Introduction to Ethics - Quizzes 1-10

Which of the following is associated with care ethics?

Nel Noddings

The question, "Does God love goodness because it is good, or is it good because God loves it?" was asked by which of the following?

None of these -Aristotle -Kant -John Stuart Mill

Which of the following in not a criticism of virtue ethics?

Virtue ethics does not have a clear vision of "the Good life" or the goal of human existence.

Thomas Hobbes is known for which of the following?

all of these -Leviathan -social contract theory -the state of nature

Which of the following is an argument against psychological egoism?

all of these -That self-interest is sometimes the motivation behind an action does not mean it is always the motivation for all actions. -Happiness appears to be an elusive goal when we seek it by itself. However, when we pursue other intrinsically worthy goals, such as helping others, we often find happiness as a result. -That satisfaction is a consequence of an action does not make achieving satisfaction the motivation behind the action or the action's purpose.

Which of the following is a significant weakness of utilitarianism?

all of these -The principle "always choose that action that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people" does not tell us whether we should focus on total happiness (where the immense happiness of one group could offset the dimished happiness of others) or highest average happiness (where everyone has about the same level of happiness, but no one has immense happiness). -Individual human rights can easily be dismissed in favor of increasing the happiness of others, resulting in such things as slavery, killing innocent people, and stealing resources. -As human beings, there is no way for us to fully know the future consequences of our actions, therefore we cannot know whether this action or that action will ultimately result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

According to Hobbes, society needs moral standards to preserve an environment where most people

all of these -can be reasonably safe -can invest in knowledge -can create art and literature

The self-deception argument in favor of psychological egoism....

all of these -doesn't account for the possibility that our values may be such that we incorporate the good of others are part of our own happiness. -cannot be proven true or false. -holds that, although we may not be consciously aware of it, at the deepest level, all of our acts are ultimately motivated by self-interest.

Which of the following is a potential strength of utilitarianism?

all of these -it addresses the need to promote the good of future generations. -it recognizes the morality is designed to serve the good of humanity. -it has a clear, understandable goal that drives decision making.

Which of the following is a proposed weakness of Ayn Rand's version of ethical egoism?

all of these -it places more value on the good of society, as a whole, than it does on the good of the individual -it presents a false dilemma, arguing that absolute altruism and absolute egoism are the only ethical options. -its foundation is altruism, which is in direct opposition to ethical egoism.

Establishing and following moral rules reduces human suffering, keeps society from falling apart, and which of the following?

all of these -promotes human flourishing. -assigns praise and blame, reward and punishment, and guilt. -resolves conflicts of interest in just and orderly ways.

Utilitarianism is which of the following?

all of these -teleological -consequentialist -objectivist

It is important that you invest the necessary time to identify your instrumental values, intrinsic values, and the Good, before moving forward, because:

all of these -you can't determine what the right action is unless you have first identified the goal toward which you should be aiming. -these form the foundation upon which you will build your ethics. -they will allow you to determine how the proposals made by each ethical theory relate to your own personal moral philosophy.

According to Natural Law Theory:

all of these. -every normally-functioning, adult human can know what is morally right. -natural laws of morality are discernible by human reason. -laws require a Lawgiver, even if that Lawgiver is not recognized.

Ayn Rand claimed that we have an inalienable right to seek our own happiness and fulfillment, regardless of its effects on others. Which of the following would deny us that right according to her philosophy?

altruism

The theory that holds that we should sometimes act in favor of other people's interests.

altruism

Immanuel Kant is considered to be both a rationalist and which of the following?

an absolutist

Which of the following is the most accurate term for an act that you are morally required to do and it is not permissible for you to refrain from doing it?

an obligatory act.

The social state of chaos produced by the collapse of civil authority.

anarchy

"Force or threat is used to coerce an opponent into accepting one's conclusion" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

appeal to force.

"The testimony of someone who is an authority in a different field is used as support for one's conclusion describes which of the following informal fallacies?

appeal to inappropriate authority

"Arguing that something is moral because it is traditional" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

appeal to tradition.

Kant believed that we do not have any obligations to animals because they:

are not rational beings.

Ethical relativists believe that universal, objective moral principles:

do no exist

"A key term shifts meaning during the course of an argument" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

equivocation

The ethical theory that claims that it is morally right to always seek your own self-interest is known as which of the following?

ethical egoism

The view that holds that no valid moral principles exist, and that morality is completely fictitious is known as:

ethical nihilism

The view that there are no universal ethical principles, but rather that all ethical principles are only valid to the cultures or individuals who accept them is known as which of the following?

ethical relativism

Which of the following views cold consider the actions of Adolf Hitler during the Holocaust of World War II to be morally acceptable?

ethical subjectivism

Which of the following deals with rights and wrong as defined only by conscience or reason?

ethics

Which of the following is concerned with manners, form, and style, as defined by culture, rather than with what is morally right or wrong in a deeper sense?

etiquette.

