Deck 5: Consequentialist Theories: Maximize the Good

Question 1

Consider a scenario involving the possible killing of an innocent person for the good of others.Such an action could conceivably be sanctioned by:

A)Kant's theory.
B)natural law theory.
C)the means-end principle.
D)act-utilitarianism.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Joel Feinberg shows that someone who directly pursues happiness:

A)will find it faster than others.
B)is insincere.
C)is unlikely to find it.
D)is unlikely to pursue anything.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

When act- and rule-utilitarianism are applied to the same moral issue,they:

A)may yield different answers.
B)always yield the same answer.
C)always yield different answers.
D)offer incoherent solutions.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Ethical egoism seems to conflict with:

A)the greatest happiness principle.
B)our considered moral judgments and our moral experience.
C)our considered moral judgments and our self-interest.
D)our moral experience and self-indulgence.

Question 5

Ethical egoism is the theory that:

A)the right action is the one that advances everyone's best interests equally.
B)one's only moral duty is to promote the most favorable balance of good over evil for all concerned.
C)the right action is the one that advances one's own best interests.
D)the right action is the one most consistent with the goal of selfishness.

Question 6

Suppose for someone there are only two possible actions: (1)read Aristotle or (2)spend a weekend on a tropical isle in intensely pleasurable debauchery.In this situation,the classic utilitarian would likely choose:

A)(1).
B)(2).
C)neither (1)nor (2).
D)both (1)and (2).

Question 7

Suppose for someone there are only two possible actions: (1)read Aristotle or (2)spend a weekend on a tropical isle in intensely pleasurable debauchery.Under these circumstances,John Stuart Mill would likely:

A)spend a week in intensely pleasurable debauchery.
B)refrain from making such a choice.
C)combine reading Aristotle with debauchery.
D)read Aristotle.

Question 8

Suppose you break your promise to visit your dying grandmother on the grounds that you can create more happiness by partying with your friends.This utilitarian view of the situation seems to conflict with:

A)our commonsense view of justice.
B)our commonsense view of rights.
C)our commonsense view of our obligations to other people.
D)our commonsense notion of utilitarian morality.

Question 9

The philosopher who said that the greatest good is pleasure,and the greatest evil is pain,was:

A)Kant.
B)Epicurus.
C)Aquinas.
D)Socrates.

Question 10

The theory that says to determine right action you must apply the egoistic principle to individual acts is called:

A)Kantian egoism.
B)nonconsequentialist egoism.
C)rule-egoism.
D)act-egoism.

Question 11

Some utilitarians respond to the charge that act-utilitarianism conflicts with common moral intuitions by:

A)switching to natural law theory.
B)rejecting commonsense morality.
C)denying that act-utilitarianism is a true moral theory.
D)rejecting rule-utilitarianism.

Question 12

John Stuart Mill says,"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied;better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." This sentiment is an indictment of the glutton but also a pat on the back for:

A)those who make no distinction between higher and lower pleasures.
B)those who avoid all pleasures.
C)those who enjoy higher pleasures.
D)those who achieve the greatest quantity of pleasure.

Question 13

If,according to Jeremy Bentham,only the total quantity of happiness matters,then the person closest to the moral ideal would be:

A)the ascetic.
B)the glutton.
C)the Spartan.
D)a disciplined soldier.

Question 14

To the classic utilitarian,happiness is:

A)an instrumental good.
B)one of many intrinsic goods.
C)the only intrinsic good.
D)an illusion.

Question 15

Defenders of act-utilitarianism insist that the scenarios that seem to show utilitarianism in conflict with commonsense morality are:

A)misleading and implausible.
B)likely to occur at least some of the time.
C)too realistic.
D)common but inconsequential.

Question 16

Suppose a utilitarian judge decides to rule against a plaintiff in a lawsuit just because people in general would be happier if the plaintiff lost the case.Such a utilitarian move would conflict with:

A)rule-utilitarianism.
B)commonsense views about happiness.
C)divine command theory.
D)commonsense views about justice.

Question 17

John Stuart Mill says that humans by nature desire happiness and nothing but happiness;therefore happiness is the standard by which we should judge human conduct,and therefore the principle of utility is the heart of morality.But this argument is controversial,because:

A)it reasons from what is to what should be.
B)it has no premises.
C)utilitarianism is not a moral theory.
D)Mill failed to defend his theory.

Question 18

Psychological egoism is a:

A)basic moral principle.
B)moral theory.
C)description of the true nature of our motivations.
D)description of how morality trumps psychology.

Question 19

A true ethical egoist chooses actions that:

A)are exceptionally altruistic.
B)lead him to self-indulgent or reckless behavior.
C)provide him with whatever he wants.
D)promote his own self-interests.

Question 20

The utilitarian principle,or principle of utility,is also called the:

A)principle of minimal happiness.
B)principle of diminishing returns.
C)hedonistic formula.
D)greatest happiness principle.

Question 21

Rule-utilitarianism has been accused of being internally inconsistent because the theory can:

A)easily collapse into act-utilitarianism.
B)be defended through act-utilitarianism.
C)always fall back on rigid rules.
D)never be understood.

Question 22

Commonsense morality makes a distinction between doing our duty and doing more than duty requires,what are called supererogatory actions.This distinction seems to disappear in:

A)natural law theory.
B)Rawls's theory.
C)utilitarianism.
D)Kant's theory.

Question 23

Utilitarianism (in all its forms)requires that in our actions we always try to maximize utility,everyone considered.This requirement has given rise to:

A)ethical egoism.
B)the "no-rest problem."
C)the maximization problem.
D)the golden-rule problem.

Question 24

Utilitarianism is a moral theory for promoting:

A)adherence to absolutist rules.
B)a kind of ethical egoism.
C)the principle of partiality.
D)human welfare.

Question 25

Utilitarianism reminds us that:

A)the consequences of our actions do not matter most of the time.
B)not everyone counts equally in moral deliberations.
C)some absolutist rules are necessary.
D)the consequences of our actions make a difference in our moral deliberations.