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 Chapter 1 ETHICS AND THE EXAMINED LIFE
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Not thinking too deeply or too systematically about ethical concerns

a. isolates you from other people. c. ensures that no moral dilemmas arise.
b. undermines your personal freedom. d. helps guide you to moral truth.

2. Which of the following is the overall point of the author’s discussion of “doing ethics”?
a. Doing ethics is difficult, but not doing it is foolish.
b. Doing ethics requires many years of careful study.
c. Most people should rely on wiser authorities to do ethics for them.
d. Doing ethics is unavoidable for everyone.

3. Which field or topic would include tasks such as accurately describing the moral codes and
ethical standards of colonial America?
a. normative ethics c. descriptive ethics
b. applied ethics d. instrumental ethics

4. What is a major difference between descriptive ethics and normative ethics?

a. Normative ethics concerns moral beliefs, whereas descriptive ethics concerns moral behaviors.
b. Normative ethics implies that some people’s moral beliefs are incorrect, whereas descriptive ethics
does not.
c. Descriptive ethics cannot be done properly before doing normative ethics.
d. Descriptive ethics is not a scientific topic of study, whereas normative ethics is.

5. Morality refers to beliefs about

a. praise and punishment. c. legal and moral standards.
b. right and wrong, good and bad. d. typical behavior in one’s society.

6. Believing that you can establish all your moral beliefs by consulting your feelings is an example of
a. subjectivism. c. reliabilism.
b. objectivism. d. critical scrutiny.

7. What does normative ethics study?

a. theories that explain why people behave as they do
b. normative standards in different disciplines
c. the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs
d. principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments

8. Which of these questions belongs to metaethics?

a. What moral beliefs do cultures embody?
b. What does it mean for an action to be right?
c. What theories of ethics do individuals endorse?
d. What is the meaning of life from a moral perspective?

9. Applied ethics is the

a. application of normative ethics to metaethics.
b. application of society’s rules to one’s own life.
c. study of the principles and rules that everyone accepts.
d. application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases.

10. Which field concerns questions such as “Was this abortion permissible?” or “Was this
instance of mercy killing immoral?”
a. applied ethics c. normative ethics
b. metaethics d. descriptive ethics
11. The preeminence of reason refers to the
a. times when our emotions overwhelm our reason.
b. gap between our feelings and our reason.
c. overriding importance of critical reasoning in ethics.
d. guidance that conscience gives to our reason.

12. Which of the following is a consequence of the principle of universalizability?

a. If harming someone is wrong in a particular situation, then harming someone would be wrong for
anyone in a relevantly similar situation.
b. If harming someone is wrong in a particular situation, then harming someone would be wrong in all
situations.
c. The moral rules implied by your behavior apply to everyone, even in dissimilar situations.
d. A person’s morality is dictated by his or her culture-wide morality.

13. Which statement would the author most likely agree with, based on what he states in this chapter?
a. If your moral beliefs depend on your religious views, it is important to be able to convince others of
your religious views before presenting your moral beliefs.
b. Because we live with people who have different religious views, we need standards for moral
reasoning that do not depend on any particular religious views.
c. Religious believers tend not to think about morality as much as nonbelievers do.
d. Religious believers tend to have more detailed moral beliefs than nonbelievers do.

14. Which of the following correctly applies the principle of impartiality?

a. A mass murderer deserves the same treatment as a heart surgeon.
b. You cannot fairly punish one member of a group unless you punish all of them.
c. All moral judgments must be made on a case-by-case basis, setting aside all personal biases.
d. Everyone deserves the same treatment, unless there is a morally relevant reason to
favor someone.

15. The dominance of moral norms suggests that if a speed limit on a highway conflicts with a
person’s moral duty to rush a dying man to the hospital, then
a. the moral duty would be as weighty as the legal duty.
b. neither the legal duty nor the moral duty would apply.
c. the moral duty would take precedence over the legal duty.
d. the moral duty would sanction any method whatsoever of getting the dying man to the hospital.

16. Which of these illustrates the need for moral reasoning when applying religious moral codes?
a. My religious moral code includes a general rule not to kill, but sometimes killing might be the only
way to defend myself.
b. My religious moral code includes a general rule not to lie, but some people lie frequently.
c. My religious moral code has many rules that are not relevant to me.
d. My religious moral code is difficult to follow because it is very strict and demanding.

17. When religious adherents claim that murder is wrong because God says that it is, they are
implicitly espousing the
a. legal theory of divine justice. c. religious demand theory.
b. greatest happiness principle. d. divine command theory.

18. In arguing against the divine command theory, many critics insist that
a. God has the power to will actions to be morally permissible.
b. if an action is right only because God wills it, then all actions are right.
c. if an action is right only because God wills it, then many evil actions would be right
if God willed them.
d. if an action is right only because God wills it, then many evil actions would be right for believers
but wrong for nonbelievers.
19. Why does Leibniz, the great theistic philosopher, reject the divine command theory?
a. because it implies God is beyond our understanding
b. because it implies God is unworthy of worship
c. because it implies a utilitarian conception of morality
d. because it implies God plays no role in morality

20. Which of these best describes the purpose of the book’s discussion of ethics and religion?
a. to convince religious believers of the value of doing ethics
b. to convince the reader that religious moral codes and theories are unacceptable
c. to convince the reader to question everything about morality
d. to convince religious believers that ethics is a replacement for religious beliefs
 SUBJECTIVISM, RELATIVISM, AND
Chapter 2

EMOTIVISM MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Subjective relativism is the doctrine that
a. an action is morally right if one approves of it.
b. an action is morally right if one’s culture approves of it.
c. actions are judged by objective standards.
d. an action is morally right even if no one approves of it.

