Deck 2: Alternatives to Christian Ethics

Question 1

Reform Judaism believes that the law of the Torah is consistent with __________.

A) natural law
B) morality
C) Orthodox Judaism
D) God's will

Answer 1

natural law

Question 2

__________ issues are emphasized over personal morality in Reform Judaism.

A) Political
B) Cultural
C) Social
D) Community

Answer 2

Social

Question 3

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is __________ the word of Allah.

A) allegorically
B) philosophically
C) figuratively
D) literally

Answer 3

literally

Question 4

The traditional Islamic path of morality is called the "Five __________ of Faith."

A) Pillars
B) Duties
C) Signs
D) Meanings

Question 5

In __________, individual souls are subject to an indefinite cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

A) heaven
B) reincarnation
C) hell
D) purgatory

Question 6

Buddhism arouse out of the Buddha's dissatisfaction with __________.

A) Islam
B) God
C) Hinduism
D) other people

Question 7

According to Buddhism, life is __________.

A) joy
B) perfect
C) sacred
D) suffering

Question 8

Morris Storer defined humanists as people who set aside faith to rely on human experience and __________.

A) science
B) reason
C) themselves
D) others

Question 9

Humanism believes that, because human beings are social, we find __________ in relationships.

A) morality
B) spirituality
C) meaning
D) faith

Question 10

Unlike Christianity, humanism sees __________ as central to the universe.

A) human beings
B) human relationships
C) money
D) happiness

Question 11

In humanism, moral rules are never __________.

A) established
B) defined
C) absolute
D) broken

Question 12

Objectivism asserts that the basis for decisions on moral issues is the effect of
An action upon __________.

A) others
B) God
C) society
D) ourselves

Question 13

__________, the author of The Fountainhead, wrote his/her books to assert the philosophy of objectivism.

A) Ayn Rand
B) B. F. Skinner
C) Paul Kurtz
D) William Ayers

Question 14

"I have to be myself" is an example of a(n) __________ affirmation.

A) humanism
B) objectivist
C) behaviorist
D) religious

Question 15

Objectivism often comes into conflict with Christianity because of Christianity's roots in __________.

A) God
B) love
C) restraint
D) morality

Question 16

__________ rejects the ideal of self-denial and substitutes the insistence that on must do what is right for oneself.

A) Individualism
B) Objectivism
C) Behaviorism
D) Self-centering

Question 17

__________ conceives of human behavior not as a matter of free choice but as one of conditioning.

A) Individualism
B) Objectivism
C) Behaviorism
D) Self-centering

Question 18

According to F. Skinner, we are not autonomous creatures but ones who respond to __________.

A) others
B) spiritual forces
C) socialization
D) the environment

Question 19

__________ is the basis for behaviorist moral judgments.

A) Survival
B) Right conduct
C) Culture
D) Personal gain

Question 20

The word Islam means __________.

A) God
B) God's people
C) faith
D) submission

Question 21

Compare the differences in moral beliefs between Hinduism and Buddhism. How are their moral underpinnings different? How are they similar?

Question 22

Islam's earliest beliefs connected religion and the state. In what ways, both positive and negative, has that connection impacted modern day Muslims and others living with Muslim communities?

Question 23

Humanists believe that human beings are the center of the universe, whereas objectivists assert that the self is at the center. Can these ideas ever be reconciled?

Question 24

In Christianity, believers assume that human beings have free will, but in behaviorism, it is assumed that human beings do not. Write an argument for each side that evaluates the idea of free will.

Question 25

Consider the importance of the environment for a behaviorist. How might different environments create people with drastically different moral outlooks?

Question 26

Orthodox Judaism follows strictly prescribed rules, laws, and rituals. Do you think following such strict rules make a person more moral? Why or why not? What argument might a person who opposes your view make?

Question 27

Humanism suggests that morality is linked to our relationships with others. It also values happiness and self-awareness over pain and suffering. What kinds of situations might challenge those beliefs?

Question 28

Write an explanation of the idea of "selfishness" within the objectivism framework.

Question 29

Discuss the primary Hindu responsibilities of universal obligations to others and those based on one's station in life. Do those responsibilities make Hindu morality subjective? If so, is that a positive or negative outcome ethically?

Question 30

The Muslim concept of jihad is often understood by Americans. What does jihad mean and how is it used in Islam? How is the Islamic concept of jihad distinct from the modern concept of terrorism?