BA Philosophy and Ethics 2 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: Utilitarianism holds that the morally right action is the one that:
- Follows universal moral rules regardless of consequences
- Maximizes overall happiness or utility for the greatest number (Correct answer)
- Conforms strictly to natural law
- Expresses the virtues of the moral agent
Correct answer: Maximizes overall happiness or utility for the greatest number
Utilitarianism, developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, judges actions by their outcomesâspecifically, the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
Question 2: Kant's categorical imperative instructs that one should:
- Act to maximize pleasure and minimize pain
- Follow the rules of one's society above all else
- Act only according to principles you could will to be universal laws (Correct answer)
- Pursue the virtuous mean between extremes
Correct answer: Act only according to principles you could will to be universal laws
Kant's categorical imperative requires acting only on maxims that you could consistently will to become universal laws, making morality independent of outcomes.
Question 3: The ethical theory that focuses on the character and virtues of the moral agent rather than rules or outcomes is:
- Deontology
- Utilitarianism
- Virtue Ethics (Correct answer)
- Social Contract Theory
Correct answer: Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics, rooted in Aristotle's philosophy, emphasizes developing good character traits (virtues) as the foundation of moral life.
Question 4: John Stuart Mill's version of utilitarianism distinguished between:
- Objective and subjective pleasures
- Higher and lower pleasures (Correct answer)
- Individual and collective happiness
- Natural and artificial desires
Correct answer: Higher and lower pleasures
Mill argued that intellectual and moral pleasures (higher) are qualitatively superior to purely physical pleasures (lower), refining Bentham's purely quantitative calculus.
Question 5: The philosophical position that there are no objective moral truths and that moral judgments are culturally or individually relative is called:
- Moral realism
- Moral relativism (Correct answer)
- Moral absolutism
- Natural law theory
Correct answer: Moral relativism
Moral relativism holds that moral judgments are not universally valid but are relative to cultural, social, or individual perspectives.
Question 6: According to John Locke's social contract theory, individuals consent to government primarily to secure:
- Eternal salvation and spiritual guidance
- Economic prosperity and wealth redistribution
- Protection of natural rights to life, liberty, and property (Correct answer)
- Social equality and elimination of class distinctions
Correct answer: Protection of natural rights to life, liberty, and property
Locke argued that people form governments to protect their pre-political natural rights, and governments that fail this purpose lose their legitimacy.
Question 7: The belief that 'the ends justify the means'âthat morally questionable actions are acceptable if they produce good outcomesâmost closely reflects which ethical framework?
- Deontological ethics
- Virtue ethics
- Consequentialism (Correct answer)
- Divine command theory
Correct answer: Consequentialism
Consequentialism judges the morality of actions solely by their results, meaning an action causing harm might be justified if it produces greater overall good.
BA Philosophy and Ethics 2
Utilitarianism holds that the morally right action is the one that: