicalism), he first argues for objecvitism, or objective (vs. relative) moral properties. True or False

True

In his confirmation hearings in the Senate, future Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was attacked for being a Natural Law Theorist. True or False

True

In the rhetoric surrounding abortion, many circular arguments are offered for/against abortion. One of these claims that abortion is a justified means of population control in the world, and that abortion is also a justified means of relieving economic burdens on the family. The problem is that the proponent of this argument assumes what is at stake--that the fetus is not a human person. If we assume the opposite--that fetuses are persons--then we could use the same argument (relief of population control and relief of economic burdens) to justify infanticide and the destruction of large portions of people on the planet. True or False

True

It's possible for a valid argument to have false premises. True or False

True

Just War theory has an initial presumption against war that must be overcome by the fulfillment of certain requirements. True or False

True

Kant prided himself for discovering universal (categorical) laws of morality, and (as a result) placing ethics in an analogous realm to physics. Just as Isaac Newton discovered these universal laws of motion in physics, Kant thought himself as doing the same in the realm of moral philosophy. True or False

True

Kant's categorical imperative is an absolutist theory. True or False

True

Leni Riefenstahl's film, Triumph of the Will, is meant to paint Hitler as the "overman" ("superman") that Friedrich Nietzsche heralded in his works. True or False

True

Like psychology, epistemology is both a descriptive and a prescriptive discipline. True or False

True

Louis Pojman argues that a common human nature is the basis of the thesis that there is a set of universally valid moral principles. True or False

True

Louis Pojman says, "If theism is false, then it may be doubtful whether all humans have equal worth, or any worth at all, and it may be more difficult to provide an unequivocal response to the question 'Why be moral even when it is not in my own best interest?' . . ." Discovering Right and Wrong, p, 202) Your instructor, William Lane Craig, and many other philosophers think that this is the biggest problem in constructing an ethical theory--finding good reasons to believe in the objective worth (or value) of human beings. True or False

True

Louis Pojman thinks that cultural moral relativism will collapse (for any rational human being) into subjectivism (or individual ethical relativism). If morality really is relative to the whims of a culture, why slavisly adopt the majority of society's morals? Why not have your own moral reality and stick with it? Pojman does not see any reason why the ethical (cultural) relativist shouldn't become a subjectivist. True or False

True

Many people are led to (radical) Postmodernism given the fact that many peoples and cultures disagree about religious truths, moral truths, and different driving/marriage practices. Also, to some degree, truth is defined by the people in power in a culture who write textbooks and preach through the various media (e.g., movies, television, political bully pulpit, etc.). True or False

True

Natural Law Theory is more at home in a theistic worldview. True or False

True

On Aristotelian/Thomistic metaphysics, the souls of organisms (e.g. oak trees, humans, and frogs) have tens of thousands of lower-order capacities. True or False

True

On CLASSICAL TOLERANCE, people can do what they can to convince people of different beliefs that some things are more reasonable to believe than others. This would include argument and persuasion. True or False

True

On the Aristotelain/Thomistic view of the soul, a person can lose first-order capacities (e.g. to walk) because of accidents, but a person can never lose the lower order capacities to walk. True or False

True

On the basis of subjectivism, Adolf Hitler, Ted Bundy, Osama bin Laden, and Jeffrey Dahmer could be considered as moral as Mother Theresa of Calcutta because each of those four lived by their own standards. True or False

True

One of the consequences of ethical relativism is that moral reformers are always, from the standpoint of this viewpoint, morally wrong. True or False

True

One problem that the relativist has is accounting for moral beliefs. When Suzy says, "I think capital punishment is wrong," on cultural ethical relativism she is saying that abortion is wrong just for her culture. But, this doesn't seem right - it seems that her view is broader than her culture. Same problem for a subjective moral relativist like Bart. When he says, "kicking puppies is wrong!" he is, on his view, simply talking about himself. But, it seems that he really does intend to say that this is a wrong thing for all people to do--not just him. True or False

True

One problem with the proportionality requirement (jus ad bellum) for going to war is that it is difficult to ascertain and calculate the likely costs and benefits of war in advance.

True

One way to show that (radical) Postmodernism is false is to come up with some universal truths that cut across culture and language. (e.g. 2 + 2 = 4; it is wrong to sexually abuse children, and modus ponens). True or False

True

Our word "metaphysics" is derived from a Greek term meaning "the books which come after the physics." True or False

True

Personal Theism is distinguished from deism (impersonal theism) in that the God that designed and created the universe is actively involved in interacting with its inhabitants. True or False

True

Philosophers don't argue so much about whether particular things exist, but about what sorts of things exist. True or False

True

Philosophical Naturalism - the worldview that claims only nature exists. So, nothing supernatural exists. Gods, angels, souls, love, beauty are all eliminated or reduced to only physical entities/processes. Philosophical Naturalists are usually physicalists and believe that only matter and energy exists. Another name for philosophical naturalism is scientific naturalism or scientific materialism. ALL OF THE STATEMENTS ABOVE ARE TRUE. True or False

True

Plato understands morality largely in terms of character development. True or False

True

Pojman concludes the last section of the chapter with these two worries: (1) Lots of evil has been done in the name of religion; (2) We don't know for sure whether a benevolent God exists. Your instructor offered this response in his commentary: "Everyone can agree that a lot of evil has been done in the name of God, but his solution (finding an objective morality independent of religion) is incomplete. I do think that is a start—in fact, from my Christian worldview, the "sow and reap laws" of the wisdom literature in the Old Testament (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.) are simply in the long line of the Ancient Near East practice of "sage-ing" or doing the work of the wise man or "sage." Aristotle was a sage and there were sages in the other developed cultures in Egypt and Babylonia. So, there is a role to discerning this "general revelation" and truths discoverable by all human beings. But, since I am theist who believes in special revelation (in the form of the Biblical record) I would like to argue that proper study of Scriptures (proper exegesis and hermeneutics) is also needed to weed the psycho acts from the legitimate wishes/commands of God." True or False

True

Psychological Egoism is a descriptive theory and Ethical Egoism is a normative theory. True or False

True

Relativists, some calling themselves "postmodernists" (or those who deny that any universal truths exist and that what we know is simply the product of environment and biology), sometimes claim that the idea of a common human nature is an illusion. True or False

True

Rule-Utilitarianism (RU) asserts that the best chance of maximizing utility is to follow a set of rules that will most likely give us our desired results. True or False

True

Several adjustments of attitude are often needed to conduct a proper philosophical investigation. True or False

True

The "Paradox of Hedonism" states that the best way to get happiness is to forget it. True or False

True

The "Problem of Moral Inquiry" against relativism is that relativism seems to go against the common practice of wondering what the right and wrong thing to do is. On conventionalism (or cultural ethical relativism), people need to take a poll of the culture/society to determine right/wrong actions. On subjectivism, an individual has to ask himself what he thinks is right/wrong to do. Since we think that there are better ways to find out what is right/wrong, the problem of moral inquiry is an objection to both forms of relativism. True or False

True

The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.), was an elitist who believed that people have unequal abilities to be virtuous and that some people are worthless. True or False

True

The Nuremburg Trials (1945-1949) of the Nazi leaders only make sense if there is a higher law than civil law to which people are accountable. True or False

True

The Scottish Empiricist, David Hume, believed that the only reason people are moral is because they have feelings of sympathy towards one another and that morality is a result of those feelings. True or False

True

The Stoics were among the first of the Ancient Greeks to deal with the idea of natural law and claimed that all human beings have a "divine spark" within them. True or False

True

The economist argument (similar to that of Adam Smith's) for ethical egoism states that enlightened self-interest leads, as if by an "invisible hand", to the best overall situation for all. True or False

True

The first formulation of Kant's categorical imperative (CI 1) would prohibit suicide based on the premise that if everyone had that option, it would have a negative effect on all human beings. True or False

True

The following is an ethical claim: "Technological advances should always be encouraged by society." True or False

True

The following is an example of a Rule Utilitarian (RU): "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." True or False

True

The following is the Greatest Happiness Principle (GHP): "We ought to do that which produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people." True or False

True

The moral relativist is unable to believe in moral progress because moral progress assumes moral objectivism (i.e. a real right or wrong about matters such as slavery, child abuse, and the like). True or False

True

The principle of double effect used by the principle of discrimination holds that there is a difference between directly intending some end and foreseeing that one's actions might result in that end. True or False

