Deck 8: Moral Theory

Question 1

Midgley argues that we do, in fact, have the ability to understand and judge other cultures. Why does she think this is true? What do you think of her reasons?

Answer 1

good essay will:
State Midgley's reasons for arguing that we can understand and judge other cultures.
Address each of her reasons and assess their strengths and weaknesses by showing how well they provide support for her conclusion.

Question 2

Is it fair for members of another culture to criticize our culture? What does Midgley say about this? What do you think?

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

How can you tell whether your opinion about another culture is crude or well informed?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Moral isolationism is the view that we cannot make moral judgments about any culture other than our own.

Question 5

According to Midgley, moral isolationism is a respectful attitude to take toward other cultures.

Question 6

Midgley argues that a consistent moral isolationism would lead to a general ban on moral reasoning.

Question 7

According to Midgley, we understand other cultures well enough to praise them or want to learn from their good qualities.

Question 8

Midgley argues that before we try to judge other cultures, we should start by properly judging our own.

Question 9

Midgley argues that if we cannot judge other cultures, then we cannot properly judge our own.

Question 10

One reason to think that we do understand other cultures is that many cultures form from a mixture of influences.

Question 11

When anthropologists study isolated societies, neither the anthropologists nor the subjects being studied are capable of making moral judgments about each other's culture.

Question 12

Moral isolationism is the view that we cannot

A) Make moral judgments about other people, only ourselves.
B) Make moral judgments about cultures other than our own.
C) Treat people from other cultures as moral equals.
D) Allow other cultures to influence our moral rules.

Question 13

In contrast to those who recommend it, Midgely claims that moral isolationism

A) Is not respectful.
B) Makes no sense.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 14

Midgley argues that moral isolationism is not respectful to other cultures because

A) You can't respect someone without understanding them at least a little.
B) Respecting someone means allowing them to influence you.
C) It means treating people from other cultures as outsiders.
D) It means treating people as if their moral thinking is paralyzed.

Question 15

Can people from other cultures criticize our culture according to Midgley?

A) No, you cannot reasonably criticize a culture you do not belong to.
B) Maybe; some cultures are more enlightened than others.
C) Yes, but their opinion is more informed as they become more familiar with it.
D) Yes, their opinion is immediately just as good as ours.

Question 16

Can we praise another culture according to Midgley?

A) No, praising other cultures is just as impossible as criticizing them.
B) No, our praise is worthless because it rests on grounds we don't understand.
C) Yes, we need to praise them and judge when we should learn from them.
D) Yes, but our opinions about other cultures are unavoidably crude.

Question 17

According to Midgley, judging involves

A) Forming an opinion and expressing it, if called for.
B) Dismissing entire cultures based on overly shallow reasons.
C) Praising and criticizing things we do not understand.
D) Sitting on a bench and sentencing people.

Question 18

Midgley mentions the example of a simple-minded missionary who dismisses samurai culture as bad because it is non-Christian. What does she think of this example?

A) The missionary's opinion is crude.
B) The missionary is an outsider to the culture and has no right to an opinion.
C) The missionary's opinion is just as legitimate as anyone else's.
D) As an outsider, the missionary has an advantage over locals.

Question 19

Midgley thinks that moral isolationism "would lay down a general ban on moral reasoning" because if we cannot judge other cultures, then

A) We cannot really understand morality in general.
B) We cannot judge the morality of actions.
C) We cannot judge individual humans.
D) We cannot judge our own culture by comparison.

Question 20

If moral isolationism were true, how does Midgley think we would feel about moral questions about other cultures?

A) Concerned, because we wouldn't know the answers.
B) Apathetic, because we would have no ability to form opinions.
C) Confident, because we would answer based on our own culture.
D) Confused, because we would not even understand the questions.

Question 21

According to Midgley, if an individual were to criticize the custom of another culture-for example, the Samurai "crossroads-cut"-a moral isolationist would likely respond by

A) Protesting that the individual has no right to criticize another culture.
B) Filling in the background to help the individual understand the custom.
C) Trying to change the individual's judgment of the custom.
D) All of the above.

Question 22

According to Midgley, when we judge another culture, we use

A) The moral standards of that culture.
B) Universal, culturally neutral moral standards.
C) Moral standards of a third culture.
D) The moral standards of our own culture.

