Deck 7: The Social Contract

Question 1

In contrast to a society that utilizes a social contract,Hobbes believed that people in ________ lived a life that was "solitary,poore,nasty,brutish,and short."

A) emerging constitutional republics
B) preliterate cultures
C) nihilistic societies
D) the state of nature

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Koko is a gorilla that has spent most of her life in northern California with researcher Francine Patterson.Koko is reported to use more than a thousand words in sign language.Her apparent high cognitive ability poses which challenge to social contract theory?

A) deciding who is party to the contract
B) self-interest versus group preservation
C) interest deferral
D) the veil of ignorance

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In Harry Turtledove's "The Last Article," he imagines an alternative history wherein a victorious Nazi Germany invades India.In this hypothetical situation,what moral guidance would Gandhi emphasize?

A) We should return to a Hobbesian precontract state.
B) The preservation of self-interest is paramount.
C) True independence comes through conflict.
D) We must consider the position of the other.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In ancient Athens,who were the Sophists?

A) immigrants from the Macedonian province of Sopa
B) paid teachers of argumentation
C) lawyers who developed the first constitution in the Western tradition
D) apprentice educators who would engage in arguments in the marketplace

Question 5

Utilitarian moralities call for the maximization of happiness.Different studies attempt to report on which countries are among the happiest.Discuss the difficulties for utilitarianism that different results in these studies display.

Question 6

We often will accept some discomfort in order to later be able to be more comfortable than our current state.For example,one might consent to having a root canal.Discuss how utilitarianism understands this acceptance of pain.

Question 7

Rousseau criticizes the impact of social contract theory by pointing to what?

A) that the theory will lead to hedonism
B) that different societies have different social practices
C) that the contract is purely hypothetical
D) that the social contract favors the interests of the wealthy and powerful over others

Question 8

Bernard Williams considers in his writings the utilitarian possibilities for George,who has a PhD in Chemistry but is unable to find a job other than working in a weapons laboratory.As a pacifist,George would prefer not to do such work,but he has a number of familial and fiscal reasons to take the job.Using the utilitarian understanding of morality,discuss if George should take the job.

Question 9

The MOST significant advantage of Rawls's approach to social contract theory is which of the following?

A) It evokes a hypothetical self-interest of the potentially worse off as a driver for acceptance of the contract.
B) It responds to Gandhi's desire for a compassionate social contract.
C) It is grounded in an expectation that all understand systemic injustices.
D) It addresses the weakness of the public goods problem.

Question 10

In this chapter,the author addresses the common view that morality and ethics are to be distinguished.According to this view,what does this distinction entail?

A) Ethics is religiously based,while morality is secular.
B) Morality is about group dynamics;ethics is about individual actions.
C) Ethics often involves codes of professional conduct.
D) Moral theories come from a French tradition,while ethical theories come from a Greco-Roman one.

Question 11

The consideration of other people's points of view before making moral decisions is MOST closely aligned with which of the following approaches?

A) Sophists' rhetorical devices
B) Turnbull's Ik people
C) Hobbes's "brutish" society
D) Rawls's veil of ignorance

Question 12

Mill argues for the desirability of utilitarian ethics by pointing to people actually desiring it.Briefly discuss why you do or do not find his argument persuasive.

Question 13

Briefly discuss how Mill's utilitarianism leads him to advocate for women's rights.

Question 14

Imagine that a new performance-enhancing drug was developed that would greatly increase an athlete's ability to perform his or her sport.What can the prisoner's dilemma tell him or her about the possible use of the drug?

A) The best short-term outcome is for another to use the drug.
B) The best long-term outcome is if no one uses the drug.
C) The best short-term outcome is for everyone to use the drug.
D) The best long-term outcome is for everyone to use the drug.

Question 15

Charles Mills believes that it is possible to construct a social contract that is fair to all races.

Question 16

Rawls provides for a hypothetical contract theory that he believes should be undertaken from

A) a historical analysis.
B) behind the veil of ignorance.
C) outside the original position.
D) a position of instrumental value.

Question 17

Imagine two neighboring cultures,one of which favors minimal consumption of natural resources while the other favors the rapid development of industry.If these cultures were to be bound in a social contract,they would have to address what issue?

A) the problem of opposed interests
B) the problem of scarce resources
C) the difficulty of cross-cultural contracts
D) the instability of resources