Review 4
Exactly one answer to each question is best and thus correct.
1) Fundamental ethical principles and standards are supposed to explain what actions (if any) are obligatory, required, permissible, supererogatory, forbidden, and so on
a) true; b) false
2) Some of the fundamental ethical principles are stated in terms of duties (e.g., it is morally right to fulfill one's duty). Ethical theories based on such principles are versions of
a) consequentialism;
b) non‑consequentialism (deontology);
c) impossible to tell.
3) Some of the fundamental ethical principles are stated in terms of bringing about some balance of benefits and harms. Ethical theories based on such principles are versions of
a) consequentialism;
b) non‑consequentialism (deontology);
c) impossible to tell.
4) The following theories are versions of consequentialism
a) ethical egoism only
b) ethical altruism only
c) utilitarianism only
d) any normative theory based on duties or rights
e) ethical egoism, utilitarianism, and altruism.
Ayn Rand maintains what follows:
"The ethics of altruism has created the image of the brute . . . in order to make men accept two inhuman tenets: (a) that any concern with one's own interests is evil, regardless of what these interests might be, and (b) that the brute's activities are in fact to one's own interest (which altruism enjoins man to renounce for the sake of his neighbors) . . . Altruism declares that any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one's own benefit is evil. Thus the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral value‑and so long as that beneficiary is anybody other than oneself, anything goes . . . altruism permits no concept of a self‑respecting. The Objectivist ethics (of egoism) holds that the actor must always be the beneficiary of his action and that man must act for his own rational self‑interest."
5) In the above quote, Ayn Rand juxtaposes (creates a sharp contrast) between
a) ethical egoism and ethical altruism
b) ethical egoism and ethical utilitarianism
c) ethical altruism and utilitarianism
d) all of the above.
6) Ayn Rand
a) rejects the ethics of altruism and accepts the ethics of rational egoism;
b) accepts the ethics of altruism and rejects the ethics of egoism;
c) rejects both the ethics of egoism and the ethics of altruism and accepts some other ethical theory;
d) none of the above.
7) Her reason for rejecting theview she rejects is:
a) it violates the principle of equality;
b) it violates the principle of impartiality;
c) it violates the principle of respect for autonomy
d) it requires of us to always sacrifice ourselves for others;
e) none of the above.
8) False dichotomy (dilemma) arises when
a) arguments presents us with only bad options;
b) the premise of an argument presents us with a choice between two alternatives and assumes that they are exhaustive or exclusive or both when in fact they are not;
c) a) and b);
d) none of the above
9) One possible objection to Ayn Rand's argument is that her argument is based on false dichotomy (dilemma). Namely
A) she falsely assumes that altruism implies that we always ought to sacrifice ourselves for others;
B) she falsely assumes that egoism implies that we never should sacrifice ourselves for others;
C) she ignores a possibility that we should reject both egoism and altruism and accept some other ethical theory
D) all of the above.
10) Rachels and Stefan distinguished two forms of egoism; namely
A) radical egoism and moderate egoism;
B) act egoism and rule egoism;
C) psychological egoism and ethical egoism
D) none of the above
11) The main thesis of psychological egoism is that
A) everyone always acts in his or her own self‑interest
B) everyone always ought to act in his or her own self‑interest
C) both A) and B)
D) none of the above
12) Psychological egoism is a theory about
A) how we act, hence it merely describes our motivations (is part of descriptive ethics);
B) how we ought to act; hence it is part of normative ethics;
C) both A) and B);
D) none of the above
13) The main thesis of ethical egoism is that
A) everyone always acts in his or her own self‑interest
B) everyone always ought to act in his or her own self‑interest
C) both A) and B) ;
D) none of the above
14) Ethical egoism is a theory about
A) how we act, hence it is part of descriptive ethics
B) how we ought to act; hence it is part of normative ethics;
C) both A) and B);
D) none of the above
15) Stef argued in class that
A) psychological egoism is true because we are always motivated by self‑interest;
B) psychological egoism is false because we are sometimes motivated by the interest of others, sense of duty, etc.;
C) it's impossible to tell whether psychological egoism is true or false;
D) none of the above.
16) Suppose that I am always motivated by my desires. It follows that
a) psychological egoism is true;
b) psychological egoism still can be false because my desres may be other-regarding (e.g., I may desire that others do well);
c) both a) and b);
d) none of the above
17) One argument in support of psychological egoism is that we are always motivated by our strongest desire. The following are good objections to this argument:
A) sometimes we are motivated by something else than desires (e.g., by a sense of duty)
B) even when we are motivated by our desires, those may be other‑regarding desires (e.g., desires to help others);
C) some of our actions are done is a spontaneous way;
D) A) and B)
E) all of the above.