2. Suppose I think that I sometimes make mistakes on moral matters, and so does my culture. Acknowledging this, I say, “My moral
beliefs are sometimes wrong and sometimes my
culture’s moral principles are wrong as well.” On which view could my statement be true?
a. emotivism c. objectivism
b. cultural relativism d. subjective relativism

3. Objectivism is the view that

a. moral principles are rigid rules that have no exceptions.
b. there are no objective moral principles.
c. some moral principles are valid for everyone.
d. moral utterances are neither true nor false.

4. Subjective relativism implies that when Sofia says, “I think abortion is wrong,” and Emma replies,
“I think abortion is permissible,” Sofia and Emma are
a. having a moral disagreement. c. not having a moral disagreement.
b. really saying the same thing. d. not entirely serious.

5. Subjective relativism implies that when a person states their moral beliefs, that person is
a. incapable of making moral judgments.
b. incapable of being in error.
c. morally fallible.
d. infallible on some moral judgments, but not others.

6. Both objectivists and cultural relativists agree that

a. the truth of moral judgments depends on whether one’s culture approves of them.
b. moral judgments differ from culture to culture.
c. moral judgments do not differ from culture to culture.
d. the truth of moral judgments does not depend on whether one’s culture approves of them.

7. Which statement is a consequence of objectivism?

a. Moral rules apply in all cases, without exceptions.
b. If two people have a moral disagreement, only one of them can be right.
c. Everyone has the same beliefs about morality.
d. Whether an action is objectively right depends on its consequences.

8. Cultural relativists may believe their theory promotes tolerance of other cultures. However,
the author argues against this. Which statement best summarizes his argument?
a. Cultural relativists really only value the practices of some cultures, not all cultures.
b. Subjective relativists and emotivists can also promote tolerance.
c. Tolerance is not really a good thing, and so cultural relativists should not support it.
d. Cultural relativists cannot consistently say that tolerance is objectively good.

9. According to the main argument for cultural relativism, if culture X and culture Y disagree
about the morality of physician-assisted suicide, this shows that
a. right and wrong are not relative to cultures.
 b. physician-assisted suicide is permissible.
c. either culture X or culture Y must be correct.
d. no view can be objectively correct.

10. Objectivists argue that the diversity of moral judgments across cultures does not necessarily
indicate that there is disagreement about moral beliefs, but instead may indicate that
a. the moral beliefs do not matter. c. nonmoral beliefs do not differ.
b. there are divergent nonmoral beliefs. d. disagreement is not possible.

11. Which feature of emotivism makes it different from subjective relativism?

a. In emotivism, moral judgments vary from individual to individual.
b. In emotivism, some of our feelings about actions are objectively justified.
c. In emotivism, we are not able to have disagreements in our moral beliefs.
d. In emotivism, we do not automatically have true beliefs about right and wrong.

12. Suppose a culture approves of beheading a young man for merely holding hands with a woman. According to cultural relativism, the
beheading is
a. neither justified nor unjustified. c. morally justified.
b. morally unjustified. d. objectively justified.

13. Cultural relativism implies that the abolition of slavery in the United States
a. represents moral progress.
b. may or may not represent moral progress.
c. cannot be explained.
d. cannot be regarded as moral progress.

14. Which statement best summarizes why, according to the author, cultural relativism is nearly impossible to use?
a. Each of us belongs to only one society, and so we cannot know what people in other societies
believe.
b. Each of us belongs to multiple societies or social groups, but cultural relativism does not specify
which society or group we should use in evaluating actions.
c. It is often impossible to know whether your culture approves of a given action.
d. The theory makes it impossible to convince other people of moral claims.

15. Suppose your culture endorses the view that all wars are wrong. It follows from cultural
relativism that your culture
a. cannot be mistaken about the morality of war.
b. must disagree with other cultures about the morality of war.
c. is fallible about the morality of war.
d. does not participate in wars.

16. What does cultural relativism imply about the civil rights leader and social reformer
Martin Luther King Jr., considered as part of 1950s–1960s United States culture?
a. He was a product of his culture.
b. He was wrong about his moral reforms.
c. He was neither right nor wrong about his moral reforms.
d. He was objectively right but relativistically wrong about his moral reforms.

17. For a cultural relativist, when two people in the same culture disagree on a moral issue,
what they are really disagreeing about is
a. the strength of the arguments presented.
b. nonmoral issues.
c. objective moral truth.
d. whether their society endorses a particular view.

18. Cognitivism is the view that moral statements

 a. are neither true nor false. c. cannot be understood.
b. can be true or false. d. express cognitive emotions.

19. Noncognitivism is the view that

a. moral judgments are almost never true.
b. moral judgments are statements.
c. moral judgments are not statements that can be true or false.
d. moral theories can be true or false.

20. For the emotivist, which of these best displays the meaning of the moral utterance
“Lying is wrong”?
a. “Lying—I hate it!” c. “Lying is immoral!”
b. “Lying may be wrong.” d. “Lying has occurred!”

21. Maryam says, “Abortion is always wrong,” while Fatima says, “Sometimes abortion is not wrong.” Which statement best summarizes
how emotivists view this kind of disagreement?
a. Maryam and Fatima cannot both be right, because this would produce an emotional conflict
between them.
b. Maryam and Fatima are expressing different attitudes, but neither of them says something that
could be true or false.
c. Maryam and Fatima are really expressing the same attitude, but in different ways, and so there is
not really a disagreement here.
d. Maryam and Fatima are both expressing their personal beliefs about abortion, so there is no way to
resolve the disagreement.

