Ethical Analysis of Issues Part 1

Question 1

The belief that all moral obligations originate from God is known as the __________ ____________ theory

Answer 1

Divine command.

Question 2

The Divine Command Theory can be described as a member of a group of moral theories called moral ______________.

Answer 2

Objectivism. Moral objectivism contends that moral judgments are objectively true or objectively false. Therefore, “Thou shall not kill” under the divine command theory is objectively true since God’s law prohibits killing. This would be objectively false if God’s law did not prohibit it.

Question 3

There are 2 versions of the divine command theory; the first is that moral rights and wrongs are ______________ of God’s will and the other is that morality is logically linked to God’s will and so God’s commands make things right or wrong.

Answer 3

Independent. In other words, actions are right or wrong in spite of God’s commands, so for example, murder is wrong because it is wrong rather than because God stated it is wrong

Question 4

The Ten Commandments can be described as the Judea-Christian religious moral code that governs the actions between individuals and between individuals and ______.

Answer 4

God. The first four commandments relate to the actions of individuals and God, whereas the other six govern the relations between individuals.

Question 5

The Commandments that concern the relations between people and God include the requirements to believe in the one true God, not to have a graven image of God, not take the name of God in vain, and to retain the ___________ day as holy to perform good deeds.

Answer 5

Sabbath. The source for this is that God created the Earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th. God intended that the people spend this day in prayer and contemplation of religion, and the execution of good deeds.

Question 6

The commandments that one shall honor their mother and father, not kill, commit ___________, steal, bear false witness against your neighbor, or covet the property of others govern the behavior of people towards one another.

Answer 6

Adultery. This commandment is intended to protect the bond and fidelity of the family. It is a challenge to individuals to resist carnal temptations.

Question 7

The Book of ___________ lays down the moral laws and punishments relating to personal injury, property damage, trusts and loans, and social laws.

Answer 7

Exodus. These are some of the laws contained in the Book of Exodus.

Question 8

In the New Testament, Jesus advises us to follow the __________ Rule, which states that you should do unto others as you would have them do to you.

Answer 8

Golden. This is what is stated in the Golden Rule and is a central tenet of morality

Question 9

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphasized that inward ___________ matters far more than strict observance of the outward signs and rituals which people perform to obtain social favor.

Answer 9

Purity. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ appears not so much to have changed the Law as to have extended it to matters internal and spiritual.

Question 10

Jesus states that we should love God above all others and then we should love our ____________ as much as we love ourselves.

Answer 10

Neighbors. Humans are formed in the image of God and hence we all deserve love. So, we should treat our neighbors in a way appropriate to those we love, as opposed to hatred or indifference.

Question 11

There are 2 main problems with the divine command theory: 1) not everyone believes in God’s ____________ and 2) the determination of precisely what God’s law consists of.

Answer 11

Existence. Not everyone believes that God exists and hence this theory can be undermined by atheists and agnostics.

Question 12

One of the roles the prophets undertook in the Bible was to ___________ the oppressors of the people and to comfort the victims.

Answer 12

Condemn. For example, the prophet Nathan condemns King David for an act of injustice.

Question 13

In the Bible, the prophets Amos and Micah both warned Israel of God’s _____________.

Answer 13

Judgment. God’s message to Israel was that He was great in mercy to those who feared Him and terrible in vengeance to those who would not.

Question 14

The type of justice meted out in the Bible is mainly ______________.

Answer 14

Retributive. Most of the laws impose a retributive penalty on the wrongdoer. For example, in Exodus, it is said “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth…”

Question 15

Throughout the Bible, we find that God occasionally killed or caused to be killed merciful kings or soldiers who spared people whom God wanted _____________.

Answer 15

Punished. Retributive justice is a recurring theme throughout the Bible.

Question 16

The three parables of the Good Samaritan, the rich fool, and the rich man and Lazarus show that wealth and property should be ___________.

Answer 16

Shared. In the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan utilizes his possessions and money to aid the injured man. In the rich fool, the rich man accumulated wealth for himself and was not rich towards God. This indicates a criticism that he did not share it with others. In the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man is described as having an opulent life which he does not share with the poor.

Question 17

In the matter of love, the Bible states that the greatest is love of God and that we should love our neighbors and ___________ as well.

Answer 17

Enemies. This is what is stated in the Bible: “To you who hear me, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…” It articulates the position that love is a very important aspect of morality.

Question 18

The concept of the covenant in relation to the Bible indicates an agreement between an individual and God, with blessings in exchange for _____________.