True

The pursuit of philosophy is also a practical, instrumentally valuable means to an end True or False

True

The reason that John Stuart Mill believes that pleasure is the only intrinsic good is because he believes that it is the only thing that everyone desires for its own sake. True or False

True

The reason the late West Point philosopher, Louis Pojman, gave for theists to adopt the DCT (Divine Command Theory) is that it best fits with intuitions about "the omnipotence or sovereignty of God." (Pojman, 195) Your instructor, C.R. Hammons, would add that Christians believe what Paul wrote to the church at Colosse is true and it shows up in the early creeds of the church: ". . . creator of the seen and unseen. . ." (Colossians, 1:16) True or False

True

The reason why a relativist cannot believe in moral progress is because progress assumes a goal or some objective. True or False

True

The second problem with Divine Command Theory is that it seems to make morality into something arbitrary, since God could change his mind tomorrow and make torture, rape, and incest good and right acts. This is one of the horns of the Euthyprho Dilemma. True or False

True

The two most popular formulations of the Categorical Imperative are the following: CI1: "Act only according to the maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." CI2: "Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only." True or False

True

This is the Principle of Utility: "The morally best (or better) alternative is that which produces the greatest (or greater) net utility, where utility is defined in terms of happiness or pleasure." True or False

True

Thomas Aquinas states that human beings have an essential rational nature which is designed by God and directs humans to a prescribed way of life. True or False

True

To clarify the nature of duty, Kant distinguishes between actions performed out of inclination and those performed out of recognition of duty. True or False

True

USC Philosophy Professor, Dallas Willard, said the following: As philosophers, we should throw all of the evidence on the table and sift through it with our hearts and minds. The call is for radical, individual responsibility for our beliefs. Agnosticism is not a defense for not knowing or not believing. True or False

True

Virtues are positive traits of character. True or False

True

What philosophers call "metaphysics" is the same area of study that Aristotle called "first philosophy." True or False

True

William Lane Craig argues that, on the assumptions of scientific naturalism (including naturalistic evolution), the atheist has a difficult time showing how humans are to be valued more than any other animal. Craig says this: "After all, if there is no God, then what's so special about human beings? They're just accidental by-products of nature which have evolved relatively recently on a infinitesimal speck of dust called the planet Earth, lost somewhere in a hostile and mindless universe, and which are doomed to perish individually and collectively in a relatively short time." True or False

True

With the rise of secularism in European society, Nietzsche proclaimed we are no longer bound by supernatural superstitions—we are free from the invented moral restraints of the Judeo-Christian traditions. True or False

True

Your instructor believes that individuals can make serious philosophical progress (even if the truth is not found) by finding out what is false. True or False

True

Your instructor likes to describe Thomas Hobbes' "State of Nature" with talk of Jujubes, loin cloths, and ball peen hammers. True or False

True

Your instructor, C.R. Hammons, believes that language can be used as a weapon and that we should be particularly careful in the abortion debate not to simply shout the particular mantra of our chosen side. True or False

True

Coherence is a criterion that considers how well the various parts of a theory "hang together." True or False

True.

According to Louis Pojman, which of the following is the view that we ought always do those acts that will best serve our own best self-interest even when it conflicts with the interests of others? Psychological egoism Universal ethical egoism Individual ethical egoism Personal egoism

Universal ethical egoism

"Quickening" occurs during this time. Weeks 6-8 Weeks 12 - 16 Weeks 20-28 Week 40

Weeks 12 - 16

The process of "viability" takes place here. Weeks 6 - 8 Weeks 12 - 16 Weeks 20 - 28 Week 40

Weeks 20 - 28

The fetus' brain waves become detectable during this time. Weeks 2-8 Weeks 6 - 8 Weeks 12 - 16 Weeks 20 - 28

Weeks 6 - 8

Which best describes Darwin's Theory of Evolution? Presentation a. (1) All organisms are descended from one common ancestor at some point in the history of the earth; (2) All biological complexity, biological diversity, and all appearances of design in biology are products of an unguided, physical process. This process has three components: (a) incidental change; (b) hereditary transmission; and (c) natural selection. b. All large (macro) objects are constructed of small particles (e.g. atoms). Everything on the macro-level can be explained by the motions of the smallest particles. c. Approximately fifteen billion years ago, the universe (i.e. space, time, matter, and energy) sprang into existence from a single, mathematical point and has been expanding (at a decelerating rate) ever since. d. Some events at the atomic level are indeterministic. Determinism applies to the macro-level, but at the quantum-level, ontological indeterminism is the case.

a. (1) All organisms are descended from one common ancestor at some point in the history of the earth; (2) All biological complexity, biological diversity, and all appearances of design in biology are products of an unguided, physical process. This process has three components: (a) incidental change; (b) hereditary transmission; and (c) natural selection.

The kind of ethic that originated in Christian ethical theory that can be applied universally to all of humanity and focuses on special specific relationships between certain individuals is known as which of the following? a. Agapeism b. Objectivism (Ayn Rand's brand of Ethical Egoism) c. Utilitarianism d. Kantianism

a. Agapeism

Which of the following questions is least likely to be asked while studying metaphysics? a. Are there truths about the universe that humans are incapable of understanding? b. Do physical objects actually exist beyond our perceptions of them? (I.e. Is there a real world outside of our minds, or are we brains in a mad scientist's vat--trapped like Keanu Reeves by machines in a Matrix?) c. Do humans have free will? d. What is the difference, if any, between a mind and a brain?

a. Are there truths about the universe that humans are incapable of understanding?

"Reason is the true self of every man, since it is the supreme and better part. It will be strange, then, if he should choose not his own life, but some other' s. What is naturally proper to every creature is the highest and pleasantest for him. And so, man, this will be the life of Reason, since Reason is, in the highest sense, a man's self." Nicomachean Ethics Book 1.7 Who said this? a. Aristotle . . . a student of Plato b. Plato . . . a student of Socrates c. Saint Augustine d. Saint Thomas Aquinas

a. Aristotle . . . a student of Plato

The principle of double effect, which allows people to be treated as collateral damages or a means only, has been criticized mainly as a violation of this moral concern: a. Kant's "categorical imperative" b. Greatest Happiness Principle c. duty of retribution d. prima facie duty of fidelity

a. Kant's "categorical imperative"

Who stated that religion is the "opium of the people"? a. Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) b. Antony Flew (one of the most famous atheists of the 20th Century who came to believe in God in the last 10 years - thanks to the design argument from physics) c. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900). In ethics we will read his "Parable of the Madman" from his work, The Gay Science. d. Bertrand Russell (famous logician and atheist in early 20th Century). He was famous for writing, "Why I am Not a Christian." e. Sigmund Freud (atheist psychologist)

a. Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)

Objectivists do not usually appeal to the following act as an example of something that is always wrong regardless of culture, time period, or circumstances. a. Killing someone b. Torturing babies for fun. c. Selling ten-year-old daughters into sexual slavery d. Adults having sex with five-year-old children

a. Killing someone

Most Personal Theists will hold to all of the following except a. Knowledge only comes from the hard sciences (physics and chemistry). b. Human beings have inherent value. They do not simply have instrumental value. c. There are universal truths that cut across cultures and language groups d. Reason is real - it is not an illusion e. The moral law is universal. It is part of the non-physical furniture of the universe. Moral properties (e.g. goodness and rightness) exist in the world. f. Theology and revelation can be sources of knowledge--not simply opinion.

a. Knowledge only comes from the hard sciences (physics and chemistry).