22. According to emotivism, to offer reasons for a moral judgment is to

a. provide moral reasons that can influence someone’s belief in a moral claim.
b. provide reasons that have a logical or cognitive connection to a moral judgment.
c. provide moral facts that can influence someone’s attitude.
d. provide statements that can influence someone’s attitude.

23. Central to emotivism is the view that moral judgments are not statements that can be true
or false. What does emotivism add to this view?
a. That moral statements, unlike moral judgments, can be true or false.
b. That moral judgments express attitudes and influence others to share those attitudes.
c. That moral emotions are objectively right or wrong.
d. That correct moral judgments are guided by emotions.

24. Emotivists can admit that the serial killer Ted Bundy killed more than 30 women,
but they cannot say that these events
a. were, for a fact, bad. c. were caused by people.
b. were killings. d. were violent.

25. Our commonsense moral experiences suggest that

a. nothing is morally good or bad in itself.
b. some things are morally good and some things are morally bad.
c. our commonsense moral intuition is always correct.
d. good and bad things happen for no reason.
 Chapter 3 EVALUATING MORAL ARGUMENTS
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A statement is
a. an assertion about morality.
b. an assertion without a truth value.
c. an assertion that something is or is not the case.
d. a claim that cannot be verified.

2. The utterance “Abortion is morally permissible” is

a. an argument. c. a moral statement.
b. a nonmoral statement. d. an implied statement.

3. In the argument “(1) Premarital sex is morally permissible because (2) it makes people happy,” statement 1 is the ________ and
statement 2 is the ________.
a. conclusion; premise c. main argument; premise
b. premise; conclusion d. implied premise; stated premise

4. An argument in the logical sense is a

a. heated exchange of views.
b. group of statements, one of which is supposed to be supported by the rest.
c. group of statements that leads to a question.
d. group of unconnected statements.

5. In an argument, the supporting statements are known as ________; the statement being
supported is known as the ________.
a. inferences; conclusion c. premises; conclusion
b. premises; deduction d. indicator words; conclusion

6. The phrases “because,” “given that,” “due to the fact that,” and “for the reason that” are
a. conclusion indicators. c. statements.
b. statement indicators. d. premise indicators.

7. Deductive arguments are

a. supposed to offer probable support for their conclusions.
b. usually valid.
c. usually invalid.
d. supposed to give logically conclusive support to their conclusions.

8. A valid deductive argument with true premises is said to be

a. strong. c. fit.
b. sound. d. cogent.

9. Name the form of the following argument: If p, then q. p. Therefore, q.

a. modus tollens c. modus ponens
b. hypothetical syllogism d. reductio ad absurdum

10. Name the form of the following argument: If p, then q. If q, then r. Therefore, if p, then r.
a. hypothetical inductive c. modus ponens
b. hypothetical syllogism d. modus tollens

11. Name the form of the following argument: If the dog barks, something must be wrong. Something must be wrong. Therefore, the dog
will bark.
a. denying the antecedent c. affirming the consequent
 b. modus tollens d. hypothetical syllogism

12. Inductive arguments are

a. intended to supplement deductive arguments.
b. intended to be abductive.
c. supposed to offer only probable support for their conclusions.
d. supposed to give logically conclusive support to their conclusions.

13. A strong inductive argument with true premises is said to be

a. sound. c. valid.
b. cogent. d. invalid.

14. In a valid argument, if the premises are true, then the

a. argument is cogent. c. conclusion may or may not be true.
b. conclusion is probably true. d. conclusion absolutely has to be true.

15. What is the implicit premise in the following moral argument? “Same-sex marriage is contrary
to tradition. Therefore, it should never be allowed.”
a. Same-sex marriage is harmful to society.
b. Same-sex marriage is unnatural and therefore should be banned.
c. Whatever causes harm to children should not be allowed.
d. Whatever is contrary to tradition should not be allowed.

16. A moral statement is a

a. statement affirming that an action is bad or that a person is bad.
b. statement asserting a valid moral argument.
c. statement asserting that a state of affairs is actual (true or false) without assigning a moral value to
it.
d. statement affirming that an action is right or wrong or that a person (or one's motive or character) is
good or bad.

17. A statement asserting that a state of affairs is actual (true or false) without assigning a moral
value to it is a
a. moral statement. c. valid statement.
b. nonmoral statement. d. strong statement.

18. What is the implicit premise in the following moral argument? "The war did not increase the
amount of happiness in the world. So, the war was morally wrong."
a. If a war is immoral, it must be considered morally wrong.
b. If a war does not increase the amount of peace in the world, it must be considered morally wrong.
c. If a war does not increase the amount of happiness in the world, it must be considered morally
wrong.
d. Some wars increase the amount of happiness in the world.

19. What is a possible counterexample to the following moral principle? “Lying is always wrong.”
a. Lying is morally wrong unless doing so will save a person’s life.
b. Lying to cheat your friend out of money is morally wrong.
c. Lying to save yourself from embarrassment is wrong.
d. Lying is always morally wrong, even if doing so will save a person’s life.

20. The fallacy of assigning two different meanings to the same term in an argument is known as
a. begging the question. c. straw man.
b. equivocation. d. appeal to ignorance.

