Deck 9: Skepticism, Subjectivism, and Relativism

Question 1

Moral skepticism is:

A) The view that there is no objective truth about morality.
B) The view that morality is relative to culture.
C) The view that everyone's moral views are correct for them.
D) The view that morality varies from place to place.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following best explains the idea of moral skepticism?

A) Moral skepticism is the view that all moral claims are false.
B) Moral skepticism is the view that no moral arguments can be cogent.
C) Moral skepticism is the view that the truth of a moral claim is always relative to the culture of the person making the claim.
D) Moral skepticism is the view that there is no objective moral truth.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

How is moral skepticism defined in Chapter 9?

A) Moral skepticism is the view that each person's moral beliefs are correct for him or her.
B) Moral skepticism is the view that there is no objective moral truth.
C) Moral skepticism is the view that no one really behaves morally, even if they pretend to do so.
D) Moral skepticism is the view that cross-cultural moral disagreement is impossible to resolve.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What is moral nihilism, according to Chapter 9?

A) The view that only the pursuit of power ultimately matters.
B) The view that all moral claims are false.
C) The view that morality is something we choose for ourselves.
D) The view that no one is genuinely motivated by moral concerns.

Question 5

Moral nihilism is:

A) The view that moral claims are only true relative to a person or culture.
B) The view that there are no true moral claims.
C) The view that moral claims are only true relative to a person.
D) The view that morality is not objective.

Question 6

Define moral nihilism.

A) Moral nihilism is the view that morality is just a means of social control.
B) Moral nihilism is the view that the ends justify the means.
C) Moral nihilism is the view that all moral claims are false.
D) Moral nihilism is the view that everyone ought to pursue his or her own self-interest.

Question 7

Which of the following is identified in Chapter 9 as a problem for moral nihilism?

A) Because it entails that the only way to think about moral issues is in terms of the good or bad consequences of different actions, it assumes without argument that most moral philosophers throughout history have been completely mistaken.
B) Because it entails that nothing is morally wrong, it entails that there is no moral reason to be tolerant of people with different moral beliefs.
C) Because it entails that nothing is fair or unfair, it makes it impossible to claim that other people have acted unfairly when they do not accept your demands.
D) Because it entails that nothing is morally wrong, even torture or recreational killing, it conflicts with most people's deeply held beliefs.

Question 8

How does moral nihilism conflict with most people's deeply held moral beliefs?

A) It entails that because no one's moral beliefs are more or less correct than anyone else's, everyone should tolerate everyone else's beliefs and behavior, including racist or sexist behavior.
B) It entails that there is nothing morally wrong with stealing from your friends, killing people for fun, or doing other things that most people regard as obviously wrong.
C) It entails that morality is just a system created by cultural elites to consolidate and maintain power over the rest of society without having to resort to violence.
D) It entails that each person could decide for himself or herself what he or she ought to do, since it holds that each person's moral beliefs are correct for that person.

Question 9

Which of the following best captures the MORAL DISAGREEMENT argument for skepticism, as presented in Chapter 9?

A) Morality is not objective because people disagree about morality in ways that cannot be resolved.
B) Morality is not objective because people have held different moral beliefs in different places and at different times.
C) Because moral beliefs differ between cultures, morality is relative to culture.
D) Because disagreement about morality is harder to resolve than disagreements about scientific facts, there is no such thing as morality.

Question 10

Which of the following best captures the main problem with the MORAL DISAGREEMENT argument for moral skepticism?

A) The argument wrongly assumes that people's moral disagreement is genuinely unresolvable.
B) The argument incorrectly assumes that disagreements about morality are like disagreements about nonmoral facts, such as facts about the shape of the Earth.
C) The argument illegitimately infers something about the way the world is from a fact about how people think the world is.
D) The argument overlooks the possibility that morality could be relative to culture, rather than objective.

Question 11

What's wrong with the MORAL DISAGREEMENT argument for moral skepticism, according to Chapter 9?

A) It ignores the fact that God has revealed the moral truth to those willing to listen.
B) It has the same structure as an obviously mistaken argument for skepticism about things like the shape of the Earth.
C) Morality is objective even if people don't agree about it.
D) People don't really disagree about morality.

Question 12

Which of the following best captures the central problem with the MORAL DISAGREEMENT argument for moral skepticism, according to Chapter 9?

A) There's no evidence that people's moral disagreements are really unresolvable.
B) People's moral disagreements are only unresolvable for people from different cultures.
C) If the argument were correct, there would be no moral reason to be tolerant of others.
D) The fact that people disagree about some topic doesn't mean that there's no fact of that matter about that topic.

Question 13

Which of the following best captures the idea of moral subjectivism, as defined in Chapter 9?

