Deck 3: The Core Philosophies

Question 1

When a person is asked to evaluate an ethical dilemma in a secondary language rather than in the primary language learned at birth, researchers have discovered that the person's decision-making tends to be:

A) Less rational
B) Skewed in favor of a choice that reflects the viewpoint of consequentialism
C) More likely to favor the deontology viewpoint
D) Emotionally-driven, especially among men

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Identify an ethical issue that is in the news. Analyze it from the standpoint of consequentialism.

Answer 2

not answered

Question 3

A focus on achieving the least overall harm for members of society is best reflected in the philosophy of:

A) Deontology
B) Consequentialism, but not necessarily utilitarianism
C) Utilitarianism, but not necessarily consequentialism
D) Emanuel Kant

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Your client told you that it needed to have "a completed compilation of its financial statements, in good form" for presentation to its bank this upcoming Friday in order to obtain a needed working capital loan. Although you had promised to accomplish this task on time, you were arrested for drunk driving on Thursday and had to spend most of the day at the police station arranging to post bail.
You knew that, if you had told your client the truth, the client would have terminated your professional relationship. This in turn would have required you to layoff Garza, your superb accounting analyst who is financially responsible for the care of her aged parents. As a result, you told the client that your child had to go to the emergency room for stitches after she inadvertently sat on the sharp point of scissors while working on an art project. Your client relayed this excuse to the bank as the reason that the submission of its financial statements would be delayed.
a. Evaluate your conduct from the standpoint of deontology.
b. Evaluate your client's statements to the bank from the standpoint of deontology.
c. Evaluate your conduct from the standpoint of consequentialism.

Question 5

A real-world difficulty of applying utilitarianism is that:

A) It can be difficult to identify all stakeholders affected by a decision
B) It can be difficult to measure utility
C) Some benefits, such as the enjoyment of privacy, are difficult to quantify
D) All of the above

Question 6

Which of the following rights customarily is not given absolute protection by deontology?

A) Property rights
B) The right to never be imprisoned
C) The right of free association
D) The right to be left alone

Question 7

The law of eminent domain allows a local government to take a person's property for public use, such as building a freeway that has been designed to cross land owned by this landowner. The landowner, by law, is entitled to be paid the fair market value of her land. However, in a recent action, a local government took a landowner's property under eminent domain and paid that landowner less than fair market value. Under utilitarianism, this government's action:

A) Definitely was suboptimal
B) Definitely was optimal because the government saved money for the benefit of society
C) Definitely was optimal because any act that shifts resources away from a private individual to broader society satisfies the precepts of utilitarianism
D) May have been optimal or suboptimal, but further inquiry into relevant facts is needed

Question 8

Which of the following best describes deontology?

A) It has few, if any, protections for cultural minorities
B) It often conflicts with important rights, such as freedom of contract
C) The set of rights protected by this philosophy are ill-defined
D) It favors the rights of broader society over the rights of individuals

Question 9

A real-world difficulty of applying deontology is that:

A) It can be difficult to identify all stakeholders affected by a decision
B) It can be difficult to measure utility
C) Some benefits, such as the right to the protection of trade secrets, are difficult to quantify
D) Two or more rights protected by deontology sometimes are in conflict

Question 10

The principal proponent of deontology was:

A) John Stuart Mill
B) Emanuel Kant
C) Jeremy Bentham
D) Aristotle

Question 11

A cheese manufacturing plant utilizes portions of milk in the cheese-making process and sends the remainder of the milk into a nearby river. The milk effluence pollutes the river, making it unusable for recreational use by local residents. This effluence has a foul odor, but it does not pose a health hazard.
a. Evaluate the company's actions from a utilitarian perspective.
b. Evaluate the company's actions from a deontological perspective.
c. What are the practical problems in applying consequentialism in this situation?
d. What are the practical problems in applying deontology in this situation?

Question 12

Stealing from the rich to give to the poor:

A) Definitely violates the precepts of deontology
B) Definitely violates the precepts of consequentialism
C) Is a categorical imperative
D) Is a classic example of the reversibility principle

Question 13

A poor family went to the market to purchase fried chicken for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, this family's beloved cat ran into the street and was killed by a passing car. Rather than bury the cat, the family decided to cook the cat and eat it for dinner instead of eating fried chicken. Was the family's decision unethical?

Question 14

A focus on the importance of categorical imperatives distinguishes:

A) Utilitarianism from consequentialism
B) Deontology from utilitarianism
C) The philosophies espoused by Kant from deontology
D) The philosophies espoused by Mill from utilitarianism

Question 15

A student at a local elementary school recently returned from a trip to a region of the world where there is a plague of a dreaded disease called the "Crazy Curse." According to medical doctors, the odds of this student infecting fellow classmates with this disease are "lower than zero." However, many parents have asked the school to disclose whether this student did in fact travel to the region where the "Crazy Curse" is spreading rapidly.
School authorities know that, if they make such a disclosure, the student will be ostracized and many parents will refuse to send their children to school. As a result, the school is considering various options, including making an announcement that "the student in question did not travel" to the region where the Crazy Curse is spreading.
a. What actions should the school consider?
b. What action do you recommend?
c. Is your decision consistent with deontology?
d. Is your decision consistent with consequentialism?

Question 16

The law of eminent domain allows a local government to take a person's property for public use, such as building a freeway that has been designed to cross land owned by this landowner. The landowner, by law, is entitled to be paid the fair market value of her land. The law of eminent domain is an example of:

A) Utilitarianism
B) Deontology
C) Ethical relativism
D) Ethical absolutism

Question 17

Which of the following typically is not a real-world difficulty of applying utilitarianism?

A) It give undeservedly high weight to human emotion
B) It cannot readily measure societal values, such as the value of eradicating discrimination based on religion
C) It can be difficult to determine if an act makes society better off
D) It focuses on the good of the majority and does not place any value on the protection of minorities' rights