21. What is the fallacy used in the following passage? “If marijuana is legalized, young people will
assume that smoking marijuana is socially acceptable. That will lead them to give into the
 temptation to smoke marijuana themselves, and smoking marijuana can ruin their lives.
Therefore, marijuana should not be legalized.”
a. straw man c. appeal to the person
b. slippery slope d. appeal to ignorance

22. What is the fallacy used in the following passage? “No one can prove that a fetus is not a
person from the moment of conception. So, a fetus must be accorded full moral rights as soon
as it is conceived.”
a. appeal to ignorance c. slippery slope
b. appeal to the person d. faulty analogy

23. What is the fallacy used in the following passage? “Liberals believe in abortion on demand,
which means that killing a baby is permissible any time at all—at conception, in the second
trimester, at infancy. Any of these would be appropriate times to kill a baby, says the liberal.”
a. appeal to the person c. straw man
b. begging the question d. equivocation

24. What is the fallacy used in the following passage? “John argues that active euthanasia is
sometimes morally acceptable. But we can reject out of hand anything he has to say because
he's an ultraconservative.”
a. equivocation c. appeal to authority
b. begging the question d. appeal to the person

25. The fallacy of drawing a conclusion about an entire group of people or things based on an
undersized sample of the group is known as
a. hasty generalization. c. slippery slope.
b. begging the question. d. faulty analogy.
Chapter 5 CONSEQUENTIALIST THEORIES: MAXIMIZE THE
GOOD
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. 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.

2. The philosopher who said that the greatest good is pleasure, and the greatest evil is pain, was
a. Kant. c. Aquinas.
b. Epicurus. d. Socrates.

3. Joel Feinberg argues that someone who directly pursues happiness

a. will find it faster than others. c. is unlikely to find it.
b. is insincere. d. is unlikely to pursue anything.

4. Ethical egoism seems to conflict with

a. psychological egoism.
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.

5. Suppose for someone there are only two possible actions: (1) read Aristotle, or (2) spend a
weekend on a tropical isle filled with 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.

6. If, according to Jeremy Bentham, only the total quantity of happiness produced by an action matters, then the person closest to the
moral ideal would be
a. the self-denying monk. c. the academic scholar.
b. the glutton. d. a disciplined soldier.

7. 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 those who
a. make no distinction between higher and lower pleasures.
b. avoid all pleasures.
c. enjoy higher pleasures.
d. achieve the greatest quantity of pleasure.

8. 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 at the heart of morality. But this argument is controversial, because
a. it reasons from what is to what should be.
b. it equivocates on the word “happiness.”
c. it is internally inconsistent.
d. Mill failed to defend his theory.

9. 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. c. the means-end principle.
b. natural law theory. d. act-utilitarianism.

10. Some utilitarians respond to the charge that act-utilitarianism conflicts with commonsense
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.

11. 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. c. divine command theory.
b. commonsense views about happiness. d. commonsense views about justice.

12. 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 our commonsense
a. view of justice. c. view of our obligations to other people.
b. view of rights. d. notion of utilitarian morality.

13. Defenders of act-utilitarianism insist that the scenarios put forth by critics that seem to show utilitarianism in conflict with
commonsense morality are
a. misleading and implausible. c. too realistic.
b. likely to occur at least some of the time. d. common but inconsequential.

14. 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. c. the maximization problem.
b. the no-rest problem. d. the Golden Rule problem.

15. 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. ethical egoism. c. utilitarianism.
b. social contract theory. d. Kant’s theory.

16. Rule-utilitarianism has been accused of being internally inconsistent because the theory can
a. easily lapse back into act-utilitarianism. c. always fall back on rigid rules.
b. be defended through act-utilitarianism. d. never be understood.

17. 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.

18. The philosopher Thomas Hobbes says that people are naturally
a. greedy, selfish, violent, self-destructive, and desperate.
b. compassionate, generous, and considerate.
c. eager to believe in a religious doctrine.
d. lazy and unambitious.

19. Because people will renege on deals they enter, Hobbes believes that what is needed for
 enforcing the social contract is an absolute sovereign—a fearsome, powerful person he
refers to as the
a. Divine Father. c. Leviathan.
b. Utility Monster. d. categorical imperative.

20. One of the criticisms of social contract theory is that it’s doubtful that those who are supposed
to be parties to the contract have actually given
a. due attention to morality.
b. any thought to whether Hobbes was correct.
c. any consideration to those who are not party to the contract.
d. their consent to the terms of the contract.

21. Some critics of social contract theory argue that few people have ever actually consented to
the terms of a social contract. Some defenders of social contract theory reply that people are
much more likely to have given their
a. verbal consent. c. fictional consent.
b. implicit consent. d. refusal to consent.
Chapter 6 NONCONSEQUENTIALIST THEORIES: DO YOUR
DUTY
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A categorical imperative tells us

a. what to do if we have certain desires.
b. that we should always perform our imperfect duties.
c. that we should do something in all situations regardless of our wants and needs.
d. what our hypothetical duties are.

2. Kant believes that every action implies

a. a hypothetical moral agent. c. a general rule, or maxim.
b. an imperfect duty. d. a conditional law.

3. The difference between hypothetical and categorical imperatives is that

a. hypothetical imperatives are universal, whereas categorical imperatives are not.
b. hypothetical imperatives are rational and categorical imperatives are conditional.
c. hypothetical imperatives are absolutist, whereas categorical imperatives are not.
d. hypothetical imperatives are conditional, whereas categorical imperatives are unconditional.

4. Kant would say that using a person to achieve some end, such as hiring someone to paint
your house, is not necessarily wrong because
a. every situation is different.
b. exceptions are made for people who are not our friends.
c. there is no moral difference between treating persons as a means and treating them merely, or only,
as a means.
d. there is a moral difference between treating persons as a means and treating them merely, or only,
as a means.

5. Applying the first formulation of the categorical imperative to the act of lying to a friend
would show that the action is impermissible because
a. the action’s maxim cannot be universalized.
b. performing the action would treat the friend as an end, not as a means.
c. performing the action would treat the friend as a means to an end.
d. the action’s maxim can be universalized.

