Ethics Midterm

The Principle of Utility (also called "the Greatest Happiness Principle in class) is

The general rule for utilitarianism. The normative principle at the center of utilitarianism. A consequentialist principle

In response to the objection that we can't always (at all times) be motivated by the idea of doing good for others and so Utilitarianism is too demanding, the book states that we should remember that:

Utilitarianism is a standard of rightness and not a decision procedure.

consequentialism

any theory that determines right/wrong of actions based on consequences

counter example

example that opposes a theory

In utilitiarianism, actions that benefit the most amount of people are always the morally correct.

false

Psychological Egoism is a normative theory.

false

Under utilitarianism, it is never morally permissible to lie.

false

normative principle

general rule about human behavior that is meant to be exceptionless

hedonism

pursuit of pleasure

reductio de absurdism

reducing to the point of absurdity

What's the source of moral duty according to ethical egoists?

self interest only

moral patient

any being that can be morally wronged

An ethical theory that is meant to mainly give us a method of reliably guiding our decisions is:

A decision procedure

From the perspective of ethics, why is it important that Psychological Egoism be proven to be false?

Because nearly all conceivable moral theories will require that we do actions for reasons other than self-interest.

According to the book, why do many utilitarians believe that the morality of an action depends on the actual results rather than on the expected results?

Because we would be required to say that actions that turn out to have disastrous consequences were morally required.

Rule consequentialism attempts to answer many of the objections against act utilitarianism. It answers the Problem of Injustice by:

Claiming that just policies maximize well-being.

Why can't the ethical egoist use libertarianism to justify his moral theory?

Egoism denies that we have a morally duty to follow through with our agreements. Egoism denies that we can morally wrong another person. Egoism denies that we have a duty to repair wrongs to other people.

Which of the following rights does the ethical egoists think is most important?

Ethical egoists don't believe in rights.

In defense of their position, psychological egoists claim that purportedly altruistic actions are really done so that the actor can avoid feeling a guilty conscience, and since lack of a guilty conscience is a benefit, anything done to avoid a guilty conscience is done out of self-interest. Why is this a bad argument?

In order for this argument to work, it must be that many people do care about the welfare of others (in order to even have a conscience). And this claim undermines psychological egoism.

The Argument from Expected Benefit states that because we can reasonably expect to benefit from any action we take, psychological egoism must be true. One way that this argument is mistaken is that:

It does not respect the difference between aiming for (intending) some result and knowing that the result might reasonably follow from an act.

One objection to Utilitarianism is that is must be wrong because we can't precisely measure well-being. This objection fails to completely defeat Utilitarianism because:

It's obvious that some actions are worse than others so we don't need a precise measurement.

As Shafer-Landau (the author) describes it, consequentialism requires that we aim for the results that are the most:

Optimific

In response to the objection that Utilitarianism must fail because we can't precisely measure well-being or pleasure, John Stuart Mill argues that:

Some pleasures were more valuable than others and so ought to be weighed more heavily.

Which of the following is a virtue that the book lists for the theory of utilitarianism?

The ability to explain Slippery Slope Arguments

To say that Utilitarianism is impartial is to say:

That it places no special importance on the happiness of the agent (the person doing the action). It is impartial to the kinds of things that people desire to make themselves happy. That it does not allow you to place special importance on the happiness of your loved ones

In the book, the author argues against the claim: "If there is good reason for you to do an action, then doing it must make you better off." His arguments is that you have reason to do actions that don't make you better off. Which of the following is an accurate rephrase this argument?

That something makes you better off is not a necessary condition for you to have a good reason to do it.

Rule consequentialists can create a rule that states "You ought to take care of your family first" and argue that if most everyone followed this rule, it would result in better consequences than if we didn't have this rule. This is a response to which objection to Utilitarianism?

The Objection that Utilitarianism is too Impartial

The fact that Utilitarianism must sometimes require that we let the guilty go free is an example of:

The Problem of Injustice

Act consequentialists believe all actions are morally neutral and that no actions are intrinsically wrong. This means that:

They never claim that a particular type of action is always morally wrong.

What is the relationship between consequentialism and utilitarianism?

Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialism.

superogatory

beyond call of duty

The book lists the widening of the scope of the moral community as one of the virtues of Utilitarianism. How does utilitarianism do this?

by including animals

moral agent

can be held blameworthy/praiseworthy

altruism

caring about someone other than yourself

instrumental value

has value bc of what it gets you

If a person believes that pleasure is the only thing of intrinsic value they are most likely a:

hedonist

validity

if the premises are true, the conclusion is true

negative right

it means that someone has to duty to NOT do something to you

While Utilitarianism requires that you focus on the consequences of an action, it does allow that you also consider:

none of these answers

psychological egoism

people act on self interest

fallacy

poor form of reasoning

In order for the Argument for Paradigmatic cases to work as a successful argument against ethical egoism, it has to be the case that ethical egoism will sometimes require that we torture or kill innocent people.

true

The existence of altruism would make the theory of psychological egoism false.

true

intrinsic value

valuable in virtue of what it is

According to Utilitarianism, the only thing that is morally valuable (also called "intrinsically valuable" in the book) is:

well-being

necessary condition

x is necessary condition for being y if and only if something cannot be y without having x

sufficient condition

x is sufficient condition for being y iff having x is enough for something to be y