18) One of the arguments in support of ethical egoism assumes what follows "the best way to promote everyone's interest is for each of us to adopt the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively." The following are good objections to this argument:
A) it's not really an argument for ethical egoism for, ultimately, it assumes that we ought to promote everyone's interest;
b) it's not true that when we pursue our own interest only, then it always lead to fulfilling the interests of all;
c) both a) and b);
d) none of the above
19) The following are good examples of the rules of common sense morality (offered by Rachels and Stefan in class):
A) tell the truth and do not deceive;
B) keep promises;
C) avoid harming others
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
20) Some people argue that Ethical Egoism and the Common Sense Morality go hand in hand (or, rather, like a hand in a glove) because following rules of Common Sense Morality is always beneficial to the agent. Rachels rejects this argument on the ground that sometimes it is not advantageous to the agent to follow the rules of common sense morality;
A) true; B) false
21) Rachels claims that Racism and Sexism are most similar to
A) ethical altruism;
B) utilitariansim;
C) ethical egoism;
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above
22) Rachels argues that
A) egoism satisfies the principle of impartiality, and so it's a good theory;
B) egoism satisfies the principle of impartiality, and so it's a bad theory;
C) egoism fails to satisfy the principle of impartiality, and so it's a good theory;
D) egoism fails to satisfy the principle of impartiality, and so it's a very serious problem for this theory.
Answers and hints:
1) Fundamental ethical principles and standards are supposed to explain what actions (if any) are obligatory, required, permissible, supererogatory, forbidden, and so on
---> a) true;
b) false
That's what they do. You can tell it by their very form; namely, they are formulated as follows "An act, A, is morally M (e.g., morally right, wrong, supererogatory, etc.) if and only if ________." That is every time (no exceptions) whenever ______ occures (is satisfied), the act, A, has that moral status M.
2) Some of the fundamental ethical principles are stated in terms of duties. Ethical theories based on such principles are versions of
a) consequentialism;
b) non‑consequentialism (deontology);
c) impossible to tell.
This is an important question. We distingushed consequentialism from deontology when we discussed the case of Baby Theresa (Rachels, ch. 1).
Consequentialism has been defined in several outlines; e.g., in this handout: http://ethics.tamucc.edu/prof_ethics_lecture4
Deontology is defined in this handout: http://ethics.tamucc.edu/prof_ethics_lecture5
3) Some of the fundamental ethical principles are stated in terms of bringing about some balance of benefits and harms. Ethical theories based on such principles are versions of
a) consequentialism;
b) non‑consequentialism (deontology);
c) impossible to tell.
See handouts linked to the Question 3.
4) The following theories are versions of consequentialism
a) ethical egoism only
b) ethical altruism only
c) utilitarianism only
d) any normative theory based on duties or rights
e) ethical egoism, utilitarianism, and altruism.
See above.
Ayn Rand maintains what follows:
"The ethics of altruism has created the image of the brute . . . in order to make men accept two inhuman tenets: (a) that any concern with one's own interests is evil, regardless of what these interests might be, and (b) that the brute's activities are in fact to one's own interest (which altruism enjoins man to renounce for the sake of his neighbors) . . . Altruism declares that any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one's own benefit is evil. Thus the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral value‑and so long as that beneficiary is anybody other than oneself, anything goes . . . altruism permits no concept of a self‑respecting. The Objectivist ethics (of egoism) holds that the actor must always be the beneficiary of his action and that man must act for his own rational self‑interest."
5) In the above quote, Ayn Rand juxtaposes (creates a sharp contrast) between
a) ethical egoism and ethical altruism
b) ethical egoism and ethical utilitarianism
c) ethical altruism and utilitarianism
d) all of the above.
The answer is obvious. Please, read the quote above and the lecture notes.
6) Ayn Rand
a) rejects the ethics of altruism and accepts the ethics of rational egoism;
b) accepts the ethics of altruism and rejects the ethics of egoism;
c) rejects both the ethics of egoism and the ethics of altruism and accepts some other ethical theory;
d) none of the above.
See above. Also, please, read Rachels, Ch. 5 ("Ethical Egoism") and my outline about egoism.
7) Rand rejects the view which she rejects because
a) it violates the principle of equality;
b) it violates the principle of impartiality;
c) it violates the principle of respect for autonomy
d) it requires of us to always sacrifice ourselves for others;
e) none of the above.
See above.
8) False dichotomy (dilemma) arises when
a) arguments presents us with only bad options;
b) the premise of an argument presents us with a choice between two alternatives and assumes that they are exhaustive or exclusive or both when in fact they are not;
c) a) and b);
d) none of the above
See above, especially my outline.
9) One possible objection to Ayn Rand's argument is that her argument is based on false dichotomy (dilemma). Namely
A) she falsely assumes that altruism implies that we always ought to sacrifice ourselves for others;
B) she falsely assumes that egoism implies that we never should sacrifice ourselves for others;
C) she ignores a possibility that we should reject both egoism and altruism and accept some other ethical theory (e.g., utilitarianism or some version of non-consequentialism);
D) all of the above.
See readings/outlines mentioned above.
10) Rachels and Stefan distinguished two forms of egoism; namely
A) radical egoism and moderate egoism;
B) act egoism and rule egoism;
C) psychological egoism and ethical egoism
D) none of the above
Read Rachels, Chapter 5, and my outline about egoism.
11) The main thesis of psychological egoism is that
A) everyone always acts in his or her own self‑interest
B) everyone always ought to act in his or her own self‑interest
C) both A) and B)
D) none of the above
Read Rachels, Chapter 5, and my outline about egoism.
12) Psychological egoism is a theory about
A) how we act, hence it is part of descriptive ethics
B) how we ought to act; hence it is part of normative ethics;
C) both A) and B);
D) none of the above
Read Rachels, Chapter 5, and my outline about egoism.
13) The main thesis of ethical egoism is that
A) everyone always acts in his or her own self‑interest
B) everyone always ought to act in his or her own self‑interest
C) both A) and B) ;
D) none of the above
Read Rachels, Chapter 5, and my outline about egoism.
14) Ethical egoism is a theory about
A) how we act, hence it is part of descriptive ethics
B) how we ought to act; hence it is part of normative ethics;
C) both A) and B);
D) none of the above
Read Rachels, Chapter 5, and my outline about egoism.
15) Stef argued in class that
A) psychological egoism is true because we are always motivated by self‑interest;
B) psychological egoism is false because we are sometimes motivated by the interest of others, sense of duty, desires concerning others, etc.;
C) it's impossible to tell whether psychological egoism is true or false;
D) none of the above.
I argued in teh same way Rachels argues in our textbook, Chapter 5. See also my outline about egoism.
16) Suppose that if I am motivated by my desires. It follows that
a) psychological egoism is true;
b) psychological egoism still can be false because my desres may be other-regarding (e.g., I may desire that others do well);
c) both a) and b);
d) none of the above
Read Rachels, Chapter 5, and my outline about egoism.
17) One argument in support of psychological egoism is that we are always motivated by our strongest desire. The following are good objections to this argument:
A) sometimes we are motivated by something else than desires (e.g., by a sense of duty)
B) even when we are motivated by our desires, those may be other‑regarding desires (e.g., desires to help others);
C) some of our actions are done is a spontaneous way;
D) A) and B)
---> E) all of the above.
18) One of the arguments in support of ethical egoism assumes what follows "the best way to promote everyone's interest is for each of us to adopt the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively." The following are good objections to this argument:
A) it's not really an argument for ethical egoism for, ultimately, it assumes that we ought to promote everyone's interest;
b) it's not true that when we pursue our own interest only, then it always lead to fulfilling the interests of all;
c) both a) and b);
d) none of the above
What Rachels says in chapter 5, see also my outline about egoism.
19) The following are good examples of the rules of common sense morality (offered by Rachels and Stefan in class):
A) tell the truth and do not deceive;
B) keep promises;
C) avoid harming others
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Read Rachels, Chapter 5, and my outline about egoism.
20) Some people argue that Ethical Egoism and the Common sense Morality go hand in hand (or, like a hand in a glove) because following rules of Common sense morality is always beneficial to the agent. Rachels rejects this argument on the ground that sometimes it is not advantageous to the agent to follow the rules of common sense morality;
A) true; B) false
Consider an example. Suppose I can steal my neighbor's beautiful rag and take it with me when I am moving abroad. They will never be able to catch me or even find out who did it. So, I can easily get away with this theft. Suppose also that having this rag is most beneficial to me. What should I do, according to ethical egoism? What should I do according to the rules of commionsense morality (which obviously includes the rule generally prohibitting stealing)?
21) Rachels claims that Racism and Sexism are most similar to
A) ethical altruism;
B) utilitariansim;
C) ethical egoism;
D) all of the above;
E) none of the above.
He thinks that Racism and Sexism (and other forms of "tribalism') violate the principle of impartiality which he defines as a requirement to treat similar interests similarly, without favoring anyone.
22) Rachels argues that
A) egoism satisfies the principle of impartiality, and so it's a good theory;
B) egoism satisfies the principle of impartiality, and so it's a bad theory;
C) egoism fails to satisfy the principle of impartiality, and so it's a good theory;
D) egoism fails to satisfy the principle of impartiality, and so it's a very serious problem for this theory.
I hope the answer is by now obvious.