The "state of nature," as explained by Thomas Hobbes, refers to:

every person against every other person.

The Greek word arete means:

excellence or virtue

The "Golden Mean" may be described as:

finding a virtue between opposing vices.

Virtue ethicists believe that virtue is intrinsically good, which mean which of the following?

flourishing as human beings requires not just that we do good, but that we be good.

Ethical relativism may be defined as the belief that:

no universally valid moral principles exist.

In the context of cultural relativism, which of the following is a contradiction?

All cultures should be more tolerant of the moral beliefs of cultures other than their own.

Which of the following is true of the independence thesis?

All of the above -It is a view with which theists can agree. -It is a view held by atheists. -It holds that objective moral standards exist as separate from God's commands.

The statement, "God commands something because it is good," assumes which of the following?

All of these -The independence thesis is true. -There is moral standard that applies to both God and human beings. -There is a moral standard for right and wrong that is separate from God.

According to the Divine Command Theory:

All of these -if God requires a certain action, then this makes it a moral requirement. -if an action is neither required nor prohibited by God, then it is considered morally permissible. -if God prohibits a certain action, then to perform that action is morally wrong.

The question, "Does God love goodness because it is good, or is it good because God loves it?" may present a false dischotomy, because:

All of these -it doesn't account for the Judeo-Christian view of God as the source of all that exists - or being itself. -it assumes that "the Good" is something separate from God. -it forces us to choose between two option, but these are not the only options available to us.

The anecdote describing Abraham Lincoln's encounter with a pig is designed to teach us which of the following?

Altruism is motivated by self-interest.

According to Kantianism, which of the following commands could be universalized?

Always keep your promises.

Virtue ethics is primarily associated with the writings of:

Aristotle

Which of the following is not a reason given in the course content for developing our moral reasoning skills?

As we develop our skills, we will be able to win more ethical arguments.

"The achievement of his own happiness is man's highest moral purpose" was written by which of the following?

Ayn Rand

Which of the following is not a reason to be moral?

Being moral is always in our immediate best interest.

"Act only upon that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that that it should become universal law." This is known as the:

Categorical Imperative.

For the Christian, "the Good" refers to:

God Himself

Which of the following is a problem facing the cultural relativist?

How do we identify objective moral principles?

Which of the following would be a potential argument in favor of ethical relativism?

If most cultures have different moral principles, there are probably no objective moral principles.

Which of the following would be a potential argument against ethical relativism?

If most cultures have similar moral principles, those moral principles are probably universal.

Which of the following is not one of the weaknessess of ethical egoism, as identified in your assigned course content?

In all of its forms, it is inconsistent with psychological egoism.

Adam Smith believe which of the following?

Individual self-interest in a competitive marketplace is the most effective system for a society.

The question, "Does God love goodness because it is good, or is it good because God loves it?" is basically asking, which of the following?

Is there a standard, independent of God, for what is good?

A weakness of the "Prisoner's Dilemma" is which of the following?

It accurately depicts moral choices as a one-shot event.

Which of the following is a potential weakness of the Divine Command Theory?

It appears to propose a situation where God can establish moral standards based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any particular reason.

The statement, "Something is good because God commands it," assumes which of the following?

It is God who determines what is morally right or wrong.

In Game Theory, The "Prisoner's Dilemma" demonstrates which of the following?

It's better to secretly violate society's moral rules, regardless of what other people do.

In response to P.H. Nowell-Smith's statement that religion makes people rigidly and unreasonably rule bound and the assertion of James Rachels that worship of God requires the abandonment of one's role as an autonomous moral agent, people of faith may content that...

Jesus broke a rule of "not working on the Sabbath" in order to heal and do good, and the Bible tells us to love God with our whole mind as well as our heart and strength. People of faith are called to be thinking believers.

Which of the following demonstrates that religion or faith is the requirement for ethical thought?

Kantianism

Which of the following is true about meta-ethics?

Meta-ethics asks foundational questions about the nature of ethics.

Which of the following is not a potential way that religion can enhance the moral life?

