Deck 8: Justice

Question 1

Mill was particularly concerned with protecting individuals against "the tyranny of the majority."

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Rousseau argued that man was essentially evil.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Distributive justice calls for the fair distribution of penalties to criminals.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Plato and Aristotle defended slavery.

Question 5

The key to a successful society is cooperation.

Question 6

Egalitarianism is the view that all people ought to live and work according their station in life, that is, behave according to the code of justice appropriate to their own social class.

Question 7

Hobbes argued that there was no justice in the state of nature. It came into existence because of society.

Question 8

The United States was founded on the thesis that when the state no longer serves its citizens, the citizens have the right to overthrow that government.

Question 9

Rousseau and Hobbes had very similar social contract theories.

Question 10

Locke argued that what gave a person the right to a piece of property was the fact that he "has mixed his labor with it."

Question 11

Carol Gilligan posed two challenges to the ethics of justice. She asserted that ethical systems had historically ignored other dimensions of moral experience, such as compassion and sympathy. They also typically presumed gender neutrality.

Question 12

The three basic rights originally listed in the American Declaration of Independence were "life, liberty, and the right to own private property."

Question 13

The oldest sense of the word justice is what philosophers called sovereign, or simply, "getting even."

Question 14

In the Republic, Aristotle argued that justice in the state is precisely the same as justice in the individual, that is, a harmony between the various parts for the good of the whole.

Question 15

For both Locke and Hume, the ultimate criterion of justice was utility, the public interest, and therefore the satisfaction of the interests of at least most of the citizens.

Question 16

Thomas Hobbes is generally credited with the formulation of the theory of the "social contract" for the establishment of governments and society.

Question 17

In "The Emotions Of Justice," Bob Solomon argues for the claim that justice is merely an a priori function of reason

Question 18

Malcolm X was one of the leaders of the "Black Nationalist" movement of that era, and he pursued not just justice, but an independent and separate state for black people of all nations.

Question 19

Henry David Thoreau truly believed in the american government's right to tax its citizens.

Question 20

Positive freedom refers to the freedom to realize one's own potential.

Question 21

Nozick argued that any attempt to set "patterns" of distribution of wealth must necessarily __________.

A) help the disadvantaged members of society
B) incorporate the idea of "justice as fairness"
C) follow entitlement theory
D) result in the violation of people's rights

Question 22

The social contract is __________.

A) an agreement among people to share certain interests and make certain compromises for the good of them all
B) mainly an agreement of equally selfless and unselfish persons not to commit theft or murder
C) a choice to serve the public interest at the expense of a small number of individuals
D) the only popular political theory

Question 23

__________ dismisses the view that people are fundamentally rational, and his sense of human nature emphasizes the passions, particularly the passion for self-preservation.

A) Locke
B) Hobbes
C) Hume
D) Nozick

Question 24

Hobbes begins his argument with the perhaps surprising observation that people are basically __________.

A) confused about justice
B) afraid
C) equal by nature
D) unequal by nature

Question 25

Hobbes argued that people were motivated to become part of society for their mutual __________.

A) protection
B) happiness
C) benefit
D) equality

Question 26

According to Hobbes, life in the state of nature was __________.

A) better than life in his own time
B) free and noble
C) poor, solitary, nasty, brutish, and short
D) difficult but honest

Question 27

Hume replies that there is a need to distinguish between the utility of a __________ and the utility of an overall system.

A) a nation
B) person
C) a law of nature
D) single act

Question 28

Hume wrote, "A single act of justice is frequently contrary to __________; and were it to stand alone, without being followed by other acts, may, in itself, be very prejudicial to society.

A) public interest
B) religious laws
C) logic
D) fundamental justice

Question 29

"From this fundamental law of nature, by which men are commanded to endeavor peace, is derived this second law: that a man be willing, when others are too, as far-forth, as for peace, and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself."
The first fundamental law to which Hobbes referred in this passage can be paraphrased as __________.

A) accept the state of nature, which is a war of every man against every other man
B) everyone ought to seek peace whenever possible, otherwise war
C) do unto others as you would have them do unto you
D) the mutual transferring of right

Question 30

The first law of nature allowed Hobbes to derive the second. The second law can be paraphrased as __________.

A) the violation of faith
B) a proof of the existence of God
C) the law of the Gospel
D) the laying down of one's rights to all things, so long as others do the same, namely, the social contract

Question 31

For Rousseau, the first model of political society was based on the most ancient of all societies, which is __________.

