Deck 4: Ethics

Question 1

Aristotle claims that human beings are born virtuous.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

According to Aristotle, the highest good must be something that is desired for its own sake.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Mencius claims that human beings are born in a state of sin.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Mencius' views on human nature are nearly identical to the views of Aristotle.

Question 5

According to Kant, the consequences of an action are irrelevant to its moral worth.

Question 6

Kant argues that we have a duty not to take our own lives.

Question 7

According to Bentham, the same principle can be used to decide among individual actions and governmental regulations.

Question 8

Bentham claims that only a person who has good intentions can be happy.

Question 9

Varona argues that all religious beliefs should be rejected.

Question 10

According to Varona, it is not possible to conceive of humans outside the social state.

Question 11

Radhakrishnan argues that an ethical theory must be grounded on a certain view of the nature of knowledge and reality.

Question 12

Radhakrishnan can be correctly classified as a utilitarian.

Question 13

Schweitzer says that all living things have the capacity for compassion.

Question 14

Schweitzer does not believe that the highest human good lies in happiness.

Question 15

Wong is a strong defender of universalism.

Question 16

Wong argues that we are never justified in judging others.

Question 17

Nietzsche claims that there are two fundamentally different types of morality.

Question 18

According to Nietzsche, compassion is one of the basic moral values associated with master morality.

Question 19

According to McGaa/Eagle Man, all good things come from the sacred directions.

Question 20

McGaa/Eagle Man argues that fighting and war are never justified.

Question 21

The Earth Charter can be correctly described as being anthropocentric.

Question 22

According to the Earth Charter, the eradication of poverty is an environmental imperative.

Question 23

Daly argues that traditional Western morality must be totally transvalued.

Question 24

According to Daly, traditional morality has emphasized stereotypically feminine virtues.

Question 25

Held claims that traditional Western moral thinking has centered on such concepts as self-sacrifice and compassion.

Question 26

Held sees some value in the ethic of justice.

Question 27

Hospers can be accurately described as a follower of Aristotle.

Question 28

Hospers argues that we should praise people for good deeds but not condemn them for bad deeds.

Question 29

Aristotle's term for the highest human good is

A) ethica.
B) excellencia.
C) eudaimonia.
D) sophia.

Question 30

According to Aristotle, moral virtues are

A) given to us at birth.
B) formed by habit.
C) taught to us in school.
D) discovered through reason.

Question 31

In the selection from Mencius, Mencius' philosophical opponent is

A) Lao Tzu.
B) Confucius.
C) Yi Ya.
D) Kao Tzu.

Question 32

Which of the following qualities was not included in Mencius' list of natural human qualities?

A) a sense of charity.
B) a sense of pity.
C) a sense of shame.
D) a sense of respect.

Question 33

According to Kant, the only thing that is good without qualification is

A) happiness.
B) moral virtue.
C) loving others.
D) a good will.

Question 34

Kant's basic moral principle is known as

A) the principle of utility.
B) the categorical imperative.
C) the silver rule.
D) the moral insight.

Question 35

The moral principle that Bentham formulated and defended was

A) the categorical imperative.
B) the golden rule.
C) the principle of creative freedom.
D) the principle of utility.

Question 36

Bentham defines happiness as

A) living according to rational principle.
B) increasing pleasure or decreasing pain.
C) knowing that you had good intentions.
D) acting according to the golden rule.

Question 37

Varona claims the morality is based on

A) the principle of utility.
B) reverence for life.
C) the feeling of social solidarity.
D) knowledge of a higher reality.

Question 38

Varona says that we find the ideal of a perfect society in

A) Augustine's City of God.
B) Plato's Republic.
C) Nietzsche's Zarathustra.
D) Skinner's Walden Two.

Question 39

Radhakrishnan argues that we must liberate ourselves from

A) each other.
B) disinterestedness.
C) Hindu metaphysics.
D) sense addiction.

Question 40

Which of the following statements would Radhakrishnan not accept?

A) All human beings have a divine spark within them.
B) An abundance of material things will not help make life more interesting.
C) The everyday world in which we live has no value whatsoever.
D) We should see the historical process as a succession of spiritual opportunities.

Question 41

Schweitzer's "Compassion and the Reverence for Life" was originally delivered

A) at a Sunday morning church service.
B) at a meeting of the United Nations.
C) at his hospital in Africa.
D) at the University of Strasbourg.

Question 42

Schweitzer's highest moral principle is

A) the principle of utility.
B) the categorical imperative.
C) the golden rule.
D) the principle of reverence for life.

Question 43

Which of the following was not a term used by Wong to name an ethical doctrine?

A) meta-ethical relativism.
B) fundamental relativism.
C) normative moral relativism.
D) absolutism.

Question 44

As an example of cultural relativism, Wong describes the experiment of

A) Confucius.
B) Alexander the Great.
C) Darius.
D) Josephus.

Question 45

According to Nietzsche, in slave morality the term "good" is contrasted with the term

A) "bad."
B) "evil."
C) "ignoble."
D) "shameful."

Question 46

Nietzsche's term for the intrinsic drive to create beyond oneself is

A) the elemental urge.
B) the prime directive.
C) the will to power.
D) slave morality.

Question 47

The Lakota term that captures the idea of the interrelatedness of all living things is

A) Wakan Tanka.
B) Mitakuye Oyasin.
C) Hozho.
D) Tankashilah.

