Midterm Exam: PHIL102

The phrases because, given that, due to the fact that, and for the reason that are

premise indicators.

In an argument, the supporting statements are known as __________; the statement being supported is known as the __________.

premises; conclusion

Medical treatment, disease prevention, emergency care, and public health measures are collectively referred to as

health care.

The primary difference between libertarian and egalitarian theories of justice is that

libertarian theories hold that there are only negative rights, while egalitarian theories hold that positive rights exist.

Virtue ethics puts primary emphasis on being a good person and living a good life, whereas duty-based moral systems

pay much less attention to virtuous character and living a good life.

If we think of the first and second versions of Kant's categorical imperative as two distinct tests for maxims, we run into the possibility that a maxim may pass one version but fail the other. An approach that avoids this possibility is to view the two versions not as alternative tests, but rather as a single two-part test that an action must pass to be judged morally permissible. If we adopt this approach, which of the following conclusions could we justifiably draw?

Before we can declare a maxim to be a bona fide categorical imperative, we must be able to consistently will it to become a universal law and also know that it would have us treat persons as ends as well as means.

It's possible that someone would have to choose between performing or not performing an action that could lead to serious harm to a friend—yet each choice could involve the same two virtues in contradictory ways (for example, one choice could privilege the virtue of honesty to the detriment of loyalty, and the other could privilege loyalty to the detriment of honesty). Such a case suggests that virtue ethics may have a problem with

Criterion 3 (usefulness).

A conscientious practitioner of Aristotelian virtue ethics would have to appeal to a moral rule such as "Do not lie" in order to know that she should not lie to a friend in order to avoid paying a debt.

False

Consider the following two scenarios: Graciela's mother has a terminal illness and is probably not going to survive more than a few days. The agony caused by the illness continually increases, and most of her mother's pain is no longer controlled by pain medicines. Out of compassion, Graciela decides to give her mother a lethal dose of pain medicine, which brings about a quick and painless death. Raymond's mother has a terminal illness and is probably not going to survive more than a few days. The agony caused by the illness continually increases, and most of his mother's pain is no longer controlled by pain medicines. Raymond also has a debt that he must pay now or else he will lose everything. If his mother's death occurred today rather than a few days later, he would be able to sell her house, which he will inherit, and pay his debt off in time to prevent financial ruin. He decides to give his mother a lethal dose of pain medicine, which brings about a quick and painless death. How would virtue ethicists and duty-based ethicists judge the actions of Graciela and Raymond?

Duty-based ethicists would likely find both actions wrong, as they are both violations of the rule not to kill. Virtue ethicists would likely distinguish Graciela's action from Raymond's since her motivation was different from his.

Which statement best summarizes why, according to the author, cultural relativism is nearly impossible to use?

Each of us belongs to multiple societies or social groups, but cultural relativism does not specify which society or group we should look to as a moral authority.

The philosopher who said that the greatest good is pleasure and the greatest evil is pain was

Epicurus

A pregnant woman has cancer and will die unless she receives chemotherapy to destroy the tumors. If she takes the chemotherapy to destroy the tumors, her fetus will die. According to the doctrine of double effect, it is not morally permissible for her to do so.

False

According to natural law theory, it would be morally permissible to abort a woman's fetus to save her life.

False

Feminist ethics is a moral theory.

False

In 2005 the Netherlands passed a law that allows parents to choose to intentionally end the life of their newborn, provided that five criteria, including the presence of unbearable suffering, are met. If we assume that newborns are persons, such a law has its basis in natural law theory.

False

Involuntary euthanasia is mercy killing at the patient's request.

False

Mary Anne Warren suggests that being genetically human is the same thing as being a person in the moral sense.

False

Psychological egoism is a moral theory.

False

Rule-egoism says that to determine the right action, you must apply the egoistic principle to individual acts.

False

The concept of an equal right to health care necessarily includes universal equal access to all care resources.

False

The psychologist Carol Gilligan upended the belief that men and women think in radically different ways when making moral decisions when she argued that men and women think in exactly the same ways about morality.

False

We are naturally impartial toward the interests of our friends and family, which, according to feminist philosophers, is a reason to adopt the ethical theories of Kant and Mill.

False

Suppose that Judah wants to become a virtuous person but does not know where to begin. Which of the following routes would a virtue ethicist be likely to recommend?

He should look for an individual who embodies virtue and then imitate this person, much like an apprentice learns from a master of some skill.

What does cultural relativism imply about the civil rights leader and social reformer Martin Luther King Jr., considered in the context of the 1950s-1960s U.S. culture in which he lived?

He was wrong about his moral reforms.

What is the implicit premise in the following moral argument? "The war did not increase the amount of happiness in the world. So, the war was morally wrong."