A) the family
B) the clan
C) the village
D) a circle of friends

Question 32

Which of the following thought that the power of the people, that is, the general will, was the ultimate voice of authority and liberty?

A) Aristotle
B) Mill
C) Hume
D) Rousseau

Question 33

"The conception of justice which I want to develop may be stated in the form of two principles as follows: first, each person participating in a practice, or affected by it, has an equal right to the most extensive liberty compatible with a like liberty for all; and second, inequalities are arbitrary unless it is reasonable to expect that they will work out for everyone's advantage, and provided the positions and offices to which they attach, or from which they may be gained, are open to all. These principles express justice as a complex of three ideas: liberty, equality, and reward for services contributing to the common good."
Which of the following is the author of this passage?

A) Rawls
B) Mill
C) Hume
D) Kant

Question 34

Which of the following thought that you can judge which society has the fairest government by looking at the well-being of the worst-off members of those societies? The higher the standard of living, education, job opportunities, and so forth, of the lowest class, the better the overall society.

A) Plato
B) Aristotle
C) Mill
D) Rawls

Question 35

Which of the following argued that the right to private property was so basic that it preceded any social conventions or laws and existed quite independent of any government or state, that is, who penned the original entitlement theory?

A) Locke
B) Mill
C) Hume
D) Nozick

Question 36

According to Nozick, how much room do individual rights leave for the state?

A) The state is sovereign: Its function is to govern universally in all areas of an individual's affairs.
B) The state is comprehensive: Its function is to regulate the major aspects of an individual's affairs.
C) The state is moderate: Its functions regulate most aspects of an individual's affairs and protect against force, theft, fraud, enforcement of contracts, and so forth.
D) The state is minimal: Its functions are only to protect individuals against force, theft, fraud, enforcement of contacts, and so forth.

Question 37

One of the most basic rights, according to Locke, is the right to own private property, and the most basic private property one can own is __________.

A) land
B) clothing
C) one's own body
D) a home

Question 38

The theory of social justice advanced by Rousseau and Hobbes, among others, is called __________.

A) utilitarianism
B) universalism
C) legal premise theory
D) social contract theory

Question 39

The major reason for the worldwide lack of food is a problem with __________.

A) justice
B) supply
C) distribution
D) refrigeration

Question 40

Concerning the problem of inequality toward blacks in the United States, why did
Malcolm X want to change labels from "civil rights" to "human rights"?

A) To avoid facing punishment from the law
B) To impress on people that the issue is about real human beings.
C) Because there is nothing "civil" about slavery, oppression, and prejudice.
D) To make it a world problem, that is, an international human rights issue.

Question 41

Which of the following is not a characteristic of Aristotle's "unjust man"?

A) Lawless
B) Greedy
C) Unfair
D) Boorish

Question 42

Which of the following is the most influential conception of justice in modern times?

A) Plato's Republic
B) Socialist reform
C) Social contract theory
D) Democracy

Question 43

Which of the following is not a principal cause of quarrel, according to Hobbes?

A) Competition (for gain)
B) Diffidence (for safety)
C) Fecundity (for sex and reproduction)
D) Glory (for reputation)

Question 44

The term Hobbes used to denote the mutual transferring of rights is __________.

A) warranty
B) pledge
C) treaty
D) contract

Question 45

Which civil rights activist claimed that disobeying the law was his moral-and Christian-obligation.

A) Thurgood Marshall
B) Martin Luther King, Jr.
C) Malcolm X
D) Henry David Thoreau

Question 46

Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen defends the idea that __________ deserves much more dedicated attention than it has been getting from economists and philosophers.

A) air pollution
B) respect
C) love
D) hunger

Question 47

Mill proposes that individual liberty is to be considered inviolable except when other people are threatened with __________.

A) financial burden
B) discrimination
C) harm
D) isolation

Question 48

Which of the following theory of justice focuses on every individual's rights by defending two principles: first, that we all have basic and equal rights, and second, that all inequalities of wealth, health, opportunities, and so forth, are to every individual's advantage?

A) Rawls
B) Nozick
C) Kant
D) Cheshire Calhoun

Question 49

Which group of people did Rawls say a society is obligated to help out first?

A) The middle class
B) The handicapped
C) The worst-off class
D) Those running for political office

Question 50

The basis of the social contract according to Hobbes was __________.

A) our mutual protection
B) our mutual understanding of each other's points of view
C) a mutual feeling of respect
D) a means of enforcing a non-mutual interaction

Question 51

Does a utilitarian description of the state necessarily compromise the rights of the individual? Mill didn't think so. How might rights be used to protect the individual from the "tyranny of the majority"? How could a utilitarian defend a robust conception of individual rights?

