Question 1

Rawls Principle of equal liberty includes:
A) Right to vote
B) Freedom of speech
C) Freedom of arbitrary arrest
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Rawls' Principle of Equal Liberty asserts that each person has an equal right to the most extensive basic liberties compatible with similar liberties for others. This includes rights and freedoms such as the right to vote, freedom of speech, and freedom from arbitrary arrest, as these are all considered basic liberties under his theory.

Question 2

Negative rights are defined entirely in terms of the duties others have not to interfere with you.

Accepted Answer

Negative rights, also known as "liberty rights," require others to abstain from interfering with your actions, emphasizing freedom from external restraint.

Question 3

UNOCAL worked with the Burmese army to push the pipeline using forced labor.

Accepted Answer

UNOCAL (now part of Chevron Corporation) faced allegations and lawsuits claiming that it was complicit in human rights abuses, including the use of forced labor by the Burmese military, in the construction of the Yadana gas pipeline project in Myanmar (Burma) during the 1990s.

Question 4

Few businesses maintain that the socially responsible course to take is the utilitarian one with the lowest net costs.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Few businesses maintain that the socially responsible...

Question 5

Major problems with the utilitarian reliance on measurement include:
A) Comparative measures of the values things have for different people cannot be made; we cannot get into each others' skins to measure the pleasure or pain caused.
B) All benefits and costs are possible to measure.
C) The potential benefits and costs of an action cannot always be reliably predicted.
D) All the above
E) A & C

Accepted Answer

A) highlights the subjective nature of pleasure and pain, making it difficult to compare across individuals. C) points out the unpredictability in forecasting the outcomes of actions, which challenges utilitarian calculations. B) is incorrect because it contradicts the inherent difficulties in measurement acknowledged in utilitarianism, making E the correct choice.

Question 6

Rule utilitarianism looks only at moral rules of a particular action.

Accepted Answer

Rule utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of following a particular moral rule, rather than the consequences of a specific action.

Question 7

Utilitarianism characterizes the moral approach taken by Ford in the infamous Pinto case study.

Accepted Answer

In the Pinto case, Ford's decision-making process, which involved weighing the costs of redesigning the car against the potential benefits of avoiding harm to consumers, reflects a utilitarian approach. This approach focuses on achieving the greatest good for the greatest number, even if it means accepting some harm.

Question 8

Intrinsic goods are things that are desired for their own sake, such as health and life.

Accepted Answer

Intrinsic goods are valued for their own sake, meaning they are desired not for what they can bring about, but for their inherent value. Health and life are classic examples of intrinsic goods because they are typically desired for their own sake, not merely for the benefits they might lead to.

Question 9

Immanuel Kant's principle, called the categorical imperative, requires that everyone be treated as:
A) A free and equal person
B) A dependent employee
C) An indentured person
D) A non-resident employee

Accepted Answer

Kant's categorical imperative emphasizes treating individuals as ends in themselves and not merely as means to an end, which aligns with the concept of treating everyone as a free and equal person.

Question 10

Roche can defend its use of harvested organs solely on the basis of ethical relativism.

Accepted Answer

Ethical relativism suggests that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture, which means there isn't a single correct moral stance. However, defending the use of harvested organs solely on this basis ignores universal ethical principles such as respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, and justice, which are crucial in medical ethics and organ transplantation.

Question 11

Utilitarianism is attractive to many because it matches the views we tend to hold when discussing governmental policies and public goods.

Accepted Answer

Utilitarianism, which advocates for actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the majority, aligns with common perspectives on creating policies and distributing public goods that aim to benefit the greatest number of people.

Question 12

UNOCAL agrees that it shares responsibility with the Burmese army over treatment of pipeline citizens.

Accepted Answer

Unocal (Union Oil Company of California) has historically denied direct responsibility for the alleged human rights abuses committed by the Burmese army related to the construction and security of its pipeline projects in Myanmar (Burma).

Question 13

Considerations to follow in determining what the moral thing to do might be are:
A) You must determine what alternative actions are available.
B) You must estimate the direct and indirect costs and benefits the action would produce for all involved in the foreseeable future.
C) You must choose the alternative that produces the greatest sum total of utility.
D) All the above
E) A & C

Accepted Answer

All the options listed are important considerations in determining the moral course of action. A) Identifying alternatives is crucial for making an informed choice. B) Estimating costs and benefits for all involved helps in understanding the consequences of each action. C) Choosing the option that maximizes overall utility is a principle of utilitarianism, a major ethical theory. Therefore, all these considerations are part of a comprehensive approach to making moral decisions.

Question 14

Cost-benefit analysis is used to determine the desirability of investing in a project (such as a dam, factory, or public park) by figuring whether its present and future economic benefits outweigh its present and future economic costs.

Accepted Answer

Cost-benefit analysis is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives used to determine options that provide the best approach to achieve benefits while preserving savings. It is used in economics and business to compare the expected costs of a project against its expected benefits, allowing decision-makers to choose the most beneficial and cost-effective option.

Quiz 2: Ethical Principles in Business

Rawls Principle of equal liberty includes: