Phil 251: Intro. to Philosophy (Daniel) Test
Questions: Ethics
True/False (True=A; False=B)
1. To the extent that ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics raise questions about judgments
D
relating to value, they are concerned with axiology.
2. The philosophical attempt of ethics to provide a standard for evaluating laws, religions, customs,
IE
and individual preferences is itself based on each philosopher's personal values.
3. In the retributive notion of justice, the purpose of punishment is to change the person's character
so that he or she does not commit such offenses again.
IF
4. As a utilitarian justification for capital punishment, the reform theory recommends the reform of
society at large through the elimination of threatening individuals in the community.
5. Because retribution serves a purpose--namely, giving someone what is due to him or her--it is
generally considered a utilitarian justification for punishment.
R
6. According to the retributivist, the execution of criminals is a form of respect shown to them as
beings capable of making free choices for which they should take responsibility.
VE
7. According to Socrates and Plato, we should act virtuously for the sake of others, regardless of
whether acting morally improves our ability to discern what is good or to control our passions.
8. According to Socrates and Plato, we can be truly happy only if we allow our reason or intellect to
guide our emotions and appetites.
9. The point of Plato's story of the ring of Gyges is this: only a fool would act morally if he or she
could get away with acting immorally.
, 10. In responding to the story of the ring of Gyges, Plato argues that immorality can never be in
someone's ultimate self-interest because immoral people are never truly happy.
11. In Plato's theory of the state, justice is ultimately achieved when the ruling class is able to do
away with social inequalities by driving the military and working classes out of society.
12. For Plato, the moral balance or harmony of the three parts of the soul is a parallel to the
condition of political harmony one must seek in the state.
D
13. According to Plato, the soul achieves balance or harmony only when reason controls both the
spirited (or courageous) part of the soul and the soul's appetites.
IE
14. According to Plato, moral goodness is achieved by eliminating the activities of the lower parts of
the soul and acting solely on the basis of reason.
15. In Epicurus' version of hedonism, all decisions about how to live should be based on whether or
not one's actions will produce pleasure and avoid pain.
IF
16. For Epicurus, since death is the end of sensation (and therefore the end of all pain), death is a
positive good that we should look forward to.
R
17. Hedonism is a form of teleological ethical theory insofar as it recommends that we act so as to
produce happiness (pleasure) as the consequence of our actions.
18. The egoistic hedonist says that, if producing the greatest amount of pleasure for ourselves
VE
means that we have to take into account the pleasure of others, then we are under a moral obligation
to do so.
19. Stoics note that we accumulate power and wealth by restricting our desires to things over which
we have control.
20. According to the Stoics, the only way to fulfill our duty to live in harmony with the universe is to
yield to our passions, desires, and emotions.
,21. For the Stoic, the reason one does one's duty is that it is the only way that a person can achieve
true happiness.
22. According to Aristotle, because moral virtues are habits, they cannot be taught but only learned
in living according to them.
23. According to Aristotle, in a good or happy life someone is able to fulfill himself or herself through
behavior that combines moderation, good fortune, and wisdom.
D
24. According to Aristotle, because happiness is not only the goal of all human beings but also
defined by anyone as he/she sees fit, there is no ultimate standard of ethics.
IE
25. In Aristotle's virtue ethics, moral value is a purely private matter, unconnected to how people
interact with others in the community.
26. Because hedonism is a consequentialist way of thinking, it is more properly identified as a form
of ethical egoism rather than as a form of psychological egoism.
IF
27. Teleological theories of ethics determine the moral value of actions in terms of their
consequences.
R
28. Though both Epicurus and Bentham agree that we should do that which produces pleasure or
happiness, they differ on whose pleasure or happiness should be taken into account.
VE
29. If psychological egoism is true, then no ethical position (including ethical egoism) is possible.
30. Because ethical egoism claims that we are incapable of doing anything other than promoting our
self-interests, it violates the moral dictum "ought implies can."
31. For the utilitarian, the whole purpose of ethics and virtuous behavior is the production and
increase of happiness.
32. According to the utilitarian principle of morality, one should always act so as to produce the
greatest overall and long-term amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
, 33. Utilitarians claim that actions have value and thus are morally good insofar as they produce
happiness (good consequences) for the greatest number of people.
34. Since utilitarianism is really a form of social hedonism, it cannot be considered as a
consequentialist theory of morality.
35. Because Bentham's hedonistic calculus does not consider the pleasures or pains that other
people experience as a result of a person's action, it is more egoistic than Mill's version of
D
utilitarianism.
36. According to Mill, the proof that happiness is good (and thus desirable) is that human beings
desire it.
IE
37. Utilitarians argue that, because all moral values are relative to cultural or individual choice, no
universally valid moral principles hold for all human beings.
38. According to J. S. Mill, the quantity (as opposed to the quality) of pleasures is determined by how
IF
well those pleasures enhance human fulfillment and well-being.
39. A deontological ethical theory is one that makes judgments about the morality of actions based
on the ends, purposes, or consequences of the actions.
R
40. A person who has a moral obligation to do something is not physically able or free to do anything
else.
VE
41. Kant rejects all forms of hypothetical imperatives because (he claims) no rational agent can ever
be obligated to act morally.
42. Kant's categorical imperative states that we should always act for the sake of doing our duty
except when doing our duty conflicts with deeply held personal or religious values.
43. To act virtuously, Kant argues, means to act for the sake of doing one's duty—even if that means
going against one's religious beliefs.
