QUESTION 1 1. What is a criticism of Kant’s Ethics? Trying to be...

QUESTION 1
1. What is a criticism of Kant’s Ethics?
Trying to be impartial can lead to breaking a rule.
We need guidelines about the proper way to describe our actions.
Sometimes an action is acceptable, but we may not want to do it.
Different descriptions of the same actions can lead to different evaluations under the Ends Principle.

QUESTION 2
1. What does Ayn Rand argue is the false dichotomy presented between egoism and altruism? What is the appropriate way to view egoism?
A. The false dichotomy is that you either sacrifice yourself to others (altruism) or you sacrifice others to you (egoism). The right view of egoism is that you sacrifice yourself some of the time.
B. The false dichotomy is that you either sacrifice others to you (egoism) or sacrifice yourself to others (altruism). The right view of egoism is of being independent from others
C. The false dichotomy is that you either help yourself (egoism) or you help others (altruism). The right view of egoism is of helping others because it will help yourself.
D. The false dichotomy is that you either do what is in the best interest of others (altruism) or the best interest of yourself (egoism). The right view of egoism is that your best interest should be connected to sacrificing yourself to help others.

QUESTION 3
1. Which of these is a criticism of Utilitarianism?
A. It’s impossible to do because it asks us to ignore consequences.
B. It’s impossible to do because it asks us to ignore intentions.
C. It’s impossible to do because we cannot predict in advance who will be affected and how they will be affected.
D. It’s impossible to do because we can never make everyone happy.

QUESTION 4
1. Having received a nice raise, a person is deciding whether to go on a vacation or donate to charity. (If you need, you may supply additional details.)
Explain how Kant, Mill, Rawls, Aristotle, and Ayn Rand would each say the person should act. Use specific information from the main points of each ethical theory to draw your conclusions. Be clear with your reasoning!

QUESTION 5
1. Which of these is a criticism of Utilitarianism?
A. By ignoring concerns like justice and privacy, it’s impossible to do.
B. By forcing us to consider justice and privacy as well as overall happiness, Utilitarianism can provide conflicting recommendations about what actions are moral.
C. By focusing on justice and privacy, Utilitarianism may ignore overall happiness.
D. By ignoring concerns like justice and privacy, Utilitarianism can recommend that we do an action that we think is morally wrong, just because it increases overall happiness.

QUESTION 6
1. Which of these is NOT a possible explanation for why there may not be as much moral disagreement as there appears?
A. Because of different environments, we may share moral principles but act differently.
B. We share moral principles, but we may prioritize them differently.
C. We may disagree on who/what counts as a “person.”
D. We may have different evaluations of which moral principles are correct.

QUESTION 7
1. What is Kant’s first Categorical Imperative?
A. Act impartially, always following the rules.
B. Do whatever actions can be universalized and still have an acceptable world.
C. Follow the rules, regardless of the consequences.
D. Try to help people by being respectful.

QUESTION 8
1. What is a criticism of Kant’s Ethics?
A. By ignoring justice and privacy, Kant could recommend we do an action we think is immoral.
B. By only focusing on consequences, Kant overvalues overall happiness.
C. By ignoring consequences, Kant could recommend we do an action we think is immoral.
D. By ignoring intentions, Kant misses something important about moral evaluations.

QUESTION 9
1. What is Kant’s second Categorical Imperative?
A. It’s acceptable to use people.
B. Never treat people as a means to your ends.
C. Treating others as a means to your ends is only acceptable if you also treat them with respect.
D. Treat people only as an end in themselves.

QUESTION 10
1. Explain the Greatest Happiness Principle.
A. The right action is whatever makes some people happy.
B. Actions are right if they lead to the greatest increase of overall happiness.
C. Do whatever leads to the greatest increase of your happiness.
D. Focus on the happiness of everyone.
   
QUESTION 11
1. Which of these explains Aristotle’s Golden Mean?
A. We need to avoid the excesses of too much and too little.
B. We need to reason to the middle ground of action, which will differ by person and situation.
C. We need to find the middle ground of proper action using our reason.
D. We need to find an appropriate excess, which is situation dependent.

QUESTION 12
1. Which of these is NOT an important point noted in the Greatest Happiness Principle
A. Focus on impartiality.
B. Be a benevolent and disinterested spectator.
C. Focus on happiness of everyone.
D. Focus on consequences.

QUESTION 13
1. Define ethical relativism.
A. Ethics vary culture to culture
B. Ethics don’t vary
C. Ethics vary person to person or group to group
D. Ethics are subjective, dependent on each person

QUESTION 14
1. Explain the difference between acting in accordance with duty and acting from duty. Explain how the distinction is significant to Kant's ethics.

QUESTION 15
1. Explain two ways deontology and consequentialism may not be so different.
   
QUESTION 16
1. According to Plato’s Euthyphro problem, which of these is NOT a possible interpretation of the Divine Command Theory?
A. God tells us what is right/wrong because it really is right/wrong.
B. Something is right/wrong because God decides it is right/wrong.
C. God tells individuals to choose what is right/wrong for themselves.
D. God determines right/wrong.

QUESTION 17
1. What does cultural relativism say about the development of ethical ideas?
A. We grow and progress and improve our ethical ideas.
B. We need to continue developing our ethical ideas as we grow as a culture.
C. There are never mistakes according to cultural relativism, there are merely earlier ideas and later ideas.
D. As we develop and change as individuals, our ethical ideas reflect those changes.

QUESTION 18
1. Discuss whether or not Aristotle is an egoist.

QUESTION 19
1. Which of these is NOT how Rand says we ought to act under rational egoism?
A. We ought to reason about what's best for ourselves through helping other people.
B. We ought to deal with other people like traders.
C. We ought to think rationally about what will really be in our long-term best interest.
D. We ought to use our minds independently to produce what we need to live.