Review 3
REVIEW QUIZ #3 (RELATIVISM). Exactly one answer to each question is best and thus correct.
1) According to the Diversity Thesis
A) As a matter of fact, different societies have different moral codes;
B) The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society;
C) There is no objective or universal standard that can be used to judge one society's code as better than another's;
D) The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many;
E) It is mere arrogance for us to judge the conduct of other people; we should be tolerant about ways of other cultures.
2) According to the Relativity Thesis
A) As a matter of fact, different societies have different moral codes;
B) The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society;
C) There is no objective or universal standard that can be used to judge one society's code as better than another's;
D) The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many;
E) It is mere arrogance for us to judge the conduct of other people; we should be tolerant about ways of other cultures.
3) According to the Thesis about Egalitarianism
A) As a matter of fact, different societies have different moral codes;
B) The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society;
C) There is no objective or universal standard that can be used to judge one society's code as better than another's;
D) The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many;
E) It is mere arrogance for us to judge the conduct of other people; we should be tolerant about ways of other cultures.
4) Some people argue that moral disagreements are very widely spread.
A) Stefan and Rachels agreed with this claim;
B) Stefan and Rachels argue that, although there are some moral disagreements, there are less widely spread than it seems;
C) there are no moral disagreements;
D) none of the above.
5) Stefan argued in class that what seems like a genuine moral disagreement may be
A) disagreement about non-moral values (e.g., religious or legal norms);
B) disagreement about facts;
C) disagreement about concepts;
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above.
6) Stefan argued in class that sometimes people change their minds (and some ethical debates are resolved) when we clear the facts. In particular, the following facts may be relevant in the debate about Capital Punishment (that is, sometimes people change their minds when they discover this sort of facts)
A) how likely it is that a convicted murderer, if not executed, may be released and commit more crimes.
B) how many innocent people are killed when we have CP;
C) do we administer it fairly (do poor people and members of minorities are as likely to be executed as rich white folks);
D) how much more expensive is CP comparing to the life in prison; E) they are all relevant
7) Ethical absolutists believe that
A) correct moral rules are extremely simple, they allow for no exceptions
B) correct moral rules can be complex but they apply to all similarly situated people;
C) people never differ in their opinions about morality
D) all of the above; E) none of the above
8) Every ethical universalists must believe that
A) correct moral rules are extremely simple
B) some basic moral rules, however complex they are, apply to all similarly situated people
C) people never differ in their opinions about morality
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above.
9) Every ethical universalists must believe that
A) correct moral principles are easy to discover;
B) we have already discovered correct moral principles;
C) each culture knows what the correct moral principles are ;
D) all of the above; E) none of the above
10) Every form of ethical universalism is incompatible with
A) Ethical absolutism;
B) Ethical Relativism
C) Utilitarianism;
D) Deontology
E) none of the above
11) Abortion is condemned as immoral in Catholic Ireland but is practiced as a morally neutral form of birth control in Japan. According to the ethical relativist
A) abortion is wrong in Ireland but morally permissible Japan;
B) abortion is wrong both in Ireland and Japan;
C) abortion is right both in Ireland and Japan;
D) it's impossible to tell whether abortion is right or wrong; E) none of the above.
12) The same example. According to Ethical Universalism
A) abortion is wrong in Ireland but morally permissible Japan;
B) abortion is either wrong both in Ireland and in Japan or right both in Ireland and in Japan, provided that people in these societies are in similar circumstances;
C) it's impossible to tell whether abortion is right or wrong; D) none of the above.
13) Suppose that two cultures fundamentally disagree about morality. According to cultural relativism
A) each culture is correct;
B) at most one culture is correct;
C) no culture is correct;
D) none of the above.
14) According to one argument for CER, Relativism is true because there are no clear ways to justify ethical views and resolve ethical disagreements. In class, Stefan
A) accepted this argument;
B) rejected this argument on the ground that ethics has nothing to do with justification;
C) rejected this argument on the grounds that, in fact, we know how to argue about morality and, furthermore, frequently different ethical theories and principles imply the same ethical assessment of various cases;
D) none of the above.
15) If we ought to be tolerant, then
A) relativism must be true;
B) universalism can be true;
C) neither of the above .
16) If Cultural Relativism is true, then
A) we must be tolerant are respectful of other cultures;
B) we sometimes may be required to be intolerant and disrespectful of other cultures because our culture may require of us to be intolerant; C) Neither of the above.
