The Moral of the Story An Introduction to Ethics 8th Edition By Nina Rosenstand – Test Bank

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Chapter 05

Using Your Reason, Part 1: Utilitarianism

1. The principle of utility is the same as the greatest happiness principle.

TRUE

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2. Any theory concerned with the consequences of our actions is a utilitarian theory.

FALSE

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3. The amygdala is the pleasure center of the human brain.

FALSE

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4. For Bentham, moral goodness is the same as pleasure and moral evil is the same as pain.

TRUE

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5. Bentham’s interest in moral theory was primarily theoretical.

FALSE

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6. An instrumental value is something you value for its own sake.

FALSE

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7. One reason Bentham donated his body to science was to put a stop to body-snatching.

TRUE

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8. Bentham believes that pleasure is intrinsically valuable.

TRUE

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9. Pleasure cannot have both intrinsic and instrumental value at the same time.

FALSE

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10. All theories that focus on the consequences of actions are utilitarian.

FALSE

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11. Niccolò Machiavelli’s theory that if the end is to maintain political power for oneself, one’s king, or one’s political party, that will justify any

means one might use for that purpose, such as force, surveillance, or even deceit is both a consequentialist as well as a utilitarian theory.

FALSE

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12. The hedonistic calculus is a method by which we calculate the utility of an action according to its ability to produce pleasure or prevent pain.

TRUE

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13. One of the arguments against the hedonistic calculus is that it promotes selfish interests.

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McGraw-Hill Education.FALSE

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14. One of the arguments against the hedonistic calculus is that it is biased in favor of our choice of values.

TRUE

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15. Descartes argued that animals can’t feel pain, because they have no mind.

TRUE

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16. Even though Descartes never owned a pet, he was sensitive to the suffering of animals.

FALSE

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17. Mill claims that utilitarianism fails because common experiences of humanity is not reliable.

FALSE

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18. For Bentham, the criterion for who belongs in the moral universe is who can suffer.

TRUE

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19. Utilitarianism is against any form of animal experiments because experiments cause suffering to animals.

FALSE

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20. Utilitarianism might allow for using human suffering as a means of entertainment if the happiness produced outweighs the suffering.

TRUE

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21. The legality and morality of torture depend greatly on the definition of the term.

TRUE

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22. J. S. Mill claims that it is better to be a satisfied pig than an unsatisfied human being.

FALSE

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23. The philosopher Epicurus was J. S. Mill’s godfather.

FALSE

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24. Mill claims that something is pleasurable if it is desired.

TRUE

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25. Mill reached a crisis when he realized that making everyone else happy doesn’t necessarily make oneself happy.

TRUE

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26. The harm principle states that an adult person should not be interfered with, unless he or she is doing harm to others or themselves.

FALSE

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27. The naturalistic fallacy attempts to step from “is” to “ought,” that is, it proceeds from what people actually do to a rule that states what people

ought to do.

FALSE

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28. Mill believed that the government should not interfere with people’s lives unless they do harm to themselves.

FALSE

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29. Mill was a champion of women’s rights.

TRUE

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30. Mill believed that whole populations could not be trusted to govern themselves because they were not sufficiently mature.

TRUE

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31. Act and rule utilitarianism both say that when you do something you should maximize happiness and minimize unhappiness for all those affected.

FALSE

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32. In the Primary Readings section, Bentham declares the interest of the community to be of less importance than the interest of the individual.

FALSE

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33. In the Primary Readings section, Mill claims that happiness is the same as contentment.

FALSE

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34. In the Primary Readings section, Mill insists that next to selfishness, the principal cause that makes life unsatisfactory is want of mental

cultivation.

TRUE

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35. Singer’s main point about “Ashley” is that her surgery would benefit her and her family.

TRUE

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36. Singer argues that human “dignity” is a crucial concept in utilitarian decisions.

FALSE

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37. In The Blacksmith and the Baker, an innocent baker is being executed for the crime of the blacksmith.

TRUE

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38. In The Brothers Karamazov, Alyosha would not consent to the torture of a small creature for the sake of human happiness.

TRUE

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39. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” the happiness of the community is based on a nonhuman animal being tortured.

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McGraw-Hill Education.FALSE

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40. In the film Extreme Measures, the famous Dr. Myrick argues that even though homeless people may not be pillars of society they still have

rights, and nobody should be used for medical experiments against their will even though it may be for the common good.