Answer 18

Obedience. The basis for obeying God is set out by Moses in Deuteronomy 27:9-10. Being the people of God carries with it the responsibility of obeying God. Individuals obey God. We are not equal with God and therefore, individuals should submit to him.

Question 19

Among other things, the writings of Paul promote celibacy for singles, marriage, fidelity, and above all else _______.

Answer 19

Love. This is the key moral principle espoused by Paul in his writings.

Question 20

St. _____________ was a theologian and philosopher who taught that the desire for happiness was the basis of philosophy.

Answer 20

Augustine. He was a great defender of the Christian Church against heretics. Augustine believed that in order to be happy, one had to grow in the knowledge of God.

Question 21

The ______________ believe that each person must choose their own way without the guidance of universal, objective standards.

Answer 21

Existentialists. There are two types of Existentialism, Theistic and Atheistic Existentialism. The first believes that God created us but then left us on our own, and the second believes that there is no God. Existentialists believe that there are no universal rules for right and wrong; there is full freedom in making your own choices, though you must take all responsibility and risk for your actions.

Question 22

The Principle of _____________ allows for killing people in cases of self-defense or when that person has threatened the life of someone else.

Answer 22

Forfeiture. According to the Principle of Forfeiture, anyone who threatens the life of an innocent person forfeits his or her own right to live. The Principle of Forfeiture can be extended to cover a defensive war or capital punishment of a murderer. It does not allow for the killing of one-self or the invasion of innocent countries which have not threatened anyone.

Question 23

Epictetus is an ancient Hellenic philosopher who believed that happiness in life could be attained by living a ____________ life according to Nature.

Answer 23

Virtuous. Epictetus was a Stoic Philosopher who believed that only virtues and virtuous activities are good, and that the only evil is vice and actions motivated by vice. The pursuit of wealth and pleasure, for example, cannot be considered virtues because they may not necessarily be good for everyone and hence would be against Nature.

Question 24

The moral teachings of Epictetus stress the fundamental rule that we must understand that some things are within our ____________ and some things are not.

Answer 24

Control. Epictetus believed that through this understanding, we could attain inner peace and external effectiveness.

Question 25

The three key areas of study according to Epictetus are the discipline of assent, the discipline of __________, and the discipline of action.

Answer 25

Desire. Desire must be managed and kept in check. It is pointless to pursue goals which are outside of your control as it will only lead to disappointment.

Question 26

__________ ______ theorists believe that all species, including humans, have an inherent nature demonstrated by typical characteristics of behavior that are normal for that species.

Answer 26

Natural law. This is what these theorists believe and critics of this theory doubt that our nature can provide moral guidance, as that which is natural may not necessarily be good and right.

Question 27

According to Hinduism, virtuous acts will benefit us by ensuring a favorable _________.

Answer 27

Rebirth. Hinduism believes in transmigration of souls, and that how a person lives determines how that person will be reborn in their next life.

Question 28

St. Thomas Aquinas was a 13th Century philosopher who believed that God’s will is affected by __________ and therefore natural law can be considered a guide for human social conduct that is not based on revelations.

Answer 28

Reason. Aquinas believed that God did not just will anything without reason but based his decisions on it.

Question 29

According to Aquinas, in order to determine whether an act is good or evil, one must look to the ___________ of the act, and actions are good if they promote the purpose of God and His honor.

Answer 29

Result. This is what Aquinas believed to be a fair way of assessing goodness or evil.

Question 30

Aquinas believed that ____________ Law, from which ethical norms are derived, originates from a holistic understanding of the nature of humans in the context of the universe, and because humans have a rational nature, their morality is driven by reason.

Answer 30

Natural.

Question 31

According to Aquinas, a war is _______ if it is declared by a competent authority, is for a just cause, is fought with the right intentions, has a reasonable chance of success, is fought as a last resort, and is proportional to the provocation.

Answer 31

Just. Saint Thomas Aquinas believed that not all war was wrong and that if a war met certain criteria (just war tradition), it was justified.

Question 32

Thomas Hobbes was a 17th Century philosopher whose __________ __________ theory is based upon self-interest.

Answer 32

Social contract. Hobbes believed that in their natural state, without government or social order, humans would be in a state of constant war. The social contract theory states that humans entered into a social contract, surrendering their natural liberties in exchange for the order and safety provided by their government.

Question 33

Hobbes, Rousseau, and ________ were similar in their ideas of a Social Contract which was the basis of all civilization.

Answer 33

Locke.

Question 34

Although Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke were similar in their ideas of a social contract, they were very different in their ideas on the original ________ _____ ___________.

Answer 34

State of Nature. Thomas Hobbes described the state of nature as a ceaseless war of all against all because there is neither law nor morality to restrain the strong from preying on the weak.

Rousseau believed that because of the small population and abundance of resources it was a peaceful and non-competitive time, and according to Locke it was a relatively peaceful time full of freedom restrained only by our moral boundaries.

Question 35

Hobbes believed that virtues such as modesty and equity promoted social ___________ but he also argued that such virtues would also eventually serve the self-interest of individuals since they bring benefits to the possessor of such virtues as well as the recipients.

Answer 35

Harmony. Virtuous acts promote social harmony because their characteristics benefit both the possessor of those virtues and the recipients of the virtuous acts.

Question 36

According to Thomas Hobbes, the passions that incline men to _______ are fear of death, desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living, and a hope by their industry to obtain them.

Answer 36

Peace.

Question 37

Hobbes believed the most pervasive right is that of ______ ______________.

Answer 37

Self preservation. Hobbes believed that a person may do whatever is necessary to save his life and to obtain the means to live.

Question 38

According to ________ ___________, it is always acceptable to do what we believe to be in our own self-interest.

Answer 38

Moral egoism. Also sometimes called “ethical egoism”.

Question 39

Locke theorized that in the natural state, degeneration into Hobbesian anarchy would be avoided since individuals possess the capacity to __________ and hence comprehend the self-evident Natural Laws by prosecuting those who refuse to obey it.

Answer 39

Reason. Locke believed that since humans can reason, they can deduce the Natural Laws and hence have an independent responsibility to enforce them.

Question 40

Locke believed that our ideas and knowledge are limited in certainty and scope because they are all derived from _______________.

Answer 40

Experience. Locke believed that our ideas are sourced from our experiences which consist of primary and secondary elements. For example, a primary element of a flower is the size of the flower, whereas the secondary element is its fragrance.

Question 41

According to Locke, an individual property interest can be obtained through an investment of ________.

Answer 41

Labor. This answer is best explained through an example. An individual locates an unoccupied bare piece of land. He then tills the land, plants crops and builds a house. By investing his energy he has extended his personal bodily property to include that piece of land.

Question 42

Locke felt that individuals consent to their society being politically governed by majority rule, with unhappy citizens retaining a permanent right to _________.

Answer 42

Revolt. Locke believed that any correctly formed society would possess this right.

Question 43

According to Locke, the primary objective of the social contract is the protection of ___________ ____________.

Answer 43

Private property. Locke believed that the primary reason men leave the state of nature and enter into civil society is to obtain protection of life, liberty and property.

Question 44

Immanuel Kant’s general theory on ethics was that humans are subject to hypothetical and ______________ imperatives, of which the latter binds us morally into acting in a particular manner.

Answer 44

Categorical. The categorical imperative binds rational human beings to act in a moral way, simply because we are rational beings. For example, when we are deciding how to act in a particular situation, we must ask whether we would be prepared for every person to follow that rule all the time – thereby making it a ‘universal law’. If yes, then the act is allowable. If no, then the act is morally wrong.

He states in his writings, “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity… never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end”, meaning that we must never consider people as a resource to be used to get what we want. If a law is not universal, you will be treating the other people as a means to your ends, which is against Kant’s ideology.

Question 45

Kant’s Hypothetical imperatives are conditional on ________ __________ and hence do not morally bind us.

Answer 45

Human desire. This reason is best explained through an example. I will read books on chess because I want to learn to play chess. Remove the desire and there will be no imperative; it is conditional.

Question 46

Kant believed that the universal laws and moral rules within it were ___________, regardless of the circumstances.

Answer 46

Absolute. This was what Kant believed. For example, he thought that lying was always wrong, regardless of the circumstances. He believed that as rational human beings, we would not want to ever lie, as this would be a breach of the universal law derived from the categorical imperative, which in turn would be self-defeating.

Question 47

Kant’s belief in absolute rules can be challenged on the grounds that for any action, there may be more than one _______ that could be followed.

Answer 47

Rule. It can be argued that a person could be faced with various rules in determining what action to take in a particular scenario. Some of these rules can be universalized whereas others cannot. Therefore, utilizing the universal law test is not satisfactory in assisting us to determine whether an act is permissible or not.

Question 48

_______ believed that when we act, the morality of our actions depends on our intentions, rather than the results of our actions.

Answer 48

Kant. Kant believed that the morality of an action should be judged by the motivation behind the act since we do not have control over the outcome of our actions. He said that the only thing that is unconditionally good is good will.

Question 49

The central concept in Kant’s theory is that __________ is the key in making moral judgments and these moral rules are consistently binding on everyone all the time.

Answer 49

Reason. Kant believed that moral judgments must be supported by rational decisions, so there should be a reason why you should or should not act in a particular way.

Question 50

Kant created the second formulation for the Categorical Imperative and called it the “Respect for Persons”, by declaring that humans had an ____________ worth and so could not be manipulated or used merely as a means to an end.

Answer 50

Intrinsic. Kant felt that humans had dignity and had to be respected with the capability to reason, since they represented rational moral law itself.

Question 51

John Rawls was a philosopher who utilized hypothetical social contracts to describe the Original Position where humans would be behind a ______ ___ ___________ to ensure impartiality in the creation of moral principles.

Answer 51

Veil of ignorance. In the Original Position, humans would not know information about themselves that could be advantageous or disadvantageous. For example, they would now know their social status or race and they would not have yet joined any societal groups. This is the description of the veil of ignorance and ensures that moral rules created are fair to all since the individuals do not know what position they are in and cannot be biased in making the rules.

Question 52

According to Rawls, self-interested individuals in the Original Position behind the veil of ignorance would want ____________ equality unless some inequality would be beneficial to all.

Answer 52

Economic. Due to the veil of ignorance, these individuals would want economic equality since they may lose out if they are at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Question 53

Rawls believed that economic inequality would lead to _______-like behavior.

Answer 53

Vice. Economic inequality would result in vices such as envy in those deprived individuals and arrogance in those who are successful.

Question 54

The beliefs of Martin Luther King had a profound impact on the psyche of the American people, particularly in the time of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, when he preached for _____-__________ protest against racial discrimination.

Answer 54

Non-violent. Non-violence is the cornerstone of King’s philosophy. He believed that this would achieve equal rights for the black people of America

Question 55

In 1963, Martin Luther King was arrested in _______________ and spent 11 days in jail for demonstrating without a permit.

Answer 55

Birmingham. It was during this time that King wrote the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Question 56

The purpose of King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail was to respond to criticism by white ____________ leaders to King’s boycott of stores in Birmingham.

Answer 56

Religious. In 1963, Martin Luther King organized a boycott of white stores in Birmingham, Alabama. Eight top religious leaders of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish churches issued a statement criticizing the boycott.

Question 57

Martin Luther King stated in his Birmingham Jail letter that his greatest stumbling block was not the KKK but the white _____________ who is more devoted to order than to justice.

Answer 57

Moderate.

Question 58

According to Martin Luther King, the ___________ law is no law at all and should not be obeyed.

Answer 58

Unjust. In King’s letter from the Birmingham Jail, he said that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Question 59

Martin Luther King believed that the central, universal, and inalienable human right we all posses was the right to __________.

Answer 59

Justice. King believed that God’s law is higher than civil law and that the right to justice is a moral right entitled to all. In this particular situation, the US government had promised equality but had not delivered it to the blacks. King believed that justice would inevitably arrive.

Question 60

Rousseau was an 18th Century philosopher who influenced the American _____________ with his theory of the social contract whereby governments are given the right to rule society in exchange for protecting the rights and equality of all citizens, and if they fail to do so, then the contract is breached and the people have the right to replace the rulers.

Answer 60

Revolution. His writings were powerful in convincing the people of their rights to good government and civil revolution where necessary to bring about this change. The outcome of the American revolution was essentially a constitutional contract stating the rights and freedoms of the people to be governed.

Question 61

____________ is not a philosophy that tells you how you should live your life; it merely states that our moral judgements express our feelings.

Answer 61

Emotivism. Emotivism says that there are no moral truths and that statements like “abortion is wrong” or “lying is always wrong” merely state our feelings about lying or abortion and can’t be true or false.

Question 62

Epicurus was a Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a form of ___________.

Answer 62

Hedonism. Hedonists believe that happiness can be attained by maximizing pleasures and minimizing pains. He did not believe in a life without restraint; instead, he believed that “the greatest good is prudence,” because self-restraint allows us to live a pleasant life.

Question 63

Epicurus taught that true happiness comes from a life of _____________ and moderation devoted to health and peace of mind.

Answer 63

Simplicity. Although Epicurus is one of the most famous hedonists, he believed that tranquility and serenity were the greatest pleasures available.

Question 64

Epicurus believed that there were two types of pleasure and pain; namely, the physical and the __________.

Answer 64

Mental. Examples of mental pleasures were acquiring knowledge or listening to music – these also appealed to the senses. Mental pain included various types of fear.