Final Flashcards
1
Q
Morality of selfishness. Each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively.
A
Ethical Egoism
2
Q
Selfless concern for the well being of others.
A
Altruism
3
Q
3 Arguments for Egoism
A
- Altruism is Self-Defeating
- Selfishness is a virtue; altruism is destructive
- compatible with Commonsense Moraltiy
4
Q
Altruism is self-defeating:
A
- we can’t choose for others
- minding another’s business is invading their privacy
- charity degrades and dehumanizes people
5
Q
3 Arguments against Egoism
A
- Endorses Wickedness
- logically Inconsistent
- Unacceptably Arbitrary
6
Q
The agreement among individuals by which society becomes organized and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare.
A
Social Contract Theory
7
Q
An agreement among the members of an organized society or between the governed and the government defining and limiting the rights and duties of each.
A
Social Contract Theory
8
Q
An agreement, entered into by individuals that results in the formation of the state or of organized society, the prime motive being the the desire for protection
A
Social Contract Theory
9
Q
- No morality exists
- Everyone lives in constant fear
- No one is truly free due to fear
- All men are equal
A
Hobbes- State of Nature
10
Q
Facts about human life that leads Hobbes’ sate of nature:
A
- Equality of need
- Scarcity of resources
- Equality of human power
- Limited altruism
11
Q
It is in one’s best interest to act according to both one’s interest as well as to the group— cooperating will get both of you a better result that you would without cooperating.
A
Prisoner’s Dilemma
12
Q
Hobbes’ sea monster allegory for monarchy. (Govt should scare ppl to do what’s right)
A
Leviathan
13
Q
Why does Hobbes believe in Monarchy?
A
He believes governments are designed to control, not represent.
One guy running government reduces the competing voices of a democracy
14
Q
- Men exist in perfect freedom to do what they want
- state of nature is chaotic
- men give it up to secure the advantages of a civilized society
A
Locke- State of Nature
15
Q
Why does Locke believe in democracy?
A
He believes that governments must be designed to protect people from the government.
-natural rights must be secured
16
Q
Men in a state of nature are free and equal. Men are “Noble Savages”, civilization corrupted him.
A
Rousseau- State of Nature
17
Q
Why does Rousseau believe in Direct Democracy?
A
Rousseau believes:
- representation is not enough
- citizens cannot delegate their civic duties, they must be actively involved
18
Q
- greatest for the greatest
- producing the most happiness and the least unhappiness
- benefits to the greater good
A
Utilitarianism
19
Q
- all life aims at happiness
- happiness consists in “repose”
- avoiding pain, physical and psychological
- **high pleasures vs low pleasures
A
Epicureanism
20
Q
- all life aims at happiness
- happiness consists in maximizing pleasure
- avoiding pain, physical and psychological
- **no distinction between high and low pleasures
A
Hedonism
21
Q
actions or behaviors are right as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain
A
Principle of utility
22
Q
an action is right as it maximizes utility. moral action ought to bring about the greatest amount of happiness/pleasure for the greatest amount of sentient beings.
A
Greatest happiness principle
23
Q
method of working out the sum total of pleasure and pan produced by an act, and thus the total value of the consequences.
A
Hedonic Calculus
24
Q
-est laws that respect choices that hurt no one other than self
-maximizing pleasure is good
-leaves out ref of God
_simplicity intuitive- (seek pleasure,not pain
A
Appeals of Utilitarianism
25
- fails to respect the dignity and rights of individuals (is "the greater good" more valuable than inalienable rights?")
- predicting an outcome is complicated & rarely certain
Criticisms of Utilitarianism
26
Utilitarian View of Euthanasia
utilitarians supports euthanasia in cases that it produces the greatest balance of happiness over unhappiness.
27
Utilitarian View on Marijuana
since marijuana maximizes pleasure, utilitarians believe weed to have more pros than cons
28
Utilitarian View of Nonhuman animals
speciesism is discrimination against other species, similar to racism
29
Animals are human enough for human medical research but not human enough to have the same rights humans have
Paradox of human research of animals
30
Priority to the individual
Individual takes priority over the group
31
Autonomy Principle
Right to self govern
32
States may legitimately provide police, courts, and military. Nothing more.
