Question 1

Held favors the liberal individualist concept of a person.

Accepted Answer

Held critiques the liberal individualist concept of a person, advocating instead for a view of individuals as interconnected and emphasizing the importance of care and relationships in ethical and political analysis.

Question 2

Held thinks that virtue ethics is a failed moral theory.

Accepted Answer

Virginia Held is a proponent of care ethics, which is distinct from virtue ethics, but she does not argue that virtue ethics is a failed moral theory. Instead, she critiques traditional moral theories for neglecting the importance of care and interpersonal relationships, but this does not equate to declaring virtue ethics as failed.

Question 3

Cultural relativism implies that moral progress is possible.

Accepted Answer

Cultural relativism suggests that moral standards are based on cultural context, implying no objective standard for progress.

Question 4

Cultural relativism eliminates the possibility of moral disagreement.

Accepted Answer

Cultural relativism holds that moral values are relative to the culture in which they are found, and that there is no objective standard of morality. This means that there is no way to say that one culture's moral values are better than another's, and that moral disagreement is simply a matter of different perspectives.

Question 5

By the lights of cultural relativism, cross-cultural moral disagreement is possible.

Accepted Answer

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Question 6

According to cultural relativism, some cultures' moral codes are better than others.

Accepted Answer

Cultural relativism posits that all cultural beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the cultural context. Therefore, it does not judge one culture's moral codes as better or worse than another's.

Question 7

From the fact that cultures have divergent moral beliefs on an issue, it does not logically follow that there is no objective moral truth.

Accepted Answer

The existence of divergent moral beliefs among different cultures does not logically imply that there is no objective moral truth; it only indicates that there is disagreement or variation in moral perspectives.

Question 8

Classic utilitarianism and Daoism are essentially the same.

Accepted Answer

Classic utilitarianism focuses on maximizing happiness or utility for the greatest number of people, often through rational calculation, while Daoism emphasizes living in harmony with the Dao (the Way), which involves a more naturalistic and less calculative approach to life and ethics.

Question 9

Utilitarianism is the view that right actions are those that maximize the overall well-being of everyone involved.

Accepted Answer

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that posits the best action is the one that maximizes utility, typically defined as that which produces the greatest well-being of the greatest number of people, thereby focusing on the outcome or consequences of actions to determine their moral worth.

Question 10

Confucianism is an individualistic moral philosophy.

Accepted Answer

Confucianism emphasizes social harmony, community values, and the importance of family and social relationships, rather than individualism.

Question 11

Advocates of principlism admit that the process of weighing different moral principles is unreliable and subjective.

Accepted Answer

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Question 12

In moral deliberation, it is important to learn as much as possible about the nonmoral facts of the situation.

Accepted Answer

Understanding the nonmoral facts of a situation is crucial in moral deliberation because it provides the necessary context for making informed and ethical decisions.

Question 13

Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and principlism are all similar in that that each consist of a single moral principle.

Accepted Answer

Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and principlism differ in their foundational approaches. Utilitarianism is based on the principle of maximizing happiness or utility, Kantianism is grounded in the categorical imperative which emphasizes duty and moral laws, and principlism involves multiple principles (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice) rather than a single moral principle.

Question 14

An important criterion of adequacy for moral theories is consistency with our conscience.

Accepted Answer

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Question 15

A moral theory explains not why one event causes another but why an action is right or wrong or why a person or a person's character is good or bad.

Accepted Answer

Moral theories are concerned with the justification of ethical judgments about the rightness or wrongness of actions and the goodness or badness of persons or their characters, rather than causal relationships between events.

Question 16

How does Kant's categorical imperative apply to the case of the lying promise? Does Kant allow any exceptions to a categorical imperative? Would you make an exception if it could save an innocent person's life (and harm no one else)? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

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Question 17

What is the chief difference between utilitarianism and Kant's ethics? Do you think one of these theories is clearly inferior to the other? Do they each represent part of the truth about morality? Explain.

Accepted Answer

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Question 18

What are the premises of the cultural differences argument? Assess the truth of the premises.

Accepted Answer

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Question 19

How does cultural relativism imply infallibility, the unlikelihood of disagreement, and the impossibility of moral progress?

Accepted Answer

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Question 20

Do you think ethical egoism is a plausible moral theory? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

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Quiz 3: Morality and the Moral Life