The view that there are universal moral principles, valid for all people in all places, is known as which of the following? a. Moral Objectivism b. Moral Relativism c. Ethical Relativism d. Moral Nihilism

a. Moral Objectivism

Immanuel Kant believed that every rational individual can regard themselves as a universal lawmaker and that an external authority is not necessary to determine moral law. What did he call this? a. Principle of autonomy b. Principle of imperatives c. Principle of judgment d. Principle of heteronomy

a. Principle of autonomy

In the 1991 Gulf War, once Iraq was removed from Kuwait, U.S. Generals decided not to push all the way to Baghdad in order to remove Saddam Hussein from power. They were following which principle of Just War Theory? a. Proportionality (jus in bello) b. Discrimination (jus in bello) c. Reasonable Success - (jus ad bellum) d. Legitimate Authority (jus ad bellum)

a. Proportionality (jus in bello)

Which of the following is not one of the core theories in science upon which Philosophical Naturalism is constructed? a. Quantum Mechanics (Copenhagen Interpretation) b. Naturalistic Evolution c. Atomic Theory of Matter d. Big Bang Theory

a. Quantum Mechanics (Copenhagen Interpretation)

Which of the following was a critique against POSTMODERNISM? a. There are UNIVERSAL TRUTHS in the world (e.g. 2 + 2 = 4; and "It is wrong to torture babies for fun") b. Personal Identity (through time) c. Intentionality (ofness/aboutness) of Mental States d. Irreducibility/Uneliminability of (folk) Psychological Categories e. Inability of Philosophical Naturalism to justify SCIENTIFIC REALISM f. Libertarian Agency (Free Will)

a. There are UNIVERSAL TRUTHS in the world (e.g. 2 + 2 = 4; and "It is wrong to torture babies for fun")

Most Scientific Naturalists are physicalists. Physicalists believe the following: a. There are no non-physical elements in the universe. Every real entity in the universe is constructed of physical particles and every thing can be described wholly in terms of physical properties. The hard sciences (viz. chemistry and physics) will eventually explain everything, since their subject matter deals with the only real entities that exist in the cosmos. b. In addition to the physical world (made up of physical properties and physical particles), it is possible that immaterial beings such as God or angels exist c. Human beings have an important non-physical component in addition to their physical bodies. This is what we call the "mind" or the "soul" d. In addition to physical particles and physical properties, there are many non-physical (i.e. immaterial) properties and entities in the universe like "colors" and "love" and "rightness" and "goodness"

a. There are no non-physical elements in the universe. Every real entity in the universe is constructed of physical particles and every thing can be described wholly in terms of physical properties. The hard sciences (viz. chemistry and physics) will eventually explain everything, since their subject matter deals with the only real entities that exist in the cosmos.

This was the major critique that Nietzsche set against the ethical theories of the Enlightenment philosophers like Kant, Mill, and Bentham. a. They snuck in elements of the Judeo-Christian worldview. Namely, that all human beings are precious and worthy of respect. b. They focus on pleasure and pleasure is not the goal of life c. They do not return to a minimalist view of human nature--that of survival of the fittest d. They were founded on an Aristotelian-Thomistic view of the soul

a. They snuck in elements of the Judeo-Christian worldview. Namely, that all human beings are precious and worthy of respect.

Which of the following is not one of the critiques mentioned against Personal Theism? a. Universal Truths Exist: Since universal truths exist (and cut across language and culture), then this view is false. b. NATURALISM. Everything can be explained by natural causes (i.e. science). There is no need to appeal to a God to explain things in the world. c. The Problem of Evil: Given that God is omnibenevolent and omnipotent, why is there so much unnecessary (i.e. gratuitous) evil in the world? God must not exist. d. Pluralism. There are so many versions of Personal Theism, who is to know whether one is true (or closer to the truth) or false?

a. Universal Truths Exist: Since universal truths exist (and cut across language and culture), then this view is false.

The Greek word arete is the root of which of the following words? a. Virtue or excellence b. Happiness and kindness c. Evil and wrongness d. Goodness and morals

a. Virtue or excellence

Kant was considered to be both an absolutist and which of the following? a. a rationalist b. a skeptic c. a utilitarian d. an empiricist

a. a rationalist

Pojman is concerned to show that there is a middle position between a. absolutism and relativism b. morality and science. c. fact and opinion. d. science and philosophy.

a. absolutism and relativism

Doeflinger brings up a. all of these answers b. murder. c. the Nazi Holocaust. d. abortion.

a. all of these answers

The late philosopher from West Point, Louis Pojman, says that having an adequate moral system that never produces conflict and having basic moral principles that can never be changed or overriden describes: a. an absolutist b. a rationalist c. an empiricist d. a utilitarian

a. an absolutist

Kant believed that we do not have any obligations to animals because they: a. are not rational beings b. are annoying and not worth attention c. are not conscious organisms d. are only emotionally sensible

a. are not rational beings

According to Marquis, what makes killing wrong is that it a. deprives its victim of any future (especially any future life). b. produces in the perpetrator a great amount of guilt. c. is severely punishable. d. is specifically against the commandment "Thou shalt not kill."

a. deprives its victim of any future (especially any future life).

The doctrine that states that no valid moral principles exist and that morality is completely fictitious is known as: a. ethical nihilism b. ethical relativism c. ethical moralism d. ethical subjectivism

a. ethical nihilism

Immanuel Kant believed that moral law is sacrosanct and: a. exceptionless b. flexible c. determined by culture d. contradictory

a. exceptionless

The Scottish philosopher, David Hume, stated that human morality is really founded on and guided by our: a. feeling of sympathy with other people b. sense of justice and fairness c. inner knowing and intuition d. rational mind

a. feeling of sympathy with other people

Thirteenth-century Christian philosopher/theologian, Thomas Aquinas, combined Aristotle's theories with his own and stated that human beings, like other natural objects, have a specific nature, purpose, and: a. function b. design c. form d. heredity

a. function

In lecture, we talked about the job of the parent in helping devleop the child's soul into moral virtue (e.g. in teaching the child to express affection-love, or storge, to a grandparent). What is this process called? a. habituation into virtue (actually, continence) b. moving from lower order (4th and 5th order) capacities to higher order capacities (1st order). c. teleology d. cultivating the soul's capacities

a. habituation into virtue (actually, continence)

Louis Pojman states that we many not be able to know with certainty that our moral beliefs are closer to truth than those of another culture, but that we may be which of the following in regards to believing in our moral beliefs? a. justified b. dominant c. rational d. uncritical

a. justified

According to Bagaric and Clarke, one of the good points about the use of the torture that they support is that it would: a. save lives. b. show wrongdoers that we are serious. c. be extremely useful in determining the identity of the actual perpetrators behind bombings and other serious terrorist acts. d. be a replacement for the death penalty, so that convicted killers and terrorists could be kept alive in order to provide us with further information.

a. save lives.

For John Locke and David Hume, the human mind is an empty slate upon which experience imposes lessons to us. The mind in this case is termed which of the following? a. tabula rasa b. mens rea c. blank view d. empty container

a. tabula rasa

Metaphysics is the study of _______. a. ultimate reality b. inductive and deductive arguments c. values, morality, and character d. knowledge e. aesthetics

a. ultimate reality

"Any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one's benefit is evil. Thus, the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral value--and so long as the beneficiary is anybody other than oneself, anything goes. This is Ayn Rand's definition of: will to power altruism egoism objectivism

altruism

For Thomas Hobbes, all humans are egotistical so it makes no sense to ask them to be which of the following? kind altruistic patient noble

altruistic

Which is the best definition of the Atomic Theory of Matter? a. Approximately fifteen billion years ago, the universe (i.e. space, time, matter, and energy) sprang into existence from a single, mathematical point and has been expanding (at a decelerating rate) ever since. b. All large (macro) objects are constructed of small particles (e.g. atoms). Everything on the macro-level can be explained by the motions of the smallest particles. c. (1) All organisms are descended from one common ancestor at some point in the history of the earth; (2) All biological complexity, biological diversity, and all appearances of design in biology are products of an unguided, physical process. This process has three components: (a) incidental change; (b) hereditary transmission; and (c) natural selection. d. Some events at the atomic level are indeterministic. Determinism applies to the macro-level, but at the quantum-level, ontological indeterminism is the case.

b. All large (macro) objects are constructed of small particles (e.g. atoms). Everything on the macro-level can be explained by the motions of the smallest particles.