If a war does not increase the amount of happiness in the world, it must be considered morally wrong.

Which of the following is true of the ethics of care?

It contrasts dramatically with traditional moral theories that are preoccupied with principles and legalistic moral reasoning.

How is Robert Nozick's famous thought experiment, "the experience machine," said to present a challenge to classic utilitarianism?

It suggests that happiness may be an important part of a good life, but it's not the only important part.

Natasha uses the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you") for all her moral decisions. One day, she loans $100 to her friend Alexei and has him swear that he will pay her back in one week's time. In a week, Natasha comes knocking on Alexei's door, expecting him to pay her back. Alexei asks her the following question: "If you had borrowed money from someone and promised to pay it back a week later, wouldn't you be thrilled if they came to you after that week and said that there was no need to pay the loan back?" Natasha agreed that if she were in that situation, that outcome would greatly please her. Alexei then replies, "Good. That means I don't have to pay the money back to you." What is the most likely explanation for the conclusion that Alexei has drawn?

Natasha's embrace of the Golden Rule obliges her to excuse Alexei's debt—after all, she must do unto Alexei what she would have done unto herself.

__________ theories hold that the rightness of an action can never be measured by such a variable, contingent standard as the quantity of goodness brought into the world—that is, rightness derives from an action's nature, its right-making characteristics.

Nonconsequentialist

What is a major difference between descriptive ethics and normative ethics?

Normative ethics implies that people's moral beliefs can be false, whereas descriptive ethics does not.

Which of the following best describes how evidence gathered from our considered moral judgments and our moral experiences helps us evaluate moral theories?

Our moral experience provides general background knowledge about morality, while our considered moral judgments provide evaluations of specific actions as right or wrong.

Sadly, Hansel's sister Gretel has entered into a persistent vegetative state from which she is not expected to recover. The doctors are now consulting with Hansel about whether to continue life support. Hansel has in his possession a document, written and signed by Gretel when she was mentally competent, that attests to her desire not to continue life support in situations identical to her current one. The doctors therefore remove life support from Gretel, which results in her death. This is an instance of

Passive voluntary euthanasia

One hard fact that feminist ethicists are responding to is that even today, most women in the world are viewed as

Second-class citizens

Analisa is faced with a moral decision. Last night, she went out to dinner with her ex-boyfriend—strictly as friends—but she didn't tell her current boyfriend, Michael, about the dinner beforehand. The next morning, Michael asks her what she did the night before, and she considers lying to him. If Analisa tells Michael the truth, she is almost certain he will jump to the conclusion that she was unfaithful to him. Until recently, Analisa was an act-utilitarian, but she has now switched to rule-utilitarianism. She has a clear idea of how she should make this decision as an act-utilitarian. Since she has two options—lie to Michael or tell him the truth—she should consider how much collective good would be created by each option and then choose the one that creates the most good. In her situation, the option that creates the most good would be to lie to her boyfriend. Now that she is a rule-utilitarian, however, how should she reason in making this decision?

She should consider which rules apply to her situation and, of those, which of them produces the most good. In her situation, the applicable rule that creates the most good would be "Do not lie." Therefore, she should tell her boyfriend the truth.

Cultural relativists may believe that their theory promotes tolerance of other cultures, but this belief has been challenged. What are the grounds on which this challenge has been made?

The view that tolerance is objectively good contradicts the central principle of cultural relativism.

Antoine is considering adopting the ethical theory of cultural relativism, so he is in the process of evaluating it. One of the features of cultural relativism that concerns him is the view that what's morally right for a culture is simply whatever that culture approves of or believes is morally right. Which of the following conclusions should Antoine draw about this view, basing his judgment on the moral criteria of adequacy discussed in the text?

This theory is inconsistent with our moral experience because it means that cultures cannot approve of an action that is morally wrong—but we know that sometimes cultures do indeed approve of morally wrong actions.

The fact that natural law theory is absolutist (that is, that it holds that some actions are always wrong or right regardless of circumstances) would not worry

Thomas Aquinas.

According to the doctrine of double effect, it is permissible for a doctor to give a dying, pain-racked patient a large dose of morphine with the intention of easing the patient's pain (while knowing the act has the side effect of expediting death).

True

Because managed care plans focus on costs and efficiency, some critics charge that this emphasis on business values could ultimately degrade the quality of care.

True

Imagine a situation in which a patient is not competent and has left no instructions regarding end-of-life preferences. Someone other than the patient then chooses euthanasia on the patient's behalf. This would be an instance of nonvoluntary euthanasia.

True

In the American health care system, those who don't have the money to pay for health care, even those with serious illnesses or injuries, often get no medical care at all because of escalating costs.