Question 52

Recall John Rawls's two principles of justice. Give a short argument detailing how those two principles might be derived from his "original position." Rawls insisted that, for the derivation to work, individuals must be self-interested and rational. Explain why this is so.

Question 53

Hobbes insisted that humankind was naturally evil. Rousseau, on the other hand, believed in the natural goodness of humanity. What do you think? If humankind is naturally good, how does evil ever enter the picture?

Question 54

Write your own "state of nature" story. When and why does justice emerge? Does your society look like our own? If so, why? If not, what improvements have you made?

Question 55

Discuss Aristotle's approach to justice in The Nicomachean Ethics. What are some vital distinctions between justice in the restricted sense of righting certain wrongs and justice as the more general concern for a well-balanced and reasonable society. What is the role of the unjust man in the argument?

Question 56

Discuss the "paradoxes of democracy." It seems right that everyone should vote, for instance, but that's only if everyone did his or her research and came to informed opinions. A well-researched passionate voter may have her vote nullified by an uncaring voter who never bothered to learn the politicians' platforms voting the other way. The clever and well-informed have as much say in how the country is run as the dull and uninformed. That doesn't seem fair to those who care about the outcome of the election. It also doesn't seem fair to not let everyone have a vote. Is there a way to resolve the paradox?

Question 57

Should the products of the labor of the community be shared equally? Or, should those who have worked harder and longer get more? Or, should those whose needs and wants are greater get a larger proportion? Or, should those who are more valuable to the community get more? A sense of natural justice has been appealed to on behalf of every one of these options. There are good arguments pro and con for all of them. Try to list as many as you can.

Question 58

John Stuart Mill argued that no one should be deprived of his or her property that belongs to him or her by law. Consider the ways property comes into someone's possession: purchase, inheritance, or theft. Assuming someone procured property legally; trace it back to the first owner. Did that owner have the right to sell it? How did the first person ever come to own anything? Some would argue that everything began by theft. If so, how does anyone have a legitimate claim to anything today? Imagine, for example, you buy a house on an acre of land. At one time that land was occupied by the Native Americans. Did they own it first? Did anyone? Did anyone have the right to sell it away from them? After many sales do you "own" it? The study of property rights starts with very difficult philosophical questions of "ownership." Discuss.

Question 59

Using the Declaration of Independence as a prime example of social contract theory at work, show how a citizen has not only a right but also a duty to overthrow his or her government should it become destructive to the ends described within the declaration. Discuss the tensions between the citizen's duty to uphold the law and the citizen's duty to abolish the law. How do unalienable rights support both duties?

Question 60

One might be surprised to hear philosophers speak of ethics, justice, and care as different issues, in particular that theorists in the justice tradition have had little to say about care issues at all. Feminists point out that it is hard to shift orientations from justice ethics to care ethics and vice versa. An action that is just, fair, and right may be the opposite of an action that is compassionate, sympathetic, and merciful. Think of real-life examples where it would be better to be merciful and other examples where it would be better to be just. To use an example from Christian literature, if the wages of sin is death and everyone sins, then justice is served by having everyone die. However, the sending of a savior supplants justice in favor of mercy. On the other hand, an example of when justice trumps mercy might be, in particular, child-rearing situations, where, if the child does not learn the natural negative consequences of his or her actions, he or she might repeat behavior that would be detrimental to his or her development.

Question 61

According to Hobbes, before people enter into the social contract, we are in what he called the "__________."

Question 62

According to Plato and Aristotle, different people have different roles, and to treat unequals ___________ is as unjust as it is to treat equals ___________.

Question 63

The theory of what is called ___________ , the fair distribution of wealth and goods among the members of society, is a current international as well as national concern that owes much to Aristotle's original formulations.

Question 64

Rousseau says, "Man is born free; __________.

Question 65

Rawls admits that a society in which everyone had exactly equal shares of social goods is ____________________.

Question 66

Thoreau argued that a person in an unjust society ought to __________.

Question 67

__________ is the view that all men and women are equal just by virtue of their being human.

Question 68

Mill goes on to offer a "__________," that individual liberty is to be considered inviolable except when other people are threatened with harm.

Question 69

By what mental faculty are we to choose the principles by which our society will be run, According to Rawls, we choose the principle by which our society will be run by our __________ faculty.

Question 70

Our best-known list of such freedoms and rights is the American Bill of Rights, appended to the main body of the U.S. Constitution as a kind of contractual guarantee of _________.