Ethics Chapter 1

An argument is valid only if all its premises are true.

False

Organizational norms always and inevitably lead to groupthink.

False

When religion and morality are considered:

The moral instructions of the world's great religions are often general and imprecise.

Morality in the narrow sense: business is mainly focused here

The moral principles or rules that do, or should, govern the conduct of individuals in their relations with others

Our relationship with the law is best described by which of the following?

To a significant extent, law codifies a society's customs, norms, and moral values.

Business ethics is the study of what constitutes right and wrong, or good and bad, human conduct in a business context.

True

Bystander apathy appears to result in part from diffusion of responsibility.

True

In business and elsewhere, your only moral obligation is to act within the law.

True

Our conscience evolved as we internalized the moral instructions of the parents or other authority figures who raised us as children.

True

"game" of business

captures the thesis of Albert Carr This view entails - incorrectly - that the practices of business professionals cannot (or should not) be evaluated from an ordinary moral standpoint.

A tangible truth about having moral principles is

if you do the right thing only because you think it will pay off, you are not really motivated by moral concerns.

Accepting a moral principle

Generally involves a desire to follow that principle for its own sake

Which of the following characteristics distinguishes moral standards from other sorts of standards?

Moral standards take priority over other standards, including self-interest.

Moral attitudes are best depicted by which of the following

Moral standards typically concern behavior that can be of serious consequence to human welfare.

Conscience

The internalized set of moral principles taught to us by various authority figures - parents and social institutions.

Morality in the broad sense:

The values, ideals, and aspirations that influence the decisions and lifestyles of individuals and entire societies

Ethical Relativism

The view according to which moral norms derive their ultimate justification from the customs of the society in which they occur.

Problems with Relativism

There is no independent standard by which to judge the rightness or wrongness of other societies. The idea of ethical progress loses its significance. It wouldn't make sense to criticize the moral code of one's own society or culture

According to divine command theory, if something is wrong, then the only reason it is wrong is that God commands us not to do it.

True

An argument is a group of statements, one of which is claimed to follow from the others.

True

The famous experiments by social psychologist Solomon Asch show

even temporary groups can pressure people to conform

Philosophical discussion of moral issues typically involves

the revision and modification of arguments.

Ethical relativism supports the theory that:

what is right is determined by what a culture or society says is right.

For philosophers, the most important issue is not where our moral principles came from, but:

whether those moral principles can be justified