FALSE

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41. What is the paradox of hedonism?

A. You can never have too much pleasure.

B. You cannot love more than one person at the same time.

C. You must find pleasure in your own company before you can find pleasure in the company of others.

D. The harder you look for pleasure, the more it is likely to elude you.

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42. Utilitarianism would agree to which one of the following statements?

A. It is always morally praiseworthy to disregard one’s own interests for the sake of other people.

B. The end justifies the means.

C. God determines the ultimate values of good and evil.

D. Might makes right.

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43. Which is the best utilitarian defense of torture?

A. It usually produces good helpful information.

B. It always works on “24”!

C. It might prevent much greater death or destruction.

D. It might create a “blowback” of retaliation or revenge.

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44. Mill disagrees with Bentham by claiming the following

A. The principle of utility is the one universal moral principle.

B. The greatest happiness principle is the one universal moral principle.

C. There is a qualitative difference between pleasures.

D. There is a quantitative difference between pleasures.

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45. There seem to have been several factors at play in young John Stuart Mill’s breakdown, other than his own insistence that he was disappointed

with Bentham’s utilitarian theory. Which one is not discussed in the text?

A. He was overworked.

B. He was lonely and depressed.

C. He felt guilty for being in love with a married woman.

D. He was an intellectual in a feeling-oriented age.

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46. Utilitarianism may agree to animal experiments under certain circumstances. Which is the most likely circumstance?

A. whenever there are no obligations to consider the pain of nonrational creatures

B. whenever it creates the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people

C. whenever we can determine that the suffering of the animal is minimal

D. whenever there is a large amount of happiness at stake in terms of profit for the doctors, the university, or business

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47. How does Mill propose to determine which pleasures are higher and which are lower?

A. by taking a poll in a local region

B. by selecting answers from people capable of appreciating higher pleasures and having no experience with lower pleasures

C. by asking people who have experience with both kinds of pleasure

D. none of the above – Mill argued that all pleasures count equally.

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48. Who wrote, “Capacity for the nobler feeling is in most natures a very tender plant, easily killed, not only by hostile influences, but by mere want

of sustenance”?

A. Bentham

B. Epicurus

C. Benedict

D. Mill

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49. According to J. S. Mill, interfering with other people’s lives is only legitimate

A. if it prevents harm to others.

B. if they intend to harm themselves.

C. if one possesses relevant knowledge about the welfare of those people that is unavailable to them.

D. None of the above—Mill thought there were NO legitimate reasons to interfere with other people’s lives.

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50. According to Mill, what kind of harm qualifies as the criterion for intervention by the government?

A. direct harm to others

B. indirect harm to others

C. direct harm to oneself

D. None of the above—Mill thought there was NO legitimate reason for the government to interfere with people’s lives.

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51. What is act utilitarianism?

A. the same as rule utilitarianism: the consequences of any type of act (rule) are what count

B. the same as Bentham’s utilitarianism: the consequences of any single act are what count

C. the opposite of passive utilitarianism

D. the part of utilitarianism that allows you to think of yourself only

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52. One of these statements is by John Stuart Mill. Which one?

A. “The proper method of judging when or whether one should help another person is by reference to one’s own rational self-interest and one’s own

hierarchy of values.”

B. “No one civilization can possibly utilize in its mores the whole potential range of human behavior.”

C. “A being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy, is capable probably of more acute suffering, and certainly accessible to it at more

points, than one of an inferior type.”

D. “The question is not, can they speak, or can they reason, but can they suffer?”

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53. In The Blacksmith and the Baker, the judge pronounces a sentence. What is his justification?

A. The baker is guilty and must be punished.

B. The blacksmith’s crime was unintentional; therefore, he cannot be punished.

C. The blacksmith must be punished for his crime, and nobody can take his place.

D. The baker can be punished even if he is innocent because he is expendable, but the blacksmith is not.

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54. In The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan tells Alyosha about an incident involving a small child. Which of the following is it?

A. The child is kept in a basement so that the city may prosper.

B. The child is torn apart by dogs on the order of a general.

C. The child is accused of murdering Ivan’s father.

D. The child is saved from drowning by the dogs belonging to a general.

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55. What is the moral issue raised in the film Extreme Measures?