6. Applying the second formulation of the categorical imperative to the act of lying to a friend
on important matters would show that the action is impermissible because
a. performing the action would treat the friend merely as a means to an end.
b. performing the action would treat the friend as an end, not as a means.
c. the action cannot be performed.
d. the action leads to impermissible consequences.

7. Like many moral theories, Kant’s system fails to

a. articulate its main features.
b. provide principles for action.
c. provide an effective means for resolving major conflicts of duties.
d. take personal autonomy into account.

8. Consider this comment from the philosopher C. D. Broad regarding Kant’s means-ends
principle: “If we isolate a man who is a carrier of typhoid, we are treating him merely as a
cause of infection to others. But, if we refuse to isolate him, we are treating other people
merely as means to his comfort and culture.” This example suggests that
a. our duties not to use people merely as a means can conflict, and Kant provides no counsel on how
to resolve such dilemmas.
b. our duties not to use people merely as a means can sometimes be difficult to discern, but they never
 actually conflict.
c. our duties not to use people merely as a means are imperfect duties.
d. our duties are always clear upon further reflection.

9. A serious criticism of Kant’s theory is that it

a. ignores the possibility that God exists.
b. allows too much subjectivity in moral decision making.
c. relies too much on consequences.
d. is too specific about how to state a rule describing an action.

10. Kant’s theory emphasizes three of morality’s most important features; the three are
a. universality, impartiality, and the consequences of actions.
b. respect for persons, absolutism, and subjectivity.
c. self-interest, moral consensus, and moral authority.
d. universality, impartiality, and respect for persons.

11. According to Aquinas, the first precept of natural law theory is

a. do what is in your own best interests.
b. good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be avoided.
c. avoid harm to others and yourself.
d. good and evil are to be defined by religion.

12. Aquinas says that judging the rightness of actions is a matter of

a. determining what consequences result from actions.
b. consulting our feelings and seeing which way our emotive consciousness points.
c. consulting church authorities.
d. consulting reason and considering rational grounds for moral beliefs.

13. Many philosophers insist that the teleological character of nature has never been supported by
logical argument or empirical science because
a. the church has disagreed with science.
b. scientists have been uninterested in teleology.
c. natural law theory is internally illogical.
d. nature is not teleological at all, but instead random and purposeless.

14. The absolutism of natural law theory (that is, the fact that some actions are always wrong
[or right] regardless of circumstances) would not bother
a. Aquinas. c. an act-utilitarian.
b. Mill. d. an ethical egoist.

15. In natural law theory, the emphasis on reason makes morality independent of
a. logic. c. history and common practice.
b. psychology. d. religion and belief in God.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: p. 143
TOP: IV. Learning from Natural Law MSC: Remembering
Chapter 7 VIRTUE ETHICS: BE A GOOD PERSON
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Aristotle distinguishes between

a. intellectual virtues and moral virtues.
b. intellectual virtues and political virtues.
c. temporal virtues and earthly virtues.
d. moral virtues and happiness virtues.

2. For Aristotle, a person living a life of reason is living a life of

a. excess. c. struggle.
b. virtue. d. strict adherence to moral rules.

3. According to Aristotle, the greatest good for humans is

a. virtue law. c. virtuosity.
b. the Golden Mean. d. eudaimonia.

4. Aristotle says that moral virtue comes about as a result of ________.

a. divine inspiration.
b. following the Golden Rule.
c. conforming to the greatest happiness principle.
d. habit.

5. Contemporary virtue ethicists argue that if virtues were eliminated entirely from morality,
leaving only principles or rules of justice, the moral life would appear
a. one-dimensional. c. complete.
b. richer. d. complicated.

6. By the lights of virtue ethics, if you rescue someone from disaster solely out of a sense of duty,
then your action is
a. a morally deficient response. c. a morally appropriate response.
b. wrong. d. selfless.

7. Virtue ethicists try to achieve the moral ideal by

a. looking to well-established moral rules. c. fulfilling duties.
b. reading books on ethics. d. looking to moral exemplars.

8. The primary focus of virtue systems, according to the philosopher Louis Pojman, is on
discovering the proper moral example and ________ that person or ideal type.
a. avoiding c. worshipping
b. imitating d. evaluating

9. Virtue ethics puts primary emphasis on being a good person and living a good life, whereas
duty-based moral systems
a. emphasize a life of happiness and flourishing.
b. emphasize happiness through correct living.
c. pay much less attention to following rules of conduct.
d. pay much less attention to virtuous character and living a good life.

10. Critics have taken virtue ethics to task for alleged problems in
a. its focus on character and motivation. c. adapting the views of Aristotle.
b. the usefulness of the theory in guidance. d. the requirement of coherence.

11. Virtue ethics claims that the right action is the one performed by the virtuous person and that
 the virtuous person is the one who performs the right action. But some philosophers say that
this way of framing the matter amounts to
a. arguing with no premises.
b. arguing from the obvious to the less than obvious.
c. arguing in a circle.
d. arguing too strongly.

12. It seems that a person can be benevolent, honest, and loyal but still treat a stranger unjustly.
This shows that
a. the rightness of actions necessarily depends on the content of one’s character.
b. the rightness of actions does not necessarily depend on the content of one’s character.
c. most people are without virtues.
d. having the right virtues can prevent moral error.

13. According to critics of virtue ethics, one may be virtuous (kind, just, and honest) and still not know
a. which actions are morally permissible.
b. what the consequences of one’s actions will be.
c. whether virtue is good.
d. whether virtues are worth cultivating.