A) The view that there are no objective moral truths.
B) The view that everyone ought to be tolerant of others' moral beliefs.
C) The view that each person's moral beliefs are correct for that person.
D) The view that moral claims are like claims about witches.

Question 14

Moral subjectivism is:

A) The view that there are moral truths, which are determined by each person's moral beliefs.
B) The view that there are no moral truths, only individual people's moral beliefs.
C) The view that there are moral truths, which are determined by each person's moral beliefs.
D) The view that there are moral truths, but they are essentially unknowable.

Question 15

Define moral subjectivism.

A) Moral subjectivism is the view that the moral truths for members of a particular culture are determined by that culture's moral beliefs.
B) Moral subjectivism is the view that there are no moral truths.
C) Moral subjectivism is the view that each person's moral beliefs determine what moral claims are true for that person.
D) Moral subjectivism is the view that each person ought to seek to make his or her personal moral beliefs internally consistent.

Question 16

Which of the following best captures the difference between moral nihilism and moral subjectivism?

A) Moral subjectivism requires tolerance of others, whereas moral nihilism does not.
B) Moral subjectivism is compatible with moral disagreement, whereas moral nihilism is not.
C) Moral nihilism says that everyone's moral beliefs are incorrect, whereas moral subjectivism says that everyone's moral beliefs are correct.
D) Moral nihilism says that no one ever acts because of his or her moral beliefs, whereas moral subjectivism says that people only act according to their own moral beliefs.

Question 17

Which of the following best explains the relationship between moral subjectivism and moral disagreement?

A) Moral subjectivism entails that moral disagreement is impossible.
B) Unresolvable moral disagreements entail that moral subjectivism is true.
C) Moral subjectivism entails that all moral disagreements depend on disagreements about nonmoral facts.
D) Moral disagreement is only possible if moral subjectivism is true.

Question 18

Which of the following is identified in Chapter 9 as a problem for moral subjectivism?

A) It entails that it is morally obligatory to tolerate people with different moral beliefs.
B) It entails that morality evolves over time as each culture's moral beliefs change from one generation to the next.
C) It entails that recreational killing is morally permissible for someone who genuinely believes that it's permissible.
D) It entails that reasoning about morality is like reasoning about which people are witches.

Question 19

Which of the following does Chapter 9 identify as a problem for moral subjectivism?

A) It entails that moral disagreement is impossible.
B) It entails that even the most horrific actions would be morally permissible for someone who believes them to be permissible.
C) Both (a) and (b).
D) Neither (a) nor (b).

Question 20

According to Chapter 9, how would the truth of moral subjectivism affect moral reasoning?

A) It would have relatively little effect because we could still use moral reasoning to figure out what we should and to convince others about what they could do.
B) It would completely undermine moral reasoning because it would mean that reasoning about morality is equivalent to reasoning about which people are witches.
C) It would mean that moral disagreements could only be resolved by force, rather than by moral reasoning.
D) It would create significant obstacles to moral reasoning because any moral argument presented by one person could not genuinely be understood by anyone else.

Question 21

Why, according to Chapter 9, would the truth of moral subjectivism have only a minor effect on moral reasoning?

A) Because most people would still be persuaded by moral arguments because they do not believe in moral subjectivism.
B) Because you could still use arguments to show what follows from your own or someone else's moral beliefs.
C) Because if moral subjectivism is true, then morality is all about power and reasoning with others as a form of exercising power.
D) Because unlike cultural relativism, moral subjectivism leaves it up to each person to decide for him- or herself which moral claims are true.

Question 22

Why doesn't moral subjectivism require tolerance of others' moral beliefs?

A) Because it entails that any moral claim, including the claim that people should be tolerant, is false.
B) Because it entails that people should not tolerate those who insist that everyone should accept a single set of objective moral truths.
C) Because it entails that people should act intolerantly toward people or cultures that try to force their beliefs on others.
D) Because it entails that someone with intolerant moral beliefs ought to act intolerantly.

Question 23

Which of the following best captures the problem with the argument that if moral subjectivism is true, then everyone should be tolerant of others' moral beliefs?

A) If moral subjectivism is true, then those with intolerant beliefs should not tolerate others.
B) If moral subjectivism is true, then people should only tolerate those whose moral beliefs are not intolerant.
C) If moral subjectivism is true, then moral disagreement is impossible, which makes genuine tolerance impossible.
D) If moral subjectivism is true, then there are no moral truths at all, including truths about whether anyone should be tolerant.

Question 24

What does it mean for someone's moral beliefs to be inconsistent?

A) That their moral beliefs conflict with the moral beliefs of their culture.
B) That they belong to overlapping cultures that hold contradictory moral beliefs.
C) That some of their moral beliefs contradict some of their other moral beliefs.
D) That they have been misled by one or more bad arguments for moral skepticism.

Question 25

How does the demand for consistency in your moral beliefs affect moral subjectivism, according to Chapter 9?

