Deck 4: Is Morality Relative the Variability of Norms and Values

Question 1

Legal moralism suggests that governments can and should pass laws to prevent behaviors that are largely considered to be immoral.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Planned,premeditated killings of family members whose behavior is judged to have brought shame or dishonor to the family are referred to as:

A)Retaliatory familicide.
B)Blood feuds.
C)Mala in se.
D)Honor killings.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The Comstock Act:

A)Defined contraceptives as obscene and regulated their distribution.
B)Defined blood feuds as hate crimes.
C)Legalized prostitution in certain counties in Nevada.
D)Mandated the civil commitment of dangerous offenders.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Gambling would be considered a crime mala in se.

Question 5

Using the harm principle,a government could legitimately pass laws to prohibit murder,rape,and robbery.

Question 6

Normative or prescriptive relativism implies that we should not judge the beliefs and behaviors of other cultures.

Question 7

The majority of victims of honor killings across the world are women and girls.

Question 8

Which of the following positions holds that moral beliefs vary from person to person,and that one person's beliefs and practices cannot be said to be more right (or wrong)that any other person's?

A)Relativism
B)Pluralism
C)The principle of understanding
D)Individualism

Question 9

Moral relativism is the idea that:

A)Everything we do is motivated by self-interest.
B)Every event has a cause.
C)Morality is absolute because it is based in human nature.
D)Morality varies from culture to culture and time period to time period.

Question 10

The argument that sodomy should be prohibited simply because it is immoral -- not because it harms anyone -- would be an example of:

A)Paternalism.
B)The offense principle.
C)Legal moralism.
D)All of the above.

Question 11

Which of the following suggests that governments can and should pass laws to protect citizens from themselves,looking out for its citizens as a father might for his children?

A)Determinism
B)Paternalism
C)Pragmatism
D)The principle of implied competence

Question 12

Advocates of which of the following often appeal to the harm principle to support their position:

A)Death penalty
B)Decriminalization of victimless crimes
C)Mandatory minimum sentencing
D)Three-strikes laws

Question 13

Which of the following positions holds that there are eternal,unchanging moral laws that apply to all people,everywhere?

A)Ethical Universalism
B)Cultural relativism
C)Descriptive relativism
D)The principle of "standing up against evil"

Question 14

Which of the following,derived from John Stuart Mill,suggests that governments can legitimately create and impose laws only where it is necessary to prevent people from harming others?

A)The harm principle
B)Paternalism
C)The principle of victimless crime
D)The no-cause principle

Question 15

Which of the following might help us develop open-mindedness and the virtue of tolerance?

A)Recognizing that people have free will
B)Recognizing that moral norms can and often do vary by time and place
C)Developing our own sense of egoism
D)All of the above

Question 16

When we claim that certain moral values or principles (e.g. ,do not steal)apply or should apply to all people,everywhere,we are saying that some values or principles are:

A)Descriptive.
B)Relative.
C)Universal.
D)Pragmatic.

Question 17

When we are committed unquestioningly and with absolute certainty to a belief or beliefs,we are guilty of:

A)Psychological egoism.
B)Normative relativism.
C)An imbalanced soul.
D)Dogmatism.

Question 18

Ethical objectivism would suggest that whether dishonesty is right or wrong depends upon the person doing it and the circumstances of the situation.

Question 19

One of the benefits of relativism is that it encourages us to maintain an open mind and be tolerant and understanding of differences.

Question 20

The involuntary (against their will)hospitalization of persons who are determined to be dangerous to themselves or unable to care for themselves effectively could be considered paternalistic.

Question 21

A pragmatist might argue that moral values and cultural practices based upon them are not representations of the truth,but are functional for people in a particular place at a particular time.

Question 22

If we were to argue that incest is universally wrong,we would be arguing that it is wrong for all people,everywhere,no matter the circumstances.

Question 23

The logic of the idiom,"beauty is in the eye of the beholder," or the notion that,"beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them," closely resembles the logic of objectivism.

Question 24

Briefly discuss the basic position of ethical naturalism,commenting specifically upon the ways in which science can,arguably,enhance our understanding of morality.

Question 25

Briefly describe the difference between descriptive and prescriptive relativism.

Question 26

Providing at least one specific example,briefly describe what is meant by the term,"defensible killings."