These are the problems that every cultural relativist (or, "Conventionalist") must accept in order to hold the view consistently: a. Martin Luther King, Jr., William Wilberforce, and Mohandas Gandhi were unethical people since they were acting against accepted ethical norms in their respective cultures. b. All of these answers c. Hitler was a moral person because he obeyed the consistent Nazi ethic of his society that placed Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies on a lower worth scale compared to Germans (Aryans). d. There are no universal, moral rules that apply in all cultures in all time periods like the following: "It is wrong for adults to have sex with small children," or "Rape is wrong," or "Love your children--do not torture them or sell your 10 year old girl into sex slavery," etc.). e. If the United States of America decided to re-institute slavery (of African-Americans) by a majority vote, then this would not be immoral or a loss of moral progress. There is no moral progress--there is only moral change. f. Ethical debates are meaningless on conventionalism. To decide whether or not slavery, abortion and/or infanticide is moral is not solved by rational debate, but by a vote. Rationality has nothing to do with it.

b. All of these answers

Louis Pojman does not think that rational persons should stick with conventionalism (i.e. cultural ethical relativism). Instead, the cultural relativist should move to individual ethical relativism, or subjectivism. He gives two reasons why this is the case. In the following list, choose the one which is not one of the reasons he gives for this move. (Pojman, 34-35) a. NA b. Conventional (Cultural) ethical relativism entails disturbing judgments about the law. On this view, civil disobedience would be morally wrong, since you are acting against the norms decided by the culture. Also, if my subculture (say, the KKK) is substantial enough and if it does not like the laws in question (say, the Civil Rights laws of the 1960s) it has the moral mandate to disobey the laws. (Pojman, 33-34) c. The conventionalist (cultural ethical relativist) has a difficult time defining the boundaries of a culture. It is simply too difficult to define "culture" or "society" to make this view of ethics reasonable. In fact, it is so difficult that a mini-subculture could be made up of five or ten people. If that is the case, a sub-culture could be made up of two people and if my partner dies then I could claim I was carrying on our moral code. (Pojman 34) d. The moral princinciples of a culture are decided by choice. There is no other reason. If this is the foundation of morality, it seems that I should just pursue my own moral choices. What makes the culture's moral decisions better than mine? I should become a subjectivist (individual ethical relativist), since I might as well follow my choices instead of someone else's! (Pojman, 35)

b. Conventional (Cultural) ethical relativism entails disturbing judgments about the law. On this view, civil disobedience would be morally wrong, since you are acting against the norms decided by the culture. Also, if my subculture (say, the KKK) is substantial enough and if it does not like the laws in question (say, the Civil Rights laws of the 1960s) it has the moral mandate to disobey the laws. (Pojman, 33-34)

The branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge. a. Logic b. Epistemology c. Metaphysics d. Ethics

b. Epistemology

Thanks to the rise of naturalism in the last 200 years, which of the following issues is not usually discussed in the branch of philosophy known as ethics? a. Values (the Good) b. Existence of immaterial (non-physical) souls or minds in humans c. Morality (Rules of Right and Wrong with regards to other people) d. Character (virtues and vices)

b. Existence of immaterial (non-physical) souls or minds in humans

The doctrine that states that morality is a function of human nature is known as: a. Objectivism b. Natural Law c. Absolutism d. Humanism

b. Natural Law

Thomas Jefferson was a . . . a. Utilitarian b. Natural Law Theorist c. Kantian Deontologist d. Subjectivist (Individual Ethical Relativist)

b. Natural Law Theorist

The (radical) Postmodernist holds to all of the following except a. Reality (including moral claims and religious claims) is a creation by people in your culture or language group. b. Naturalistic Evolution (Darwinism) is true c. No universal truths exist. d. Truth is relative to a culture (language group)

b. Naturalistic Evolution (Darwinism) is true

In a war, the good to be achieved by some action must not be outweighed by the costs to do so. a. Right Intention (jus ad bellum) b. Proportionality (jus in bello) c. Discrimination (jus in bello) d. Last Resort (jus ad bellum)

b. Proportionality (jus in bello)

This objection against cultural (ethical) relativism states that it is notoriously difficult to define the boundaries of a culture or society. Should it include the West (Western Europe and North America), or should it include each state in the U.S.A.? What about little isolated cultures within the boundaries of the state (e.g. Amish)? Maybe we should define cultures by city limits (e.g. Cincinnati). But, some neighborhoods might be weird and want their own moral autonomy. So, let's draw the boundaries around neighborhoods. But what if a guy has a big house and land in the neighborhood and wants to make his culture where his property ends? You get the point. What is this objection called? a. The objection from the collapse of cultural, moral realtivism into individual subjective relativism b. The objection from sub-groups c. The objection from moral reformers d. The objection from moral progress

b. The objection from sub-groups

Aristotle considered ethics to be _____________________. a. separate from the everyday life of human society b. a branch of politics c. an innate quality in human beings d. a prerequisite for a rational being

b. a branch of politics

According to Louis Pojman (and Fieser), the virtue of nonmalificence is derived from the principle of: a. duty not to tell the truth b. a duty not to harm c. duty to be sensitive to one's duty d. duty to be just

b. a duty not to harm

Pojman discusses relativism and the idea of tolerance, and states that a. tolerance and relativism go together. b. although tolerance is a virtue, relativism fails to offer a method of criticizing intolerant societies. c. although he finds relativism to be unacceptable in the end, he has to admit that it produces a good argument for tolerance. d. if there are no objective moral standards, then we ought to be tolerant of the moralities of other cultures.

b. although tolerance is a virtue, relativism fails to offer a method of criticizing intolerant societies.

Bagaric and Clarke claim that the only situation in which torture is justifiable is where it is used: a. against an enemy who has himself used torture. b. as an information gathering technique to avert a grave risk. c. against those who have been tried and found guilty of a serious crime. d. as a deterrent that will make potential wrongdoers think twice about their behavior.

b. as an information gathering technique to avert a grave risk.

On the basis of the doctrine of double effect (DDE), the strategic military bombing of a military target is justified because: a. a country's might makes it right b. civilians are not the intended target c. the opposing target is necessary for victory d. protecting one's country is morally correct

b. civilians are not the intended target

Imgine the case of a person who has a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts set in front of him. He knows that he shouldn't eat them, and he resists eating them, but he curses and moans and grits his teeth because he isn't eating them. Aristotle would describe this person as ________________. a. virtuous b. continent c. incontinent d. vicious

b. continent

The Stoics believed that the entire universe is governed by laws that exhibit a rationality that applies to all creatures and creation in the universe. Because of this belief, the Stoics coined the word: a. naturalism b. cosmopolitan c. xenophobia d. agape

b. cosmopolitan

The theory that human beings are animals who evolved from "lower" forms of life and that we are products of chance in our struggle for existence is known as which of the following? a. teleology b. evolution c. modernism d. causality

b. evolution

According to Kant, one should perform moral duty solely: a. for the pleasure of knowing we do the right thing b. for the sake of the duty alone c. for the benefit of the good consequences d. because the law dictates such performance

b. for the sake of the duty alone

According to the diversity thesis, a. moral relativism is incorrect. b. moral rightness and wrongness of actions vary from society to society, so that there are no universal moral standards held by all societies. c. the fact that different people hold different moral values and observe different moral standards does not mean that there are no objective standards. d. it would be boring if everyone had the same moral standards.

b. moral rightness and wrongness of actions vary from society to society, so that there are no universal moral standards held by all societies.

One of the major points in the essay by Watts and Howell is that it is important to distinguish between a. physician-assisted suicide and suicide that is assisted by a non-physician. b. physician-assisted suicide and voluntary active euthanasia. c. physician-assisted suicide through the use of legal drugs, and suicide through the use of illegal drugs. d. cases in which the physician prescribes a drug for pain, but the patient dies, and cases in which the physician prescribes a drug precisely for the purpose of causing death.

b. physician-assisted suicide and voluntary active euthanasia.

Doerflinger states that some proponents of physician-assisted suicide a. regard physicians as murderers. b. reject the principle of the sanctity of life. c. all of these answers. d. hypocritically call themselves Christians.

b. reject the principle of the sanctity of life.

According to Marquis, the principle "It is prima facie seriously wrong to kill a human being" is likely to be cited by those who a. look for the solution to the abortion issue in the law. b. take the antiabortion side. c. take the pro-choice side. d. look for the solution to the abortion issue in religion.

b. take the antiabortion side.

Which of the following claims that it is important not only to do the right thing, but also to have the proper disposition, motivation, and emotion in being good and doing right? a. religious ethics b. virtue ethics c. moral ethics d. action ethics

b. virtue ethics

According to the big proponents of utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, . . . a. war is a morally acceptable means of resolving international conflicts as long as civilians or noncombatants are not killed. b. war is immoral because it diminishes happiness and causes pain and harm, to both humans and the environment. c. war is immoral because it violates the principle of reciprocity. d. war is morally acceptable only if the combatants voluntarily choose to fight and are not conscripted.

b. war is immoral because it diminishes happiness and causes pain and harm, to both humans and the environment.

