PHIL 1020 Exam Questions with Verified
Solutions
Mackie believes that objective values, if they existed, would be entities "of a very
strange sort, utterly different from anything else in the universe," because - ANS-they
would have to be properties of the world that come with "built in" authoritative
prescriptions, providing a person with an overriding reason to behave in a certain way.
Along with breaking a promise, what other behavior does Kant say violates the
categorical imperative? - ANS-ALL OF THESE
Being lazy and seeking pleasure rather than working to develop one's natural talents
Committing suicide
Never being charitable
Mackie attempts to explain how people come to think that there are objective moral
values in the first place by - ANS-appeal to the speculative suggestion that we project
our subjective feelings and desires onto the external objects of those feelings and
desires, due to social pressures to conform to certain acceptable patterns of behavior.
The main problem with the limited goods that Kant considers—e.g. talents,
temperament, gifts, etc—is that - ANS-They could be used for evil purposes by
someone with a bad will
Nozick's experience machine thought experiment is supposed to show us hedonism is
false because - ANS-Most of us wouldn't plug into the machine, or at least would have
reservations about it, even though life in the machine promises to be much more
pleasurable than ordinary life.
Mill says that one group of critics of utilitarianism who have a generally positive and fair
conception of the theory, nevertheless object that its standard is too demanding,
because - ANS-It requires that our actions always be motivated by the goal of
maximizing the general good
What is Mill's response to his critics saying that hedonism is a philosophy only fit for
pigs? - ANS-He argues that it is rather his opponents who have a degrading view of
human nature, since they are the ones who assume human pleasures are no different
than pig pleasures.
What is Mill's point in drawing an analogy between visibility and desirability? - ANS-Just
as the proof of visibility is that everyone can see a thing, so too the proof that happiness
is desirable is that everyone in fact desires it.
, All of the following are things Nozick says matter to us in addition to pleasurable
experiences, except... - ANS-We want to know all the answers to life's deepest
questions, make friends with famous people, and earn lots of money.
If we object to the experience machine on the grounds that we aspire to be certain kinds
of people, and the experience machine doesn't help us develop into those kinds of
people, Nozick suggests we could add another kind of machine to address this worry,
called a - ANS-transformation machine
Why does Kant think that we have a duty to be charitable towards those less fortunate
who "have to contend with great hardships," even though adopting a maxim of ignoring
them and not being charitable could become a universal law of nature? - ANS-Because
we couldn't will this to be a universal law, since we inevitably will need people to be
charitable towards us at some point too.
Which one of the following is NOT an important argument against hedonism? - ANS-
The argument for meat eating
The difference between act and rule utilitarianism is that - ANS-Act utilitarianism
requires that we try to maximize individual well-being each time we have a decision to
make, whereas rule utilitarianism requires that we follow a code that we are convinced
would do better than any other set of guidelines at making the world a better place, if
only everyone would follow it.
Paternalism involves - ANS-Violating another person's autonomy or liberty for his or her
own good
An act or policy is optimific just in case it - ANS-Yields the greatest balance of benefits
over drawbacks
To say that one strength of hedonism is its flexibility, is to say that - ANS-On this theory,
there are many paths to happiness, so many versions of the good life
Confronted with a cancer patient who is refusing a treatment necessary to keep him
alive, a doctor who follows act-utilitarianism will say - ANS-We first have to decide
whether more net good will come from honoring the patient's choice or not. Relevant in
that calculation will be the lives of all those affected by the patient, as well as his own
welfare. Whichever action brings about the greater net good is what we should do.
Which of the following would most people consider a supererogatory act? - ANS-Giving
all your money to the poor
The Epicureans were ancient proponents of - ANS-Hedonism
Solutions
Mackie believes that objective values, if they existed, would be entities "of a very
strange sort, utterly different from anything else in the universe," because - ANS-they
would have to be properties of the world that come with "built in" authoritative
prescriptions, providing a person with an overriding reason to behave in a certain way.
Along with breaking a promise, what other behavior does Kant say violates the
categorical imperative? - ANS-ALL OF THESE
Being lazy and seeking pleasure rather than working to develop one's natural talents
Committing suicide
Never being charitable
Mackie attempts to explain how people come to think that there are objective moral
values in the first place by - ANS-appeal to the speculative suggestion that we project
our subjective feelings and desires onto the external objects of those feelings and
desires, due to social pressures to conform to certain acceptable patterns of behavior.
The main problem with the limited goods that Kant considers—e.g. talents,
temperament, gifts, etc—is that - ANS-They could be used for evil purposes by
someone with a bad will
Nozick's experience machine thought experiment is supposed to show us hedonism is
false because - ANS-Most of us wouldn't plug into the machine, or at least would have
reservations about it, even though life in the machine promises to be much more
pleasurable than ordinary life.
Mill says that one group of critics of utilitarianism who have a generally positive and fair
conception of the theory, nevertheless object that its standard is too demanding,
because - ANS-It requires that our actions always be motivated by the goal of
maximizing the general good
What is Mill's response to his critics saying that hedonism is a philosophy only fit for
pigs? - ANS-He argues that it is rather his opponents who have a degrading view of
human nature, since they are the ones who assume human pleasures are no different
than pig pleasures.
What is Mill's point in drawing an analogy between visibility and desirability? - ANS-Just
as the proof of visibility is that everyone can see a thing, so too the proof that happiness
is desirable is that everyone in fact desires it.
, All of the following are things Nozick says matter to us in addition to pleasurable
experiences, except... - ANS-We want to know all the answers to life's deepest
questions, make friends with famous people, and earn lots of money.
If we object to the experience machine on the grounds that we aspire to be certain kinds
of people, and the experience machine doesn't help us develop into those kinds of
people, Nozick suggests we could add another kind of machine to address this worry,
called a - ANS-transformation machine
Why does Kant think that we have a duty to be charitable towards those less fortunate
who "have to contend with great hardships," even though adopting a maxim of ignoring
them and not being charitable could become a universal law of nature? - ANS-Because
we couldn't will this to be a universal law, since we inevitably will need people to be
charitable towards us at some point too.
Which one of the following is NOT an important argument against hedonism? - ANS-
The argument for meat eating
The difference between act and rule utilitarianism is that - ANS-Act utilitarianism
requires that we try to maximize individual well-being each time we have a decision to
make, whereas rule utilitarianism requires that we follow a code that we are convinced
would do better than any other set of guidelines at making the world a better place, if
only everyone would follow it.
Paternalism involves - ANS-Violating another person's autonomy or liberty for his or her
own good
An act or policy is optimific just in case it - ANS-Yields the greatest balance of benefits
over drawbacks
To say that one strength of hedonism is its flexibility, is to say that - ANS-On this theory,
there are many paths to happiness, so many versions of the good life
Confronted with a cancer patient who is refusing a treatment necessary to keep him
alive, a doctor who follows act-utilitarianism will say - ANS-We first have to decide
whether more net good will come from honoring the patient's choice or not. Relevant in
that calculation will be the lives of all those affected by the patient, as well as his own
welfare. Whichever action brings about the greater net good is what we should do.
Which of the following would most people consider a supererogatory act? - ANS-Giving
all your money to the poor
The Epicureans were ancient proponents of - ANS-Hedonism