Question 23

Midgley talks about cultures such as Britain being formed from mixtures of different influences. What point is she making here?

A) We don't really understand each other's cultures; we just blindly adopt bits and pieces of cultural influence.
B) We are not cultural isolationists, so we probably are not moral isolationists either.
C) If we judged each other moralistically, instead of living harmoniously, cultural mixing couldn't have happened.
D) If we couldn't understand each other's cultures, cultural mixing couldn't have happened.

Question 24

If moral isolationism were true, what would be most likely to happen when we encountered a new cultural influence?

A) It would have no impact because we would judge it as bad.
B) It would have no impact because we wouldn't understand it at all.
C) The unfamiliar culture would influence our own, even if we didn't understand it very well.
D) Our culture would influence the new one, but not vice versa.

Question 25

Midgley mentions anthropologists studying small remote societies. What point does she make about these cases?

A) The anthropologists and tribesmen were able to make judgments about each other's cultures.
B) The anthropologists and tribesmen didn't make any moral judgments about each other.
C) Doing anthropology means you don't make any moral judgments about the people you are observing.
D) The tribesmen refused to make moral judgments about the anthropologists' culture.

Question 26

What might anthropology be like if moral isolationism were true?

A) Anthropology would be just the same as it actually is.
B) Anthropologists could understand people in other cultures, but not judge them as good or bad people.
C) Anthropologists could describe the behavior of people in other cultures, but never really understand them.
D) There could be no anthropology of any kind if moral isolationism were true.

Question 27

Explain what Midgley means by "moral isolationism."

Question 28

Is praising another culture different from criticizing it? Is it okay to praise another culture but not to criticize it?

Question 29

Midgley asks, if we can't judge other cultures, can we really judge our own? How does she answer this question? Do you agree with her answer?
Kant's Ethics
Onora O'Neill

Question 30

Do you find the Formula of the End in Itself a plausible moral principle? Explain.

Question 31

What is a maxim, and how does it fit into Kant's moral theory?

Question 32

Why does Kant think that it is wrong to deceive others? Do you agree that this is the reason it is wrong? Explain.

Question 33

Kant claims that there is no one moral principle.

Question 34

According to Kant, it is always immoral to use someone as a means.

Question 35

Kant claims that we assess the moral status of an action on the basis of the maxim it expresses.

Question 36

In Kant's view, coercion is wrong because the person being coerced could not consent.

Question 37

Kant provides multiple formulations of the categorical imperative.

Question 38

According to O'Neil, Kant's moral theory has a reputation for being

A) Difficult to understand.
B) Demanding in its requirements.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 39

According to the Formula of the End in Itself, we must act in such a way that we always treat humanity

A) In a way that can be universalized.
B) Never simply as an end, but always at the same time as a means.
C) In a way that contributes to human happiness.
D) Never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.

Question 40

Kant calls his supreme principle of morality

A) The Hypothetical Imperative.
B) The Categorical Imperative.
C) The Principle of Utility.
D) Both a and

Question 41

The maxim of an action is

A) The principle on which the agent sees him- or herself as acting.
B) A statement of preference.
C) The consequence of an action.
D) Both a and

Question 42

An action is wrong, according to Kant, if

A) It causes unhappiness.
B) It treats someone as a means.
C) Its maxim treats someone as a mere means.
D) It has an end.

Question 43

According to Kant, we use a person as a mere means when

A) We manipulate the person.
B) We involve the person in an action to which he or she cannot in principle consent.
C) We deceive or coerce the person.
D) All of the above.

Question 44

According to Kant, it is not wrong to for one person to use another as a means when

A) Neither person consents to cooperation.
B) Each person consents to cooperation.
C) Maxims are not being followed.
D) None of the above.

Question 45

What is wrong, according to Kant, with coercing someone into doing something? Do you agree? Explain.

Question 46

Put the Formula of the End in Itself into your own words. Do you think that we can determine all right and wrong actions on the basis of this principle? Explain.

Question 47

Do you think there is a single moral principle? If so, what might it be? If not, why not?
Assessing Utilitarianism
Louis P. Pojman

Question 48

What do you think is the best objection to utilitarianism? Explain.

Question 49

Which is subject to more objections-act utilitarianism or rule utilitarianism? Or are they both subject to the same objections? Explain.

Question 50

Rule utilitarians claim that the right thing to do might not always, in that instance, produce the most good.