None of these -The belief that God created human beings in his own image leads to the conclusion that all people are created equal, which is a substantial foundation for belief in the equal value and ethical treatment of all human beings. -Religion can provide answers to the question of why human beings so often fail to perform the morally right action, even when they believe they have correctly identified it, as well as resources to address this problem. -Religious traditions provide a wide variety of ethical perspectives that can inform and enrich our moral philosophies.

Which of the following holds that a proposition or theory is scientific only if its wording would allow recognition of the kind of evidence that would refute or falsify the theory. The implication of the principle is that every true theory must rule out some possibilities; any alleged theory that is compatible with every possible state of affairs is no theory at all.

Principle of Falsifiability

In Game Theory, the game "Cooperate or Cheat" demonstrates which of the following?

Rational self-interest over the long run would demand that we cooperate with one another.

Which of the following statements does not reflect the thinking of Immanuel Kant, in light of your assigned readings and online content?

So act as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of any other, in every case as a means and never only as an end.

Which of the following demonstrates that religion or faith is a hindrance to ethical thought?

There are many different religions, many denominations within those religions, and many disagreements, therefore there is no religious truth.

Which of the following is often offered as justification for ethical relativism?

There is moral diversity among different cultures.

The study of ethics generally revolves around this question:

What is it that makes something right or wrong?

Aristotle considered ethics to be:

a branch of politics

For Immanuel Kant the only acts that can truly be considered morally valuable acts are those actions that are accompanied by which of the following?

a good will

John Stuart Mill's statement that "it is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied" is:

a modification of hedonism in recognition that there are different qualities of pleasure.

Mill's famous statement that it is better to be Socrates than a fool was:

a response to critics who saw utilitarianism as catering to the lowest common denominator of human desire; but it led some to label him an elitist.

When we claim that good consequences make an action right, we are arguing from:

a teleological perspective.

"Basic human rights can sometimes be violated for the greater good." This statement would be more likely to come from which of the following?

a utilitarian

"Attacking an opponent's character rather than addressing her conclusion" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

abusive.

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?

act-utilitarianism

Which of the following reduces all moral judgments to judgments about actions and neglects the spiritual qualities of gratitude, self-respect, sympathy, and aspiring to become a certain kind of person?

action-based ethics

"The premise and conclusion are different wordings of the same proposition" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

begging the question.

The thought experiment concerning the "Happiness Machine" (a virtual device) was designed to determine whether you:

believe pleasure is "the Good."

John Stuart Mill sought to improve upon Jeremy Bentham's version of utilitarianism:

by distinguishing happiness from sensual pleasure.

In Immanuel Kant's philosophy, ought implies which of the following?

can

According to Kantianism, all of the following would be morally wrong, except:

charging interest on loans.

"Arguing that an opponent should accept a particular position because of his or her lifestyle or membership in a particular group" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

circumstantial

According to cultural relativism, if a culture practices infanticide, someone from another culture:

could not legitimately criticize the first culture.

For Aristotle, the "mean" between cowardice and foolhardiness is:

courage

For Aristotle, the "mean" between cowardice and recklessness is:

courage.

Kantianism is a version of:

deontological ethics

The purpose of the ethics survey was to:

determine the degree to which you have thought about your underlying ethical beliefs.

In order to have peace, according to Hobbes, we must:

give up some liberty.

In order to avoid a life that is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short," Hobbes recommends which of the following?

giving up some freedom

According to Aristotle, human well-being or eudaimonia refers to:

happiness

"The conclusion is based on atypical cases" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

hasty generalization

Jeremy Bentham invented a scheme to measure pleasure and pain to assist in making ethical decisions. He called it which of the following?

hedonic calculus

"Pleasure is one of many intrinsic values," says the:

hedonist

Virtue ethics places a heavy emphasis upon:

human flourishing and fulfillment.

"Arguing that a certain position is true because it hasn't been proven false, or that it is false because it hasn't been proven true" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

ignorance.

When an argument is psychologically or emotionally persuasive, but logically incorrect, it contains what logicians call a(n):

informal fallacy

If we say that for all people knowledge has value in itself and also as a means to attain happiness, we are saying that knowledge has which of the following?

intrinsic value

"An argument is directed at a different conclusion than the one under discussion" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

irrelevant conclusion.

According to care ethics, men tend to emphasize____________in their ethical thinking.

justice over relationship

According to social contract theory, citizens agree to give governments power in order to:

keep society peaceful.

The right to be left alone to pursue our legitimate interests without interference from the government or other people.

liberty

Jeremy Bentham's concept of utilitarianism is simply to maximize pleasure and:

minimize suffering

Which of the nonhedonists believes hat there is a single intrinsic value to life, but that this value is not pleasure?

monists

This course is primarily concerned with which of the following?

moral philosophy.

