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1 | |
Which of the following statements best expresses the conclusion suggested by Glaucon's account of the really just man who's persecuted because he's thought to be unjust and the really unjust man who's believed to be just? |
| | A) | The unjust man is the reasonable one, and the just man is foolish. What's important is simply appearing to be just. As long as one can get away with actually being unjust one should do so. |
| | B) | The unjust man who's thought to be just is in a better position than the just man who's thought to be unjust. Nevertheless, the unjust man shouldn't even bother trying to appear just, as this appearance can never help him. |
| | C) | Although the just man seems to be in the worse position, the gods will balance things out in the afterlife so the most reasonable thing to do is to be just after all. |
| | D) | It makes no difference whether one is just or unjust. Happiness is mostly dependent on external circumstances, and one's actual or apparent moral character is irrelevant to the issue of happiness. |
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2 | |
Which of the statements below best characterizes the distinction between descriptive morality and normative ethics? |
| | A) | Whereas normative ethics passes no judgment about the truth or falsity of various cultures' ethical standards, descriptive morality attempts to state what standards are really correct. |
| | B) | Whereas descriptive morality studies what is the case about people's practices and moral beliefs, normative ethics considers the issue of rationally defensible standards for how people really ethically ought to act or be. |
| | C) | Whereas normative ethics studies what is the case about people's practices and moral beliefs, descriptive morality considers the issue of rationally defensible standards for how people really ethically ought to act or be. |
| | D) | There is no difference. These are different names for the same thing. |
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3 | |
Which of the following statements is not an objection often raised against the divine command theory? |
| | A) | The theory makes it meaningless to declare "God wills what's good" since it translates such a claim into the logically empty "God wills what God wills." |
| | B) | There's disagreement over which religious authority to use as a guide and even over how to interpret ethical guidelines within a given religious tradition. |
| | C) | It doesn't do justice to the conception of God as omnipotent. |
| | D) | There are many current ethical issues (e.g., human cloning) that aren't addressed in classical religious texts. |
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4 | |
Who argued that people form moral and legal codes that put restrictions on behavior in order to leave a state of nature in which life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"? |
| | A) | Tolstoy |
| | B) | Hobbes |
| | C) | John Hospers |
| | D) | Leibniz |
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5 | |
Which of the following ethical theories would fit best with the claim that values are like flavors of ice cream, i.e., simply a matter of personal preference? |
| | A) | utilitarianism |
| | B) | subjectivism |
| | C) | conventional ethical relativism |
| | D) | Kantian ethics |
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