Minimal State Theory
33
Laissez-faire Economy
Hands off Government
34
Is offense a form of harm?
No
35
Negative Liberty
Freedom from govt regulation or interference
| Freedom from harm or theft
36
Positive Liberty
Right to not suffer inequality (right to freedom, happiness, ect)
37
In Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail
Reveals that if a contract is not upheld on both ends, one can refuse to abide by contract.
38
True or False: Jeremy Bentham, the right thing to do is to focus on the act and not the consequences.
False
39
The virtue of selfishness was written by
Ayn Rand
40
Was used to illustrate the difference between an offensive act, and an act that is truly not harmful
"A ride on the bus" by Joel Feinburg
41
actions are products of environmental conditioning
behavioral determinism
42
actions are products of biological makeup
genetic determinism
43
actions are products of unconscious mental process
psychological determinism
44
"self-law," deciding for oneself how to live
autonomy
45
unbiased; objective; not giving special treatment
impartiality
46
In the section on "Baby Theresa," those in favor of ending Baby Theresa's life appealed to which moral principle?
utilitarian/benefits principle
47
During a recent presidential debate, Candidate A stated his plan to implement universally free public college. Candidate B responded by saying, "What Candidate A is saying, essentially, is that we should be a welfare nation, always giving handouts to all of our citizens without asking "what can you do for the nation." What fallacy has Candidate committed?
straw man fallacy
48
In chapter 1, James Rachels writes, [-------] is the effort to guide one's conduct by reason-that is, to do what there are the best reasons for doing-while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual affected by one's decision. He is explaining:
minimum conception of morality
49
In our first unit, we looked at four cases in which an infant was either actively killed or passively allowed to die. Which of the following cases is an example of "passive euthanasia?"
baby doe
50
This moral theory claims that what is good and moral is what is commanded by God (or the gods) to be good:
divine command theory
51
Ruth Benedict once declared, "morality differs in every society, and is a convenient term for socially approved habits." Ruth Benedict is a:
cultural relativist
52
Attacking the arguer rather than taking issue with the argument is referred to as what fallacy?
Ad Hominem
53
Which of the following is NOT and argument against cultural relativism?
relativism relies on an objective moral standard
54
What was the point of Herodotus' story about the Callatians and the Greeks different views regarding proper funerary practices?
to call attention to the vastly different moral customs of two different cultures
55
What is an objective standard of morality?
A moral principle that is true for all people in all places
56
While discussing Albert Camus' Myth of Sisyphus, we looked at the issue of suicide for the purpose of:
providing that we are free humans capable of choosing our own ends
57
In the wake of the most recent school shooting, many people have suggested tightening the restrictions on gun laws- for example, prohibiting the sale of automatic weapons. Republican presidential candidate X claimed: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people, and if they pass laws to restrict our gun-rights, next thing they'll do is take away our rights to own ammunition, and then guns in general-and then our second amendment right will be stripped from us." What fallacy has Candidate X committed?
slippery slope
58
According to Natural Law Theory:
the world operates according to rational laws, wherein each thing serves a specific purpose
59
When Natural Law theory is applied to morality, the argument states:
What is natural is good; what is unnatural is bad
60
B.F. Skinner was proponent of which form of Determinism?
behavioral determinism
61
According to Psychological Egoism:
all human actions are inherently self-interested
62
According to determinism, if someone steals a computer out of someone else's car, that action would be considered
neither moral nor immoral
63
A method by which psychological egoist describe everything in terms of self-interest., such as when Abe Lincoln helped out a mother and her baby pigs, is referred to as:
reinterpretation of motives
64
Determinism refers to:
People's choices are pre-determined by both internal and external forces, and thus no action is truly free
65
"Are things good because God commands them to be good, or does God command them to be good because they are good?" refer to:
Plato's euthyphro dilemma
66
True or False: Cultural relativism values ethnocentrism
False
67
True or False: One way of determining whether a particular action or institution os moral is to find out whether or not it is legal
False
68
True or False: Every moral position is built upon an underlying moral principle, such as "the principle of autonomy," or "the principle of beneficence."