14. It’s possible that someone would have to choose between performing or not performing an
action that could lead to serious harm to a friend—yet each choice could involve the same two
virtues in contradictory ways (for example, one choice could privilege the virtue of honesty to
the detriment of loyalty, and the other could privilege loyalty to the detriment of honesty). Such
a case suggests that virtue ethics may have a problem with
a. Criterion 1 (consistency with commonsense moral judgments).
b. Criterion 2 (consistency with moral experience).
c. Criterion 3 (usefulness).
d. both Criterion 1 and Criterion 2.

15. In pointing out the shortcomings of rule-based ethical theories, the philosopher William
Frankena says that principles without virtues are
a. irrelevant. c. impotent.
b. intractable. d. intelligible.

16. The fact that we regularly judge the moral permissibility of actions as well as assess the
goodness of character suggests that
a. principles and virtuous behavior are in conflict.
b. rule-based moral theories should be discarded.
c. ethics is false.
d. virtue and character are important elements of the moral life.
 CHAPTER 8 Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Alison M. Jaggar writes that Western moral theory has tended to

a. prioritize virtue ethics.
b. emphasize character traits usually associated with women.
c. ignore “masculine” values.
d. embody “masculine” values.

2. Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of ideal theories of ethics that
feminist thinkers have criticized?
a. They assume that the world consists of atomistic individuals with perfect rationality.
b. They conceive of individuals living in a society without oppression.
c. They depict individuals as having contempt for women.
d. They characterize moral agents as unaffected by poor living conditions and unjust institutions.

3. The ethics of care is a perspective on ethics that highlights the

a. need for ethics in health care.
b. insignificance of ethics in caring for others.
c. lack of male perspectives in ethics.
d. importance of personal relationships and virtues such as compassion and kindness.

4. Carol Gilligan calls the approach to ethics that focuses on being aware of people’s feelings,
needs, and viewpoints
a. virtue ethics. c. the greatest happiness principle.
b. the ethic of care. d. the categorical imperative.

5. Which of the following is NOT true of the ethic of care?

a. It is a reminder that caring is a vital and inescapable part of the moral life.
b. It is an example of feminist ethics.
c. It contrasts dramatically with traditional moral theories preoccupied with principles and legalistic
moral reasoning.
d. It emphasizes rule-following, especially rules found in codes of ethics.

6. One hard fact that feminist ethicists are responding to is that, even today, most women in
the world are viewed as
a. more ethical than men. c. equal citizens.
b. more important than men. d. second-class citizens.

7. Julie considers herself an advocate of feminist ethics. Therefore, she should

a. support the moral equality of men and women.
b. advocate for the superiority of women over men.
c. reject all moral principles in favor of gut feelings.
d. disregard all psychological evidence about differences between men and women.

8. Feminist ethicists argue that the ________ sphere be given at least as much consideration in
morality as the sphere of the public.
a. legal c. historical
b. religious d. private

9. Franco has decided he wants to adopt the ethics of care. He is now deliberating about
whether to voice a controversial view during a get-together with his family. In order to apply
the ethics of care, he should focus more on how
a. his right to free speech would be affected by his decision.
 b. his autonomy would be violated if he decided to stay silent.
c. his opinion might negatively affect family members he cares about.
d. he should follow certain rules.

10. The most obvious example of a relationship that is the focus of the ethics of care would be
a. caring about whether people think you’re smart.
b. caring for one’s child.
c. taking care of an antique car.
d. caring about the pollution levels in the air.

11. Suppose a Kantian says that we are never morally permitted to lie. An ethicist of care would
a. disagree in cases where telling the truth would unnecessarily make an innocent person suffer.
b. disagree in cases where lying could benefit the decision maker.
c. agree because lying is always a result of not caring enough.
d. agree because lying would never be the compassionate thing to do.

12. Annette C. Baier argues that in moral theory there is a place for both
a. care and justice. c. care and virtue.
b. justice and consequences. d. virtue and consequences.

13. One of the implications of assuming an idealized view of human beings is that one is unable to
a. recognize morally right actions.
b. follow social rules intended for the benefit of all.
c. maintain meaningful personal relationships.
d. acknowledge oppression and poverty when it is present.
Chapter 9 ABORTION
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The deliberate termination of a pregnancy by surgical or medical (with drugs) means is known
generally as
a. therapeutic abortion. c. abortion, or induced abortion.
b. trimester abortion. d. spontaneous abortion.

2. An abortion specifically performed to protect the life or health of the mother is referred to as
a. induced abortion. c. maternal abortion.
b. spontaneous abortion. d. therapeutic abortion.

3. Most abortions are performed in the

a. first twelve weeks of gestation. c. first three weeks.
b. period just after viability. d. period just before viability.

4. The risk of death for women who have an abortion at eight weeks or earlier is
a. 0.3 deaths per 100,000 abortions. c. one death per 1,000 abortions.
b. one death per 100,000 abortions. d. one death per 10,000 abortions.

5. In Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that

a. all abortions at any stage of pregnancy are permissible.
b. in the first three months of pregnancy, a state may regulate (but not ban) abortion; after viability, a
state may forbid abortions, even those necessary to preserve the health or life of the woman.
c. in the first three months of pregnancy, the woman’s right to an abortion is unrestricted; after this
period, a state may regulate and even forbid abortions.
d. in the first three months of pregnancy, the woman’s right to an abortion is unrestricted; after this
period, a state may regulate (but not ban) abortion; after viability, a state may regulate and even
forbid abortions, except when abortion is necessary to preserve the health or life of the woman.

6. The view that the fetus becomes a person at quickening is problematic because
a. the phenomenon of quickening is an illusion.
b. quickening is largely a function of modern medical know-how.
c. quickening signals a quantum jump in the sentience of the fetus.
d. quickening signifies nothing that can be plausibly linked to personhood.

