Deck 11: Morality

Question 1

The work of sin, punishment, and redemption that maps out the Christian scheme of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise is described in

A) Swift's "A Modest Proposal."
B) Rand's "The Virtue of Selfishness."
C) Dante's Divine Comedy.
D) Milton's Paradise Lost.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which statement is based on moral relativism?

A) "The rules that apply to women must also apply to men."
B) "Neither men nor women should be able to do as they please."
C) "True justice can be obtained only when we maximize happiness for men and women."
D) "The social conditions experienced by women might lead to a different sense of what is right and wrong."

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The philosopher whose belief that humanity's natural greed would lead to prosperity which became the basis for capitalism is

A) Plato.
B) Jeremy Bentham.
C) Adam Smith.
D) Immanuel Kant.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

If a person gives up her life so that strangers might live, she is demonstrating

A) moral mathematics.
B) altruism.
C) the categorical imperative.
D) enlightened self-interest.

Question 5

Thomas Hobbes's view in Leviathan is that

A) left to their own devices, human beings will be naturally good.
B) reason should govern all acts of morality.
C) the corrupt nature of humans requires strong governmental control.
D) a strong ruler must keep people in a state of awe.

Question 6

The philosophy based on projected and measurable positive or negative results is

A) moral absolutism.
B) moral mathematics.
C) moral relativism.
D) altruism.

Question 7

James Joyce's Ulysses provides a test case for whether

A) literature should serve for the greatest good for the greatest number.
B) moral standards should limit art's role of representing real values.
C) true love should supersede the values of a community.
D) morality is dependent on time, place, and circumstances.

Question 8

A network of related values on which choices of what is right are based is called

A) moral relativism.
B) a moral system.
C) morality.
D) a categorical imperative.

Question 9

The idea that human beings should not be able to do whatever they please is a basic principle of

A) religion-based morality.
B) altruism.
C) utilitarianism.
D) moral relativism.

Question 10

The statement, "Rulers know better what their subjects need than their own subjects do" fits most closely with the philosophy of

A) enlightened self-interest.
B) utilitarianism.
C) idealism.
D) altruism.

Question 11

According to John Stuart Mill, "the sole end for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will" is to

A) prevent harm to others.
B) keep that member's actions in line with a universal rule that binds all.
C) encourage actions based on reason alone.
D) balance the numerical value of pleasure against the numerical value of pain.

Question 12

Blue laws are a(n)

A) instance of utilitarianism in action.
B) example of censorship.
C) manifestation of Kant's categorical imperative.
D) lingering effect of biblical morality on modern life.

Question 13

Kant argued that the categorical imperative

A) resulted from keeping subjects in awe.
B) was based solely on reason.
C) provided the greatest good for the greatest number.
D) resulted from following self-interest.

Question 14

The Christian moral instruction to turn the other cheek was foreshadowed in

A) Plato's Republic.
B) the Code of Hammurabi.
C) the Buddhist moral treatise Dhammapada.
D) the Ten Commandments.

Question 15

In The Prince, Machiavelli believes the best way to rule is to

A) trust the masses to make their own decisions.
B) apply impartial religious principles.
C) determine the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
D) hold the masses in a state of awe.

Question 16

The work in which Satan is represented as an example of moral ambiguity is

A) Dante's Divine Comedy.
B) the Christian Bible.
C) Machiavelli's The Prince.
D) Milton's Paradise Lost.

Question 17

A literary work that bring up questions of moral relativism is

A) Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall.
B) Dante's Divine Comedy.
C) Milton's Paradise Lost.
D) Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal."

Question 18

According to Kant's view, the inborn sense of actions and choices as either morally acceptable or unacceptable is

A) the categorical imperative.
B) utilitarianism.
C) altruism.
D) moral relativism.

Question 19

Plato believed that ideal rulership would

A) hold subjects in a state of awe.
B) come from a philosopher king who governed by reason.
C) allow subjects to rule themselves.
D) determine the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Question 20

The idea that time, culture, and situation play roles in what is right and wrong is known as

A) moral absolutism.
B) utilitarianism.
C) moral imperativism.
D) moral relativism.

Question 21

What was John Stuart Mill's philosophy on government and morality?

Question 22

Choose a film, novel, short story, play, or other written work in which a character confronts a moral choice. Explain how the piece solves the moral dilemma. Analyze the work's outcome according to the classification and/or philosophy that it most closely matches.
I. Describe a moral choice or problem in a work of art.
II. Explain the outcome or solution that the work provides.
III. Analyze the problem in terms of the philosopher or philosophy it most closely matches.

Question 23

What was Socrates's response to Glaucon's view that people serve only their own self-interest in obeying laws?

Question 24

Explain a moral problem in which moral relativism will provide a more moral, fair, or appropriate solution than Kant's categorical imperative.
I. Describe a situation or problem where moral relativism seems moral, fair, or appropriate.
II. Explain why moral relativism is more fitting than the categorical imperative at finding a moral solution to the problem.

Question 25

The philosophies of Plato, Machiavelli, and Ayn Rand are all based on the idea of self-interest as good or moral. Explain what self-interest means to each of these people. Tell how the idea of self-interest as moral applies to each of their views. Of the three, discuss which one you find the most compelling and why.
I. Define and explain self-interest as moral in Plato's Republic.
II. Define and explain self-interest as moral in Machiavelli's The Prince.
III. Define and explain self-interest as moral in Ayn Rand's essay.
IV. State which philosophy is the most compelling and support the stance with reasons.

Question 26

What is utilitarianism?

Question 27

What is laissez-faire?

Question 28

What is morality?

Question 29

Discuss two hypothetical cases of your own choosing to which you will apply utilitarian principles. In the first case, explain how this philosophy would be primarily a good idea for all members of a given society. In the second, explain how the system would create enormous problems for society and discuss another moral way in which you might solve the problem.
I. Describe a social problem for which utilitarianism would provide a satisfying solution.
II. Describe a social problem for which utilitarianism would provide an unsatisfying solution.
III. Identify a more satisfying moral solution for the second social problem.

Question 30

Explain Kant's categorical imperative and discuss an example of your own creation in which Kant's categorical imperative provides a solution that is morally satisfying in a way that utilitarianism is not.
I. Explain Kant's categorical imperative.
II. Describe an example of Kant's categorical imperative.
III. Discuss why Kant's categorical imperative is more satisfying than utilitarianism in the situation of the example.