Vincent C. Punzo, who believes that sex must involve commitment, states that a man and a woman who engage in sexual intercourse commit a sin, unless they have been married before a church official and/or a secular official are fully justified in what they do as long as they are fully honest with each other must realize the purpose of sexual intercourse is reproduction bring themselves together in as intimate and total a physical union as possible

bring themselves together in as intimate and total a physical union as possible

We should not directly and intentionally target non-combatants, but only those who are a threat to us a. (political) Proportionality - jus in bello b. (military) Proportionality - jus ad bellum c. Discrimination - jus in bello d. Right Intention - jus ad bellum

c. Discrimination - jus in bello

Gilbert Harman, who argues that moral relativism is correct, explicitly claims that his own view of morality is in some way analogous with the views found in a. the reports of modern social scientists who study beliefs and practices in a wide variety of different societies b. everyday life--outside the Ivory Tower. c. Einstein's theory of Relativity d. writings that have long been suppressed in the West by religious authorities.

c. Einstein's theory of Relativity

The view that holds that there are no universally valid moral principles, but rather all moral principles are valid relative to culture and individual choice is which of the following? a. Ethical Objectivism b. Moral Objectivism c. Ethical Relativism d. Moral Nihilism

c. Ethical Relativism

This is the branch of philosophy that concerns itself with discovering what humans should value (the Good), rules of right and wrong, and what character traits people should have (virtues) and the character traits people should avoid (vices). a. Logic b. Epistemology c. Ethics d. Metaphysics

c. Ethics

Which philosopher (and proponent of ethical egoism) is famous for the statement that "God is Dead"? a. Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939) b. Plato (429 - 347 B.C.) c. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900) d. Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) English Utilitarian e. Immanuel Kant

c. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

The philosopher who developed a robust version of DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS based on discoverable universal (categorical) rules for all humans to follow. a. Rene Descartes b. Jeremy Bentham c. Immanuel Kant d. Ayn Rand e. Aristotle

c. Immanuel Kant

Honesty, benevolence, nonmalevolence, fairness, kindness, conscientiousness, and gratitude are considered which of the following? a. Moral Principles b. Epistemic Virtues c. Moral Virtues d. Moral Vices

c. Moral Virtues

John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant were Classical Liberals who thought they could ground their theories of ethics in this: a. God b. Cultures c. Reason d. Natural Law

c. Reason

Who stated, "the unexamined life is not worth living"? a. Thomas Aquinas b. Bertrand Russell c. Socrates d. St. Teresa of Avila e. Plato

c. Socrates

As the philosopher William F. Lawhead sees it: "According to __________, what philosophy can give us is self-understanding. Self-understanding involves knowing who I really am apart from the masks I present to others, the social roles I fulfill, or the labels and descriptions imposed on me by my society and my peers. It also involves understanding my beliefs and values . . . [Self-understanding] is something we are often tempted to avoid. It is much easier to be complacent, to be self-satisfied, and to stick with beliefs that are comfortable and familiar than to be painfully and fully honest with ourselves and to subject our deepest convictions to examination." a. Friedrich Nietzsche (19th Century) b. Thomas Aquinas (13th Century Italian Monk) c. Soren Kierkegaard (19th Century Danish Philosopher) d. Jean-Paul Sartre (20th Century French Philosopher)

c. Soren Kierkegaard (19th Century Danish Philosopher)

On the basis of what form of ethical relativism could Ted Bundy and Adolf Hilter be considered "moral"? a. Objectivism b. Conventionalism (Cultural Ethical Relativism) c. Subjectivism (Individual Ethical Relativism) d. Nihilism

c. Subjectivism (Individual Ethical Relativism)

According to Pojman, which of the following theses asserts that individual acts are right or wrong depending on the nature of the society in which they occur? a. The Relativist Thesis b. The Subjective Thesis c. The Dependency Thesis d. The Diversity Thesis

c. The Dependency Thesis

The anthropologist Melville Herskovitz used the following argument to claim that ethical relativism entails intercultural tolerance: P1. If morality is relative to its culture, then there is no independent basis for criticizing the morality of any culture but one's own. P2. If there is no independent way of criticizing any other culture, then we ought to be tolerant of the moralities of other cultures. P3. Morality is relative to its culture. ** Louis Pojman has problems with this argument. What is his critique of this argument? C. Therefore, we ought to be tolerant of the moralities of other cultures. a. There is enormous cultural diversity, and many socities have radically different moral codes. Cultural relativism (sociologically) seems to be a fact, but, even if it is, it does not by itself establish the truth of ethical relativism. Cultural diversity in itself is neutral with respect to theories. (Pojman, 36) b. On the one hand, from the side of the society at large, civil disobedience will be morally wrong, as long as the majority culture agrees with the law in question. c. Tolerance is certainly a virtue, but this is a bad argument for it. If morality is simply relative to each culture, then if the culture in question has no principle of tolerance (like Nazi Germany, contemporary Venezuela, or any Communist country of the 20th century), its members have no obligation to be tolerant. Herskovits treats the principle of tolerance as an absolute moral principle. This is inconsistent with his relativism. d. The Classical Liberal political philosophers (John Stuart Mill, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, etc.) heralded these two virtues: (1) Tolerance, and (2) Circumstantial Freedom. Given the emergence of radical post-modernism it is difficult to establish the importance of these two values. This is seen in the emergence of radical Islam in the past 50 years.

c. Tolerance is certainly a virtue, but this is a bad argument for it. If morality is simply relative to each culture, then if the culture in question has no principle of tolerance (like Nazi Germany, contemporary Venezuela, or any Communist country of the 20th century), its members have no obligation to be tolerant. Herskovits treats the principle of tolerance as an absolute moral principle. This is inconsistent with his relativism.

How does Thomas Aquinas answer the question, "Is it always sinful to wage war?" a. War is morally acceptable and it is advisable to do whatever it takes to win a war quickly and efficiently b. War is always sinful because "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword." c. War is morally acceptable only if it is waged by a just authority for a just cause. d. War is sinful only if war is waged between Christians

c. War is morally acceptable only if it is waged by a just authority for a just cause.

This is one of the problems with belief acquisition: a. Joe lies when he cries b. Beliefs are often implanted in our minds by mad scientists who work for the Army. c. We acquire our ideas, beliefs, and values the way we catch a cold. Like the cold virus, these ideas, beliefs, and values are floating around in our environment and we inhale them without realizing it. d. They are all acquired by rational reflection

c. We acquire our ideas, beliefs, and values the way we catch a cold. Like the cold virus, these ideas, beliefs, and values are floating around in our environment and we inhale them without realizing it.

When we claim that good consequences make an action aright we are responding with: a. an utilitarian answer b. an empirical answer c. a teleological answer d. a deontological answer

c. a teleological answer

For the Ancients and Medievals, if we are going to study ethics we will be studying the following: a. values (or the Good) b. what we should do and how we are to act with regards to other people (morality - rules of right and wrong) c. all of the above d. good and bad character traits (virtues and vices of character)

c. all of the above

That objective moral principles are to be applied differently in different contexts is the theory of: a. ethical relativism b. ethical objectivism c. ethical situationalism d. ethical reciprocity

c. ethical situationalism

Watts and Howell, who argue that physician-assisted suicide is not wrong, claim that there are morally important differences between a. attempted suicide and actual suicide. b. plain suicide and physician-assisted suicide. c. euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. d. euthanasia in the Netherlands and euthanasia in the U.S.

c. euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

Harman believes that there is great variation in the beliefs and practices of different societies. He states that a. the existence of universal features of morality is incompatible with moral relativism. b. this moral diversity disproves moral absolutism. c. if there is any universally accepted moral principle, it must verge on triviality or circularity. d. of course circumstances and social conditions differ from society to society too, but sometimes there are differences of moral opinion between individuals in the very same society, and this certainly disproves moral absolutism.

c. if there is any universally accepted moral principle, it must verge on triviality or circularity.

The value of pursuing knowledge or wisdom for its own sake is known as its ____. This is the opposite of having simply instrumental value. a. instrumental value b. applied value c. intrinsic value d. pure value e. tacit value

c. intrinsic value

Marquis says that a. even if we grant that the fetus is a human being, it is not clear that the fetus is alive. b. it is clear that the fetus is alive, human, and a human being. c. it is clear that the fetus is human and alive but not clear that it is a human being. d. even if we grant that the fetus is alive, it is not clear that it is human.

c. it is clear that the fetus is human and alive but not clear that it is a human being.

