Question 1

Which of the following is the best example of the restrictive and extensive nature of our intentions about waivers?

Accepted Answer

A)  Thomas intends to permit his barber to cut his hair but not to touch the rest of his body and his barber can only cut his hair in exactly the way he wants it to be cut. 
B)  Judy intends to publish a book in the next year and there are many different ways that she could write the book. 
C)  Alfred intends to have sex with Jeffrey but he is restricted to having sex with Jeffrey only if Jeffrey validly consents. 
D)  Alice intends to allow her father to clean her kitchen but not the rest of her house and there many different permissible ways he could clean her kitchen. 
A)  Thomas intends to permit his barber to cut his hair but not to touch the rest of his body and his barber can only cut his hair in exactly the way he wants it to be cut. 
B)  Judy intends to publish a book in the next year and there are many different ways that she could write the book. 
C)  Alfred intends to have sex with Jeffrey but he is restricted to having sex with Jeffrey only if Jeffrey validly consents. 
D)  Alice intends to allow her father to clean her kitchen but not the rest of her house and there many different permissible ways he could clean her kitchen.

Question 2

Gay-Williams argues that permitting euthanasia may encourage terminally ill patients to end their lives for the perceived benefit to others, such as the patient's family.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Why, according to Kant, does failing to help those in need amount to failing to treat humanity as an end in itself?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because treating humanity as an end in itself requires trying, whenever possible, to promote others' goals and interests, not just your own. 
B)  Because treating humanity as end in itself amounts to treating all humans as you would want to be treated, which includes helping others when they need help. 
C)  Because treating humanity as an end in itself means imposing a limit on your selfish inclinations. 
D)  Because treating humanity as an end in itself means promoting not only your own talents but also those of others, which means ensuring that they have what they need to develop their own talents. 
A)  Because treating humanity as an end in itself requires trying, whenever possible, to promote others' goals and interests, not just your own. 
B)  Because treating humanity as end in itself amounts to treating all humans as you would want to be treated, which includes helping others when they need help. 
C)  Because treating humanity as an end in itself means imposing a limit on your selfish inclinations. 
D)  Because treating humanity as an end in itself means promoting not only your own talents but also those of others, which means ensuring that they have what they need to develop their own talents.

Question 4

According to Metz, African values entail that the death penalty is never justified.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

What is justice, according to Mill?

Accepted Answer

A)  An antiquated idea derived from a pre-utilitarian theory of morality. 
B)  A legal and political ideal that is separate from questions of morality. 
C)  A set of moral requirements that are especially important for promoting the general happiness. 
D)  A rough guide that societies have developed to help people determine which actions promote the general happiness. 
A)  An antiquated idea derived from a pre-utilitarian theory of morality. 
B)  A legal and political ideal that is separate from questions of morality. 
C)  A set of moral requirements that are especially important for promoting the general happiness. 
D)  A rough guide that societies have developed to help people determine which actions promote the general happiness.

Question 6

What is Mill's Greatest Happiness Principle?

Accepted Answer

A)  Actions are right if they promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number. 
B)  Act only on that maxim that you can at the same time will to be a universal law. 
C)  Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness and wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness. 
D)  Act only on maxims that conform with the principle of utility. 
A)  Actions are right if they promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number. 
B)  Act only on that maxim that you can at the same time will to be a universal law. 
C)  Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness and wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness. 
D)  Act only on maxims that conform with the principle of utility.

Question 7

Singer argues that moral needs are shaped by the needs of society and although it is essential to maintain norms against killing and serious harm within a society, it is unnecessary to help those outside one's society.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Which of the following would count as an objection to Estes's claim that mutual respect requires at least implicit expression of the voluntary participation of sexual partners in a sexual act?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mutual respect requires not just that people communicate with their partners about consenting to sex, but also that they exhibit concern for each other's general well-being and attend to each other's sexual desires. 
B)  Mutual respect always demands explicit and not simply implicit expressions of consent because it is too easy for implicit forms of communication to lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings. 
C)  Mutual respect always demands explicit and not simply implicit expressions of consent because what matters ultimately is not the form of the communication itself but whether people have reasonable conscientious beliefs that reciprocal consent exists. 
D)  Mutual respect requires that people communicate not only about their consent, goals, and expectations about specific sex acts but also about their goals and expectations about their romantic relationships with their partners. 
A)  Mutual respect requires not just that people communicate with their partners about consenting to sex, but also that they exhibit concern for each other's general well-being and attend to each other's sexual desires. 
B)  Mutual respect always demands explicit and not simply implicit expressions of consent because it is too easy for implicit forms of communication to lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings. 
C)  Mutual respect always demands explicit and not simply implicit expressions of consent because what matters ultimately is not the form of the communication itself but whether people have reasonable conscientious beliefs that reciprocal consent exists. 
D)  Mutual respect requires that people communicate not only about their consent, goals, and expectations about specific sex acts but also about their goals and expectations about their romantic relationships with their partners.

Question 9

Which of the following best captures the central question Shue is addressing in "Torture"?

Accepted Answer

A)  What are the types of torture that exist in practice? 
B)  Is torture ever morally justified in practice? 
C)  When does torture violate international law? 
D)  Is torture always worse than just killing in war? 
A)  What are the types of torture that exist in practice? 
B)  Is torture ever morally justified in practice? 
C)  When does torture violate international law? 
D)  Is torture always worse than just killing in war?

Question 10

Explain Bentham's principle of utility in your own words. How does Bentham propose to use the principle of utility in moral reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Bentham's principle of utility is the id

Question 11

Evaluate the following objection to the principle of impartiality that Singer assumes: we should be partial toward some people who are closer to us because we have greater duties to those who stand in special relationships to us, such as family and friends.

Accepted Answer

While it is true that we may have specia

Question 12

Which of the following claims about a legal prohibition of torture is McMahan arguing for by comparing such a ban to a hypothetical ban on private handgun ownership?

Accepted Answer

A)  Although both measures are objectively permissible, both would be far too impractical to implement in practice. 
B)  Although both measures are subjectively permissible to their proponents, neither measure is objectively permissible. 
C)  Although both measures are alleged by their proponents to save lives in the short term, both would put substantially more lives at risk in the long term. 
D)  Although both measures would put some innocent lives at risk in the short term, both would result in greater overall security in the long term. 
A)  Although both measures are objectively permissible, both would be far too impractical to implement in practice. 
B)  Although both measures are subjectively permissible to their proponents, neither measure is objectively permissible. 
C)  Although both measures are alleged by their proponents to save lives in the short term, both would put substantially more lives at risk in the long term. 
D)  Although both measures would put some innocent lives at risk in the short term, both would result in greater overall security in the long term.

Question 13

Which of the following would count as an objection to Sinnott-Armstrong's argument that individuals have no obligation to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions?

Accepted Answer

A)  Most people in the world do not have access to gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. Therefore, most people in the world do not face the choice about whether to take a Sunday drive in one, making Sinnott-Armstrong's argument irrelevant. 
B)  Global warming is inevitable at this point. Therefore, individual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will not prevent any harm. Thus, it doesn't matter whether individuals reduce their emissions. 
C)  The average American's greenhouse gas emissions over the course of their entire life cause enough climate change to harm people, even if the emissions from an individual action do not. Therefore, individuals do have an obligation to reduce their overall greenhouse gas emissions. 
D)  Governments should not have the power to tell people what to do with their property. Individuals' cars are their own property. Therefore, governments should not be allowed to prohibit them from going for a Sunday drive in their own car. 
A)  Most people in the world do not have access to gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. Therefore, most people in the world do not face the choice about whether to take a Sunday drive in one, making Sinnott-Armstrong's argument irrelevant. 
B)  Global warming is inevitable at this point. Therefore, individual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will not prevent any harm. Thus, it doesn't matter whether individuals reduce their emissions. 
C)  The average American's greenhouse gas emissions over the course of their entire life cause enough climate change to harm people, even if the emissions from an individual action do not. Therefore, individuals do have an obligation to reduce their overall greenhouse gas emissions. 
D)  Governments should not have the power to tell people what to do with their property. Individuals' cars are their own property. Therefore, governments should not be allowed to prohibit them from going for a Sunday drive in their own car.

Question 14

Nell argues that people can be blamed for famine deaths only in sufficiency situations where everyone who is born can live out the normal span of a human life.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

According to Sinnott-Armstrong, individuals ought to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions because the maxims of our actions should be universalizable.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Which of the following best explains Mencius's view of how to cultivate virtues?

