Philosophy 106 UNL midterm exam
according to Kant's principle of Universalizability, we should
act only on those maxims which are such that were everyone else acting on them, it would still be possible to achieve the purpose of the maxim
ethical egoists think that
actions are morally right when they best promote your self interest
which of the following statements best characterizes the relationship between consequentialism and utilitarianism
all utilitarians are consequentialists
John Stuart Mill claimed that we can distinguish a "higher" from a "lower" pleasure by
considering which of the two pleasures are preferred by the majority of those people who have experienced both
defenders of psychological egoism claim that
every human action is ultimately motivated by self interest
classical utilitarians, including jeremy bentham and john stuart mill held that actions which best promoted overall well-being were morally right. they understood well-being in terms of
happiness (or pleasure) and the avoidance of unhappiness (or pain)
Jean Kazez presents an objective list theory which of the following does she think are necessary components of a good life
happiness, autonomy, morality
Kant thinks that non-human animals
have no intrinsic moral importance since they lack rationality
Richard Taylor argues that although Sisyphus has a meaningless life, his life could have meaning for him if the following were true
he had a strange and irrational desire to roll stones up the mountain
natural law theorists believe
immoral acts are immoral because they are contrary to human nature
which of the following are common objections to lex talionis
it cannot account for the moral differences between premeditated killing and killing due to recklessness it would require the state to engage in brutal behavior in response to brutal crimes, such as rape and torture it doesn't apply to victimless crimes
divine command theory is the view that
its wrong to murder, steal, ect. because god forbids it, and it's right to help others, be charitable, ect. because god commands it
in claiming that we are morally required to preform the act that does more to improve overall well-being than any other possible act, utilitarianism rules out the possibility of
supererogatory actions
some ethicists believe there's a moral difference between foreseen side-effects and intended effects. they think a bomber might be permitted to destroy a civilian house, so long as this is a consequence he anticipates, but does not aim for. this view is known as
the doctrine of double effect
Thomas Hobbes argues for the legitimacy of political authority by considering what rational people would contract to in a pre-political state which he calls
the state of nature
hedonists believe that
there is only one thing that is intrinsically valuable: pleasure
John Rawls argues for his two principles of justice by considering what self-interested participants in the "original position" would choose
under the veil of ignorance
Kant would deny the existence of "moral luck" because he thinks that
we are morally responsible only for what is under our control
Robert Nozick's thought experiment of the "experience machine" aims to show that
we want to actually do certain things and not just have the pleasurable experience of doing them, and so hedonism is incorrect
the desire satisfaction theory of well-being holds that
your life goes well for you to the extent that you get what you want