Test 1

Question 1

Utilitarian

Answer 1

The standard of right and wrong is based on whether or not the action will benefit society, even if it does not benefit you. It is the majority that matters, not you.

Question 2

Psychological Egoism

Answer 2

The view that all men are selfish in everything that they do. That is, we can only act in self interest.

Even if it appears that someone is doing something to help someone else, they are really only doing it because they believe that it will benefit them in some way.

Question 3

Metaethics

Answer 3

Analysis of ethical concepts and terms

Question 4

Moral / nonmoral

Answer 4

Moral simply means that it can be evaluated (morally good or bad). Something is nonmoral if it cannot be morally evaluated.

Question 5

Amoral

Answer 5

One who has no sense of morality. Sociopaths and Psychopaths (cannot connect with their victums)

Question 6

moral agent

Answer 6

One who can be held accountable for his actions. The individual is cognitive, his or her actions proceed from forethought, deliberations, and choice.

Question 7

moral patient

Answer 7

Cannot make moral decisions. Ex: Animals/babies

Question 8

Devine Command Theory: what is it? what are it’s weaknesses?

Answer 8

An act is right if and only if your God/Gods approve of it.

Question 9

Ethical Relativism: what is it? what are the two types of ethical relativism? What are its weaknesses?

Answer 9

Denies that there are objective and universal standrds of morality. All morality is relative.

Individual relativism: morality is what each individual takes it to be.

Cultural relativism: There is no independent right or wrong, it is imbedded into each culture. Ex: monogamy here, not in other countries. the ‘norms’ of each society are different.

Weaknesses: acts that are inherently wrong can be justified. Ex: nazi Germany. You cannot criticize any act at any time. This is weak because different social practices should not imply different morals.

Question 10

Two forms of ethical egoism

Answer 10

Individual/personal: Everyone ought to do what is right for himself. it as a normative theory (prescribing how everyone should act)
Psychological: Descriptive: it is a scientific descriptive theory about human motivation.

Question 11

___ said that everything is accounted for in tems of motion. (psychological egoism)

Answer 11

Hobbs

Question 12

Hobbs: two types of motion are:

Answer 12

Vital: involuntary
Animal: voluntary actions – preceded by thought these are called endeavors

Question 13

Two types of endeavors:

Answer 13

appetites/Desires: orient us toward things that are potentially delightful
Aversions: orient us away from theings that are potentially threatening or unplesant

Question 14

What is a situation that makes ethical egoism contradict itself?

Answer 14

Someone wants to kill me, if I ask him not to, it is against what he wants to do. It is impossible for both of our desires to be fulfilled.

Question 15

Jeremy Bentham took what ethical stance?

Answer 15

Utilitarianism

Question 16

____ calculus: the 7 things to consider when determining utility.

Answer 16

Bentham

intensity

Question 17

What is the story that G_____ tells to illustrate Ethical Egoism? What is the scenario based on this that h asks us to consider?

Answer 17

Glaucon told The story of Gyges: A shepherd who found a magic ring that allowed him to turn invisible. He used it to sleep with the queen, murder the king, and take over the kingdom.
Glaucon asks us to consider what would happen if such a ring was given to a rogue and a man of virtue. He argues that the man of virtue would steal just as the rogue. This is because he is able to do evil without the consequences, which were the only thing keeping him honest.

Question 18

Ethical Egoism. A ____ view.

Answer 18

A normative view. about how men ought to act. Regardless of how men behave, they have no obligation to do anything except what is in their self interest.

Question 19

What is the story from the book used to demonstrate the weakness of the Divine Command theory?

Answer 19

The story of Euthyphro and Socrates: a Dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro where they attempt to establish a definitive meaning for the word piety (holiness).

In the end, it is determined that an act is morally right because the gods approved of it, and that the gods approve of an act if it is morally right. This is circular reasoning, and it causes the theory to fall apart.

Question 20

What illustration does J___ R___ use to counter psychological egoism?

Answer 20

James Rachel: He gives an example where a student, Smith, gives up a vacation that he was looking forward to so that he could stay behind and help another student study. An ethical egoist would say one of two things:

A) that ‘the agent is merely doing what he most wants to do’ Since Smith is doing what he wants to do, he is being selfish.

This assumes that people only do what they want, which is not true. You might go to the dentist against your will in order to fix a toothache. You might also do something against your will because you feel obligated to do so. Even if we assumed people always do what they want, the very fact that Smith would rater help his friend than go on vacation shows that he is not selfish.

B) the second argument an egoist might make is that unselfish actions always produce a sense of self-satisfaction in the agent, so the only reason Smith helped his friend was so that he would feel good. However, why should satisfaction from committing a selfless act cause the act to be classified as selfish? Smith is unselfish precisely because he derives satisfaction from from helping his friend.

Question 21

Immanuel Khants theory:

Answer 21

People are an end and not a mean, so don’t use people as a means to an end. (this clearly contradicts utilitarianism)
Maxims are universal: (strict and unwavering)
Rejects utilitarianism
The right thing > the good thing (stealing to give to poor is wrong)
for an act to be right, it must be possible for it to be universalized. ‘act in a way that you would will that your actions be made into universal law’
right over the good

Doing the right thing isn’t good enough, you must do it out of duty. example is the shopkeeper.