Unit 2 - Ethics: Foundations and Challenges

Question 1

There are different moral codes in each society, but no source to appeal to which can provide a universal referent on right and wrong. Every society has its own moral code, and none are in any position to claim superiority. All codes are equal, and all are equally limited.

Answer 1

Cultural Relativism

Question 2

The ________, or something like it, appears in a number of ethical theories as well as the texts of most world religions. “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

Answer 2

Golden Rule

Question 3

The view that everyone is always motivated to act on his or her perceived self-interest.

Answer 3

Psychological Egoism

Question 4

_________ in morality is the sense of “just knowing” that something is right or wrong, by means of a strong feeling or hunch. It is problematic when it is based on a pre-reflective moral response - this is, when people are simply disgusted by some act and feel it to be wrong prior to thinking deeply about the issue.

Answer 4

Intuition

Question 5

Describe Heinz’s dilemma.

Answer 5

A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist had recently discovered. The medicine was expensive to manufacture, and the druggist was charging ten times what it cost him to make it.
The sick woman’s husband could not afford that amount and went to everyone he knew to borrow the money. But he could raise only raise half what the drug cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying. He asked the druggist if he could buy the medicine at a reduced price or pay him the full amount later. But the druggist said, “No, I discovered the drug, it cost me a good deal of time and effort, so I’m going to make money from it.” The husband became desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife. He was caught.

Question 6

A law that transcends merely man-made law. Relates to the Judeo-Christian concept of God as a Lawgiver (who handed down the 10 Commandments)

Answer 6

Objective Moral Law

Question 7

Option A: “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” In other words: “Is the good (ethics) commanded by God because it is good?”

Option B: “Or is it good (ethical) because it is commanded by God?”

Answer 7

Euthyphro Problem

Question 8

List the Hierarchy of Human Needs.

Answer 8

1. Physiological needs (food, shelter)
2. Safety needs (security, stability, freedom from fear)
3. Love needs (belongingness, intimacy, affection)
4. Esteem needs (respect, recognition, sense of achievement)
5. Self-Actualization (fulfilling one’s potential)

Question 9

Describe the story of the Ring of Gyges.

Answer 9

Gyges was a mere shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia. One day while feeding his flock, there was a storm, followed by an earthquake, which opened a great fissure before him. He clambered down it, and there he beheld a hollow bronze horse fitted with doors. Opening one of them, he saw inside the corpse of a man with a gold ring on his finger. Gyges took that ring - with some trepidation, as you can imagine. Putting it on his finger, he soon forgot he was wearing it, and later showed up at the king’s palace to make his monthly report on the flocks. While waiting in line with the other shepherds, he chanced to turn the ring around on his finger and - presto! All of a sudden he became absolutely invisible! Turning it back to normal restored ordinary visibility. When he realized this, he set to work. First he got himself appointed as the king’s messenger. As soon as he was in the king’s chamber, he became invisible, seduced the queen, murdered the king, and so became king himself.