Question 51

The integrity objection to utilitarianism claims that one's deeply held projects and character traits are morally unimportant, given utilitarianism.

Question 52

The justice objection to utilitarianism claims that utilitarians worship justice as an absolute.

Question 53

Some think that utilitarianism is relativistic.

Question 54

Utilitarianism seems to counsel against resting.

Question 55

Pojman claims that utilitarianism, despite facing several problems, has two positive features: it is easy to apply and is not overly demanding.

Question 56

According to act utilitarianism, an act is right if and only if

A) It results in as much good as any available alternative.
B) It follows from a rule that is part of a system of rules that produces the most good.
C) It is universalizable.
D) The virtuous person would perform it.

Question 57

According to Pojman, the obvious criticism of act utilitarianism is that

A) We often lack the time to do calculations needed to determine which act is correct in each case.
B) It flies in the face of fundamental intuitions about minimally correct behavior.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 58

According to rule utilitarianism, an act is right if and only if

A) It results in as much good as any available alternative.
B) It follows from a rule that is part of a system of rules that produces the most good.
C) It is universalizable.
D) The virtuous person would perform it.

Question 59

The integrity objection to utilitarianism claims that

A) It is absurd.
B) It is relativistic.
C) It is too demanding.
D) All of the above.

Question 60

Utilitarianism claims that justice

A) Is morally important.
B) Is not absolute.
C) Is morally irrelevant.
D) Both a and b

Question 61

A utilitarian response to the Absurd-Implications Objection would be that

A) Justice is not an absolute.
B) We must be ready to change our cultural-induced biases.
C) Integrity is not an absolute.
D) Alienation helps devise strategies of action.

Question 62

Does utilitarianism entail that it is better to kill an innocent person to save the lives of twenty others? Explain.

Question 63

State an objection to utilitarianism that you think the rule utilitarian can answer but that the act utilitarian cannot. Explain why this is the case.

Question 64

Do you find utilitarianism attractive as a moral theory? Explain.
Virtue Ethics
Julia Driver

Question 65

What are three criticisms of virtue theory? How do you evaluate them?

Question 66

How does Aristotle's virtue ethics differ from Kant's duty ethics and Mill's utilitarianism? Explain.

Question 67

What is Aristotle's doctrine of the mean and how does it pertain to his virtue ethics?

Question 68

Current virtue ethicists take their inspiration mainly from the writings of Plato.

Question 69

Virtue ethics provides rules to guide human behavior.

Question 70

Aristotle believed that virtue is a mean state lying between two vices.

Question 71

According to Aristotle, a virtuous person experiences conflict between reason and passion.

Question 72

A major criticism of virtue ethics is that it does not provide a guide to action.

Question 73

Virtue ethics is based on

A) Universal maxims.
B) Rules that guide behavior.
C) The development of a person's character.
D) Abstract principles.

Question 74

For Aristotle, a good person is virtuous by

A) Following the rules of right action.
B) Embodying excellence in human character.
C) Maximizing the good for the greatest number of people.
D) Adhering to the Categorical Imperative.

Question 75

The doctrine of the mean states that

A) A virtue lies between two vices.
B) A virtue can be understood by itself.
C) There is no virtue in being mean.
D) One should always strive to be average.

Question 76

If "bravery" is the virtue, then

A) "Temperance" and "abstinence" are the vices.
B) "Excellence" and "failure" are the vices.
C) "Gluttony" and "abstinence are the vices.
D) "Cowardice" and "foolhardiness" are the vices.

Question 77

According to Aristotle, a "continent" person is someone who

A) Lives a harmonious life.
B) Suffers no inner turmoil.
C) Experiences conflict between actions and feelings.
D) Does not struggle between reason and passion.

Question 78

According to Aristotle, the person who acts rightly but feels badly about it is

A) Not virtuous.
B) Merely continent.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 79

Critics of virtue ethics claim that

A) It does not provide a guide for right action.
B) It fails to conform to what we know of human behavior.
C) It cannot tell us what to do in conflict situations.
D) All of the above.

Question 80

Virtue ethicists respond to the criticism that virtue ethics has trouble telling us the right thing to do in conflict situations by pointing out that

A) Morality is messy.
B) There may be more than one right answer to moral questions.
C) Ethical rules establish right action for every situation.
D) Both a and b