Noncombatant immunity is one of the two conditions that must be met according to a. jus ad bellum b. The principle of double effect c. jus in bello d. The principle of proportionality

c. jus in bello

For Aristotle, which of the following is necessary to achieve a state of well-being or eudaimonia? a. religious institutions b. quality enforceable laws c. proper social institutions d. well-developed family units

c. proper social institutions

Cases of physician-assisted suicide, according to Watts and Howell, a. were virtually non-existant a century ago, but these days are becoming more and more prevalent, although they are largely hushed up and almost never reported in the press. b. could figure prominently in driving down the cost of health care. c. range from cases in which the physician (minimally) assists by providing information, to cases in which the physician more actively assists by supervising the suicide itself. d. have always been a well-kept secret in the medical profession.

c. range from cases in which the physician (minimally) assists by providing information, to cases in which the physician more actively assists by supervising the suicide itself.

Doerflinger never a. makes a reference to Derek Humphrey, the Hemlock Society, or others supporting "the right to die." b. discusses U.S. Supreme Court decisions. c. sets out any distinction between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. d. mentions the traditional Judeo-Christian opposition to the idea of killing the innocent

c. sets out any distinction between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

Richard Doerflinger, who supports the idea that physician-assisted suicide is wrong, argues that a. the moral case against physician-assisted suicide is far clearer than the case against abortion, since (1) we clearly have a person, (2) the person is innocent, and (3) to kill this person would be murder. b. even if the law were to allow "physician-assisted suicide," such suicide is a clear violation of the doctor's Hippocratic Oath, and few if any physicians would actually participate in it. c. there is an important priority among the values of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"; life has the highest priority. d. suicide is wrong, and so physician-assisted suicide is wrong too.

c. there is an important priority among the values of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"; life has the highest priority.

According to Bagaric and Clarke: a. it is not unusual for victims of torture to use torture on others. b. the current almost totally negative view of torture is a relatively recent phenomenon and is largely confined to the West. c. torture is almost universally deplored and is prohibited by international law. d. when we impose solitary confinement, we are already practicing a form of torture, but we just do not want to admit it.

c. torture is almost universally deplored and is prohibited by international law.

Bagaric and Clarke specifically claim that torture is: a. in the eye of the beholder. b. so effective that victims will say or do almost anything in order to make it stop. c. widely used today in dozens of different countries around the world. d. a valuable crime-fighting and interrogation technique that today is largely confined to military dictatorships in the Third World.

c. widely used today in dozens of different countries around the world.

Watts and Howell specifically state: a. "The greatest threat to physician-assisted suicide comes from well-meaning but misguided religious groups." b. "Physician-assisted suicide represents a grown-up view of a situation that is hardly imaginable to children." c. "It is a direct contradiction of freedom and liberty that American citizens are unable to exercise their freedom either to die or to assist others in dying." d. "A panel of distinguished physicians has stated that it is not immoral for a physician to assist in the rational suicide of a terminally ill person."

d. "A panel of distinguished physicians has stated that it is not immoral for a physician to assist in the rational suicide of a terminally ill person."

According to Marquis, how does the standard pro-choice strategy proceed? a. Women need abortion as long as there is no 100 percent guaranteed birth control method; thus, it is not wrongful killing. b. Abortion is sometimes the right thing to do (as in cases of rape and incest); thus, it is not wrongful killing. c. A woman has the right to control what happens in and to her own body; thus, abortion is not wrongful killing. d. A fetus is not a person (or a social being or a rational agent); thus, abortion is not wrongful killing.

d. A fetus is not a person (or a social being or a rational agent); thus, abortion is not wrongful killing.

According to Don Marquis, who believes that abortion is immoral, how does the standard antiabortion argument proceed? a. Most abortions are not done because the woman was raped or because her life is in danger; thus, abortion is morally akin to murder. b. God is the only one with the authority to give or take life; thus, abortion by human choice is morally akin to murder. c. A fetus is not a rational agent and so must have its life protected and its interests served by the woman who is carrying the fetus; thus, abortion is morally akin to murder. d. A fetus possesses life from the moment of conception; thus, abortion is morally akin to murder.

d. A fetus possesses life from the moment of conception; thus, abortion is morally akin to murder.

The first version of Kant's Categorical Imperative (i.e. test for universal rules all humans should follow) is this: a. Act in such a way that obeys the natural law inherent in your soul. b. Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only. c. Act in such a way that accords the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. d. Act only according to the maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.

d. Act only according to the maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.

The study of philosophy, not religion, is the only way to save civilization according to whom? a. Friedrich Nietzsche b. Plato c. Carol Gilligan d. Ayn Rand e. Jeremy Bentham

d. Ayn Rand

Which Stoic said this? Republic (De Re Publica, III, xxii) "True law is right reason in agreement with nature: it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions. And it does not lay its commands or prohibitions upon good men in vain, though neither have any effect on the wicked - We cannot be freed from its obligations by senate or people, and we need not look outside ourselves for an expounder or interpreter of it. And there will not be different laws of Rome and at Athens, or different laws now and in the future, but one eternal and unchangeable law will be valid for all nations and all times, and there will be one master and ruler, that is, God, over us all, for he is the author of this law, its promulgator, and its enforcing judge. Whoever is disobedient is fleeing from himself and denying his human nature, and by reason of this very fact he still suffers the worst penalties, even if he escapes what is commonly considered punishment . . ." a. Chrysippus b. Zeno of Citium c. Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 A.D.) d. Cicero (i.e. Marcus Tullius Cicero 106 - 43 B.C.)

d. Cicero (i.e. Marcus Tullius Cicero 106 - 43 B.C.)

For Pojman, which of the following views claims that there are NO objective moral principles, but that all valid moral principles are justified or made true by virtue of their cultural acceptance which recognizes the social nature of morality? a. Diverse Ethical Relativism b. Dependent Ethical Relativism c. Subjective Ethical Relativism (Individual Relativism, or Subjectivism) d. Conventional Ethical Relativism (i.e. Cultural Ethical Relativism)

d. Conventional Ethical Relativism (i.e. Cultural Ethical Relativism)

Which of the following is not one of the "top three worldviews" in the U.S. right now? a. Philosophical (scientific) Naturalism b. Personal Theism c. Postmodernism (viz. constructive or "radical" postmodernism) d. Earth-Based Religion

d. Earth-Based Religion

(Radical) Postmodernism claims that no universal truths (no metanarratives) exist. Many argue that this fundamental claim has this problem:_________________ a. it is an (abusive) ad hominem argument b. it is a reduction to absurdity (reductio ad absurdum) c. it is a false dilemma d. It is "self-refuting"

d. It is "self-refuting"

What would a utilitarian most likely think about the morality of the Allied scatter bombing of German cities in World War II? a. It is wrong because war is always a violation of the nonviolent principles put forth in the Bible. b. It is wrong because the killing of civilians is always murder. c. It was justified because Germany bombed England first. As the unjust aggressor, the Germans, including the civilians, lost their noncombatant immunity status. d. It was justified under the principle of double effect which allows for the killing of civilians if these unintended harms are outweighed by the benefits of the bombing.

d. It was justified under the principle of double effect which allows for the killing of civilians if these unintended harms are outweighed by the benefits of the bombing.

Whose theory requires the use of the hedonic calculus to determine moral decision making by calculating quantities of pain and pleasure? a. Feminist Ethical Theorists b. Plato c. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900) d. Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) e. Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)

d. Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832)

The branch of philosophy that asks what is real. Deals with questions like, "Do we have free will?" and, "Do human beings have non-physical minds/souls in addition to their brains?" and, "Do moral properties (like goodness, badness, rightness and wrongness) exist?" and "Are humans intrinsically valuable or are humans only instrumentally valuable?" a. Logic b. Ethics c. Epistemology d. Metaphysics

d. Metaphysics

The following is not a popular objection against Natural Law Theory: a. Human reason cannot discover this mysterious "natural law" - this "divine spark" was a myth invented by the Stoics. b. Evolutionary theory claims that humans are a result of unguided natural processes. This means that teleology is an illusion. There is no natural law. c. There is no way for us to get prescriptions (moral norms) from descriptions of how nature is. The Naturalistic Fallacy by G.E. Moore (and David Hume) d. Natural Law theory assumes a Law-Giver (God), and God does not exist. e. All teleological theories about nature have been rejected by science. f. Social Darwinism might be justifiable on Natural Law Theory. Therefore, we should reject Natural Law Theory. g. Natural Law precludes individuals from believing in cultural relativism.

d. Natural Law theory assumes a Law-Giver (God), and God does not exist.

