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90 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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According to natural law theory, an action is right if and only if |
It is in accordance with human nature |
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A moral agent is an individual who |
Is morally responsible for his or her actions |
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A conceptual truth is |
A claim that can be known simply by understanding it |
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Why did Hume think that moral knowledge couldn't be empirical? |
Because there is no way to get from descriptions to prescriptions |
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According to natural law theory moral truths are |
Empirical truths |
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Rousseau believed that people are inherently cooperative |
Whereas Hobbes believed they are inherently selfish |
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The two most common secular ways of understanding the purposes of things are |
The Efficiency Model and the Fitnesss Model |
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To say that something enhances fitness is to say that it |
Increases one's success at survival and reproduction |
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The term human nature |
Is ambiguous |
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What is the term to be ambiguous |
It has more than one meeting |
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The story of the Ring of Gyges suggests that when people are free to do whatever they want without consequences they tend to behave |
Selfishly |
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Psychological egoism is the theory that |
Everything people do is fundamentally motivated by self interest |
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Altruism is |
A direct desire to benefit others for their own sake |
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Psychological egoism is |
A descriptive theory of human motivation |
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If our actions are motivated by our strongest desire then |
Psychological egoism is true only if all our strongest desires are for self interest |
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A psychological egoist would claim that giving up something you want for the sake of a loved one |
Is actually a self interested action |
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The case of the invisible hair elves is meant to show that |
It is a mistake to hold a view as immune from refutation by evidence |
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If getting what we want makes us better off then |
When we do what we want and what we want is to make ourselves better off our actions are self interested |
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Why isn't psychological egoism considered an ethical theory |
It aims to tell us how we do behave not how we should behave |
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Which of the following best describes the relationship between psychological egoism and ethics |
The truth of psychological egoism would mean that most of what we take for granted about morality would be mistaken |
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If one cannot conceive of any evidence that would refute psychological egoism what does this suggest about the theory |
The theory is not being held rationally |
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According to the text the evidence available |
Suggests but does not prove that psychological egoism is false |
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What would the psychological egoist say about someone who acts to avoid guilt conscience |
Such a person acts out of a self interested desire to avoid guilt |
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Consequentialism is |
A family of ethical theories that includes utilitarianism |
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Consequentialism states that an action is right if and only if |
It maximizes the amount of goodness in the world |
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The principal of utility can be summarized as |
Maximize overall we'll being |
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John Stuart Mill thought that the only intrinsically valuable thing is |
Happiness |
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According to utilitarianism gaining moral knowledge |
Requires accurately predicting the outcomes of one's actions |
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Most utilitarians believe that the morality of an action depends on |
It's actual results |
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According to utilitarianism |
There is no essential connection between the morality of an action and the morality of the intentions behind it |
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Utilitarians believe in |
Only one absolute moral rule: the principle of utility |
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What does it mean to say a policy is optimific |
It yields the greatest balance of benefits over drawbacks |
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According to the text a slippery Slope argument is |
An argument which criticizes something on the grounds that that thing will lead to terrible results |
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Which of the following best describes the relationship between utilitarianism and consequentialism |
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism |
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If ethical egoism is true then I should regard the interests of others as having |
No moral importance |
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What is ethical egoism |
The theory that actions are morally right just because they promote one's self interest |
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According to ethical egoism how should we regard the basic needs of others |
We should completely discount them |
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According to utilitarianism harming a human being is |
In and of itself not any better or worse than harming a non human animal |
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According to utilitarian Jeremy Bentham what is the relevant question for determining membership in the moral community |
Can they suffer? |
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Which of the following do most utilitarians believe determines the morality of actions? |
The actual consequences of the action |
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According to the text what do most utilitarians believe about conventional moral wisdom? |
Conventional morality is mistaken in some ways but is mostly correct |
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What attitude do most utilitarians take torward non human animals |
If an animal suffers to the same extent as a human the animal's suffering is equally important |
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What does it mean for you to be a member of the moral community |
That you are morally important in your own right |
