Deck 2: Moral Reasoning

Question 1

At which level of thinking would one be most likely to hear the statement "Euthanasia must be immoral because it is illegal"?

A) experience
B) interpretation
C) analysis
D) praxis

Answer 1

interpretation

Question 2

Opinions are:

A) the foundation of moral thinking.
B) most likely to be found at the level of moral analysis.
C) never true.
D) based on feeling rather than on reason.

Answer 2

based on feeling rather than on reason.

Question 3

Which of the following groups, according to liberation ethicists, has epistemological privilege in American society?

A) women of color
B) White males
C) philosophers
D) nonhuman animals

Answer 3

women of color

Question 4

The pampered daughter of a wealthy businessman and a prominent Boston socialite joins the Peace Corps following college and spends one year working with orphans in a poverty-stricken nation. This experience deeply upsets her and, to her parents' dismay, leads her to question her childhood values. What, according to Sheila Mullett, is the daughter most likely experiencing?

A) resistance
B) paradigm inflexibility
C) ontological shock
D) praxis

Question 5

In the context of moral analysis, the first of the three dimensions of Sheila Mullett's approach to ethical analysis is _____.

A) resistance
B) ontological shock
C) moral sensitivity
D) altruism

Question 6

Marlene often gets angry and storms off when people question her views on the morality of abortion. Marlene is in all likelihood using:

A) doublethink to avoid interpreting her worldviews.
B) analysis to avoid experiencing her worldviews.
C) resistance to avoid analyzing her worldviews.
D) interpretation to avoid resisting her worldviews.

Question 7

People often go along with the attitudes or opinions of their peer group even if they disagree with them. Why do people tend to express such conformity or superficial tolerance?

A) because people generally do not recognize conflicting attitudes unless someone points it out to them
B) because they do not seriously think about such issues when they are with their peer groups
C) because they are afraid that they will not be accepted by their peers if they disagree with them
D) because people tend to empathize with others even if their beliefs and attitudes do not match

Question 8

In the context of resistance, cognitive dissonance refers to:

A) a psychological conflict that results when people hold conflicting views simultaneously.
B) a fallacy that suggests that a practice is morally acceptable because it is a long-standing tradition.
C) the belief that people have a moral obligation to challenge ordinary ways of thinking through ontological debate.
D) the process of devoting one's life to the pursuit of a peaceful and harmonious existence.

Question 9

What is the conclusion in the following moral argument? "The United States is a democracy. Therefore, more gun control laws should be enacted in the United States because most citizens favor stricter gun control laws."

A) "The United States is a democracy."
B) "...more gun control laws should be enacted in the United States..."
C) "...most people favor stricter gun control laws."
D) "Therefore" and "because"

Question 10

In the context of informal fallacies, a circumstantial fallacy occurs when:

A) someone applies a rule that is generally accepted as valid to a particular case where exceptional or accidental circumstances render the rule inappropriate.
B) someone appeals to an authority in a field other than the one under debate.
C) people argue that their opponents should accept a certain position because of special circumstances, such as lifestyle or religion.
D) one person chooses to attack the character of his or her opponent rather than addressing the argument.

Question 11

In constructing moral arguments, we should begin by:

A) coming up with a conclusion.
B) checking for fallacies.
C) compiling a list of premises.
D) engaging in rhetoric.

Question 12

A _____, one of the components of an argument, is defined as a statement that expresses a complete thought.

A) fallacy
B) proposition
C) paradox
D) conclusion

Question 13

In resolving a moral dilemma, we should first:

A) come up with a possible solution.
B) make a list of the moral duties and values involved.
C) get our facts straight.
D) make a list of all the alternative courses of action.

Question 14

It is morally acceptable for parents to conceive a child in order to obtain blood or an organ tissue transplant to save the life of another of their children, because parents have the right to make their own decision about whether or not to conceive one child in order to save another child's life.

A) accident
B) hasty generalization
C) appeal to authority
D) begging the question

Question 15

I fail to see why hunting should be considered cruel when it gives pleasure to so many people.

A) abusive
B) popular appeal
C) irrelevant conclusion
D) hasty generalization

Question 16

Nikolas Sigaud, a British explorer in the early 20 ^th Century, argued that the Mayan civilization did not rely on agriculture for food. He believed that because there was no archeological evidence of the Mayans having used advanced agricultural tools, the Mayans were unlikely to have relied on agriculture to feed their large population. What logical fallacy does Nikolas Sigaud's argument show?

A) ignorance
B) popular appeal
C) begging the question
D) accident

Question 17

"I don't support the Obama administration's policy on the non-use of nuclear weapons if we are attacked by another nation. As far as I'm concerned it has no validity since they're just a bunch of naïve and spineless wimps."

A) circumstantial fallacy
B) abusive fallacy
C) appeal to tradition
D) equivocation

Question 18

"Of course private ownership of property is morally acceptable. It's been fundamental to our American way of life since this country's inception."

A) naturalistic fallacy
B) appeal to inappropriate authority
C) fallacy of accident
D) appeal to tradition

Question 19

"I believe in the Golden Rule. Therefore, I have an inherent duty to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. If I were puzzled by a question on an examination, I would want the person sitting next to me to help me. So it was my duty, professor, to let my friend sitting next to me copy answers from my test. You surely aren't going to fail me simply for obeying the Golden Rule?"

A) appeal to force
B) accident
C) begging the question
D) ignorance

Question 20

Identify the premise in the following argument: "All moral statements are meaningless because there are no objective criteria for measuring their truth or falsity."

A) "All moral statements are meaningless..."
B) "...because..."
C) "...there are no objective criteria for measuring their truth or falsity."
D) "...truth or falsity."

Question 21

The following argument is sometimes confused with ethical subjectivism: "Whatever a person believes is true for himself or herself is what that person believes is right for him or her." Which fallacy is committed in this argument?

A) hasty generalization
B) ignorance
C) accident
D) begging the question

Question 22

Identify the fallacy in the following argument: "You shouldn't take Wollstonecraft's criticism of Rousseau too seriously. After all, she was abused by her father and no doubt had a grudge against all men."

A) appeal to force
B) begging the question
C) abusive
D) ignorance

Question 23

Identify the fallacy in the following argument: "I hear that the philosopher Jeremy Bentham donated his estate to the University of London on the condition that his body be present at all the board meetings. He must have been a real fruitcake. As far as I'm concerned his moral philosophy can't have any validity."

A) appeal to inappropriate authority
B) abusive
C) appeal to tradition
D) equivocation

Question 24

Identify the fallacy in the following argument: "According to Kant, we ought to do our duty. As a member of a fraternity, I have a sworn duty to stand by my brothers. Therefore, it would be unethical for me to testify against my brothers in the upcoming rape trial."

A) equivocation
B) irrelevant conclusion
C) popular appeal
D) begging the question

Question 25

Identify the person who said each of the following.

-On the concept of doublethink, _____ said "Even to understand the word 'doublethink' involved the use of doublethink."

A) George Orwell
B) Aristotle
C) A. J. Ayer
D) Buddha

Question 26

Identify the person who said each of the following.

-On the concept of liberation, _____ said "One of the gravest obstacles to the achievement of liberation is that oppressive reality [worldview] absorbs those within it.... To no longer be prey to its force, one must emerge from it and turn on it. This can be done only by means of praxis..."

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Stanley Milgram
C) Paulo Freire
D) George Orwell