Which of the following philosophers is not a Radical Postmodernist? a. Jacques Derrida b. Richard Rorty c. Michel Foucault d. Richard Swinburne e. Jean-Francois Lyotard

d. Richard Swinburne

For Immanuel Kant, a universally applicable principle of conduct that is correct for each and every situation to be done by each and every individual is termed which of the following? a. The hypothetical imperative b. The maximum imperative c. The universal imperative d. The categorical imperative

d. The categorical imperative

For Immanuel Kant the only acts that can truly be considered morally valuable acts are those actions that are accompanied by: a. our intense inner reflection b. our faith in God c. a determined will to power d. a good will

d. a good will

A person who believes that moral principles have universal objective validity, but who denies that moral norms are exceptionless is known as: a. a Divine Command Theorist b. an ethical egoist like Ayn Rand c. an Aristotelian Virtue Ethicist d. a moral objectivist or moral realist e. a cultural ethical relativist or conventionalist f. a consequentialist like a utilitarian g. a Kantian deontologist h. an absolutist

d. a moral objectivist or moral realist

Louis Pojman, who argues that moral relativism is not correct, suggests that there is an incompatibility in believing in relativism while also believing that a. everyone, everywhere, has the same moral ideas. b. in moral matters, a person has the right to follow his or her own conscience. c. killing is always wrong (except in self-defense). d. abortion is always wrong (except to save the life of the woman).

d. abortion is always wrong (except to save the life of the woman).

Louis Pojman explains how there is a notorious problem in clearly defining the following terms? a. morality and empathy b. family and relationships c. politics and government d. culture and society

d. culture and society

EPISTEOMOLOGY: Which of the following theories denies that we have innate ideas and argues that all knowledge comes from our sensory experience? a. utilitarianism b. moralism c. skepticism d. empiricism

d. empiricism

Which of the following terms did Aristotle associate with living well and virtue? a. education b. happiness c. law d. habit

d. habit

Harman notes the great variation in moral beliefs and practices of different societies and believes that a. in light of this variation, we should be tolerant toward the views of others. b. if one accepts this variation, then one must accept moral relativism c. moral absolutism denies that there is any such variation. d. his theory of moral relativism is a reasonable inference from the data.

d. his theory of moral relativism is a reasonable inference from the data.

Imagine this scenario: A first-grader (named "Tuffer") sees his buddy's "Pink Pet" eraser in his desk and envy overcomes him. Little Tuffer knows that it is the wrong thing to do to steal Jason's Pink Pet, but once Jason is gone for a minute Tuffer has no choice but to run over to the desk and pocket the eraser. He knew it was the wrong thing to do, but he had no power to resist his urges to do the wrong thing. Aristotle would describe Tuffer as: a. virtuous b. continent c. vicious d. incontinent

d. incontinent

According to the dependency thesis, a. people become dependent on continuing to hold the same moral standards even though those standards no longer apply. b. Expand: Utilities Toolbarwhen people are children, they depend upon others--e.g., their parents--in order to make decisions for them, but part of becoming a mature adult involves making decisions for yourself. c. answers to moral questions depend on religion. d. individual acts are right or wrong depending on the nature of the society in which they occur.

d. individual acts are right or wrong depending on the nature of the society in which they occur.

People who claim there is no real disagreement over moral norms explain their view by saying a. why study ethics? b. the idea of a universally valid moral principle is an illusion. c. God will sort it all out. d. morality is a matter of personal choice. e. no one can achieve the ideal, good life.

d. morality is a matter of personal choice.

Doerflinger notes the a. track record of physician-assisted suicide in other countries, such as the Netherlands. b. zeal with which Dr. Kevorkian was willing to lend his assistance to suicide. c. reluctance of Congress to embrace the idea of physician-assisted suicide. d. psychological vulnerability of elderly and dying patients.

d. psychological vulnerability of elderly and dying patients.

According to Pojman, subjectivism a. is another name for conventionalism. b. is a definite improvement over other forms of relativism, although it is still imperfect. c. is the idea that different people give different answers to moral questions. d. reduces moral matters to matters of taste, and has other absurd consequences.

d. reduces moral matters to matters of taste, and has other absurd consequences.

Moral nihilism, says Harman, can be compared with religious nihilism. He himself seems to find a. neither of these acceptable. b. both of these acceptable. c. moral nihilism acceptable, but not religious nihilism. d. religious nihilism acceptable, but not moral nihilism.

d. religious nihilism acceptable, but not moral nihilism.

Watts and Howell state that good medical practice requires a. physicians to keep up to date with the latest methods of palliative care for patients suffering from serious pain. b. that the wishes of the patient always override the wishes of the physician, who, in the final analysis, is there only to serve the patient. c. the recognition that physicians are human too, and that there are limits to what any physician can know or do. d. the respect of the patient's desire for autonomy, dignity, and quality, not only of life, but of dying.

d. the respect of the patient's desire for autonomy, dignity, and quality, not only of life, but of dying.

We can define cultural ethical relativism (i.e. CONVENTIONALISM) by stating that? a. morality is dependent on God's will. b. we should only follow proven ethical principles. c. no acts are really right or wrong in any society. d. the rightness of an act is dependent on the culture in which it is performed. e. we have no way of telling a morally right act.

d. the rightness of an act is dependent on the culture in which it is performed.

Bagaric and Clarke, who support the position that torture is sometimes justified, argue that: a. torture has a bad name today because it was used by religious fanatics in the past, but today it can be used for people who commit serious physical crimes—not "sins" or theological offenses. b. in torturing terrorists who themselves use torture; we are simply fighting fire with fire. c. other nations recognize the use of torture, and if we do not do the same, then we will be at a disadvantage. d. torture can be a useful means of acquiring information in certain cases.

d. torture can be a useful means of acquiring information in certain cases.

For Aristotle, this has the following: (1) knowledge of the right action; (2) ability to do the right action; and (3) has a sense of pleasure in doing the right action. a. continent b. vicious c. incontinent d. virtuous

d. virtuous

Which of the following words is derived from the Greek words meaning "duty" and "logic," and means that the locus of value is in the action or kind of action? teleological ontological axiological deontological

deontological

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that humans should strive to satisfy our own will to power even if we exploit and dominate others, because others would: dominate us if they could give us over to our own temptations seek to destroy us assure that we would succeed, but we must be more cautious

dominate us if they could

Which of the following is not a question of metaphysics? a. Does the past exist? b. Could there exist a universe without time? c. What is the relationship between the mind and the body? d. Does God exist? e. Must knowledge be certain?

e. Must knowledge be certain?

Metaphysics, in modern philosophy, refers to a. the study of the unknowable. b. the study of the principles of physical motion. c. things that are beyond physics. d. the study of phenomena which are beyond nature. e. the study of the most fundamental principles of the nature of things.

e. the study of the most fundamental principles of the nature of things.

The central problem in the study of ethics according to German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) is . . . a. determining what one ought to do. b. to develop a good character. c. to come to know oneself fully. d. to come to terms with the differences between science and the commands of God. e. to overcome the powers of temptation and do our duty - follow the universal (categorical) rules of morality

e. to overcome the powers of temptation and do our duty - follow the universal (categorical) rules of morality

The doctrine that claims that it is morally right to always seek your own self-interest is known as which of the following? ethical moralism ethical relativism ethical egoism utilitarianism

ethical egoism

The kind of ethical theory that looks at the heart of the actor or agent and that actor's character is known as which of the following? a. Ethical Egoism (Ayn Rand's "Objectivism") b. Rule Utilitarianism c. Act Utilitarianism d. Kantian Deontology e. Individual Ethical Relativism (a.k.a. "Subjectivism") f. Aeretaic Ethics

f. Aeretaic Ethics

Out of the following list, pick the person who is not a Scientific (Philosophical) Naturalist. a. Richard Dawkins b. Stephen Jay Gould c. Sam Harris d. Christopher Hitchens e. Daniel Dennett f. Richard Swinburne g. Carl Sagan

f. Richard Swinburne

Layman makes the point that there is a significant distinction between theism and religion truths like "1 + 1 = 2" and necessary truths feeling like one is obligated and actually being obligated physical goods like health and intellectual goods like knowledge

feeling like one is obligated and actually being obligated

According to Punzo, from a moral point of view, a man and woman are married when they make a mutual and total commitment to share their lives, even if they haven't gone through with a formal wedding. from a moral point of view, even though a man and woman may have made a mutual commitment to each other, and according to that commitment they are to share their lives, they are not really married until they actually take their vows. the primary value that is relevant to two people who wish to have a sexual relationship is honesty: as long as they are honest about their level of commitment, the presence or absence of sexually transmitted diseases, and so on, no one else should raise any moral complaint. sexual abstinence is morally superior to sexual activity.

from a moral point of view, a man and woman are married when they make a mutual and total commitment to share their lives, even if they haven't gone through with a formal wedding.

