exam one

docx

School

East Carolina University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

1175

Subject

Philosophy

Date

Jan 9, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by BaronGiraffe3972

PHIL 1175 Exam one 9/26/2023 Your Name________________ [1] What does the Divine Command Theory of Morality claim? What is Euthyphro’s Dilemma? What was Socrates’ main objection to the DCTM? Explain. (20 points) The DCTM claims that an act is morally required just because it is commanded by God, and immoral just because God forbids it. Euthyphro’s Dilemma was when Socrates asked him, “Do the gods love actions because they are pious or are actions pious because the gods love them?” which was basically saying: “does God command actions because they are right or are actions right because they are commanded by God?”. Socrates main objection was then, if you say an action is right because the god loves it/ commands it you cannot also maintain that the gods love it because it is right- if the DCTM were true God’s moral commands are arbitrary and that seems bad for God to do. [2] What does the Error Theory of Morality claim? We discussed three reasons why someone might think the Error Theory is true. Explain one of those reasons. (20) The error theory claims there are no moral properties/features in the world, no moral judgements are true, moral claims fail to describe the real world and there is no moral knowledge. One reason to accept the error theory is that moral properties are not physical things. The claim cannot be true unless science can verify it is true. Multiple choice: 5 points each [3] The methods of the social sciences, such as sociology or anthropology, are suitable for informing us about which of these? a. Critical morality b. Conventional morality c. Meta-ethics [4] Suppose Statement A is true. Suppose that Statement A logically entails Statement B. That is, B follows from A. This guarantees that Statement B is also true. a. True b. False PHIL 1175 Exam one p2 F23 J. Collins [5] The ethical principle “’ought’ implies ‘can’” means what? a. If something is impossible to do, then you are not morally obligated to do it. b. If something is not morally obligatory, then it is impossible to do. c. To lead a good life, one must be capable of many things.

[6] Ethical Egoism is the theory that: a. Nobody can act except from selfish motives. b. Nobody has any ethical obligations. c. Each person has an ethical obligation only to themselves. [7] If you assume Psychological Egoism to be true, and use it to support Ethical Egoism, your reasoning relies on what principle? a. The Golden Rule b. ‘Ought’ implies ‘can’. We are not morally obligated to do what is impossible. c. The Desire Satisfaction Theory d. Ethical Relativism [8] “The medieval Mongolians were nomadic. When a physically disabled child was born to them, they would kill it. They were morally justified in this, because they would have been unable to care for a physically disabled person, while traveling in an era without technology. But it would be wrong for Americans today to kill a physically disabled infant, because we have the technology and means for accommodating disabled people that the Mongolians lacked.” Would an Ethical Relativist agree with the moral claims made in the quoted sentences? a. Yes b. No What justified the Mongolians was not that they approved of this, but it was justified because performing this is what made survival possible. An objective moral theory will agree whether an action is right or wrong can be circumstantial, it will not just depend on whether it is approved by a society or not. [9] According to Ethical Relativism, what is morally right is relative to a society, and is based on a. The circumstances found in that society, such as living conditions. b. The beliefs of most of the people in the society. Ethical Relativism- moral principles are true only relative to a society and a time and what makes a principle true relative to a society at a given time is that most people in the society accept the principle. Whatever majority of the society believes, goes. Ex- it is frowned upon in Saudi Arabia for a woman to contradict a man in public but in Denmark it isn’t. c. Both the above d. None of the above

PHIL 1175 Exam one p3 9/26/2023 Your Name__________ [10] Suppose there is a society where most people believe it is right to persecute trans people. Gradually, the society changes, and now most people believe that trans people shouldn’t be persecuted. If Ethical Relativism is true, this society has made moral progress. a. True b. False [11] Suppose Max lives in a society in which most people believe there is no moral right to an abortion. But Max thinks there is such a right. Eventually, Max changes his mind and agrees with most others in his society that there is no moral right to abortion. According to Ethical Relativism, Max made moral progress. a. True Since Max was a part of the small percentage of the society with opposing morals (Iconoclast) when his mind was changed into believing what the society believed, he individually made moral progress. If the whole society were to change from no abortion to pro-abortion, this would not be considered moral progress. This is because it would not make sense for a society to go from a belief that is see as correct to the opposing belief now being as seen as correct. b. False [12 ] Suppose that most Canadians believe in a moral right to assisted suicide, and most Italians believe that assisted suicide is morally wrong. A Canadian says to the Italian: “There is nothing morally wrong with assisted suicide.” The Italian replies: “No, there is something wrong with it.” If Ethical Relativism is true, then: a. They are disagreeing with each other about the morality of assisted suicide. b. They are agreeing with each other about the morality of assisted suicide. Both societies are correct because it is situational amongst the society, they are a part of but, they also cannot disagree with the other person because it is all societal and they are a part of different societies. c. Neither of the above [13] If friendship is valuable not for its own sake, but only because it contributes to some other valuable thing, then friendship is a. An instrumental good b. An intrinsic good c. Both the above d. None of the above

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

[14] According to Hedonism, what is intrinsically valuable, or good? a. Desire Satisfaction b. Happiness c. Many different things, like knowledge, friendship, love, etc. PHIL 1175 Exam one p4 F23 J. Collins [15] Suppose Sonya and Carlos are equally happy, but Sonya is more autonomous than Carlos is. According to Hedonism, who has a better life? a. Sonya b. Carlos c. Their lives are equally good. Hedonism- value theory according to which the only intrinsic good is happiness. Both equally happy. Even though Sonya is more autonomous than Carlos, they are both still equally happy which is all that matters in hedonism. d. Hedonism doesn’t make claims about whose lives are better or worse. [16] Nozick intended his Experience Machine thought experiment to convince you that a. Hedonism is true. b. Hedonism is false. Argument of false happiness- If hedonism is true, then our lives go well to the extent that we are happy. But it is not true that our lives go well to the extent that we are happy: if your happiness is based on false beliefs, you have a worse life than someone whose happiness is based on true beliefs, though you are both equally happy. c. Neither of the above. [17] Which of these would be a counterexample to the Desire Satisfaction theory? (A counterexample to a theory is an example that shows the theory to be false.) a. The person whose life was made worse by getting something they desired. b. The person whose life was improved by getting something they hadn’t desired. c. The person who is better off because they are content and free of desire.

d. All the above [18] According to Ethical Relativism, it is always morally right to be tolerant of people whose values are different from yours. a. True b. False Extra Credit [19] How might one reasonably defend DCTM against Socrates’ objection? Explain. (5 points) It’s unreasonable to expect God to have moral reasons for creating a moral standard. It is like expecting the writers of the US constitution to only include clauses that were constitutional. It wasn’t a thing yet therefore it was new grounds. [20] How might you try to defend critical morality by rebutting one of the arguments we discussed for the Error Theory? (5) Some accept the error theory because moral properties are not observable, physical things. In the notes, it goes on to explain that the claim cannot be true unless science can verify it. But, science cannot verify that claim. An attempt to show that philosophy is worthless always depends on a philosophical claim about what has value or what is required for knowledge. [21] What is a weird food that you like? [Me: beef tongue!] (1) Alligator

exam one

Related Documents