Test 2: Utilitarianism, Deontology, & Feminist Ethics Flashcards
Which of the following was not one of the founders of utilitarianism?
a. James Mill
b. Jeremy Bentham
c. John Stuart Mill
d. Rene Descartes
d. Rene Descartes
The trolley problem is used to illustrate which of the following?
a. The complexity of calculating morality using a cost-benefit analysis.
b. The difficulty involved in making utilitarian decisions.
c. The morality of public vs. private transportation.
d. The basis of rule utilitarianism.
a. The complexity of calculating morality using a cost-benefit analysis.
According to utilitarianism which of the following is an intrinsic good?
a. Love
b. Justice
c. Pleasure
d. Power
c. Pleasure
Which of the following is not included in calculating the amount of happiness?
a. Cost
b. Intensity
c. Likelihood
d. Duration
a. Cost
According to utilitarianism which of the following is useful for evaluating the
morality of an action?
a. People’s intentions
b. The nature of the act
c. The process of accomplishing the result
d. The result
d. The result
Which of the following is not necessary to act morally according to
utilitarianism?
a. To consider all the variables involved in an action.
b. To act as the majority wishes.
c. To consider all people to be of equal value.
d. To produce a result that produces the greatest good for the greatest number.
b. To act as the majority wishes.
Rule Utilitarianism asks that we consider the consequences of each act
a. Separately.
b. According to a clear set of rules.
c. As a general practice.
d. On the greatest number.
c. As a general practice.
Jeremy Bentham’s concept of utilitarianism is simply to maximize pleasure
and:
A. avoid evil B. please the majority
C. minimize suffering D. please the minority
C. minimize suffering
An ethical system that judges an action based its CONSEQUENCES:
A. virture-based B. Deontological
C. action-based D. Teleological
D. Teleological
Jeremy Bentham invented this scheme to measure pleasure and pain to assist in
making proper decisions. He called it:
A. pleasure tester B. hedonic calculus
C. consequence calculus D. pleasure measure
B. hedonic calculus
Utilitarians and Consequentialists seem to provide a very strong philosophical
justification for the notion that we have obligations to which of the following?
A. future generations B. termites
C. ourselves D. those in our family
A. future generations
A form of utilitarianism that focuses on a set of rules that bring about the best
end:
A. rule B. critical
C. no rest D. social
A. rule
Of which kind of reasoning, Act (A) or Rule (R) Utilitarianism, are the following examples? Please fill in “A” in your answer sheet for Act Utilitarianism and “B” for Rule Utilitarianism.
Of which kind of reasoning, Act (A) or Rule (R) Utilitarianism, are the following examples? Please fill in “A” in your answer sheet for Act Utilitarianism and “B” for Rule Utilitarianism.
If everyone cut in that line, then there would be chaos and that would be bad, so
I ought not cut in the line but go to the end.
R (B)
I ought to get more sleep because if I don’t I will be no good to myself or others
(A)
We ought to observe copyright rules because if we did not then no one’s
intellectual property would be safe and this would be a very bad outcome
R (B)
What is the name of the basic principle of utilitarianism? How is it supposed to
be useful in determining what I ought to do?
It is called either “The Greatest Happiness Principle” or “The Principle of Utility.” We are supposed to consider the likely results of our actions (or practices, if rule utilitarianism), and then choose that with the greatest net overall good.
When is something considered instrumentally good? Provide an example.
Something is instrumentally good when its goodness is determined by its usefulness in producing or bringing about something else. An example of an instrumentally good item is money. It is not good in and of itself, but it’s good because of what it can bring about.
Label as the better choice on utilitarian calculations, A or B, using a scale of -10 (very painful) to +10 (very pleasurable) for degrees of pleasure or happiness.
Label as the better choice on utilitarian calculations, A or B, using a scale of -10 (very painful) to +10 (very pleasurable) for degrees of pleasure or happiness.
A makes 10 people very happy and 2 people very unhappy,
B makes 8 people moderately happy and 1 person mildly unhappy
A
A will bring 5 people each 8 days of pleasure and 3 people each 2 days of pain
B will bring 8 people each 3 days of pleasure and 1 person 3 days of pain.
A
The reason that Mill believes pleasure is the only intrinsic good is because he
believes it is the only thing that everyone desires for its own sake
True
Utilitarianism is an egoistic moral theory
False
The following is an example of the reasoning of a rule utilitarian: “If the practice
of lying is bad, then one ought not to lie now, even if in this case to lie would
actually bring about better consequences.”
True
Both Bentham and Mill hold that some pleasures are better in kind than others.
False
According to utilitarianism, an act that makes some people happy and others
unhappy can never be morally right
False
Utilitarianism is a relativistic moral theory, for it recognizes that what is good in
Some circumstances is not always good in others
False
In his Utilitarianism Mill answers those who say that his theory is a crass
pleasure theory fit only for beasts by noting that though it is a pleasure theory, it
acknowledges a wide variety of pleasures including those that only humans can
experience.
False
According to Bentham, some pleasures may be more valuable than others but
only in so far as they are of greater intensity or duration
True
According to act utilitarianism, if it produces more net utility or pleasure to give
money that I had promised to return to a friend to famine relief instead, then I
ought to give it to the relief fund.
True
According to Mill, the only way to prove that something is desirable in itself (as
an end) is to notice that people do desire it
True
In his work, Utilitarianism, Mill’s test or basis for distinguishing higher from
Lower pleasures is the preference of those who have experience of both
True
. According to utilitarian moral theory, happiness is an instrumental good
False
Critics of Mill’s view of Utilitarianism claim that his system is both too simple
and too complex.
False this is true for Bentham’s version Pojman & Fieser, 2012, p. 104
Mill defines happiness based on pain and pleasure.
False, Bentham does this Pojman & Fieser, 2012, p. 103
One of the strengths of Utilitarianism is its simplicity.
True Pojman & Fieser, 2012, p. 107
One of the weaknesses of Utilitarianism is simply putting together a theory of
Utilitarianism.
True, difficult to “formulate” Pojman & Fieser, 2012, p. 109.
One of the weaknesses of Utilitarianism is that if one actually carried out its
logical implications, one would never sleep!
True Pojman & Fieser, 2012, p. 112
Utilitarianism leads to moral absolutism.
False, Moral relativism – different values in different societies. Pojman &
Fieser, 2012, pp. 113-114
Utilitarianism implies that truth-telling and personal integrity are NOT
absolute values.
True, Pojman & Fieser, 2012, pp. 114-116
“Act only on that maxim you can will to become universal law” is known as
which form of Kant’s categorical imperative?
a. First
b. Second
c. Only
d. Third
a. First
Hypothetical imperatives are
a. Complicated philosophical constructs seeking to arrive at moral goal.
b. Like suggesting we should use what works to arrive at a goal.
c. Actions that, in theory, should always be taken given certain circumstances
d. Actions all people should take to arrive at the same goal.
b. Like suggesting we should use what works to arrive at a goal.
A good paraphrase of Kant’s second form of the categorical imperative is
a. Think before you act.
b. Treat others as well as you can without denying yourself what you need.
c. Treat yourself well but watch out for others also.
d. Don
’
t use people unless it is in their best interest.
d. Don’t use people unless it is in their best interest.
According to MacKinnon, which of the following was one of main two questions Kant asked? a. What ought I do? b. How do I choose right action? c. Why should I act? d. How important are people?
a. What ought I do?
Moral “oughts” are all of the following EXCEPT
a. Unconditional.
b. Anchored in the fact that all people are alike as persons.
c. Necessary.
d. Supported by laws.
d. Supported by laws.