Deck 2: Skepticism About Morality

Question 1

Ethical egoism is the theory that

A) every human action aims at some personal benefit.
B) altruism is impossible.
C) actions are morally right just because they promote one's self-interest.
D) it is permissible, but not obligatory, to value oneself over others.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following features of our ordinary moral thinking does ethical egoism disagree with?

A) Morality requires us to be generous, compassionate and benevolent.
B) Morality requires the recognition that we are not fundamentally more important than others.
C) Morality sometimes requires us to sacrifice our own interests for those of more needy or deserving others.
D) all of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to the text, what is wrong with the Self-Reliance Argument?

A) It is not true that all would be better off if everyone tended to his or her own needs.
B) The egoist cannot endorse the claim that we ought to do what benefits everyone.
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b (The argument is sound.)

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What is the relationship between libertarianism and ethical egoism?

A) If libertarianism is true, ethical egoism must be true.
B) Libertarianism supports ethical egoism but does not require it.
C) Ethical egoism supports libertarianism but does not require it.
D) Libertarianism and ethical egoism are inconsistent.

Question 5

Psychological egoism is the theory that

A) the mind is composed of the id, the superego, and the ego.
B) people morally ought to pursue their self-interest at all times.
C) acting solely out of self-interest is psychologically unhealthy.
D) everything people do is fundamentally motivated by self-interest.

Question 6

If psychological egoism is true, it can't be our duty to be altruistic because

A) psychological egoism says that acting altruistically doesn't make us better off.
B) altruism would be impossible and we aren't morally required to do the impossible.
C) according to psychological egoism, an act is right just in case it is self-interested.
D) all of the above

Question 7

Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between ethical egoism and psychological egoism?

A) If psychological egoism is true, this supports ethical egoism.
B) If ethical egoism is true, psychological egoism must be true.
C) They are competing theories about what we ought to do.
D) They are competing theories about the way humans actually behave.

Question 8

Objective moral standards are those that

A) all moral theories agree upon.
B) apply to everyone, regardless of what they believe.
C) are knowable to all.
D) all of the above

Question 9

Someone is a relativist if he or she believes that

A) different cultures have different moral codes.
B) the moral code of a society is a fallible guide to our moral obligations.
C) the guiding ideals of a society determine what is right or wrong.
D) our culture's basic moral code is worse than those of at least some other cultures.

Question 10

Which of the following would a relativist not accept?

A) Different societies have different moral codes.
B) Individuals can be mistaken about what is morally required of them.
C) Some societies have better moral codes than others.
D) There are no objective moral standards.

Question 11

If relativism is true, then the moral values of our culture are

A) superior to the values of other cultures.
B) inferior to the values of other cultures.
C) the exact same values that all other cultures have.
D) no better or worse than the moral values of other cultures.

Question 12

What does relativism imply about iconoclasts who oppose the conventional moral wisdom of a society?

A) They are always a source of moral progress.
B) They are always morally mistaken.
C) They can be morally correct but are often morally mistaken.
D) They are impossible
)

Question 13

If relativism does not generate contradictions between the moral beliefs of different cultures, then cross-cultural moral disagreement is

A) widespread.
B) rare.
C) impossible.
D) immoral.

Question 14

If relativism is true, what follows about the morality of racism?

A) Racism is always morally acceptable.
B) Racism is morally acceptable in societies that approve of it.
C) Racism is never morally acceptable.
D) Racism is morally irrelevant.

Question 15

Error theory is the theory that

A) there are no moral features in the world.
B) no moral judgments are true.
C) our sincere moral judgments try, but always fail, to describe moral features in the world.
D) all of the above

Question 16

Which of the following claims would an error theorist accept?

A) There are objective moral standards.
B) There are categorical reasons.
C) Moral judgments try to describe moral features in the world.
D) Moral knowledge is possible.