17) If Cultural Ethical Relativism is true, then
A) moral progress is impossible
B) no person who proposes a moral reform is ever correct
C) we do not have a basis for resolving inter‑cultural conflicts
D) we cannot learn ethics from other cultures that disagree with our moral views
E) all of the abovewould most likely
18) An ethical universalist would likely accept the following
A) sometimes people and culture differ in their opinions about morality;
B) when people and cultures differ in their opinions about morality, then all of them are correct;
C) both A) and B);
D) none of the above.
19) Stefan argued in class that
A) someone who is a relativist about one issue (e.g., laws) must be a relativist about all issues (e.g., morality);
B) someone may be a relativist about one issue (e.g., laws) but a non-relativist about other issues (e.g., morality);
C) one must not be a relativist about anything;
D) none of the above.
20) Rachels argues that
A) no ethical values are universal;
B) some ethical values are universal because things just happen this way;
C) some ethical values are universal because (among other things) a culture could not survive and flourish without accepting those values;
D) none of the above.
21) Rachels claims that the following may be an universal value that can be used the evaluate various social arrangements and practices
A) the practice is legal;
B) the practice is consistent with the true religion;
C) the practice promotes, rather than hinders, the welfare of the people affected by it
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above.
22) According to Cultural Relativism, the minority or individuals that reject the views of their culture
A) can never be right about moral matters; people who propose moral reform (change) are always wrong;
B) can sometimes be right about proposing moral reforms;
C) are neither right nor wrong
D) all of the above.
SOME OF THE ANSWERS
Questions 1-3, in Chapter 2 and in my notes, the following theses are introduced:
The Diversity Thesis;
The Relativity Thesis;
The Thesis about the Rejection of Universalism (Objectivism);
The Thesis about Cultural Egalitarianism and The Thesis about Tolerance;
So, please read the chapter and the notes.
4) Some people argue that moral disagreements are very widely spread.
A) Stefan and Rachels agreed with this claim;
B) Stefan and Rachels argue that, although there are some moral disagreements, there are less widely spread than it seems;
C) there are no moral disagreements;
D) none of the above.
See Chapter 2 and the notes.
5) Stefan argued in class that what seems like a genuine moral disagreement may be
A) disagreement about non-moral values (e.g., religious or legal norms);
B) disagreement about facts;
C) disagreement about concepts;
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above.
I argued that sometimes people change their minds about some ethical issue because facts of the situation change (or we discover new facts). Also, sometimes people change their minds when they learn about various normative systems (e.g., morality and law and religion) and conceptual distinction. For example, we change our minds when we learn to distinguish law, morality, and religion. So, sometimes what seems a moral disagreement really (fundamentally) is a disagreements about...
6) Stefan argued in class that sometimes people change their minds (and some ethical debates are resolved) when we clear the facts. In particular, the following facts may be relevant in the debate about Capital Punishment (that is, sometimes people change their minds when they discover this sort of facts)
A) how likely it is that a convicted murderer, if not executed, may be released and commit more crimes.
B) how many innocent people are killed when we have CP;
C) do we administer it fairly (do poor people and members of minorities are as likely to be executed as rich white folks);
D) how much more expensive is CP comparing to the life in prison; E) they are all relevant
We spent quite a while talking about this issue. Also, see what John Paul Stevens says in the essay inked to the notes.
7) Ethical absolutists believe that
A) correct moral rules are extremely simple, they allow for no exceptions
B) correct moral rules can be complex but they apply to all similarly situated people;
C) people never differ in their opinions about morality
D) all of the above; E) none of the above
See previous reviews. Specifically, when Rachels discusses the Baby Theresa case, he argues that "the norm prohibiting killing is very strong but not abolute. Also, the parents in Mary-Jodie case seemed absolutists about the rule prohibiting killing.
8) Every ethical universalists must believe that
A) correct moral rules are extremely simple
--> B) some basic moral rules, however complex they are, apply to all similarly situated people
C) people never differ in their opinions about morality
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above.
9) Every ethical universalists must believe that
A) correct moral principles are easy to discover;
B) we have already discovered correct moral principles;
C) each culture knows what the correct moral principles are ;
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above
See the notes.
