Deck 44: Ethics and Global Change Dale Jamieson

Question 1

Jamieson describes our current moral value system as assuming that harms

A) and their causes are individual.
B) can easily be identified.
C) are local in space.
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Jamieson believes that human-caused global climate change strains our current moral paradigm because

A) traditional moral norms disregard the special value of the environment.
B) we suddenly face the prospect of not knowing how to assign responsibility.
C) the old paradigm is entirely human-centered.
D) responding to climate change requires scientific knowledge ignored by the old moral system.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In which of the following ways do global environmental problems not deviate from the old moral system?

A) Such problems create geographically remote victims.
B) Such problems may be remote in time.
C) Such problems may be diffuse.
D) Such problems can result from apparently innocent acts.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Global environmental harms, according to Jamieson,

A) threaten every part of the planet.
B) threaten every human being equally.
C) threaten non-human interests more than human interests.
D) call for technological solutions, not ethical solutions.

Question 5

Jamieson predicts enormous difficulty motivating people to respond to global climate change without

A) a grassroots movement with broad-based appeal.
B) drastic reductions in energy-intensive industries.
C) new values and ideas about responsibility.
D) well-funded media campaigns.

Question 6

According to Jamieson, values are

A) originated by philosophers.
B) collectively created.
C) a product of legal systems.
D) dictated by reason.

Question 7

Jamieson argues that a suitable ethic for the new era of global climate change will emphasize

A) utilitarian regard for the general welfare.
B) virtues such as ambition, creativity, and innovation.
C) Kantian regard for human dignity.
D) virtues such as humility, courage, and moderation.

Question 8

Jamieson claims that the focus on economic models and calculating probable outcomes has

A) de-emphasized the ethical importance of character.
B) institutionalized hypocrisy.
C) made us cynical calculators.
D) All of the above

Question 9

Jamieson's understanding of global environmental moral problems can best be summed up as:

A) harm resulting from many small people doing small things together over a long period of time.
B) harm resulting from relatively few powerful individuals rapidly squandering vast resources.
C) harm resulting from relatively few wasteful nations slowly polluting the planetary commons.
D) None of the above

Question 10

To solve the looming ecological crisis of climate change, Jamieson says what's needed is

A) a combination of philanthropy and public funding for environmental cleanup efforts.
B) a planetwide crisis that shocks humanity into curbing its consumption and waste production.
C) a moral paradigm shift.
D) All of the above

Question 11

Jamieson believes that one feature of our current moral value system that is relevant to environmental ethics is that, traditionally, it helps us to know how to assign responsibility for harms.

Question 12

Our current value system, according to Jamieson, presumes that harms can be readily identified whether or not they are local in space in time.

Question 13

Jamieson discusses projected shifts in the geographic position of the Southern Hemisphere cyclone belt in order to illustrate the magnitude of harm caused by the fossil fuel industry.

Question 14

Jamieson asserts that we now face the unprecedented possibility that the global environment will be destroyed with no clear parties to blame.

Question 15

For Jamieson, the correct ethical response to global climate change will involve identifying the persons and groups responsible for causing death and destruction.

Question 16

Jamieson suggests that one key benefit of developing new models of responsibility is that doing so will help motivate people to respond to the problem.

Question 17

According to Jamieson, we should focus more on cultivating virtues of character and less on calculating probable outcomes.

Question 18

Jamieson asserts that though the current climate crisis is greater in scope than ever before, it is not an essentially new problem.

Question 19

By Jamieson's lights, simplicity and moderation are old virtues whose time has come again.

Question 20

Jamieson proposes that new and innovative economic models will be the key to addressing the current and future environmental crisis.

Question 21

What are the key defining features of the old moral value system, according to Jamieson? Does he believe that this system can properly help us to ethically respond to climate change? Why or why not?

Question 22

Jamieson argues that it is impossible to assign responsibility for climate change to particular actors. Is this plausible? If so, why? If not, what are the ethical implications?

Question 23

What general paradigm shift in moral thinking does Jamieson recommend for responding successfully to our global environmental problems? Do you agree? Why or why not?