According to Layman, one of the advantages of a religious perspective over a secular one is that from a religious perspective it is possible to include secular knowledge, but from a secular perspective it is not possible to include religious knowledge. from a religious perspective it is possible for an afterlife to exist where the just are rewarded and the unjust are punished, but this is not so from a secular perspective. it is impossible to prove a religious view wrong, but sometimes a secular view can be proven wrong. a religious perspective provides a source of strength that is unavailable in a secular view.

from a religious perspective it is possible for an afterlife to exist where the just are rewarded and the unjust are punished, but this is not so from a secular perspective.

A person who believes that there are principles that should never be violated or overriden and that the corresponding moral laws are exceptionless is known as: a. ethical cultural relativist or conventionalist b. Aristotelian Virtue Theorist c. utilitarian d. a fan of the Foo Fighters e. Ethical egoist f. individual ethical relativist or subjectivist g. a moral absolutist h. a moral objectivist or moral realist

g. a moral absolutist

Arthur rejects Divine Command Theory because he does not see any real proof for God's existence then even great atrocities would be right because god commanded them people have the right to decide what is right and what is wrong the Bible says to give "an eye for an eye" and Arthur thinks that is cruel

he does not see any real proof for God's existence

Jeremy Bentham invented a scheme to measure pleasure and pain to assist in making proper decisions. He called it which of the following? eudaimonia calculation hedonic calculus hedonistic calculation consequence calculus

hedonic calculus

Layman asserts that the historical benefits of religion are undeniable. history shows that human beings developed the idea of morality at the same time that they developed the idea of religion. human history is a long story of the search for God. human history is one long story of injustice.

human history is one long story of injustice.

Alan H. Goldman, who does not believe that sex must involve commitment, starts with the idea that sexual desire cannot be detached from its cultural embeddedness and considered simply on its own. is the desire for contact with another person's body and for that pleasure that such contact produces is always connected to someone else, such as reproduction, the expression of love, or simply communication must be definable in terms of specific acts like kissing, embracing, and so on

is the desire for contact with another person's body and for that pleasure that such contact produces

One difference between sex and love, according to Goldman, is that it is possible to have short-term sexual desires, or even to engage in casual sex, but there is no such thing as casual love. males are more interested in sex; females are more interested in love. love may lead to sex, but sex never leads to love. love is what is expressed by sex; it is not the same as sex.

it is possible to have short-term sexual desires, or even to engage in casual sex, but there is no such thing as casual love.

The U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision outlawed abortion legalized all abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy legalized abortion only in the case of rape or therapeutic abortions legalized abortion up until the point of viability

legalized abortion up until the point of viability

Jeremy Bentham's concept of utilitarianism is simply to maximize pleasure and: avoid evil please the minority please the majority minimize suffering

minimize suffering

Goldman states that people's sex lives would actually be more fulfilling if they thought of sex as plain sex. plain sex is really an old idea that dates back to ancient, pre-Christian times. nothing in sex is immoral unless it is condemned by rules that apply elsewhere as well. plain sex is basically any sex that is within socially accepted norms.

nothing in sex is immoral unless it is condemned by rules that apply elsewhere as well.

It is Punzo's view that the chaste person rejects depersonalized sexual relations as a reduction of one's physical being to the status of an object or a pure instrument for another goes too far to one extreme and rejects all sexual intercourse is an unrealistic and unrealizable ideal and actually encourages immoral sexual behavior, because most people see that they fall short of that ideal anyway is able to separate (or detach) his or her sexuality from his or her actual being or existence in the world

rejects depersonalized sexual relations as a reduction of one's physical being to the status of an object or a pure instrument for another

John Arthur, who does not believe that morality needs religion, states that, at least at first glance, religion and morality appear to be concerned with the same things--especially with the question of how to live a good life. religion and morality appear to be concerned with different things; religion has primarily to do with beliefs about the supernatural and morality has to do with our attitudes toward behavior. religion and morality seem to approach the same thing from opposite sides; that is, religion tells us what we have to do in order to be saved and morality tells us what we should not do. religion is logically connected to morality; given a certain religion, a certain morality logically follows.

religion and morality appear to be concerned with different things; religion has primarily to do with beliefs about the supernatural and morality has to do with our attitudes toward behavior.

According to Arthur people who believe in God are committed to the Divine Command Theory even if the Divine Command Theory is false, it has the virtue of making clear, in black and white in the Bible, just what is commanded and what is not lacking religious belief, an atheist will be unable to come to grips with a moral question religion is sometimes detrimental to society's attempt to encourage moral conduct

religion is sometimes detrimental to society's attempt to encourage moral conduct

Goldman specifically mentions that since there are so many different ideas about sex and morality, there can be no such thing as an application of general moral rules to the treatment of others in sex acts. sex itself is not a moral category and that any analysis of sex that attributes a moral character to sex acts in themselves is wrong for that reason. the present age is somewhat sex-crazy, but more level-headed views about sex have existed in the past. any sex act between adults is morally permissible, but sex that involves a child is always morally questionable.

sex itself is not a moral category and that any analysis of sex that attributes a moral character to sex acts in themselves is wrong for that reason.

John Stuart Mill argued that the higher, or more refiined, pleasures are: the only pleasures towards which we should aim the only pleasures of any value only necessary if we are members of the upper class superior to the lower ones

superior to the lower ones

Which of the following words is derived from the Greek word meaning "having reached one's end" and places the locus of value on the outcomes or consequences of the action? deontology ontology axiology teleology

teleology

Arthur rejects the divine command theory because when he throws all of the data on the table (apparent design of the laws of physics of the universe, the existence of the moral law, existence of non-physical minds/souls in humans, the beginning of the universe, the existence of beauty, etc.) he still finds the naturalistic (atheistic) hypothesis as a better explanation of all of the data than the theistic (God) hypothesis. that even great atrocities would be right if God commanded them people have a right to make up what is right and what is wrong the Bible says, "an eye for an eye" and Arthur thinks that is cruel

that even great atrocities would be right if God commanded them

C. Stephen Layman, who believes that morality needs religion [i.e. a personal God], contends that the existence of God and the idea of life after death are importantly related. history demonstrates the moral superiority of a social group that believes in God. moral value is an emergent phenomenon--i.e., it is a feature of certain effects although it is not a feature of their causes. moral value is brought into being by God's commandments.

the existence of God and the idea of life after death are importantly related.

Layman says that it is important to make a distinction between the justification of an institution and the justification of a particular act within that institution. the justification of ethics and the justification of morality. a person's intentions and the actual results of the person's actions. a person's will and God's will.

the justification of an institution and the justification of a particular act within that institution.

Punzo apparently believes that one reason same-sex marriage is wrong is that the parties to it are never really committed to each other. the main point of people being committed to each other is that they will not (intentionally) do each other harm. there is a fundamental moral difference between being someone's sports or business partner and being someone's sex partner. just as it is wrong to hire a woman as a prostitute, it is wrong to hire a woman as a secretary.

there is a fundamental moral difference between being someone's sports or business partner and being someone's sex partner.

Goldman asserts that traditional writings were wrong to emphasize the physical or animal aspects of sex; for human beings, sex essentially involves body and spirit. the concept of plain sex is focused on the achievement of pleasurable sensations; the involvement of another person's body is best regarded as a means to that end. the concept of plain sex applies most clearly in the case of older couples for whom sex is more or less automatic and has grown repetitive. traditional writings were correct to emphasize the purely physical or animal aspect of sex; they were wrong only in condemning it.

traditional writings were correct to emphasize the purely physical or animal aspect of sex; they were wrong only in condemning it.

Punzo suspects that, in real life, there is one and only one person that one is destined for; premarital life should be committed to finding that person--not to "jumping the gun." total commitment can only be given once; second marriages will never work out. the parties in a relationship are not the best judges of whether they have a serious commitment or not; in such cases moral judgment is required from a third party, perhaps a clergyman or parent. unmarried couples are often not even honest with each other, and there is a certain amount of taking advantage and leading the other person on.

unmarried couples are often not even honest with each other, and there is a certain amount of taking advantage and leading the other person on.