7. Chinese parents who argue that aborting female fetuses prevents economic harm to the family,
and should be allowed, would be using a(n) ________ argument.
a. Kantian c. ethical egoist
b. utilitarian d. legal

8. In arguments over abortion, both the conservative and the liberal agree that
a. abortion is the killing of an innocent person.
b. abortion before birth would not be the killing of an innocent person.
c. it is wrong to kill an innocent person.
d. the unborn is not a person until birth.

9. The liberal argues that if the unborn is not a person until birth, and it is wrong to kill a person, then
a. infanticide is permissible.
b. abortion before birth would be impermissible.
c. abortion before birth would not be the killing of an innocent person.
d. abortion is permissible before and after birth.

10. According to Mary Anne Warren’s criteria for personhood, a self-motivated space alien that was conscious, able to reason and
communicate, and was self-aware would be
 a. a person. c. unclassifiable.
b. not a person. d. morally equivalent to an Earth primate.

11. Judith Jarvis Thomson’s position is argued without

a. reference to the rights of women. c. admitting that the fetus has a right to life.
b. relying on thought experiments. d. relying on the issue of personhood.

12. With the violinist scenario, Judith Jarvis Thomson tries to show that
a. the fetus is not a person.
b. in pregnancy, the body of the mother can always be exploited.
c. the mother has a right to defend herself against the unborn’s use of her body against
her will (a right to have an abortion).
d. the mother has no right to defend herself against the unborn’s use of her body
against her will.

13. Suppose Katrina is a rule-utilitarian and believes that following the rule “Girls under the age of
eighteen should not be permitted to to have abortions without notifying a parent or guardian”
would maximize happiness. Which of the following would be the best reason for Katrina’s
view?
a. Some young women are abused by their parents.
b. A parent’s guidance tends to be helpful and needed, and some young women have regretted having
abortions.
c. Even females under the age of eighteen have a right to medical privacy and confidentiality.
d. No girl under the age of eighteen has regretted having an abortion.

14. Robert is a Kantian theorist and also believes that fetuses are persons from conception.
Suppose Robert is trying to determine whether abortions are morally permissible in situations
where the woman’s life is in danger as a result of continuing the pregnancy. Which of the
following should be the focus of Robert’s deliberations?
a. whether aborting the pregnancy will have the best consequences overall
b. whether aborting the pregnancy will be an instance of violating a person’s
right to life
c. whether aborting the pregnancy would be legally allowed
d. whether aborting the pregnancy would be a justifiable instance of overriding a person’s right to
life
Chapter 10 EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. ________ is allowing someone to die by NOT doing something (i.e., by withholding or

withdrawing measures necessary for sustaining life).
a. Passive-active euthanasia c. Nonvoluntary euthanasia
b. Passive euthanasia d. Active euthanasia

2. ________ involves taking a direct action to kill someone (i.e., to carry out a mercy killing).
a. Involuntary euthanasia c. Active euthanasia
b. Passive euthanasia d. Nonvoluntary euthanasia

3. If you believe that there is no moral difference between killing someone and letting someone
die, you might reason that
a. active and passive euthanasia are not morally equivalent.
b. in neither active nor passive euthanasia is the patient’s death caused.
c. in both active and passive euthanasia the patient’s death is caused, but this has no moral
significance.
d. in both active and passive euthanasia the patient’s death is caused, and they are therefore morally
equivalent.

4. Nowadays machines can keep an individual’s heart and lungs functioning long after the brain
permanently and completely shuts down. Thus, we can have an individual whose organs are
mechanically operated while he is in a coma or persistent vegetative state. To some, these
facts suggest that the
a. conventional notion of death is still adequate.
b. conventional notion of death is inadequate.
c. cessation of breathing and blood flow are not signs of death.
d. conventional notion of death has always seemed inadequate.

5. Consider this rule-utilitarian argument against legalizing euthanasia: Passing a law to permit
active voluntary euthanasia would inevitably lead to abuses such as more frequent use of
nonvoluntary euthanasia and unnecessary killing; therefore, no such law should be passed.
Such an argument is characterized as
a. abductive. c. a slippery slope.
b. Kantian. d. equivocation.

6. According to the dominant reading of natural law theory, euthanasia is wrong primarily because
a. it amounts to using a person as a means and not as an end.
b. it always results in less overall happiness.
c. we have a moral duty to preserve life.
d. scripture condemns it.

7. The obligation to ease the agony of another when we can do so without excessive cost to
ourselves is called the duty of ________.
a. maleficence c. cooperation
b. beneficence d. justice

8. Some opponents of active euthanasia argue that euthanasia is uncalled for; a dying patient in
the grip of unimaginable pain, for example, does not have to be killed to escape her agony.
Modern medicine offers dying patients unprecedented levels of pain relief. A common reply to
this argument is
a. although it is possible to manage even severe pain well, too often pain is not well managed.
b. in arguments about euthanasia, pain is irrelevant.
c. although it is possible to manage even severe pain well, physicians do not try to do so.
d. pain is a fact of life that patients must learn to live with.
 9. The principle of autonomy (the right of self-determination) can be used to argue for
a. active euthanasia.
b. a ban on active euthanasia.
c. the Roman Catholic view of active euthanasia and suicide.
d. restrictions on autonomy for dying patients.

10. A key premise in the argument for active euthanasia is that the right of self-determination
includes the right of competent persons to decide the manner of their dying. This premise is
a. accepted by virtually all parties to the euthanasia debate.
b. clearly false.
c. incoherent.
d. controversial.