Which of the following refers to the systematic endeavor to understand the moral concepts and justify moral principles and theories?

moral philosophy.

Which of the following is not a reason used to support ethical relativism?

moral uncertainty

The Divine Command Theory states that:

morality is based on God's commands.

"Arguing an 'ought' from an 'is" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

naturalistic

Intrinsic goods are good because of their:

nature

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

In the long term, the "state of nature" would benefit, which of the following?

no one

The fact that ethical egoists cannot announce to others, without hindering the attainment of their own goals, that they believe ethical egoism to be the best ethical model is called which of the following?

none of these -the paradox of ethical egoism -the argument from counterintuitive consequences -the inconsistent outcomes argument

Which of the following is NOT a general trait of a moral principle?

normativeness

Hume stated that human morality is really founded on:

our feelings of sympathy for other people.

The word "hedonist" comes from a Greek word that means:

pleasure

"There are many intrinsic goods," says the:

pluralist

"The opinion of the majority of the majority is used as support for a conclusion" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

popular appeal

William D. Ross listed seven items as follows: promise keeping, fidelity, gratitude for favors, beneficence, justice, self-improvement, and nonmaleficence. He calls these:

prima facie duties

The founding principle of utilitarianism, defended by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, according to which we should only perform acts that help achieve the goal of "the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people."

principle of utility

The ethical theory of Thomas Hobbes is driven entirely by what concept?

psychological egoism

The theory that states that we only perform acts that we perceive are in our own best interest and that we cannot be motivated by anything other than what we believe is best for ourselves as individuals.

psychological egoism

According to Aristotle, the human "function" is:

rationality

The doctrine of double effect states that there are four conditions that must be satisfied before an act is morally permissible. These are: nature of the act, means-end, proportionality, and which of the following?

right intention

Hedonism is subdivided into two categories: sensualism and...

satisfactionism

"A position or proposal is rejected, without sufficient evidence, on the grounds that it will set off a chain of events that will lead to a situation that is dangerous or undesirable" describes which of the following informal fallacies?

slippery slope

The question of why we should be moral has two aspects:

society and the individual

Which position holds that values are dependent on desires and only have value in relation to the individual who desires them?

subjectivists

John Stuart Mill argues that the higher, or more refined, pleasures are:

superior to the lower ones.

According to John Locke and David Hume, the human mind is a(n)______________, or an empty slate, upon which experience writes its lessons.

tabula rasa

This places the ultimate criterion of morality in some nonmoral value (for example, happiness) that results from acts, seeing only instrumental value in the acts, but seeing intrinsic value in their consequences.

teleological ethics

The Greek word for "goal" or "end."

telos

"Act only upon that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." This is known as:

the Categorical Imperative.

The ultimate intrinsic value, the goal of life, is known as which of the following?

the Good

According to standard action-based ethics, the virtue of nonmaleficence is derived from the principle of:

the duty not to harm.

For Aristotle, virtue refers to:

the good consequences of an action.

That utilitarians would misuse the legal or medical systems to carry out their plans if this would benefit their overall goal is one of the criticisms of utilitarianism. Which of the following problems of utilitarianism does this represent?

the justice objection

The term "philosophy" literally means:

the love of wisdom.

This refers to the apparent contradiction that arises between the two theses: (1) Happiness is the only thing worth seeking, and whenever one seeks happiness, it is not found; (2) Happiness normally accompanies the satisfaction of desire whenever one reaches a goal.

the paradox of hedonism

Concerning the ethical concept of "the good life," moral objectivists speak of "happiness" as:

the result of the kind of life we would all want to live if we understood our essential nature.

A condition where life is short, lonely and full of danger and fear, with little to no opportunity for people to construct things, acquire knowledge, create art, or any of the things we've come to associate with society and culture, because anything a person might work hard to make could be taken away from them by someone else, who might hurt or kill them in the process - all of their energies would have to be directed toward their daily survival.

the state of nature

Ethical relativism holds that:

there is no objective right and wrong.

The second formulation of the categorical imperative says:

treat people as an end and never only as a means.

According to Kant, our moral actions should be:

universalizable

According to Immanuel Kant, there should be no difference between valid religious ethics and which of the following?

valid philosophical ethics.

An example of the "Golden Mean" would be:

wastefulness/generosity/stinginess

Deciding to perform the morally correct action, but failing to actually do it, indicates which of the following?

weakness of will