Deck 7: Social Contract Theory

Question 1

Contractarianism originated as a __________ theory.

A) moral
B) psychological
C) political
D) Philosophical

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Contractarianism states that actions are morally right if and only if

A) everyone agrees that they are right.
B) they do not violate any agreements.
C) they do not violate anyone's rights.
D) they are permitted by rules that free, equal, and rational people would agree to live by.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Contractarians have traditionally taken the view that people are for the most part

A) moral.
B) self-interested.
C) altruistic.
D) irrational.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to contractarianism, we are best off when we agree to

A) pursue our own self-interest.
B) limit the direct pursuit of self-interest.
C) act only for the sake of others.
D) seek to maximize well-being.

Question 5

A prisoner's dilemma is a situation in which

A) everyone is better off is everyone refrains from pursuing their short-term interests.
B) everyone is better off if everyone pursues their short-term interests.
C) every possible course of action ends up harming everyone.
D) there is no possible action that does not break the law.

Question 6

Prisoner's dilemmas are

A) purely hypothetical examples used in philosophy.
B) a kind of situation that often occurs in real life.
C) a historical example about a problem faced by people in jail.
D) none of the above

Question 7

The founder of modern contractarianism is

A) Immanuel Kant.
B) Thomas Hobbes.
C) John Stuart Mill.
D) Aristotle.

Question 8

Hobbes claimed that life in the state of nature would be

A) free and easy.
B) difficult but safe.
C) a war of all against all.
D) characterized by moral virtue.

Question 9

The purpose of Rawls's "veil of ignorance" is to

A) ensure that the choices of the contractors are fair.
B) remind us of how much we don't know.
C) prevent people from invading one another's privacy.
D) prevent the immoral behavior that often results from higher education.

Question 10

What is the term for a situation in which everyone is made worse off when all pursue self-interest?

A) paradox of hedonism
B) prisoner's dilemma
C) egoistic pitfall
D) mutually assured destruction

Question 11

What was Thomas Hobbes's term for a condition in which there is no government to maintain order?

A) the lawless condition
B) the state of nature
C) the before time
D) the state of Eden

Question 12

What did Hobbes think is the only way to escape from the state of nature?

A) for each person, individually, to strive to morally improve himself
B) for people to accept a religious faith
C) to mutually agree on a set of rules for social cooperation
D) none of the above (Hobbes did not think such a state could be truly escaped.)

Question 13

Contractarians seek to justify basic moral rules by showing that

A) free, equal, and rational people would agree to such rules.
B) they maximize utility.
C) such rules are universalizable.
D) none of the above (Contractarians claim that basic moral rules cannot be justified.)

Question 14

Rawls's "veil of ignorance" is a(n)

A) metaphorical term for the way in which humans often fail to empathize with one another.
B) description of the tools used by governments to keep their people ignorant.
C) imaginary device for ensuring that contractors make fair choices.
D) objection to contractarianism.

Question 15

According to Rawls's theory,

A) the contractors disagree about many important issues, undermining morality's objectivity.
B) the contractors disagree about a few small points, but this does not undermine morality.
C) the contractors never disagree.
D) the decisions of the contractors are irrelevant to morality.

Question 16

Which of the following is a problem for the idea of veil of ignorance?

A) It is unclear why we should follow agreements made by people unlike us.
B) It renders the agreements of the contractors unfair.
C) It assures that the contractors will disagree among themselves.
D) all of the above

Question 17

According to contractarianism, what motivates the contractors to select the rules they do?

A) a desire for revenge
B) rational self-interest
C) impartial benevolence
D) selfless altruism

Question 18

The social contract that fixes our basic moral duties is

A) one that we have actually consented to.
B) one we would consent to under ideal conditions.
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Question 19

Which of the following is a problem for contractarianism discussed in the text?

A) Contractarianism is incompatible with following rational self-interest.
B) Contractarianism fails to maximize happiness.
C) Contractarianism breaks down when contractors disagree about moral rules.
D) all of the above

Question 20

What is Rawls's veil of ignorance thought to ensure?

A) The contractors will always agree among themselves.
B) The agreements of the contractors will be fair.
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Question 21

Define contractarianism and explain how contractarians seek to justify moral rules. Do you find contractarianism to be an attractive moral theory? Why or why not?

Question 22

Describe in detail a prisoner's dilemma situation and explain what makes the situation a prisoner's dilemma. Does contractarianism provide a satisfying solution to prisoner's dilemma situations? Defend your answer.

Question 23

Explain the veil of ignorance. What work does the veil do for contractarianism? What do you think contractors would agree to from behind the veil? Do you think that this is a good approach to contractarianism? Why or why not?

Question 24

Write an essay on the relation between self-interest and morality in contractarianism. What role does self-interest play in determining which moral standards are correct, according to the theory? Do contractarians think that it is always in our self-interest to behave morally? Why or why not?

Question 25

The decisions of hypothetical contractors play an important role in contractarianism. Suppose that such contractors failed to agree about some moral question. How serious of a problem would this be for contractarianism? Describe Rawls's idea of the veil of ignorance and explain how it might be able to solve this problem. Do you think it succeeds? Why or why not?

Question 26

Case Study
Imagine a small island community thrives for decades as a liberal democracy. Through a collaborative process of open and considerate negotiations about the needs of all its members, the community drafts its own constitution. The constitution honors the rights of individuals to pursue happiness in any way they want that does not harm others. It promises freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly, among other liberties. The constitution also specifies a procedure by which new leaders are chosen and provides them with some authority to make new laws in response to circumstances that were not anticipated in drafting the constitution.
Over time, one of the religious groups in the communities steadily gains members until it becomes the majority religion. The leaders of the group believe the laws of the community should reflect the strict moral code of the religion. Because they form a majority, they are able to elect leaders who advocate for laws that weaken the liberties enshrined in the original constitution. Members of religious minorities are finding it increasingly difficult to gather and practice their faith without violating the new laws imposed by the religious majority.
-Are the members of the religious minority morally required to follow both the old and new laws of the community?

Question 27

Case Study
Imagine a small island community thrives for decades as a liberal democracy. Through a collaborative process of open and considerate negotiations about the needs of all its members, the community drafts its own constitution. The constitution honors the rights of individuals to pursue happiness in any way they want that does not harm others. It promises freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly, among other liberties. The constitution also specifies a procedure by which new leaders are chosen and provides them with some authority to make new laws in response to circumstances that were not anticipated in drafting the constitution.
Over time, one of the religious groups in the communities steadily gains members until it becomes the majority religion. The leaders of the group believe the laws of the community should reflect the strict moral code of the religion. Because they form a majority, they are able to elect leaders who advocate for laws that weaken the liberties enshrined in the original constitution. Members of religious minorities are finding it increasingly difficult to gather and practice their faith without violating the new laws imposed by the religious majority.
-Should the intentions of the original writers of the constitution constrain how new laws are made? Or should the new lawmakers feel free to interpret the document as narrowly or broadly as they see fit?