10) Every form of ethical universalism is incompatible with
A) Ethical absolutism;
B) Ethical Relativism
C) Utilitarianism;
D) Deontology
E) none of the above
11) Abortion is condemned as immoral in Catholic Ireland but is practiced as a morally neutral form of birth control in Japan. According to the ethical relativist
--> A) abortion is wrong in Ireland but morally permissible Japan;
B) abortion is wrong both in Ireland and Japan;
C) abortion is right both in Ireland and Japan;
D) it's impossible to tell whether abortion is right or wrong; E) none of the above.
12) The same example. According to Ethical Universalism
A) abortion is wrong in Ireland but morally permissible Japan;
--> B) abortion is either wrong both in Ireland and in Japan or right both in Ireland and in Japan, provided that people in these societies are in similar circumstances;
C) it's impossible to tell whether abortion is right or wrong; D) none of the above.
13) Suppose that two cultures fundamentally disagree about morality. According to cultural relativism
A) each culture is correct;
B) at most one culture is correct;
C) no culture is correct;
D) none of the above.
14) According to one argument for CER, Relativism is true because there are no clear ways to justify ethical views and resolve ethical disagreements. In class, Stefan
A) accepted this argument;
B) rejected this argument on the ground that ethics has nothing to do with justification;
C) rejected this argument on the grounds that, in fact, we know how to argue about morality and, furthermore, frequently different ethical theories and principles imply the same ethical assessment of various cases;
D) none of the above.
I introduced in class various justificatory procedures. In particular, I stressed we must be clear about conceptual differences and facts, and that we must use ethical principles in an impartial way. It is a very important part of my outlook. Once we learn to distinguish various normative systems, and once we clear facts and concepts, we tend to agree.
Also, to clarify, sometimes different ethical theories imply different conclusions about the cases. It seems, however, that it is not too frequent. So, perhaps we can be universalists at least about the core issues.
16) If Cultural Relativism is true, then
A) we must be tolerant are respectful of other cultures;
B) we sometimes may be required to be intolerant and disrespectful of other cultures because our culture may require of us to be intolerant;
C) neither of the above.
Please, read the book. Also, imagine you are a member of a very aggressive and intolerant culture. According to CER, you ought to...
Furthermore
i) If someone proposes tolerance as something we all ought to accept, then someone proposes it as an universal value.
ii) Furthermore, we can only tolerate what we recognize as wrong (e.g., maybe some forms of lies or minor infractions of moral rules). But, if you recognize something as wrong, then you accept some universal norm (about what is wrong).
17) If Cultural Ethical Relativism is true, then
A) moral progress is impossible
B) no person who proposes a moral reform is ever correct
C) we do not have a basis for resolving inter‑cultural conflicts
D) we cannot learn ethics from other cultures that disagree with our moral views
E) all of the above
Check out our notes, a section about problems with relativism.
18) An ethical universalist would likely accept the following
A) sometimes people and culture differ in their opinions about morality;
B) when people and cultures differ in their opinions about morality, then all of them are correct;
C) both A) and B);
D) none of the above.
One of the claims above is simply a description of facts. So, universalist must acknowledge and accept it.
19) Stefan argued in class that
A) someone who is a relativist about one issue (e.g., laws) must be a relativist about all issues (e.g., morality);
B) someone may be a relativist about one issue (e.g., laws) but a non-relativist about other issues (e.g., morality);
C) one must not be a relativist about anything;
D) none of the above.
Recall what I said about laws and the standards of beauty.
20) Rachels argues that
A) no ethical values are universal;
B) some ethical values are universal because things just happen this way;
C) some ethical values are universal because (among other things) a culture could not survive and flourish without accepting those values;
D) none of the above.
He makes this point very clearly in Chapter 2; see also my notes.
What would happen if the culture accepted that we can kill for fun, steal right and left, and lie all the time?
21) Rachels claims that the following may be an universal value that can be used the evaluate various social arrangements and practices
A) the practice is legal;
B) the practice is consistent with the true religion;
C) the practice promotes, rather than hinders, the welfare of the people affected by it
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above
See chapter 2.
22) According to Cultural Relativism, the minority or individuals that reject the views of their culture
A) can never be right about moral matters; people who propose moral reform (change) are always wrong;
B) can sometimes be right about proposing moral reforms;
C) are neither right nor wrong
D) all of the above.
Read the book especially the section where he discusses clitoral excisions and how some people argue in support of this practice.