Ch 3 Mastering

Identify an example of a categorical imperative.

"All humans should refrain from taking the life of a human regardless of the circumstances."

Market utilitarianism

Advertising regulations should be determined by advertisers themselves, who are in the best position to judge what risks they are willing to take to generate profits.

In the Kantian tradition, human beings do not act only out of instinct and conditioning; they make free choices about how they live their lives. In this sense, humans are said to have a fundamental human right of____________or self rule

Autonomy

Identify a view of virtue ethics

Character and action have a reciprocal relationship.

The principle-based framework

Directs one to act on the basis of moral principles

Utilitarianism

Directs one to decide based on overall consequences of one's acts

is a perspective that states that people act only out of self-interest.

Egoism

Principles create _____ that bind people to behave or decide in certain ways.

Ethical duties

Identify an example of a hypothetical duty.

One must support charities as long as it is within one's means to do so."

Which of the following is a true statement about utilitarians?

They are likely to be very pragmatic thinkers.

Identify a true statement about utilitarians.

They make decisions strictly based on consequences.

Much of 20th-century economics, or what is known as the free market, is based on _____.

Utilitarianism

In the past, utilitarianism as a social philosophy has been strongly supportive of _____.

democratic policies and institutions

According to Immanuel Kant, the fundamental duty of a person to respect the rights of others is the duty to _____.

treat others as ends in themselves

An issue faced by utilitarians when calculating the consequences of an action is that _____.

utilitarians differ on what constitutes the overall good

Identify an argument of socialist egalitarian theories.

Basic economic goods and services should be equally distributed

Identify an argument of socialist egalitarian theories.

Basic economic goods and services should be equally distributed.

Why do some utilitarians turn to policy experts to create and implement policies?

Because policy experts can best predict the consequences of the policies

Which ethical tradition has its origins in 18th- and 19th-century political and social philosophy and functions on the belief that outcomes matter?

Utilitarianism

One of the challenges to utilitarian ethics is that _____.

comparisons of consequences are sometimes impractical

Utilitarianism has been called a _________ approach to ethics and social policy because its fundamental insight is that people should decide what to do by considering the overall consequences of their actions.

consequentialist

A movement within utilitarian thought points to the line of thinking that originated with Adam Smith. It claims that _____.

free and competitive markets are the best ways for achieving utilitarian ends

According to utilitarianism, the ultimate good and the only thing that can be valued for its own sake is _____.

happiness

Virtue ethics

lifeDirects one to consider the moral character of individuals and how various character traits can contribute to, or obstruct, a happy and meaningful human life

The market and the administrative versions of utilitarianism both _____.

share the same goal of maximizing good outcomes overall

According to virtue ethics, one of the ways in which choices affect character is through _____.

the people and organizations one chooses to associate with

From an ethical perspective, what is considered the most reasonable decision a person can make?

A decision that promotes the greatest number of human values for the greatest number of people

A company patented a drug that would moderately improve the mood of anyone who takes it without any side effects or impairment in functioning. However, animal rights activists discovered that the company perfected the drug after numerous failed tests on animals, some of which had to be put down, and they called for the drug to be banned. How would a utilitarian most likely respond in this scenario?

A utilitarian would support the company because the drug would have positive overall consequences if sold.

Administrative utilitarianism

Advertising regulations should be determined by experts who have carefully studied and observed the field of advertising and who will establish well-researched standards for advertisers.

How does virtue ethics reconcile the conflict between self-interest and altruism?

By stating that some people's selves are altruistic

According to many philosophers, ethical duties should be ___________which means that a person must obey fundamental ethical rules

Categorical imperatives

An ethics of virtue focuses on a Pearson's ______________which refers to those dispositions, relationships, attitudes, values, and beliefs that popularly might be called a "personality."

Character

Consequences

Considering beneficial and harmful effects to all parties affected

Duties, rights, and principles

Considering if the people involved are being treated fairly, with respect for their autonomy and equality

Implications for personal integrity and character

Considering ones own principles and purposes and if a decision makes one proud or embarrassed

True or false: In ethics, all acts can be successfully justified by tying them to self-interest.

False

True or false: In principle-based ethics, liberty and equality are considered legal rights created by governments and communities.

False

True or false: Utilitarians believe that an act is either absolutely right or wrong in all cases in every situation

False

True or false: Utilitarians believe that they ought to obey certain principles even if doing so does not increase overall happiness.

False

Which of the following are the beliefs of libertarians? (Check all that apply.)

Government regulation on business practices that are not ethical is considered just. Individuals should be free to engage in any voluntary economic exchange as long as they do not harm others.

Lorraine captures an endangered snake in her garden. A passerby tells her that it is extremely valuable and that she should sell it instead of calling the authorities. However, she notifies the authorities and has them take it away as it is a crime to sell the snake. What type of ethical principle is Lorraine abiding by?

Legal principal

Lorraine captures an endangered snake in her garden. A passerby tells her that it is extremely valuable and that she should sell it instead of calling the authorities. However, she notifies the authorities and has them take it away as it is a crime to sell the snake. What type of ethical principle is Lorraine abiding by?

Legal principle

According to principle-based ethics, which of the following are natural rights? (Check all that apply.)

Liberty Equality

What are the categories that represent the major traditions of ethical frameworks? (Check all that apply.)

Personal character Principles Consequences

Which of the following would be promoted by Adam Smith's version of utilitarianism? (Check all that apply.)

Policies that protect property rights Policies that encourage competition

________are ethical rules that put values into action.

Principles

Identify the types of ethical principles that are part of a social contract. (Check all that apply.)

Role-based principles Legal principles Organizational principles Professional principles

How do utilitarian policy experts improve their ability to predict outcomes that will maximize overall happiness?

Through careful observation

What is the function of rights?

To prevent individuals from being sacrificed for the greater overall good

According to utilitarians, what is the ultimate ethical goal?

To produce the best outcomes overall after considering all the stakeholders involved

True or false: An individual's self, or character, is identical to his or her most basic and enduring dispositions, values, beliefs, and attitudes.

True

Which tradition in philosophical ethics seeks a complete and detailed description of character traits that would constitute a good and meaningful human life?

Virtue ethics

Character traits that would constitute a good and full human life are called _____.

Virtues

Virtue ethics focuses on

Who a person is

Free-market economics requires businesses to pursue profits to ensure that businesses _____.

allocate resources to people who value them the most

The perspective of egoism claims that it is impossible for people to _____.

be altruistic

According to free-market economics, the most efficient method of maximizing overall happiness requires that _____.

business managers aim to maximize profits

In a business setting, the most important conflict of rights would occur when _____.

employees' economic rights conflict with their employers' property rights

Rights function to prevent individuals from _____.

having to sacrifice their integrity for greater overall happiness

Egalitarian perspectives on social justice generally support _____.

increased governmental involvement in the economy

The most significant contribution of utilitarianism to philosophical thought is _____.

its impact in the field of economics

The most significant contribution of utilitarianism to philosophical thought is _____.

its influence on virtue ethics

Utilitarians believe that the purpose of ethics ought to be the _____.

maximization of overall happiness

A serious issue that ethicists have with the utilitarian school of thought concerns its belief that _____.

means are justified by their end

The goal of economic activity in free-market economics is to _____.

meet consumer demand

One of the features of human rights is that they _____.

protect individuals from having their dignity violated

According to free-market proponents, free markets maximize overall happiness by _____.

providing an environment within which individuals can decide what they want and bargain for it

According to principle-based ethics, the fundamental moral duty of human beings is to _____.

respect other people's basic human rights

One of the challenges to an ethics of rights highlights the fact that _____.

rights are sometimes in conflict with each other

Utilitarianism as a social philosophy is against policies that _____.

seek to benefit a small minority

According to the Kantian tradition, fundamental human rights and duties are derived from _____.

the free and rational nature of human beings