Exam 1

Question 1

Act-Utilitarianism

Answer 1

The view that the rightness of actions depend solely on the relative goof produced by the relative good produced by individual actions.

Question 2

Consequentialist Theory

Answer 2

A moral theory asserting that the rightness of actions depend solely on the consequences or results.

Question 3

Contractarianism

Answer 3

Moral or political theories based on the idea of a social contract or agreement among individuals for mutual advantage.

Question 4

Deontological (nonconsequentialist) Theory

Answer 4

A moral theory asserting that the rightness of actions is determined partly entirely by their intrinsic nature.

Question 5

Doctrine of Double Effect

Answer 5

The principle that performing a bad action to bring about a good effect is never morally acceptable, but performing a good action may sometimes be acceptable even if it produces a bad effect.

Question 6

Moral Theory

Answer 6

An explanation of why an action is right or wrong or why a person or a person’s character is good or bad.

Question 7

Natural Law Theory

Answer 7

Natural Law Theory

Question 8

Rule-Utilitarianism

Answer 8

The view that a right action is one that conforms to a rule that, if followed consistently, would create for everyone involved the most beneficial balance of good over bad.

Question 9

Utilitarianism

Answer 9

The view that right actions are those that result in the most beneficial balance of good over bad consequences for everyone involved.

Question 10

Virtue Ethics

Answer 10

A moral theory that focuses on development of virtuous character. Will this make me a better, more virtuous person?

Question 11

Moral theories that concentrate on right and wrong actions are known as theories of obligation are called what?

Answer 11

Theories of right action

Question 12

What are some examples of theories of right action?

Answer 12

Divine command theory and utilitarianism.

Question 13

What are moral theories that focus on good and persons or character?

Answer 13

Virtue based theories

Question 14

Who established the classic version of utilitarianism?

Answer 14

Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher.

Question 15

Who later modified utilitarianism?

Answer 15

John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher.

Question 16

How did Bentham define happiness?

Answer 16

He believed that it was one-dimensional; it is pleasure, pure and simple, something that varies only in the amount that an agent can experience.

Question 17

How did Mill define happiness?

Answer 17

He said that pleasures can vary in quality as well as quantity. There are lower and higher pleasures, higher ones being the search for knowledge and the appreciation of art and music.

Question 18

How did Mill define happiness?

Answer 18

He said that pleasures can vary in quality as well as quantity. There are lower and higher pleasures, higher ones being the search for knowledge and the appreciation of art and music.

Question 19

What is Mill’s famous quote?

Answer 19

“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”

Question 20

Who established Kantian ethics?

Answer 20

Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher.

Question 21

What are Kantian ethics?

Answer 21

It is a deontological theory, stating that the core of morality consists in following a rational and universally applicable moral rule and doing so solely out of sesnse of duty; all of out moral duties are expressed in categorical imperatives.

Question 22

What are categorical imperatives?

Answer 22

What are categorical imperatives?

Question 23

What are categorical imperatives?

Answer 23

What are categorical imperatives?

Question 24

What is a hypothetical imperative?

Answer 24

It is a command to do something if we want to acheive particular aims.

Question 25

Who is one of the primary supports/religious formulators of the natural law theory?

Answer 25

Thomas Aquinas, a theologian-philosopher in the Roman Catholic Church.

Question 26

Who established the most influential contemporary form of contractarianism?

Answer 26

John Rawls, who uses the notion of a social contract to generate and defend moral principles governing how members of a society should treat one another.

Question 27

Who established virtue ethics?

Answer 27

Aristotle

Question 28

What is ethics of care?

Answer 28

Shifts the focus from the unique demands of a specific situation and to the virtues and feelings that are central to close personal relationships - empathy, compassion, love, sympathy, and fidelity.

Question 29

What is ethics of care?

Answer 29

Shifts the focus from the unique demands of a specific situation and to the virtues and feelings that are central to close personal relationships - empathy, compassion, love, sympathy, and fidelity.

Question 30

What are feminist ethics?

Answer 30

An approach to morality aimed at advancing women’s interests and correcting injustices inflicted on women through social oppression and inequality.

Question 31

What are the criteria for juding moral theories, according to the criteria of adequacy?

Answer 31

1. Consistency with out considered moral judgments.
2. Consistency with the facts of moral life.
3. Resourcefulness in moral problem solving