Question 17

Error theorists accept the existence of

A) objective moral standards.
B) categorical reasons.
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Question 18

According to the Argument from Disagreement, there are no objective moral standards because

A) different cultures persistently disagree about all moral claims.
B) well-informed, open-minded, rational people persistently disagree about all moral claims.
C) moral disagreement is a result of sloppy moral reasoning.
D) All of the above.

Question 19

According to the text, what is wrong with the Argument from Atheism?

A) If atheism is true, then it is not true that laws require lawmakers.
B) Atheism is false.
C) If atheism is true, then laws require lawmakers.
D) It will do nothing to convince religious believers.

Question 20

Which of the following is not one of the arguments in favor of error theory?

A) the Argument from Disagreement
B) the Argument from Expected Benefit
C) the Argument from the Scientific Test of Reality
D) the Argument from Atheism

Question 21

In what ways does ethical egoism require actions that seem to be paradigmatic cases of immorality? How serious of a problem is this for the theory? What should the egoist say in response? Defend your answers.
A good essay will:
Define ethical egoism.
Explain what paradigmatically immoral actions the theory requires.
Discuss the implications of the above for ethical egoism.

Question 22

What is psychological egoism, and how does it provide support for ethical egoism? Do you think psychological egoism is true? Why or why not?

Question 23

What is moral progress? Why is moral progress impossible if relativism is true? How serious of a problem is this for the theory? Defend your answers.

Question 24

What does it mean to say that an ethical standard is objective? In what ways do relativists deny the objectivity of ethics, and why do you think they do so? Is morality objective? Defend your answers.

Question 25

Which of the arguments offered by error theorists do you find most powerful, and why? Does the argument you chose establish the truth of error theory? Why or why not?

Question 26

Case Study
In 1994, a 17-year-old girl named Fauziya Kassindja entered the United States seeking asylum. She had fled her native country of Togo to escape female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is a permanently disfiguring procedure that UNICEF estimates up to 200 million women have undergone. Though Fauziya's immediate family opposed FGM, her father suddenly died when she was 16. After her father's death, Fauziya's grandfather arranged for her to undergo FGM.
Fauziya's mother and sister managed to help her escape to avoid FGM. However, in the United States, Fauziya was imprisoned for two years while the authorities decided what to do with her. She was finally granted asylum but not before becoming center of a controversy about how Americans should regard the social practices of other cultures. A series of articles in the New York Times argued that FGM is a barbaric practice that should be condemned. But others were reluctant to be to make such judgments, worrying that it would be intolerant or imperialistic to condemn other cultures' social practices, even if they were clearly immoral by the standards of American culture.
-Suppose we judge that FGM is morally wrong. Are we making a universal moral judgment or merely applying the standards of our own culture? Does cultural relativism entail that the latter kind of moral judgment is the only legitimate kind?

Question 27

Case Study
In 1994, a 17-year-old girl named Fauziya Kassindja entered the United States seeking asylum. She had fled her native country of Togo to escape female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is a permanently disfiguring procedure that UNICEF estimates up to 200 million women have undergone. Though Fauziya's immediate family opposed FGM, her father suddenly died when she was 16. After her father's death, Fauziya's grandfather arranged for her to undergo FGM.
Fauziya's mother and sister managed to help her escape to avoid FGM. However, in the United States, Fauziya was imprisoned for two years while the authorities decided what to do with her. She was finally granted asylum but not before becoming center of a controversy about how Americans should regard the social practices of other cultures. A series of articles in the New York Times argued that FGM is a barbaric practice that should be condemned. But others were reluctant to be to make such judgments, worrying that it would be intolerant or imperialistic to condemn other cultures' social practices, even if they were clearly immoral by the standards of American culture.
-Do you think there is anything intolerant or imperialistic about issuing universal moral condemnation of practices like FGM? What about other cultural practices that are less extreme but nevertheless seem morally wrong to us? Is cultural relativism more plausible with regard to some cases than others?