Question 48

According to McGaa (Eagle Man), the Native American holy man who had a vision of the polluting, violating blue man was

A) Black Elk.
B) Sitting Bull.
C) Crazy Horse.
D) Wolf Dancer.

Question 49

The Earth Charter was written by

A) Aldo Leopold.
B) a team of American ecologists.
C) the Board of Directors of Greenpeace.
D) an international commision.

Question 50

The Earth Charter can best be described as

A) a study of biological diversity.
B) a utilitarian analysis of current economic conditions.
C) an effort to formulate an environmental ethic.
D) a rejection of global thinking.

Question 51

One of Daly's terms for traditional Western morality is

A) the ethic of rights.
B) masculine morality.
C) the most holy trinity.
D) phallic morality.

Question 52

Which of the following virtues is not part of the most holy trinity described by Daly?

A) power
B) charity
C) love
D) justice

Question 53

Which of the following was not identified by Held a traditional Western moral theory?

A) Christian ethics
B) Kantian ethics
C) utilitarianism
D) Aristotelian virtue ethics

Question 54

According to Held, probably the most deeply fundamental value is

A) justice.
B) reverence.
C) care.
D) tolerance.

Question 55

The psychological theories that lead Hospers to question the possibility of free choice were formulated by

A) Freud.
B) Skinner.
C) Sartre.
D) Laing.

Question 56

Hospers compares a criminal's aggressive actions to

A) a dog in heat.
B) a fly trapped in a jar.
C) a person trapped in quicksand.
D) a worm wriggling on a fishhook.

Question 57

Identify and carefully explain the two types of virtues that are discussed by Aristotle. Provide two examples of each type. How, according to Aristotle, do we attain each type of virtue?

Question 58

Carefully describe Aristotle's views on the nature of the highest human good. What line of reasoning does Aristotle employ to discover this highest good? Do you agree with Aristotle's views on this matter? Why or why not?

Question 59

Compare and contrast Aristotle's views on the nature and origin of morality with the views of Mencius. Which of these philosophers, if either, do you think is correct on this issue? Defend your answer.

Question 60

Describe the analogies used by Kao Tzu and Mencius to express their differing views on the nature of being human. Then create an analogy of your own that you think accurately reflects what it means to be human.

Question 61

Compare and contrast Kant's views on the nature and origin of morality with the views of Aristotle. Which of their views comes closer to the views of classical Christian ethics? Defend your answer.

Question 62

Explain carefully one of the examples that Kant uses to demonstrate when an action has true moral worth. Then construct an example of your own that illustrates Kant's views on this matter.

Question 63

How does Bentham describe the principle of utility? What are the essential differences between the principle of utility and Kant's categorical imperative?

Question 64

Carefully explain three of Bentham's reasons for claiming that one cannot avoid appealing to the principle of utility. Do you think Bentham is correct in saying this? Why or why not?

Question 65

Compare and contrast Varona's views on the origin and nature of morality with the views of Bentham. How, according to each of them, can we determine whether or not a particular action is morally acceptable?

Question 66

What exactly does Varona mean by the sentiment of solidarity? Why does he discuss Robinson Crusoe in the selection in the text? Do you agree with what Varona says about social solidarity? Why or why not?

Question 67

Carefully describe Radhakrishnan's views on the nature of being human. How are his views on human nature connected to what he says about the nature of morality?

Question 68

Compare and contrast Radhakrishnan's views on the origin and nature of morality with the views of Bentham. How do their views compare with/differ from your own views on this matter?

Question 69

Carefully explain Schweitzer's views on the origin and nature of morality. Then evaluate his views from your own standpoint on the origin and nature of morality.

Question 70

Compare and contrast what Schweitzer says about human happiness with what Aristotle says. Do you think that human happiness is the ultimate goal of human existence? If so, how would you define happiness? If not, why not?

Question 71

Explain carefully Wong's distinction between meta-ethical relativism and normative moral relativism. Why, according to Wong, is extreme moral relativism philosophically indefensible?

Question 72

What, according to Wong, is absolutism, and what are his basic reasons for rejecting it? Do you agree with Wong's rejection of absolutism? Why or why not?

Question 73

Carefully explain Nietzsche's distinction between master morality and slave morality. Which type of morality does Nietzsche prefer, and what are his basic reasons for doing so?

Question 74

Compare and contrast Nietzsche's critique of traditional moral values with Wong's critique. To what extent do you agree with their critiques of traditional moral values? Explain your answer.

Question 75

Identify and carefully describe the four ethical commandments that McGaa (Eagle Man) says were revealed by the Great Spirit. What are two important differences between these commandments and the Ten Commandments found in the Bible?

Question 76

What, according to McGaa (Eagle Man), are three essential differences between traditional European moral views and Native American moral views? Do you think McGaa's criticisms of traditional European moral views hit the mark? Defend your answer.

Question 77

List and carefully explain four of fundamental moral principles that are advocated in the Earth Charter. Then critique these principles from your own moral standpoint.

Question 78

Compare and contrast McGaa's (Eagle Man's) criticisms of traditional Western moral values with the criticisms found in the Earth Charter. How do the alternative views that they endorse compare with and differ from each other?

Question 79

Carefully describe three criticisms that Daly levels against traditional Western moral thinking. What are the essential differences between the new type of morality envisioned by Daly and traditional morality?

Question 80

Describe Daly's concept of the most unholy trinity. What evidence does Daly give for thinking that traditional Western morality has promoted this unholy trinity? Do you think that Daly has provided sufficient evidence to support this claim? Defend your answer.