Question 1

Ethical egoism seems to conflict with

Accepted Answer

Ethical egoism, which suggests that actions are morally right if they promote one's self-interest, often conflicts with our considered moral judgments and moral experience, which may dictate altruism or concern for others' welfare as morally important.

Question 2

Rule-utilitarianism has been accused of being internally inconsistent because the theory can

Accepted Answer

Rule-utilitarianism is criticized for potentially lapsing back into act-utilitarianism because if rules are constantly evaluated for their utility, it might lead to making decisions on a case-by-case basis, which is the essence of act-utilitarianism.

Question 3

John Stuart Mill says, "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." This sentiment is an indictment of the glutton but also a pat on the back for those who

Accepted Answer

Mill's statement emphasizes the value of higher pleasures (those associated with the intellect, moral sentiments, and imagination) over lower pleasures (those associated with the body). He suggests that experiencing the complexities and perhaps challenges of higher pleasures, even if they bring dissatisfaction, is more fulfilling and preferable to the simple satisfaction derived from lower pleasures.

Question 4

Because people will renege on deals they enter, Hobbes believes that what is needed for enforcing the social contract is an absolute sovereign-a fearsome, powerful person he refers to as the

Accepted Answer

Hobbes refers to the absolute sovereign needed to enforce the social contract as the "Leviathan," which symbolizes a powerful, fearsome authority that can maintain order and prevent people from breaking agreements.

Question 5

Utilitarianism reminds us that

Accepted Answer

Utilitarianism is a moral theory that emphasizes the importance of the consequences of our actions in determining their moral value. It suggests that an action is right if it leads to the greatest overall happiness or the least amount of suffering for the greatest number of people. Therefore, the consequences of our actions are central to moral deliberations in utilitarianism.

Question 6

One of the criticisms of social contract theory is that it's doubtful that those who are supposed to be parties to the contract have actually given

Accepted Answer

Social contract theory posits that individuals have implicitly agreed to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler (or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights. The criticism that individuals have not actually given their consent to the terms of the contract addresses a fundamental issue with the theory: the assumption of implicit agreement without explicit consent from all parties involved.

Question 7

A true ethical egoist chooses actions that

Accepted Answer

Ethical egoism is the normative ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It differs from psychological egoism, which claims that people can only act in their self-interest. Ethical egoists believe that actions are morally right if they promote the agent's own self-interest, making option D the correct answer.

Question 8

Suppose a utilitarian judge decides to rule against a plaintiff in a lawsuit just because people in general would be happier if the plaintiff lost the case. Such a utilitarian move would conflict with

Accepted Answer

Rule-utilitarianism focuses on the utility of adhering to rules that generally promote the greatest good, but the scenario described does not necessarily conflict with rule-utilitarianism itself. The decision made by the judge, however, directly conflicts with commonsense views about justice, which typically hold that legal decisions should be based on fairness, legality, and the merits of the case, rather than the happiness of the general population.

Question 9

If, according to Jeremy Bentham, only the total quantity of happiness produced by an action matters, then the person closest to the moral ideal would be

Accepted Answer

Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian philosophy emphasizes the greatest happiness principle, where the morality of an action is determined by the amount of happiness it produces. The glutton, by seeking personal pleasure, potentially maximizes happiness in Bentham's view, aligning closest with his moral ideal.

Question 10

Suppose you break your promise to visit your dying grandmother on the grounds that you can create more happiness by partying with your friends. This utilitarian view of the situation seems to conflict with our commonsense

Accepted Answer

This situation conflicts with our commonsense view of our obligations to other people, as it disregards the moral duty to care for and respect the needs of our dying grandmother, prioritizing personal pleasure over familial and ethical responsibilities.

Question 11

Defenders of act-utilitarianism insist that the scenarios put forth by critics that seem to show utilitarianism in conflict with commonsense morality are

Accepted Answer

Defenders of act-utilitarianism argue that the scenarios critics use to illustrate conflicts between utilitarianism and commonsense morality are often misleading and implausible, not reflecting realistic or probable situations.

Question 12

Some utilitarians respond to the charge that act-utilitarianism conflicts with commonsense moral intuitions by

Accepted Answer

Utilitarians who face criticism that act-utilitarianism conflicts with commonsense moral intuitions might reject commonsense morality, arguing that the utilitarian principle of the greatest happiness should override conventional moral intuitions when they conflict.

Question 13

Commonsense morality makes a distinction between doing our duty and doing more than duty requires, what are called supererogatory actions. This distinction seems to disappear in

Accepted Answer

Utilitarianism tends to blur the distinction between duty and supererogatory actions because it posits that one should always act to maximize overall happiness or utility, making it difficult to categorize actions as simply beyond what duty requires.

Question 14

Utilitarianism (in all its forms) requires that in our actions we always try to maximize utility, everyone considered. This requirement has given rise to

Accepted Answer

The no-rest problem arises because utilitarianism demands constant consideration of how to maximize utility, leaving no time for personal rest or interests.

Question 15

Joel Feinberg argues that someone who directly pursues happiness

Accepted Answer

Joel Feinberg suggests that directly pursuing happiness is counterproductive, implying that happiness is more likely to be a byproduct of engaging in other meaningful activities rather than the primary goal.

Question 16

The philosopher Thomas Hobbes says that people are naturally

Accepted Answer

Thomas Hobbes, in his work "Leviathan," describes the state of nature as a war of all against all, where human beings are naturally in a condition of perpetual fear and in competition with each other for resources. He characterizes people as naturally selfish, greedy, and violent, which necessitates the establishment of a strong central authority to maintain peace and order.

Question 17

John Stuart Mill says that humans by nature desire happiness and nothing but happiness; therefore happiness is the standard by which we should judge human conduct, and therefore the principle of utility is at the heart of morality. But this argument is controversial, because

Accepted Answer

Mill's argument is controversial because it reasons from what is (humans naturally desire happiness) to what should be (happiness should be the standard for judging human conduct), which is a form of the is-ought problem. This problem questions the validity of deriving prescriptive ethical statements (what ought to be) from descriptive statements (what is).

Question 18

Suppose for someone there are only two possible actions: (1) read Aristotle, or (2) spend a weekend on a tropical isle filled with intensely pleasurable debauchery. Under these circumstances, John Stuart Mill would likely

Accepted Answer

John Stuart Mill, a proponent of utilitarianism, argued that higher pleasures (such as intellectual pursuits) are more valuable than lower pleasures (such as physical or sensual pleasures). Reading Aristotle would be considered a higher pleasure compared to the lower pleasure of debauchery, thus Mill would likely choose to read Aristotle.

Question 19

The philosopher who said that the greatest good is pleasure, and the greatest evil is pain, was

Accepted Answer

Epicurus is the philosopher who advocated that the greatest good is pleasure (specifically, the absence of pain), and the greatest evil is pain. This philosophy is part of Epicureanism, which emphasizes living a life that seeks to minimize pain and maximize pleasure.

Question 20

Consider a scenario involving the possible killing of an innocent person for the good of others. Such an action could conceivably be sanctioned by

Accepted Answer

Act-utilitarianism could sanction the killing of an innocent person for the good of others because it evaluates the morality of an action based on its consequences, specifically whether it maximizes overall happiness or utility. If killing one innocent person results in a greater overall good or happiness for a larger number of people, act-utilitarianism could deem it morally permissible.

Quiz 5: Consequentialist Theories: Maximize the Good