Deck 10: Natural Law Theory

Question 1

"Natural function" relates to

A) whatever can be put to use by humans.
B) what some natural thing or process does.
C) what a cell phone or DVD player, for instance, is designed to do.
D) None of the above

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Aquinas argued that while natural law theory is roughly right, it _______ to attribute the natural design and the rational character of the world to God.

A) is a mistake
B) is right
C) does not improve or detract from natural law theory
D) is sacrilegious

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Someone tries to hijack your car while you are waiting for a light. Who is an innocent in this scenario?

A) You
B) The hijacker
C) The car
D) Both you and the car

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to the principle of forfeiture, one

A) can be morally justified in killing a person who has stopped being an innocent.
B) ought to kill a person who has stopped being an innocent.
C) ought to kill attackers or murderers who deny others the right to live.
D) should not act against a non-innocent to harm them.

Question 5

An "innocent" refers to a

A) child.
B) nonautonomous adult.
C) person or nation that attacks or threatens another without provocation.
D) person or nation that has not attacked or threatened another.

Question 6

The doctrine of double effect's _______ condition states that one must plan only the good effect of an action, even if bad effects are foreseen and expected as well.

A) moral principle
B) means-end
C) right intention
D) proportionality

Question 7

Which of the following is unacceptable according to the doctrine of double effect's proportionality condition?

A) The good and the bad effects are equal
B) The bad effect outweighs the good
C) The good effect outweighs the bad
D) None of the above

Question 8

While driving, I swerve my car to avoid hitting a pedestrian and end up totaling my car by hitting a telephone pole instead. Here, the

A) good effect is the means to the bad effect.
B) bad effect is the means to the good effect.
C) good and bad effects are independent of each other.
D) good and bad effects are of equal weight.

Question 9

Suppose Aladdin takes bread from a baker to feed several hungry children and keep them alive. According to the doctrine of double effect, the

A) act is saving the children.
B) bad effect is keeping the baker from earning money for the bread.
C) good effect is taking the bread without getting caught.
D) act fully satisfies the moral principle condition.

Question 10

Suppose a physician gives a dying patient drugs to make him more comfortable, while knowing that these drugs will hasten his death. According to the doctrine of double effect,

A) the act is keeping the patient comfortable.
B) this is the same as killing the patient and so violates the moral principle condition.
C) the good effect is the means to the bad effect.
D) the act satisfies the right-intention condition.

Question 11

The four conditions of the doctrine of double effect

A) are purely deontological.
B) are purely consequentialist.
C) include both deontological and consequentialist conditions.
D) have nothing that resembles any of our preceding theories.

Question 12

It is possible to make sense of and use the doctrine of double effect in all of the following cases, except

A) without having any commitment to God's existence.
B) without using natural law theory as the basis of moral principles.
C) while using, say, act utilitarianism as the basis of moral principles.
D) while using Kantian ethics as the basis of moral principles.

Question 13

In using the doctrine of double effect, changing how we describe a given act can sometimes make an important difference in whether that act satisfies the _______ condition.

A) moral principle
B) means-end
C) right-intention
D) proportionality

Question 14

Evolutionary theory

A) agrees with natural law theory that everything has a natural function or purpose.
B) maintains that everything in the natural world is morally good.
C) denies that the heart developed or is designed with the purpose of pumping blood.
D) is neutral regarding natural functions and purposes.

Question 15

Natural law theory is based upon the

A) moral law that God has commanded (i.e., the Ten Commandments).
B) laws of governments.
C) functions and goods of natural things.
D) functions and purposes of things designed and built by people.

Question 16

In natural law theory, reason

A) has no role.
B) has a particularly important role.
C) is given a small role, but revelation is more important.
D) is granted to humans by God.

Question 17

The principle of forfeiture entails

A) if you don't pay your bills on time, your car will be repossessed.
B) no one can forfeit one of their natural rights.
C) if you threaten another person's life, you no longer have a claim to your own life.
D) None of the above

Question 18

The forfeiture principle

A) holds exclusively for people.
B) holds for people and nations.
C) holds for nations only, not individual people.
D) holds exclusively for innocents.

Question 19

While driving, I swerve my car to avoid hitting a pedestrian and end up totaling my car by hitting a telephone pole instead. Here, the act is

A) my swerving the car.
B) totaling the car.
C) the pedestrian surviving.
D) the telephone pole's innocence.

Question 20

Which of the following is unacceptable according to the doctrine of double effect's means-end condition?

A) A good effect is the means to a bad effect.
B) A bad effect is the means to a good effect.
C) Good and bad effects are independent of each other.
D) None of the above

Question 21

Suppose one murders a possible terrorist's child with the purpose of getting the possible terrorist to give information that could save the lives of many. According to the doctrine of double effect, this is

A) always wrong.
B) always right.
C) right or wrong depending on certain other factors.
D) morally neutral.

Question 22

In natural law theory, which of the following is most unlikely regarding life, health, knowledge, and social interaction?

A) People commonly desire these values.
B) Many people obtain these values.
C) It is often rational and prudent to pursue these values.
D) We have a moral obligation to pursue these values.

Question 23

Which of the following is a problem for natural law theory?

A) God's existence cannot be proven.
B) Different descriptions of the same act may cause it to pass or fail the moral principle condition.
C) A bad effect can never be intended.
D) The theory's use of consequences makes it unable to deal appropriately with justice and rights.

Question 24

Natural law theory includes aspects of deontology but can also consider consequences for an act.

Question 25

Although Aquinas maintains that though the natural order and its laws are rational, nature is too complex for us to discover and understand them.

Question 26

Natural law theory grants there to be several natural values which one can be obligated to support and promote.

Question 27

While humans share some values with other living beings, there are some more characteristically human values too. Natural law theory says that the most important of the latter values is human free will, which makes humans unique among earth's living beings.

Question 28

Since social interaction is a good for human beings, the state (i.e., a nation's government) is a good thing and revolution against the state is usually morally wrong.

Question 29

Taken by itself, the right intention condition says that as long as one only means to bring about a good effect, it does not matter if they realize there will be a bad effect as well.

Question 30

Modern technology is blurring and changing the distinction between what is natural and what is unnatural. If there is uncertainty about the precise meaning of natural, then that is a problem for natural law theory.