Deck 2: Moral Arguments

Question 1

A moral argument is:

A) An argument whose conclusion is a moral claim.
B) An argument that contains at least one moral premise.
C) An argument whose premises are acceptable to a moral person.
D) An argument that says what you ought to do.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following best explains what a moral claim is?

A) A moral claim is a claim that one person has on another because morality requires it.
B) A moral claim is a claim that says something is right or good.
C) A moral claim is a claim that says that something is right or wrong or good or bad.
D) A moral claim is whatever each person believes to be right or wrong.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which one of the following is NOT an example of a moral claim?

A) It is wrong to go so long without calling your mother.
B) You should call your mother this weekend.
C) It's a terrible thing when a mother loses touch with her children.
D) Your mother would appreciate it if you called this weekend.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

To say that an action of yours was supererogatory is to say:

A) That you ought not to have done it, but it wasn't strictly forbidden.
B) That it was good that you did it, but it wouldn't have been wrong for you not to do it.
C) That it doesn't matter, morally speaking, that you did it.
D) That it would be seriously morally wrong for you not to have done it.

Question 5

Which of the following actions would modern Americans be most likely to categorize as supererogatory?

A) Donating money to a good cause.
B) Enslaving orphans.
C) Ensuring that one's own children have enough to eat.
D) Buying breakfast cereal that doesn't have raisins in it.

Question 6

An axiological claim is:

A) A kind of mathematical claim that is sometimes relevant in ethics.
B) A nonnormative claim, which is never relevant in ethics.
C) A claim about whether something or someone is good or bad.
D) A claim specifically about whether a work of art is good or bad.

Question 7

Which of the following best captures the difference between normative claims and descriptive claims?

A) Normative claims are about how the world should be or about what is good or bad, whereas descriptive claims are about how the world is, was, or would be.
B) Normative claims are about what is seen as normal in a society, whereas descriptive claims describe what is statistically normal in a society.
C) Normative claims tell you what to do in a particular situation, whereas descriptive claims only describe the situation.
D) Normative claims are about how the world is, was, or would be, whereas descriptive claims are about how the world should be or about what is good or bad.

Question 8

Which of the following best explains Hume's Law?

A) Normative premises are never relevant to descriptive conclusions.
B) Descriptive premises are never relevant to normative conclusions.
C) Every cogent moral argument has at least one normative premise.
D) Every argument has at least one hidden premise.

Question 9

According to Hume's Law, a moral argument must:

A) Make its hidden premises explicit.
B) Contain at least one normative premise.
C) Contain at least one descriptive premise.
D) Be deductively valid.

Question 10

Which of the following arguments violates Hume's Law?

A) Abortion is morally wrong because an embryo has a heartbeat by the sixth week of pregnancy.
B) Abortion is morally wrong because people shouldn't kill innocent, vulnerable human beings.
C) Donating to antipoverty organizations is morally obligatory because those organizations prevent people from dying unnecessary deaths and unnecessary deaths are bad.
D) Donating to antipoverty organizations is morally supererogatory because no one is obligated to help people he or she has never met.

Question 11

Which of the following arguments does NOT violate Hume's Law?

A) Hunting animals for food is morally permissible because humans naturally eat meat.
B) Hunting animals for food is morally wrong because there are other ways that humans can survive.
C) Cheating in professional sports is morally permissible because the players are morally obligated to do everything they can to help their team win.
D) Cheating in professional sports is morally permissible because almost everyone does it.

Question 12

A hidden premise is:

A) A premise that one must assume for another premise to be acceptable.
B) The normative claim that connects a moral argument's descriptive premises to its conclusion.
C) A claim that is intentionally omitted to make an argument more convincing.
D) A claim that is assumed in an argument but never explicitly stated.

Question 13

Consider this argument: "Security cameras showed that someone in a blue shirt just robbed the bank. That guy running away from the bank is wearing a blue shirt. Therefore, he must be the bank robber." Which of the following could plausibly be a hidden premise in this argument?

A) No one else nearby is wearing a blue shirt.
B) All bank robbers wear blue shirts.
C) Some security cameras record in black and white.
D) The bank robber has stashed the stolen money somewhere.

Question 14

Consider this argument: "Giraffes are faster than elephants. Therefore, cheetahs are faster than elephants." Which of the following is LEAST appropriate to use as a hidden premise in this argument?

A) Anything that's slower than a giraffe is slower than a cheetah.
B) Cheetahs are faster than giraffes.
C) No other land animal is as fast as a cheetah.
D) Nothing is faster than a cheetah.

Question 15

An argument commits the fallacy of circular reasoning (or begging the question) when it:

A) Raises more questions than it answers.
B) Requires you to assume the truth of the conclusion to find the premises acceptable, relevant, and sufficient.
C) Includes one or more premises that undermine the conclusion rather than supporting it.
D) Fails to include all necessary hidden premises.

Question 16

A moral argument is an argument that a particular kind of action is morally obligatory.

Question 17

Claims about what is morally forbidden, obligatory, or supererogatory are deontic claims.

Question 18

Claims about whether an obligation is supererogatory are axiological claims.

Question 19

If an action is morally obligatory, failing to do it is always morally wrong.

Question 20

If an action is morally indifferent, it is neither wrong nor supererogatory for you to do it.

Question 21

If an action is supererogatory, it is wrong for you to fail to do it.

Question 22

Descriptive claims are about how the world is, was, or would be in certain circumstances.

Question 23

Normative claims are about how the world should be or about what is good or bad.

Question 24

All normative claims are moral claims.

Question 25

All moral claims are normative claims.

Question 26

Aesthetic claims are normative claims.

Question 27

"The United States imprisons too many people" is a normative statement.

Question 28

To say that something is morally permissible is the same as saying that society actually permits it.

Question 29

If something is illegal, then it is always morally wrong.

Question 30

Hume's Law says that you cannot have a cogent moral argument without at least one normative premise.

Question 31

An argument with a moral conclusion but only descriptive premises has a hidden moral premise.

Question 32

Hume's Law applies only to deductively valid arguments.

Question 33

The following argument violates Hume's Law: "When you are a witness in a criminal trial, lying to the jury is illegal. Therefore, it's wrong for witnesses to lie to the jury."

Question 34

The following argument violates Hume's Law: "It is wrong to deprive animals of the chance to exercise their natural tendencies. Zoos deprives lions of the chance to hunt for their food. That's why it is wrong to hold lions in zoos."

Question 35

The following argument violates Hume's Law: "Pluto is not a planet. Planets must be roughly spherical objects that orbit the Sun and have cleared the neighborhood around their orbit."

Question 36

The following argument violates Hume's Law: "Everyone ought to treat others with respect. Therefore, no one should ever tell a lie, regardless of the consequences."

Question 37

When finding hidden premises, any premise that connects the premises to the conclusion is equally appropriate to use as a hidden premise.

Question 38

When finding hidden premises, you should avoid using unacceptable premises if you can.

Question 39

The following argument commits the fallacy of circular reasoning: "I read last week on Wikipedia that any false information is removed from Wikipedia within 24 hours. Therefore, any information that's been on Wikipedia for more than 24 hours is true."

Question 40

The following argument commits the fallacy of circular reasoning: "Physician-assisted suicide violates the Hippocratic Oath that all doctors take when they finish medical school. Therefore, physician-assisted suicide is morally wrong."

Question 41

What are the five kinds of deontic claims introduced in Chapter 2? Explain what each kind of claim means.

Question 42

Describe one action that you think is widely recognized to be morally wrong, one that you think is widely recognized to be morally obligatory, one that you think is widely recognized to be supererogatory, and one that you think is widely recognized to be morally indifferent.

Question 43

Give an example of an action that society generally permits (or forbids) but that you think is morally wrong (or morally permissible). Explain why you think the action is wrong (or permissible). What does this example show about the connection between an action's being morally permissible and its being permitted by society?

Question 44

In your own words, explain the difference between descriptive and normative claims. Give two examples of each.

Question 45

Are moral claims a type of normative claim or a type of descriptive claim? Explain your answer, being sure to define both "normative claim" and "descriptive claim."

Question 46

Do you think that all illegal actions are immoral? Why or why not?

Question 47

What is the is/ought fallacy? Why is it a fallacy?

Question 48

If a moral argument does not have any normative premises, is it safe to assume that it has at least one hidden premise? Explain your answer, being sure to define "hidden premise."

Question 49

What is a hidden premise? In your own words, explain how you would figure out what hidden premises a particular argument is assuming.

Question 50

In your own words, explain the fallacy of circular reasoning. Why is it a fallacy?