Accepted Answer

A)  Practice resisting your nonvirtuous urges and pay attention to proper ritual behavior, and your nonvirtuous urges will eventually fade away, leaving only virtuous inclinations. 
B)  Delight in exercising certain natural inclinations, such as the inclination to serve your parents, and those inclinations will inevitably grow into virtues. 
C)  Find other people who are morally better than you and adopt those people as role models. As you practice acting like them, you will gradually become virtuous. 
D)  Through careful study of ritual behavior, you can come to recognize what behavior is called for in any situation, which will enable you to act virtuously. 
A)  Practice resisting your nonvirtuous urges and pay attention to proper ritual behavior, and your nonvirtuous urges will eventually fade away, leaving only virtuous inclinations. 
B)  Delight in exercising certain natural inclinations, such as the inclination to serve your parents, and those inclinations will inevitably grow into virtues. 
C)  Find other people who are morally better than you and adopt those people as role models. As you practice acting like them, you will gradually become virtuous. 
D)  Through careful study of ritual behavior, you can come to recognize what behavior is called for in any situation, which will enable you to act virtuously.

Question 17

What, according to Marquis, makes most cases of killing adult human beings morally wrong?

Accepted Answer

A)  Killing someone would harm that person's friends and family. 
B)  Killing someone would harm the killer. 
C)  Killing deprives the victim of future life and its value. 
D)  Killing deprives the victim's family of the victim's future life. 
A)  Killing someone would harm that person's friends and family. 
B)  Killing someone would harm the killer. 
C)  Killing deprives the victim of future life and its value. 
D)  Killing deprives the victim's family of the victim's future life.

Question 18

Which of the following would NOT be considered an act of euthanasia, according to Gay-Williams?

Accepted Answer

A)  Cessation of treatment of a terminally ill patient with little hope of recovery. 
B)  Lethal injection by a doctor of a patient who has given informed consent. 
C)  A patient's taking a lethal overdose of prescription medicine with a physician's guidance. 
D)  A patient taking a lethal overdose of a prescription medication without a physician's guidance. 
A)  Cessation of treatment of a terminally ill patient with little hope of recovery. 
B)  Lethal injection by a doctor of a patient who has given informed consent. 
C)  A patient's taking a lethal overdose of prescription medicine with a physician's guidance. 
D)  A patient taking a lethal overdose of a prescription medication without a physician's guidance.

Question 19

Given his arguments in "The Ultimate Penalty," how would van den Haag likely respond to Metz's account of the wrongness of capital punishment? Be sure to state this response as an entire argument.

Accepted Answer

In "The Ultimate Penalty," van den Haag

Question 20

Broome discusses the idea that it is uncertain whether your greenhouse gas emissions will harm anyone. What role does this idea play in Broome's argument?

Accepted Answer

A)  Broome uses that claim to argue that you do not need to offset all of your greenhouse gas emissions. 
B)  Broome identifies different ways in which the harms are uncertain and argues that only one kind of uncertainty matters for the morality of climate change. 
C)  Broome discusses and responds to several objections based on that idea. 
D)  Broome uses that claim to argue that individuals are not obligated to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. 
A)  Broome uses that claim to argue that you do not need to offset all of your greenhouse gas emissions. 
B)  Broome identifies different ways in which the harms are uncertain and argues that only one kind of uncertainty matters for the morality of climate change. 
C)  Broome discusses and responds to several objections based on that idea. 
D)  Broome uses that claim to argue that individuals are not obligated to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Which of the following is the best example of the restrictive and extensive nature of our intentions about waivers?

Gay-Williams argues that permitting euthanasia may encourage terminally ill patients to end their lives for the perceived benefit to others, such as the patient's family.

Why, according to Kant, does failing to help those in need amount to failing to treat humanity as an end in itself?

According to Metz, African values entail that the death penalty is never justified.

What is justice, according to Mill?

What is Mill's Greatest Happiness Principle?

Singer argues that moral needs are shaped by the needs of society and although it is essential to maintain norms against killing and serious harm within a society, it is unnecessary to help those outside one's society.

Which of the following would count as an objection to Estes's claim that mutual respect requires at least implicit expression of the voluntary participation of sexual partners in a sexual act?