True

Many duty-based theorists believe that motivation for moral action cannot be derived entirely from considerations of duty, just as appropriate motivation cannot be based solely on virtuous character.

True

Most of the great ethical theorists of the past have assumed that women are morally inferior to men—that is, less mature, less important, and less rational than men.

True

Natural law theorists claim that humans naturally incline toward procreation, which implies that the use of contraceptives is always wrong.

True

One objection to virtue ethics is that it's possible for a virtuous person to act entirely from virtue and still commit an immoral act.

True

One of the concerns raised by critics of social contract theory is that vulnerable individuals, such as the severely disabled, the very poor, nonhuman animals, children, and infants, have no moral status and no rights according to the theory.

True

Suppose a ninety-year-old man is dying of cancer and is in excruciating pain that no medicine can relieve. He asks to be given a lethal injection so that he will die sooner rather than later. According to the doctrine of double effect, giving the injection is not morally permissible.

True

The Affordable Care Act includes a requirement that health insurance plans cover certain preventive care, such as immunizations, preventive care for children, and specified health screening tests for adults.

True

The pro-lifer can argue that Mary Anne Warren's view of personhood leads to an absurdity: if a fetus is not a person, then neither is a newborn. Thus, killing a newborn would be permissible.

True

When act- and rule-utilitarianism are applied to the same moral issue, they may yield different answers.

True

In response to the criticism that very few people have given any form of consent to any social contracts, contractarians have contended that the social contract is hypothetical but nevertheless binding. That is, social contracts are best seen as

Very useful fictions

What is the implicit premise in the following moral argument? "Same-sex marriage is contrary to tradition. Therefore, it should never be allowed."

Whatever is contrary to tradition should not be allowed.

The following is overheard in a coffee shop: I get that people need access to health care—I do. But they have access to it so long as no one is blocking their way into hospitals or doctors' offices. The government has no role to play apart from making sure people aren't prevented from getting care. Even when people cannot afford adequate health care, their rights haven't been violated. I can't afford a 60-inch television, but no one is preventing me from buying one. It's not like the government should give me a large television, just as it's not the government's responsibility to provide health care to people who cannot afford it. This person indicates that they believe access to adequate health care is

a negative right

According to Mary Anne Warren's criteria for personhood, we should regard a self-motivated space alien that is conscious, self-aware, and able to reason and communicate as

a person.

Consider this rule-utilitarian argument against legalizing euthanasia: Passing a law to permit active voluntary euthanasia would inevitably lead to abuses such as more frequent use of nonvoluntary euthanasia and unnecessary killing; therefore, no such law should be passed. Such an argument is characterized as

a slippery slope

A person who reasons that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered, is

a utilitarian

On the issue of abortion, traditional natural law theorists would conclude that

abortion is morally wrong since the fetus is a person with full moral rights, it is always morally wrong to directly kill the innocent, and abortion is the direct, intentional killing of a fetus.

The pro-life position is that

abortion is never, or almost never, morally permissible.

The principle of autonomy can be used to argue for

active euthanasia

Subjective relativism is the doctrine that

an action is morally right if one approves of it.

Applied ethics is the

application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases.

Which field concerns questions such as "Was this abortion morally permissible?" or "Was this instance of mercy killing immoral?"

applied ethics

Why have critics charged rule-utilitarianism with being internally inconsistent—that is, as failing the minimum requirement of coherence?

because the best rules, under this theory, seem to be those with amendments that make them as specific as possible to particular cases, and this leads to a collapse into act-utilitarianism

The principle of ________ is about the good and bad effects of actions, the nonmoral consequences of what we do or don't do.

beneficence

Which of the following types of "caring" would the ethics of care primarily concern itself with?

caring for one's child

One objection raised against Judith Jarvis Thomson's argument regarding abortion is that, in the violinist example, the woman connected to the violinist was clearly not at all responsible for being connected to him, which makes the analogy to abortion more narrow than she alleges. If this objection is sound, which of the following cases could Thomson's argument still apply to?

cases of pregnancy due to rape

A well-known political blog includes the following disclaimer at the top of all of its posts: Everything stated on this platform is true. We print only what we have verified ourselves. Whenever mainstream outlets claim that we are not committed to the truth, that's just cold, hard evidence that we are threats to the control wielded over the people by the powers that be. Ignore these mouthpieces for the powerful and rest assured that here you will get the unvarnished truth. This disclaimer encourages visitors to the blog to engage in which of the following cognitive biases?

confirmation bias

Aquinas says that judging the rightness of actions is a matter of

consulting reason and considering rational grounds for moral beliefs.

