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1 | |
Which statement does not reflect the idea of ethical relativism: |
| | A) | All opinions are equal; no one can say what is ethically right or wrong. |
| | B) | One's culture, society, or personal feelings are the only criteria for deciding what is
ethically right or wrong. |
| | C) | Determining what is ethically right or wrong is a process of arguing from an appeal to values and principles that justify and legitimize an opinion. |
| | D) | Philosophical ethics is simply a process of clarifying values, not a process of justifying them. |
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2 | |
Which of the following intellectual disciplines provides absolute proof of its
conclusions? |
| | A) | The social, biological, meteorological, and medical sciences. |
| | B) | Ethical judgments based on well-reasoned arguments from sound moral principles. |
| | C) | The applied sides of engineering, chemistry, and physics. |
| | D) | All of the above. |
| | E) | None of the above. |
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3 | |
Which statement is a correct view of psychological egoism? |
| | A) | While our own interests are important, they make sometimes have to give way to the
interests of others. |
| | B) | Psychological egoism makes claims about how people should act. |
| | C) | If psychological egoism is true, we should abandon ethics. |
| | D) | Psychological egoism does not claim to provide an accurate descriptive account of
human behavior. |
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4 | |
Identify the statement that is consistent with utilitarian ethical theory: |
| | A) | Adhering to a set of principles may well forbid an act that would otherwise provide
overall net good consequences. |
| | B) | No act is ever morally right or wrong in all cases, in every situation. It will all depend
on the act's consequences. |
| | C) | Some actions like murder, theft, rape, and lying are wrong of their very nature, the kind
of acts they are. No amount of net good consequences could ever justify them. |
| | D) | The end never justifies the means. |
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5 | |
Which statements are legitimate challenges to utilitarian ethical theory? |
| | A) | The end may justify the means. |
| | B) | There is no consensus among utilitarians on how to measure and determine the overall
good. |
| | C) | It is difficult to know how to consider the consequences for all the parties that will be
affected by an act. |
| | D) | It is difficult for the utilitarian to find a balance between individual freedom and the
overall good. The more utilitarians emphasize freedom the more likely they hold more
relativistic accounts of the good. |
| | E) | All of the above. |
| | F) | None of the above. |
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6 | |
Which of the following reasons accounts for utilitarianism's dominance among
policy makers and administrators? |
| | A) | It seems obvious that policy questions should be judged by results and consequences. |
| | B) | Policy experts at all levels are focused on results and getting things done. |
| | C) | Efficiency is simply another word for maximizing happiness. |
| | D) | Policy experts focus on the collective or aggregate good. |
| | E) | All of the above. |
| | F) | None of the above. |
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7 | |
Which proposition correctly describes the concept of a right? |
| | A) | Rights protect a person's wants. |
| | B) | There is really no distinction between a person's wants and interests. Rights protect
both. |
| | C) | Rights protect a person's interests. |
| | D) | My rights never correspond to your duties and your duties never correspond to my
rights. |
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8 | |
Which statement is not true of deontological ethics? |
| | A) | Obligations, responsibilities, and commitments determine the correct approach to
ethics. |
| | B) | While we are committed to the dignity and well-being of individuals, an individual
may have to sacrifice his or her rights in order to generate a net increase in the
collective good. |
| | C) | Certain acts are wrong and should not be performed, regardless of the overall
happiness they may produce. |
| | D) | The end does not justify the means. |
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9 | |
Which statement is not true of Kant's categorical imperative: |
| | A) | We should act only on maxims that can be universally accepted and acted upon. |
| | B) | Universalization of maxims prohibits us from giving our personal point of view
privileged status over the points of view of others. |
| | C) | Our fundamental ethical duty is to treat other human beings as autonomous persons
who may choose their own ends and purposes, not simply as means for the ends of
others. |
| | D) | The inability to universalize the maxim of an act may sometimes be ignored if the act
in question will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. |
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10 | |
Which statements are characteristic of virtue ethics? |
| | A) | Our character traits are easily modified, almost on a day-to-day basis if we so choose. |
| | B) | Like Kantian ethical theory, virtue ethics requires that we disregard personal emotions
and feelings. |
| | C) | Virtue ethics is about describing people as good or bad. |
| | D) | Even if a person is caring, empathetic, charitable and sympathetic, the challenge of
egoism is still a factor in his or her decision-making. |
| | E) | All of the above. |
| | F) | None of the above. |
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education