Question 1

What is the difference between legal rights and moral rights and between negative rights and positive rights?

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Question 2

A prima facie obligation is an obligation that can be overridden by a more important obligation.

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A prima facie obligation is a moral obligation that can be overridden if there is a more important moral obligation that conflicts with it.

Question 3

What is a prima facie obligation?

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Question 4

A hypothetical imperative tells us to act as we would want everyone to act in that situation.

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A hypothetical imperative is conditional and tells us what to do in order to achieve a specific goal, unlike the categorical imperative which would tell us to act as we would want everyone to act in a given situation.

Question 5

Jeremy Bentham thought that a community is no more than the individuals who compose it and that the interests of the community are simply the sum of the interests of its members.

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Bentham's philosophy of utilitarianism focused on maximizing the overall happiness or pleasure of individuals in a society, which is achieved by summing up the happiness of individuals to determine the greatest overall happiness for the community. This aligns with his belief that the interests of the community are the sum of the interests of its members.

Question 6

Ethical egoism says that human beings are,as a matter of fact,so constructed that they must behave selfishly.

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Ethical egoism is a normative theory that suggests individuals ought to act in their own self-interest; it does not claim that people must behave selfishly as a matter of their construction.

Question 7

Identify two forms of ethical egoism.What are these two forms and how do they differ from one another?

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Question 8

According to Immanuel Kant,lying is never morally permissible.Why does he believe this?

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Question 9

Explain one of the two criticisms of Kant's ethics.

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Question 10

One feature about utilitarianism that makes it appealing as a standard for moral decisions in business and nonbusiness organizations is that it provides a clear and straightforward basis for formulating and testing policies.

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Utilitarianism focuses on maximizing overall happiness or satisfaction, which can be easily measured and compared to determine the best course of action. This makes it a useful tool for formulating and testing policies in both business and non-business organizations.

Question 11

Immanuel Kant believed that prostitution was immoral because,by selling their sexual services,prostitutes allow themselves to be treated as only a means to an end.

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Kant believed that treating people solely as a means to an end, rather than as an end in themselves, was immoral. Prostitution involves using someone's body for the sexual gratification of others, which Kant believed violated this principle.

Question 12

State two alternative formulations of Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative.Explain what they mean.

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Question 13

W.D.Ross denied that we have immediate,intuitive knowledge of the basic prima facie obligations.

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W. D. Ross argued that we do have immediate, intuitive knowledge of basic prima facie duties, such as fidelity, reparation, and justice, which guide our moral decision-making.

Question 14

What is the difference between egoism as an ethical theory and psychological egoism?

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Question 15

A supererogatory act is an act that would be good to do,but not doing it is not wrong.

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A supererogatory act is an act that goes beyond what is required or expected, and doing it would be considered commendable or praiseworthy, but not doing it would not be considered wrong or immoral.

Question 16

According to Kant,when does an action have moral worth?

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Question 17

According to Adam Smith,if business is left to pursue its self-interest,the good of society will be compromised and harmed.

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This statement is actually the opposite of Adam Smith's beliefs. Smith argued that individuals pursuing their own self-interest would ultimately benefit society as a whole through the invisible hand mechanism of the market.

Question 18

Immanuel Kant believed that it is only when we act out of empathy for others that our actions have moral worth.

Accepted Answer

Kant believed that actions have moral worth when they are done out of duty and in accordance with the moral law, not out of empathy or emotions.

Question 19

Explain one of the three criticisms of Utilitarianism.

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Question 20

What is the difference between the categorical imperative and a hypothetical imperative?

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Quiz 2: Normative Theories of Ethics