Deck 1: Ethics and the Examined Life

Question 1

Descriptive ethics is the:

A)philosophical study of moral and cultural differences.
B)blind acceptance of existing moral norms.
C)scientific study of moral beliefs and practices.
D)scientific study of immoral beliefs and behavior.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The dominance of moral norms suggests that if a speed limit on a highway conflicts with a person's moral duty to rush a dying man to the hospital,then:

A)the moral duty would be as weighty as the legal duty.
B)neither the legal duty nor the moral duty would apply.
C)the moral duty would take precedence over the legal duty.
D)the moral duty would sanction any method whatsoever of getting the dying man to the hospital.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Not thinking too deeply or too systematically about ethical concerns:

A)isolates you from other people.
B)undermines your personal freedom.
C)ensures that no moral dilemmas arise.
D)helps guide you to moral truth.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Judgments of obligation concern:

A)good or bad character.
B)right or wrong actions.
C)contemplated actions.
D)blameworthy or praiseworthy actions.

Question 5

Ethics is the:

A)body of rules for a particular culture.
B)scientific study of morality.
C)philosophical study of morality.
D)philosophical and scientific study of morality.

Question 6

Accurately describing the moral codes and ethical standards of colonial America is a typical task in:

A)normative ethics.
B)colonial ethics.
C)descriptive ethics.
D)instrumental ethics.

Question 7

Normative ethics is the:

A)study of the theories that explain why people behave as they do.
B)study of the full range of normative standards.
C)study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs.
D)study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments.

Question 8

The principle of universalizability is exemplified when:

A)you believe that if harming someone is wrong in a particular situation, then harming someone would be wrong for anyone in a relevantly similar situation.
B)you believe that if harming someone is wrong in a particular situation, then harming someone would be permissible for anyone in a relevantly similar situation.
C)the moral rules implied by your behavior apply to everyone, even in dissimilar situations.
D)you believe that a person's morality is dictated by his or her culturewide morality.

Question 9

Ethics shows us:

A)how to ask critical questions about morality and systematically seek support for our personal point of view.
B)how to ask critical questions about morality and affirm our core values.
C)how to ask critical questions about morality and acquire answers that can be supported by religious ethicists.
D)how to ask critical questions about morality and systematically seek answers supported by good reasons.

Question 10

Metaethics asks questions such as:

A)What moral beliefs do cultures embody?
B)What does it mean for an action to be right? Is good the same thing as desirable?
C)What theories of ethics do cultures endorse?
D)What is the meaning of life from a moral perspective?

Question 11

The principle of impartiality says that:

A)a Hitler should be treated the same as a St. Thomas Aquinas.
B)all persons are considered equal and should be treated accordingly.
C)unless there is a morally relevant difference between people, we should treat them on a case-by-case basis.
D)some people are inherently more worthy than others.

Question 12

Critical reasoning is the:

A)refuting of statements or claims.
B)affirming of statements or claims.
C)careful, systematic evaluation of statements or claims.
D)careful, systematic description of moral problems.

Question 13

When believers in the same religion disagree about whether an act is morally permissible,they may be able to resolve the conflict through:

A)pragmatic analysis.
B)literary analysis.
C)moral reasoning.
D)dogmatic assertions.

Question 14

The preeminence of reason refers to the:

A)times when our emotions overwhelm our reason.
B)gap between our feelings and our reason.
C)overriding importance of critical reasoning in ethics.
D)guidance that conscience gives to our reason.

Question 15

Applied ethics is the:

A)application of normative ethics to metaethics.
B)application of society's rules to one's own life.
C)study of the principles and rules that everyone accepts.
D)application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases.

Question 16

If you say that killing in self-defense is morally permissible,then you are implying that:

A)killing in self-defense is not permissible.
B)killing in self-defense is permissible for everyone in all situations.
C)killing in self-defense is permissible for some people in relevantly similar situations.
D)killing in self-defense is permissible for everyone in relevantly similar situations.

Question 17

If we say that a sports car is good,we mean that it is:

A)alternatively valuable.
B)something of unknown intrinsic value.
C)instrumentally valuable.
D)intrinsically valuable.

Question 18

Questions such as "Was the abortion permissible?" or "Was this instance of mercy killing immoral?" are the concern of:

A)applied ethics.
B)metaethics.
C)normative ethics.
D)descriptive ethics.

Question 19

Morality refers to:

A)beliefs about praise and punishment.
B)beliefs about right and wrong, good and bad.
C)beliefs about legal and moral standards.
D)standards of behavior relative to our own society.

Question 20

Believing that you can establish all your moral beliefs by consulting your feelings is an example of:

A)subjectivism.
B)objectivism.
C)reliabilism.
D)critical scrutiny.

Question 21

In arguing against the divine command theory,many critics insist that:

A)God has the power to will actions to be morally permissible.
B)if an action is right only because God wills it, then no actions are right.
C)if an action is right only because God wills it, then many heinous crimes and evil actions would be right if God willed them.
D)if an action is right only because God wills it, then many heinous crimes and evil actions would be right for believers but wrong for unbelievers.

Question 22

Moral reasoning can be usefully applied to both religious and secular moral codes because:

A)both religious and secular moral codes are often vague.
B)religious moral principles never conflict.
C)religious and secular moral codes are essentially the same.
D)moral contradictions or inconsistencies never confront the religious believer.

Question 23

When religious adherents claim that murder is wrong because God says that it is,they are implicitly espousing the:

A)legal theory of divine justice.
B)greatest happiness principle.
C)religious demand theory.
D)divine command theory.

Question 24

Critics say that if we accept the idea that good is defined by reference to God's will,then:

A)God's goodness is affirmed.
B)God's goodness is deprived of any meaning.
C)goodness is given real meaning.
D)God's goodness can be accepted by agnostics.

Question 25

Leibniz,the great theistic philosopher,rejects the divine command theory,declaring that it:

A)means God is worthy of worship.
B)implies God is unworthy of worship.
C)implies a utilitarian conception of morality.
D)equates to godlessness.