Nowadays, machines can keep an individual's heart and lungs functioning long after the brain permanently and completely shuts down. Thus, we can have an individual whose organs are mechanically operated while the person is in a coma or persistent vegetative state. To some, these facts suggest that the

conventional notion of death is inadequate

Judith Jarvis Thomson claims that her moderate argument regarding abortion

does not have the implication that a woman has a right to secure the death of the unborn child.

Alison M. Jaggar writes that Western moral theory is said to

embody "masculine" values.

John Stuart Mill says, "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." This sentiment is an indictment of the glutton but also a pat on the back for those who

enjoy higher pleasures

Franco has decided he wants to adopt the ethics of care. He is now deliberating about whether to voice a controversial view during a get-together with his family. In order to apply the ethics of care, he should focus most on how

his opinion might negatively affect family members he cares about.

One of the ways we can ensure justice in health care is to preserve the principle requiring that equals be treated equally unless there is a morally relevant reason for treating them differently. This principle is called

impartiality

The ethics of care is a perspective on ethics that highlights the

importance of personal relationships and virtues such as compassion and kindness.

In pointing out the shortcomings of rule-based ethical theories, the philosopher William Frankena says that principles without virtues are

impotent

Which of the following sets of values is feminist ethics most likely to embrace and make central to morality?

interdependence, community, connection, sharing, emotion, body, trust, absence of hierarchy, peace, and life

Some things, like happiness, pleasure, virtue, and beauty, are considered by some people to be valuable for their own sakes, simply because they are what they are, without being a means to something else. The kind of value described here is called

intrinsic value.

Defenders of act-utilitarianism insist that the scenarios put forth by critics that seem to show utilitarianism in conflict with commonsense morality are

misleading and implausible

According to virtue ethics, if you rescue someone from disaster solely out of a sense of duty, then your action is

morally incomplete

Suppose a culture approves of beheading a young man for merely holding hands with a woman. According to cultural relativism, the beheading is

morally justified.

A moral theory is

more useful than a moral code.

Many philosophers insist that the teleological character of nature has never been supported by logical argument or empirical science because

nature is not teleological at all, but rather random and purposeless.

Subjective relativism implies that when Sofia says, "I think abortion is wrong," and Emma replies, "I think abortion is permissible," Sofia and Emma are

not having a moral disagreement.

Suppose your friend Julie believes that it's possible for her to make mistakes on moral matters and that the culture to which she belongs can make also mistakes about morality. Which of the following moral theories could she adopt without fear that it would conflict with her existing beliefs?

objectivism

A major reason for devising a moral theory is to

obtain practical guidance.

Suppose that someone has only two possible actions: (1) read and think about philosophy, or (2) spend the entire weekend engaged in intensely pleasurable debauchery. Under these circumstances, John Stuart Mill would likely recommend

reading and thinking about philosophy

In natural law theory, the emphasis on reason makes morality independent of

religion and belief in God

Morality refers to beliefs about

right and wrong, good and bad.

Julie considers herself an advocate of feminist ethics. Therefore, she should

support the moral equality of men and women

Deductive arguments are

supposed to give logically conclusive support to their conclusions.

Suppose that both honesty and kindness are genuine virtues. One day, Frank asks Mary what she thinks of a hat he has recently purchased. Her sincere opinion is that the hat looks ridiculous, but she's hesitant to say so to Frank, fearing it will cause him to feel awful. If Mary acts from her virtue of honesty, she will cause Frank great pain; if she acts from her virtue of kindness, she will have to conceal her true opinion of the hat. Which criticism raised against virtue ethics does Mary's situation illustrate?

that there can be irresolvable conflicts of virtues

If, as according to Jeremy Bentham, only the total quantity of happiness produced by an action mattered, then the person closest to the moral ideal would be

the glutton

What does normative ethics study?

the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments

It seems that a person can be benevolent, honest, and loyal but still treat a stranger unjustly. According to critics of virtue ethics, this shows that

the rightness of actions does not necessarily depend on the content of one's character.

Kant's theory emphasizes three of morality's most important features,

universality, impartiality, and respect for persons.

For Aristotle, a person living a life of reason is living a life of

virtue.

Rosalind Hursthouse responds to the criticism that virtue ethics cannot provide moral guidance by pointing out that

we can discover our moral duties by examining terms that refer to virtues and vices because moral guidance is implicit in these terms.

According to the dominant reading of natural law theory, euthanasia is wrong primarily because

we have a moral duty to preserve life

Robert is a Kantian theorist and also believes that fetuses are persons from conception. Suppose Robert is trying to determine whether abortions are morally permissible in situations where continuing a pregnancy would put the woman's life in danger. Which of the following should be the focus of Robert's deliberations?

whether aborting the pregnancy would be a justifiable instance of overriding a person's right to life