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The golden rule fails to give any guidance concerning |
Self regarding actions |
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In Kant's theory a maxim is |
A principle of action that one gives to oneself |
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According to Kant an action is morally acceptable if and only if |
Its maxim is universalizable |
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Kant claims that the morality of an action depends on |
One's intentions |
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Kant claimed that |
Acting immorally is always irrational |
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An amoralist is |
Someone who believes in morality but does not care about it at all |
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According to Kant the demands of morality are |
Categorical imperatives |
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The principle of universalizability does not account for the immorality of |
Principled fanatics |
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According to Kant what is the main problem with the golden rule? |
It makes morality depend on a person's desires |
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Which of the following best characterizes Kant's moral theory? |
It is inconsistent with consequentialism |
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What is a categorical imperative according to Kant? |
A command of reason that does not depend on our desires |
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What is a hypothetical imperative according to Kant? |
A command of reason that depends on our desires |
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What does Kant mean by a maxim ? |
A principle of action one gives to oneself |
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What did Kant believe is the relationship between rationality and morality |
Rationality requires us to be moral |
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Which of the following did Kant believe to be the central moral virtue |
Integrity |
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To have integrity is to |
Act in harmony with the principles you believe in |
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The Amoralist's Challenge is a direct challenge to what? |
Kant's claim that immoral conduct is irrational |
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According to Kant moral requirements apply to |
All who possess reason |
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According to proceduralism we should begin moral inquiry |
By identifying a method for determining right from wrong |
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An example of proceduralism would be |
All of the above ( rule of consequentialism, contractarianism and principle of universalizability ) |
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Contractarianism originated as |
A political theory |
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Contractarianism states that actions are morally right if and only if |
They are permitted by rules that free equal rational people would agree to live by |
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Contractarians have traditionally taken the view that people are for the most part |
Rational and self interested |
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According to contractarianism we do best for ourselves by agreeing to |
Limit the direct pursuit of self interest |
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A prisoner 's dilemma is a situation in which |
All people benefit if all people refrain from pursuing their short term interest |
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The founder of modern contractarianism was |
Thomas Hobbes |
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Hobbes claimed that life in the state of nature would be |
A war of all against all |
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According to contractarianism breaking the law is justified |
Whenever a law is grossly unjust |
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According to contractarianism the state's ultimate purpose is |
To aid our escape from the state of nature |
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When is an action morally right according to contractarianism |
When it is permitted by the rules That free equal and rational people would agree to |
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What is the term for a situation in which everyone is made worse off when all pursue self interest |
Prisoner's dilemma |
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What is Thomas Hobbes term for a condition in which there is no government to maintain order? |
The state of nature |
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What did Hobbes think is the only way to escape from the condition in which there is no government to maintain order? |
To mutually agree on a set of rules for social cooperation |
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How does contractarianism regard the status of moral rules |
They are objective |
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When is it permissible to break moral rules according to contractarianism |
Whenever most others consistently fail to abide by then |
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What is Rawl's veil if ignorance |
An imaginary device for ensuring that contractors make fair choices |
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According to Hobbes what is the fundamental reason for acting |
Self interest |
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In Hobbe's philosophy "the Fool" is someone who |
Believes that it is sometimes rational to behave unjustly |
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Situations in which one person can benefit from a common good without contributing anything are sometimes referred to as |
The free rider problem |
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For Hobbe's a well ordered society is one in which |
There are reliable threats against breaking mutually beneficial rules |
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Hobbe's argued that |
The risks for doing wrong always outweigh its potential benefits |
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Some contractarians believe that we all have a duty to obey the law because |
We have tacitly consented to do so |
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According to contractarians our fundamental moral duties are determined by |
What we would consent to if we were free rational and seeking mutual cooperation |
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According to contractarians the contractors who fix the content of morality are |
Rational and self interested |
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What is the term for the idea that we have agreed to obey the law simply by living where we do |
Tacit consent |
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Which of the following is a problem for the idea of veil of ignorance |
It is unclear why we should follow agreements made by people unlike us |
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Which of the following are members of the moral community according to contractarianism |
All contractors |