Which of the following best captures the central question Shue is addressing in "Torture"?

Explain Bentham's principle of utility in your own words. How does Bentham propose to use the principle of utility in moral reasoning?

Evaluate the following objection to the principle of impartiality that Singer assumes: we should be partial toward some people who are closer to us because we have greater duties to those who stand in special relationships to us, such as family and friends.

Which of the following claims about a legal prohibition of torture is McMahan arguing for by comparing such a ban to a hypothetical ban on private handgun ownership?

Which of the following would count as an objection to Sinnott-Armstrong's argument that individuals have no obligation to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions?

Nell argues that people can be blamed for famine deaths only in sufficiency situations where everyone who is born can live out the normal span of a human life.

According to Sinnott-Armstrong, individuals ought to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions because the maxims of our actions should be universalizable.

Which of the following best explains Mencius's view of how to cultivate virtues?

What, according to Marquis, makes most cases of killing adult human beings morally wrong?

Which of the following would NOT be considered an act of euthanasia, according to Gay-Williams?

Given his arguments in "The Ultimate Penalty," how would van den Haag likely respond to Metz's account of the wrongness of capital punishment? Be sure to state this response as an entire argument.

Broome discusses the idea that it is uncertain whether your greenhouse gas emissions will harm anyone. What role does this idea play in Broome's argument?

An Introduction to Arguments

Moral Arguments

Reasoning With Obligations

Reasoning About Consequences

Reasoning With Virtues and Vices

Reasoning With Principles and Counterexamples

Reasoning With Analogies

Answering Moral Questions

Skepticism, Subjectivism, and Relativism

Religion and Moral Reasoning

Normative Theories, Part 1

Normative Theories, Part 2

Filters

Exam 13: Aristotle's Ethics: Exploring Virtue and Justice

Which of the following is the best example of the restrictive and extensive nature of our intentions about waivers?

Gay-Williams argues that permitting euthanasia may encourage terminally ill patients to end their lives for the perceived benefit to others, such as the patient's family.

Why, according to Kant, does failing to help those in need amount to failing to treat humanity as an end in itself?

According to Metz, African values entail that the death penalty is never justified.

What is justice, according to Mill?

What is Mill's Greatest Happiness Principle?

Singer argues that moral needs are shaped by the needs of society and although it is essential to maintain norms against killing and serious harm within a society, it is unnecessary to help those outside one's society.

Which of the following would count as an objection to Estes's claim that mutual respect requires at least implicit expression of the voluntary participation of sexual partners in a sexual act?

Which of the following best captures the central question Shue is addressing in "Torture"?

Explain Bentham's principle of utility in your own words. How does Bentham propose to use the principle of utility in moral reasoning?

Evaluate the following objection to the principle of impartiality that Singer assumes: we should be partial toward some people who are closer to us because we have greater duties to those who stand in special relationships to us, such as family and friends.

Which of the following claims about a legal prohibition of torture is McMahan arguing for by comparing such a ban to a hypothetical ban on private handgun ownership?

Which of the following would count as an objection to Sinnott-Armstrong's argument that individuals have no obligation to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions?

Nell argues that people can be blamed for famine deaths only in sufficiency situations where everyone who is born can live out the normal span of a human life.

According to Sinnott-Armstrong, individuals ought to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions because the maxims of our actions should be universalizable.

Which of the following best explains Mencius's view of how to cultivate virtues?

What, according to Marquis, makes most cases of killing adult human beings morally wrong?

Which of the following would NOT be considered an act of euthanasia, according to Gay-Williams?

Given his arguments in "The Ultimate Penalty," how would van den Haag likely respond to Metz's account of the wrongness of capital punishment? Be sure to state this response as an entire argument.

Broome discusses the idea that it is uncertain whether your greenhouse gas emissions will harm anyone. What role does this idea play in Broome's argument?

An Introduction to Arguments

Moral Arguments

Reasoning With Obligations

Reasoning About Consequences

Reasoning With Virtues and Vices

Reasoning With Principles and Counterexamples

Reasoning With Analogies

Answering Moral Questions

Skepticism, Subjectivism, and Relativism

Religion and Moral Reasoning

Normative Theories, Part 1

Normative Theories, Part 2

Filters