question

According to the divine command theory, right actions are those that are willed by God.

answer

True

question

Embracing without question the moral beliefs of your culture can undermine your personal freedom.

answer

True

question

Many great religious thinkers have relied on reason to understand the truths of morality.

answer

True

question

Morality is both accessible and meaningful to us whether we are religious or not.

answer

True

question

Religious believers have no need to do ethics.

answer

False

question

The principle of impartiality demands that we treat equals equally.

answer

True

question

There are never any good reasons for treating someone differently from the way we treat others.

answer

False

question

We properly use the terms good, bad, blameworthy, and praiseworthy to refer to concepts or judgments of value.

answer

True

question

A cultural relativist will agree with this statement: "It is morally right to smoke marijuana in Amsterdam because the culture approves of it."

answer

True

question

Cultural relativism applies only to cultures from different countries.

answer

False

question

Emotivists believe that in morally disagreeing with one another, we are only experiencing a disagreement in attitudes.

answer

True

question

Emotivists believe that moral judgments are about feelings rather than the truth or falsity of moral assertions.

answer

True

question

Nothing is good or bad, according to emotivists.

answer

True

question

One cannot be both an objectivist and a cultural relativist.

answer

True

question

Social reformers are always right in the view of a cultural relativist.

answer

False

question

Someone who is raised as an objectivist will likely hold that view as an adult, too.

answer

False

question

The statement, "Shoplifting is wrong," expresses only feelings of disapproval, according to emotivists.

answer

False

question

This statement is morally sound for subjective relativists: "If we think that inflicting pain on an innocent child for no reason is right (that is, we approve of such an action), then the action is right."

answer

True

question

A typical moral argument consists of premises and a conclusion, with the conclusion being a nonmoral statement, or judgment.

answer

False

question

An inductive argument is intended to provide probable, not decisive, support to the conclusion.

answer

True

question

Hasty generalization is a fallacy of inductive reasoning.

answer

True

question

Modus ponens is symbolized by: If p, then q; p; therefore, q.

answer

True

question

The fallacy of arguing that a claim should be rejected solely because of the characteristics of the person who makes it is called argument to the person.

answer

True

question

The fallacy of assigning two different meanings to the same term in an argument is known as faulty analogy.

answer

False

question

The misrepresenting of someone's claim or argument so it can be more easily refuted is called the fallacy of the straw man.

answer

True

question

Very few arguments have implied premises.

answer

False

question

A moral theory is equivalent to a moral code.

answer

False

question

A moral theory that is internally inconsistent is not eligible for further evaluation.

answer

False

question

Applying the moral criteria of adequacy is basically a subjective, arbitrary affair.

answer

False

question

Considered moral judgments help shape moral theory, and a good theory sheds light on judgments and helps adjudicate conflicts among judgments and other moral statements.

answer

True

question

Ethical egoism says that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil for oneself.

answer

True

question

One's considered moral judgments can be mistaken.

answer

True

question

Reflective equilibrium is reached in one's moral experience when one's emotions are in balance.

answer

False

question

To a nonconsequentialist, telling a lie is wrong because it results in bad consequences.

answer

False

question

A major problem with utilitarianism is that it does not promote human welfare.

answer

False

question

Act-utilitarianism fails Criterion 2 (consistency with one's moral experience).

answer

False

question

An ethical egoist does whatever she or he desires to do or whatever gives her or him the most immediate pleasure.

answer

False

question

Bentham and Mill had identical views on happiness.

answer

False

question

Classic utilitarianism is hedonistic.

answer

True

question

Psychological egoism is a dubious theory.

answer

True

question

Self-interest is a pillar on which the economic system of capitalism is built.

answer

True

question

Some defend moral commonsense by saying that it can be mistaken and that one's intuitions can be tenuous or distorted, but that one should cast them aside only for good reasons.

answer

True

question

To achieve happiness, one must pursue other aims, the pursuit of which yields happiness as a byproduct.

answer

True

question

Utilitarianism reminds one that the consequences of actions must figure in our moral deliberations.

answer

True

question

Utilitarianism reminds one that the consequences of one's actions do indeed make a difference in one's moral deliberations.

answer

True

question

Utilitarianism seems to many people to be at odds with one's commonsense notion of rights.

answer

True

question

What matters most in act-utilitarianism is how much net happiness comes directly from performing an action, as opposed to following a rule that applies to such actions.

answer

True

question

According to Kant, one must never, under any circumstances, treat a person as a means.

answer

False

question

According to natural law theory, the general principles of right and wrong vary from person to person and from culture to culture.

answer

False

question

Contrary to Kant, humanity seems to have no absolute duties.

answer

True

question

In general, intention plays a larger role in natural law theory than it does in Kant's categorical imperative.

answer

True

question

Natural law theorists maintain that some actions are always wrong.

answer

True

question

The doctrine of double effect says that performing a good action may be permissible even if it has bad effects, but performing a bad action for the purpose of achieving good effects is never permissible.

answer

True

question

Caring is a vital and inescapable part of the moral life.

answer

True

question

Critics of virtue ethics claim that appeals to virtues or virtuous character without reference to principles of duty cannot give us any useful guidance in deciding what to do.

answer

True

question

Some argue against virtue ethics by pointing out that a person may possess all the proper virtues and still be unable to tell right from wrong actions.

answer

True

question

Virtue ethics and utilitarianism are nearly identical theories.

answer

False

question

Virtue ethics puts primary emphasis on being a good person and living a good life.

answer

True

question

Virtue theorists and Kantian theorists agree that one must always act out of a sense of duty, not from such unstable motivations as compassion or loyalty.

answer

False

question

Virtue theorists believe that right action is unimportant.

answer

False

question

William Frankena says that virtues without principles are blind.

answer

True

question

All parties to the debate believe that passive euthanasia is morally equivalent to active euthanasia.

answer

False

question

An act-utilitarian might see euthanasia as morally permissible because it results in the greatest happiness for all concerned.

answer

True

question

Many advocates of euthanasia contend that if a competent dying patient is in agony and asks to be put out of his or her misery (active voluntary euthanasia), rejecting his or her plea for mercy would be both cruel and wicked.

answer

True

question

Many opinion polls have shown that most people favor some form of euthanasia or physician assistance in dying.

answer

True

question

Moral permissibility is the same thing as legal permissibility.

answer

False

question

Opponents of active euthanasia admit that modern medicine cannot relieve intense pain in dying patients.

answer

False

question

Some kinds of killing are considered by most people to be morally permissible.

answer

True

question

Some opponents of active voluntary euthanasia argue that lifting a moral or legal prohibition against this kind of mercy killing will dilute respect for life and encourage a slow slide from active voluntary euthanasia to active nonvoluntary euthanasia and then perhaps to involuntary euthanasia. This is a slippery-slope argument.

answer

True

question

The strongest arguments for active voluntary euthanasia are built on two fundamental moral principles: Persons have (1) a right of self-determination and (2) an obligation to help someone in serious distress or peril (if they are in a position to help without great risk to themselves).

answer

True

Ethics Midterm:T/F – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards