Philosophy and Ethics Flashcards
6 cards from real B.L.A.; occasionally A.L.B. Bachelor of Liberal Arts practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Philosophy and Ethics flashcards as text
Utilitarianism, as developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, holds that moral actions are those that produce which outcome?
Answer: The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
Utilitarianism judges actions by their consequences, specifically by whether they maximize overall happiness or well-being.
Immanuel Kant's 'categorical imperative' instructs us to act according to which principle?
Answer: Only on maxims you could will to become universal laws for everyone
Kant's categorical imperative demands that we act only on principles that we could rationally will to apply universally to all people.
Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave' primarily illustrates which philosophical concept?
Answer: The distinction between appearance and reality, and the role of education in achieving true knowledge
The Allegory of the Cave illustrates that most people are trapped by shadows of reality and that philosophical education can lead to true knowledge.
In ethics, deontological theories differ from consequentialist theories primarily in which way?
Answer: Deontological theories judge actions by their inherent rightness or duties, not outcomes
Deontological ethics holds that certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong regardless of their consequences, based on duties or rules.
Aristotle's concept of 'eudaimonia' in ethics is best translated as which idea?
Answer: Human flourishing or well-being achieved through virtuous activity
Eudaimonia, central to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, refers to the highest human good — living and faring well through the exercise of virtue.
The philosophical position of 'empiricism' holds that knowledge is primarily derived from which source?
Answer: Sensory experience and observation of the world
Empiricism, associated with Locke, Hume, and Berkeley, maintains that all knowledge originates from sensory experience rather than innate ideas.