A) It entails that you cannot be kind and tell the truth in every single circumstance.
B) Since it would be impossible for your moral beliefs to be inconsistent if moral subjectivism were true, accepting the demand for consistency means saying that moral subjectivism is false.
C) Because it requires you to coordinate your moral beliefs with other members of your culture, the demand for consistency entails that cultural relativism is true, rather than moral subjectivism.
D) It entails that even if moral subjectivism is true, you can still be incorrect about what is right or wrong for you.

Question 26

What is reflective equilibrium?

A) The state in which your beliefs cannot be changed by further evidence because they have reached equilibrium.
B) The situation in which your general moral principles and your particular moral judgments all fit together coherently.
C) The state in which you have reflected deeply enough on your beliefs to have eliminated beliefs caused by superstition, bias, and other bad influences.
D) The situation in which the different subcultures manage to balance their conflicting moral beliefs to achieve a stable culture.

Question 27

Which of the following best explains the idea of reflective equilibrium?

A) A person achieves reflective equilibrium when his or her metaethical beliefs no longer contradict his or her normative beliefs.
B) A person achieves reflective equilibrium when he or she eliminates flawed arguments for moral skepticism from his or her moral reasoning.
C) A person achieves reflective equilibrium when his or her moral beliefs all fit together, including beliefs about both moral principles and particular cases.
D) A person achieves reflective equilibrium when he or she gets past the need for moral principles and recognizes the moral truth about specific cases through direct reflection.

Question 28

Reflective equilibrium, as defined in Chapter 9, is:

A) The state of having consistent, coherent moral beliefs.
B) The state of having consistent, coherent metaethical beliefs.
C) The state of being able to act on your moral beliefs without being tempted to pursue your self-interest instead.
D) The state of being able to give reasons for each of your moral intuitions.

Question 29

Wide reflective equilibrium is:

A) The state in which your moral beliefs not only fit together well but are also true.
B) When most people in a particular culture achieve reflective equilibrium.
C) The state in which your moral beliefs not only fit together with one another but also fit with your nonmoral beliefs.
D) When someone achieves reflective equilibrium and realizes that he or she has done so.

Question 30

What is cultural relativism, as explained in Chapter 9?

A) Cultural relativism is, roughly, the view that everyone ought to tolerate the moral practices of members of other cultures.
B) Cultural relativism is, roughly, the view that there is no such thing as morality, but cultures create moral rules so that elites can control less powerful members of the culture.
C) Cultural relativism is, roughly, the view that the moral beliefs of a culture determine what is right or wrong for members of that culture.
D) Cultural relativism is, roughly, the view that moral rules only apply to an individual when the rule is relevant to the culture to which the individual belongs.

Question 31

According to Chapter 9, cultural relativism is:

A) The view that morality does not really exist, although most cultures have convinced their members that it does.
B) The view that there are seven major civilizations in the world, each with a distinct moral code.
C) The view that morality is determined by the culture that has the most power in a geographical area.
D) The view that what is morally right or wrong for a person is determined by the moral beliefs of that person's culture.

Question 32

Cultural relativism is:

A) The view that it is up to each person to decide for himself or herself what is morally right or wrong.
B) The view that a person's culture determines what is morally right or wrong for that person.
C) The view that members of one culture cannot make moral judgments about members of a different culture.
D) The view that different societies accept different moral codes.

Question 33

Descriptive cultural relativism is:

A) The view that different societies accept different moral codes.
B) The view that what an individual ought to do is determined by the moral beliefs of that individual's culture.
C) The claim that most people accept some form of culture relativism.
D) The claim that most people's moral beliefs are, as a matter of fact, shaped by the culture in which they were raised.

Question 34

What is the difference between descriptive cultural relativism and normative cultural relativism?

A) Normative cultural relativism says that what is morally right or wrong for a person depends on the moral beliefs of that person's culture, whereas descriptive cultural relativism says that most people in a particular culture believe in normative cultural relativism.
B) Normative cultural relativism says that different cultures accept different moral beliefs, whereas descriptive cultural relativism says that the moral beliefs of a culture determine what is morally right or wrong for members of that culture.
C) Descriptive cultural relativism says that different cultures accept different moral beliefs, whereas normative cultural relativism says that the moral beliefs of a culture determine what is morally right or wrong for members of that culture.
D) Descriptive cultural relativism says that what is morally right or wrong for a person depends on the moral beliefs of that person's culture, whereas normative cultural relativism says that most people in a particular culture believe in descriptive cultural relativism.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT identified in Chapter 9 as a problem for cultural relativism?

A) It entails that killing is wrong (for you) because your culture disapproves of killing, not because of the harm it does to the victim.
B) It imposes no limits on what a culture may approve, including things that seem obviously wrong, like genocide or torture.
C) It requires that everyone tolerate others, even people who are not tolerant themselves.
D) It creates problems when a culture holds contradictory beliefs or when you belong to multiple cultures that have incompatible beliefs.

Question 36

What does Frederick Douglass's AGAINST SLAVERY argument show about cultural relativism?

A) That the need to resolve contradictions within a culture's moral code shows the need for moral reasoning even if cultural relativism is true.
B) That the moral code of the pre-Civil War American South was worse than the moral code of the contemporary United States.
C) That cultural relativism never has clear implications for what someone ought to do.
D) That cultural relativism cannot be true because that would lead to contradictions.

Question 37

Moral skepticism, as defined in Chapter 9, is the view that there are no objective moral truths.

Question 38

Moral nihilism, as defined in Chapter 9, is the view that all moral claims are false.

Question 39

If moral nihilism is true, then nothing is morally wrong.

Question 40

The fact that some moral disagreements cannot be resolved is proof that there are no objective moral truths.

Question 41

Moral subjectivism, as defined in Chapter 9, is the view that each person's moral beliefs determine what is morally right or wrong for that person.

Question 42

Moral subjectivism, as defined in Chapter 9, is the view that "everything is permitted."

Question 43

Whereas the moral nihilist thinks that everyone's moral beliefs are correct, the moral subjectivist thinks that everyone's beliefs are false.

Question 44

Moral subjectivism entails that moral disagreement is impossible.

Question 45

If moral subjectivism is true, then everyone ought to tolerate other people's behavior as long as that behavior is right according to the others' moral beliefs.

Question 46

Moral subjectivism undermines any universal obligation to be tolerant of those with different moral views.

Question 47

The idea that everyone should be tolerant of others is a good reason to accept moral subjectivism.

Question 48

If moral subjectivism is true, then there is no point to moral reasoning.

Question 49

Even if moral subjectivism is true, it is possible to use moral reasoning to rationally persuade someone else of moral claims.

Question 50

Someone's moral beliefs are inconsistent if at least one of his or her moral beliefs contradicts at least one other of his or her moral beliefs.

Question 51

To say that someone's moral beliefs are consistent is to say that they match the moral beliefs of his or her culture.

Question 52

An important role for moral reasoning involves identifying and eliminating inconsistencies in one's moral beliefs.

Question 53

Reflective equilibrium is the state in which the moral principles that one accepts fit together well with the moral judgments one makes about particular cases.

Question 54

Reflective equilibrium is the state in which a person is unaware of any inconsistencies in his or her moral beliefs.

Question 55

Being in reflective equilibrium requires, among other things, that one's moral beliefs be consistent.

Question 56

If moral subjectivism is true, then there is no point in trying to achieve reflective equilibrium.

Question 57

Cultural relativism, as defined in Chapter 9, is the view that the moral beliefs of a person's culture determine what is morally right or wrong for that person.

Question 58

Cultural relativism, as defined in Chapter 9, is the view that a person's moral beliefs are determined by his or her culture.

Question 59

Descriptive cultural relativism is the view that different cultures have different moral beliefs.

Question 60

If different cultures have different moral beliefs, that entails that normative cultural relativism is true.

Question 61

Unlike moral subjectivism, cultural relativism entails that everyone ought to respect other cultures' differences.

Question 62

Metaethics is the study of the nature of morality and of moral language and thought.

Question 63

What is moral skepticism? What are the different kinds of moral skepticism discussed in Chapter 9, and how do they differ from one another?

Question 64

Define moral nihilism. Why does moral nihilism conflict with most people's moral convictions?

Question 65

What is moral nihilism? Do you think moral nihilism is correct? Why or why not?

Question 66

Does the fact that people disagree about morality provide a good reason to accept some form of moral skepticism? Why or why not?

Question 67

In your own words, explain the MORAL DISAGREEMENT argument from Chapter 9, along with the main criticism of that argument.

Question 68

What is moral subjectivism, according to Chapter 9? What are some important philosophical problems with moral subjectivism?

Question 69

Define moral subjectivism. If moral subjectivism were true, what difference would that make to moral reasoning? Why?

Question 70

Does moral subjectivism require everyone to be tolerant of others? Why or why not?

Question 71

What is cultural relativism, as defined in Chapter 9? If cultural relativism were true, what difference would that make to moral reasoning? Why?

Question 72

In your own words, explain the difference between descriptive cultural relativism and normative cultural relativism.

Question 73

Of the various problems for cultural relativism raised in Chapter 9, which do you think is most important? Why?

Question 74

In your own words, explain Frederick Douglass's AGAINST SLAVERY argument. How does this argument create a problem for cultural relativism?

Question 75

How does the moral code of the Italian American mafia create a problem for cultural relativism?

Question 76

What is metaethics? Give one example of a metaethical question.