A. Whether it is morally acceptable to sacrifice a few homeless people in order to advance the research in spinal cord injuries

B. Whether it is morally acceptable to falsify medical research in order to gain influence for the greater good

C. Whether it is morally acceptable to transplant animal organs into human beings without informing the human subjects

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McGraw-Hill Education.D. Whether it is morally acceptable to perform cloning of humans

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56. Discuss whether it is acceptable to lie if it eases suffering.

Answer will vary.

57. What is the difference between intrinsic and instrumental reasoning? Give an example.

Answer will vary.

58. Differentiate between a consequentialist and a utilitarian theory. Will Niccolò Machiavelli’s theory be regarded as consequentialist or utilitarian?

Answer will vary.

59. What is Bentham’s “hedonistic calculus”? What might this device tell us about the Age of Reason and the type of arguments that would be

considered important in such an age? Give an example of how to use the calculus.

Answer will vary.

60. Explain the paradox of hedonism.

Answer will vary.

61. In the movie Purge, on a specific date every year, all violence is allowed. The (supposed) benefit from the orgy of violence is that for the other

364 days of the year, life is peaceful and productive with no violent crimes. The majority benefits through the painful, terrifying deaths of a minority

of the population. Discuss whether the killing of a few people under ritual circumstances does provide benefits. Even if it somehow did, would it be

the right thing to do?

Answer will vary.

62. Why does Bentham refuse to distinguish between the choice of going to the opera and drinking gin? What do you think would be the opinion of

John Stuart Mill in this scenario?

Answer will vary.

63. What were some of the points of Bentham’s moral theory that J. S. Mill reconsidered in his formulation of utilitarianism?

Answer will vary.

64. According to Mill, how can we make a decision without knowing the consequences? Explain and discuss.

Answer will vary.

65. What is the harm principle? Explain with an example.

Answer will vary.

66. Explain the difference between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.

Answer will vary.

67. Explain the general idea of the naturalistic fallacy and how it relates to utilitarianism.

Answer will vary.

68. What constitutes (and what does not constitute) “harm” for Mill? How might this relate to the debate about freedom of speech?

Answer will vary.

69. Critics of the harm principle sometimes argue that the line between direct and indirect harm is blurred. Discuss this and illustrate their point with

an example.

Answer will vary.

70. How would a utilitarian respond to the suggestion that alien beings would be allowed to abduct involuntary human subjects for lethal medical

experiments provided that they give humanity a cure for all viral diseases, including AIDS? Evaluate the answer from the standpoint of an act

utilitarian and a rule utilitarian.

Answer will vary.

71. Evaluate the following statement from a utilitarian point of view: “Tests are causing suffering to students, and professors always complain about

having to grade tests, so tests should be abolished.”

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72. Evaluate Descartes’s theory that only those beings with minds can suffer, and only human beings have minds. Explore the possible consequences

for a moral theory if we agree that animals, including human beings, have the capacity for suffering.

Answer will vary.

73. Do you agree with Mill that “A being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy… than one of an inferior type”? What does Mill mean

by “inferior”?

Answer will vary.

74. If you were a citizen of Omelas and were shown the child in captivity, would you stay and accept the lesson about the price of happiness, or

would you walk away from Omelas? Explain.

Answer will vary.

75. Do you find Mill’s harm principle attractive or problematic? Explain why. Discuss the application of the harm principle to one of the following

issues: drug legalization, gun control, or helmet laws.

Answer will vary.

76. Discuss the permissibility of torture with respect to the utilitarian approach. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Answer will vary.

77. Do you think that people who lie more, often see themselves as lying for selfish reasons or utilitarian reasons? Can a person’s reasons for lying be

both selfish and utilitarian at the same time?

Answer will vary.

78. Discuss the opening scene of the film Extreme Measures. Did Guy make the right professional choice/the right moral choice? Should there be a

difference? Explain your position.

Answer will vary.

79. Is Dr. Myrick’s experimentation (Extreme Measures) a noble quest in order to help humanity or a perverse abuse of human beings? Is there a third

alternative? Explain your position.

Answer will vary.

80. In the movie Outbreak, Ford acts as a co-conspirator by acting on the orders of his superior. Can his actions be defended? Why or why not?

Answer will vary.

81. Identify the main differences between the movies Outbreak and Contagion. Do elements of utilitarianism exist in Contagion?

Answer will vary.

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