Deck 21: Gender Bias Cheshire Calhoun

Question 1

Calhoun claims that one's _______ is an obstacle individuals face in attempting to take others' interests seriously.

A) inclination to give more weight to one's own interests
B) inclination to give more weight to the interest of those in one's own community
C) inability to recognize the interests of others
D) Both a and b

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In response to the challenge of weighing all people's interests fairly, Calhoun claims theorists have

A) sought to deemphasize individuals' own interests.
B) sought to define a "moral self" that captures our common humanity.
C) denied that any such challenge exists.
D) granted that humans are natural inclined to bias but denied that this presents a distinctively moral problem.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is not a risk, in Calhoun's view, as we attempt to overcome egoism and group bias?

A) We may mistakenly conclude that there are more substantial similarities among people than there in fact are.
B) We may underappreciate individual difference and exaggerate similarity.
C) We may not engage sufficiently with the problems confronting our own moral communities.
D) We may fail to appreciate how individuals' preferences may be malformed.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Calhoun highlights which, if any, of the following as dangers plaguing the "role-reversal test" of moral theorizing?

A) It ignores the implicit influence of social location and power.
B) It overlooks how human interests can be malformed by unequal power relations.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 5

Which of the following appropriately summarizes Calhoun's central objection?

A) Undue emphasis on shared humanity underestimates how basic moral interests are shaped by social location.
B) There is no formal, abstract notion of the "moral self."
C) There is no use for a formal, abstract notion of the "moral self."
D) The traditional emphasis on our common humanity overemphasizes how contingent matters influence individuals' moral interest.

Question 6

Calhoun claims that it is naïve to

A) expect a gender-insensitive reassessment of moral theory to eliminate gender bias.
B) think we can avoid incorporating gender categories among the tools for philosophical analysis.
C) hope that sincerity, combined with a neutral and conception of the "moral self" can eliminate gender bias.
D) suppose that a conception of the "moral self" is actually attainable.

Question 7

Calhoun argues that in assessing moral theories, we should

A) change our methods.
B) adjust our theoretical priorities.
C) better appreciate the nonlogical implications.
D) All of the above

Question 8

What would best describe Calhoun's attitude toward moral theorizing that seeks to remove bias in general, without specifically addressing gender bias?

A) Wholehearted endorsement
B) Cautious optimism
C) Measured skepticism
D) Confident rejection

Question 9

Calhoun worries that the search for a "moral self" may be counterproductive if we

A) fail to see how intrinsic features of gender resist theoretical regimentation.
B) fail to appreciate how inegalitarian contexts may give rise to distorted preferences.
C) exaggerate our ability to enact egalitarian policies.
D) exaggerate the superficial differences arising from differences in gender.

Question 10

The "extra-philosophic factors" to which Calhoun refers do not include which of the following?

A) Intellectual influences from outside the discipline of philosophy
B) The social location of the theorist
C) The power relations in society
D) Implicit norms around things like race, gender, and class

Question 11

Calhoun would agree that our preferences are influenced by our formative experiences.

Question 12

Calhoun regards one's identification with particular social groups as a potential barrier to taking others' rights and interests seriously.

Question 13

Calhoun would likely deny that there are morally significant differences between genders.

Question 14

In focusing excessively on our differences, we risk, according to Calhoun, missing the ways in which we are similar.

Question 15

Our preferences may themselves be the product of oppressive circumstances.

Question 16

Calhoun would likely agree that social structures exert influence on the formation of identity but not with the force traditional moral theorists assume.

Question 17

Calhoun objects that the search for a "moral self" is overly intellectual and needlessly abstract.

Question 18

Calhoun argues for something modest: we must reorder our theoretical priorities when thinking about how to treat others.

Question 19

Calhoun regards the project of identifying a "moral self" as the product of sloppy moral thinking.

Question 20

Calhoun believes that non-philosophic factors, like one's social role, can exert a significant influence on one's philosophic reasoning about morality.

Question 21

Why, according to Calhoun, are theorists interested in devising a "moral self"? In what ways can this project go wrong? How compelling is Calhoun's argument for this conclusion?

Question 22

Calhoun claims that attempts to end bias in general that do not examine gender bias specifically are unlikely to succeed. Why does she make this claim? What is the strongest objection to this point? Why might a neutral approach be better? In the final analysis, should we adopt Calhoun's suggestion? If not, what elements might we learn from?

Question 23

Calhoun concludes, "Philosophical reasoning is shaped by extra-philosophic factors, including the social location of the philosophic reasoner and his audience as well as the contours of the larger social world in which philosophic thought takes place." Are you convinced by this? Why or why not? How does this claim figure into Calhoun's larger argument?

Question 24

Calhoun focuses on gender bias. Are there other forms of bias that may be similarly significant? If so, what? Has Calhoun convinced you that attempts to identify a "moral self" are unlikely to succeed? Should we worry that in focusing too much on differing features of our identities we may fail to see our essential moral similarities?