True
69
True or False: According to cultural relativism, one can condemn deplorable acts, such as child sex slaves, in our cultures
False
70
True or False: According to Divine Command Theory, if God says that it is good to rape children, then we must rape children if we wish to be normal
true
71
True or False: The fundamental point of the Euthyphro dilemma is that morality cannot be based simply on the word of God.
true
72
Utilitarian
Peter Singer
73
Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand
74
Leviathan Monarchy
Thomas Hobbes
75
"A ride on the bus"
Joel Feinberg
76
Democracy
John Locke
77
This is a tool that enables the moral agent to consider the multitude of different variables that one should consider when determining what action to take. It is a tool that weighs the costs and benefits of potential outcomes.
Hedonic calculus
78
Which of the following best describes humans in the "state of nature," according to Thomas Hobbes?
Life is short, nasty, and brutish, and a "war of all against all"
79
Utilitarianism is a normative theory that claims the right thing to do, in any circumstance, is:
Whatever will make everyone affected as happy as possible
80
According to Social Contract Theory, the prisoner's dilemma best helps us understand morality because:
Everyone would do better, in a prisoner's dilemma situation, if people work together and cooperate with one another
81
Which of the following is an example of negative liberty?
the freedom of interference
82
This moral theory claims that all people ought to be selfish; the only moral actions are those that are performed for the sake of one's self-interest
ethical egoism
83
According to Libertarianism, what is the proper role of government?
"The government that governs least, governs best"
84
In "A Ride on a Bus," the author lists a series of offensive acts that occur on a public bus. What is the point of this article?
To illustrate the difference between an offensive act, which is never harmful, and a truly harmful act
85
During the twentieth century, this author set forth a theory called Objectivism, which endorsed the idea of pursuing nothing other than absolute self-interest.
Ayn Rand
86
The Social Contract Theory states that:
Morality consists in the set rules, governing behavior, that rational people will accept, on the condition that others accept them as well
87
A significant aspect of Utilitarianism deals with "sentience". What is sentience?
the ability to feel pain and pleasure
88
Which of the following is NOT a criticism (appeal) of Utilitarianism?
Gives a valid justification for the necessity of taking innocent life
89
What ethical theory does Garrett Hardin most closely align with?
ethical egoism
90
What did Edward Snowden do, which has given rise to him being called both a traitor and a hero?
Revealed the indiscriminate surveillance performed by the NSA on American citizens
91
Which of the following services would be considered unjust according to the "minimal state theory"?
public school
92
Which of the is NOT an appeal ( criticism) of Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism asks us to be equally concerned with all people, showing no preference for family and friends
93
Which of the following is NOT a common criticism of Ethical Egoism?
Ethical Egoism undermines individual rights
94
When considering the issue of torture, a Utilitarian would find it morally forbidden if :
It weakened the laws against torture and led to an increase in inhumane interrogation
95
Michael Levin has a Utilitarian view regarding the use of torture, which states:
Torture is morally permissible if used as a last resort and there is a high expectation that it will prove useful
96
Which of the following best describes humans int he "state of nature," according to John Locke?
Humans are generally self-interested, but are primarily reasonable and according to a "natural law" of morality
97
True or False: Similar to racism, "Speciesism" is the exploitation of nonhuman animals based on the assumption of human superiority
True
98
True or False: Ayn Rand believes that any governmental help for the poor is unjust and a sign of cultural weakness
True
99
True or False: According to Libertarianism, the best type of economy is free-market capitalism
True
100
True or False: Garret Hardin's "Lifeboat Ethics" illustrates how we are obligated to help the poor throughout the world by casting them a "lifeboat."
False
101
True or False: According to John Locke, Martin Luther King, Jr. was justified in his civil disobedience
True
102
True or False: Peter Singer and Garret Hardin basically agree on how to address global poverty, they simply differ on the details
False
103
True or False: Hedonism is the theory that believes in minimizing pain, and therefore abstaining from all drugs and alcohol
False
104
True or False: A utilitarian would agree to return a gun that was borrowed from a friend even if he/she knew their friend was going to kill someone with it.
False
105
True or False: A utilitarian would permit taking an innocent life if it meant that more innocent lives could be saved.
True