11. In 2009 Jeffrey Locker was found tied up in his car and dead as a result of multiple stab
wounds. Kenneth Minor was arrested and charged with his murder, but Minor claimed that
Locker had hired him to assist in his death so that his family could receive a life insurance
payment that would eliminate Locker’s large debts. Assume that Minor’s claim was true.
A natural law theorist would determine that Minor’s action was
a. morally permissible, because it was a legitimate application of the doctrine of double effect.
b. morally impermissible, because it was not a legitimate application of the doctrine of double effect.
c. morally permissible, because Jeffrey had consented and Minor had respected his autonomy.
d. morally impermissible, because the law does not allow for citizens to assist others in committing
suicide.

12. In 2002, the eighty-six-year-old war hero Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Jr., in a suicide pact
with his eighty-nine-year-old wife, ended his life with an overdose of sleeping pills. According
to a news report, “Having lost 30 pounds from a stomach disorder, suffering from congestive
heart failure and in constant back pain, the admiral had been determined to dictate the hour of
his death. His wife, who suffered from osteoporosis so severe her bones were breaking, had
gone blind. She had no desire to live without her husband.” Assuming this is an accurate
account of Admiral Nimitz’s motivations, to what moral principle did he appeal to justify taking
his own life?
a. justice c. right to life
b. beneficence d. autonomy
Chapter 13 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. In disputes about environmental issues, often there is substantial agreement on the nonmoral
facts and serious divergence on
a. nonmoral principles. c. technical issues.
b. nonmoral issues or judgments. d. moral principles or judgments.

2. Something with intrinsic value is valuable

a. for someone else’s sake. c. as a means to something else.
b. for the sake of the environment. d. for its own sake.

3. Suppose you are the last human on a dead planet. Only one other living thing exists—a maple
tree. You are preparing to leave the planet for good, and you are debating with yourself about
whether you should kill the tree before departing. In the end, you decide it would be morally
impermissible to kill the tree. Your reluctance to kill the tree shows that the tree has
a. no moral status. c. moral status.
b. instrumental value. d. aesthetic value.

4. An anthropocentrist sees animals, plants, and ecosystems as

a. moral equals along with humans. c. means to unifying all life.
b. more natural than human beings. d. means to serve the ends of human beings.

5. If Peter Singer’s zoocentrist view is correct, then the practice of ________ would be impermissible.
a. leaving animals alone in the wild c. factory farming
b. grooming pets d. animal conservation

6. If you were a species nonegalitarian, you would likely believe that

a. the question of moral status is irrelevant.
b. an elk has greater moral status than a potato.
c. elk and potatoes have equal moral status.
d. elk and potatoes have no moral status.

7. The questions of whether an ape has the same moral status as a domestic cow and if animals
(human and nonhuman) deserve the same level of moral concern as plants concern the
issue(s) of
a. centrism and noncentrism.
b. ecological individualism.
c. holism.
d. species egalitarianism or nonegalitarianism.

8. Which anthropocentric philosopher said, “Animals . . . are there merely as means to an end.
That end is man”?
a. Immanuel Kant c. Paul Taylor
b. Thomas Aquinas d. Tom Regan

9. According to Peter Singer, the pain suffered by a human is ________ important than that
experienced by a nonhuman animal.
a. no more c. more
b. less d. slightly less

10. Which philosopher maintains that we must include the interests of all sentient creatures and
give their interests equal weight when calculating which action will produce the greatest
overall satisfaction of interests?
a. David Hume c. Thomas Aquinas
 b. Aldo Leopold d. Peter Singer

11. To some, the fact that we value the beauty of Niagara Falls shows that we
a. value the natural over the artificial.
b. sometimes value the artificial over the natural.
c. don’t really value nature.
d. think unnatural things are worthless.

12. A counterexample to biocentric egalitarianism is that we

a. know that killing a cow is no worse than killing a carrot.
b. think that killing a cow is no worse and no better than killing a carrot.
c. assume vegetables have the same moral status as primates.
d. tend to believe that killing a cow is worse than killing a carrot.

13. The controversy over the ivory-billed woodpecker has pitted those who want to build a
massive irrigation project against environmentalists who want to stop the project to protect the
woodpecker and other species. A biocentric species egalitarian would probably insist that the
a. project be completed but with rigid safeguards to protect all sentient beings.
b. project be completed to maximize the welfare of humans.
c. project be curtailed (but not stopped) to promote the interests of humans and the ivory-billed
woodpecker only.
d. project be stopped to protect the ivory-billed woodpecker and all the other species of plants and
animals.
Chapter 15 SEXUAL MORALITY
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The central question in the morality of sex is,

a. What arguments can be marshaled against the conventional view of sex?
b. Is sexual behavior detrimental to human evolution?
c. What kind of sexual behavior is morally permissible and under what circumstances?
d. Is society as a whole becoming more liberal or more conservative in views about sexual behavior?

2. The conventionalist and the liberal take opposing views on the moral permissibility of
a. marriage. c. homosexuality.
b. love. d. domestic life.

3. In a recent public opinion poll, ________ percent of respondents said they believe that it is
morally acceptable for a man and woman to have sex before marriage.
a. 90 c. 25
b. 66 d. 40

4. The notion that as long as basic moral standards are respected, any sexual activity engaged in
by informed, consenting adults is permissible is known as the ________ view.
a. hedonistic c. liberal
b. conventional d. moderate

5. Kissing someone without first obtaining consent is an example of

a. rape. c. both rape and sexual assault.
b. sexual assault. d. neither rape nor sexual assault.

6. Suppose a married couple openly engages in consensual extramarital sexual activity with other
people. According to Thomas Mappes’s Kantian view of sexuality, the sexual behavior of this
couple would be
a. permissible overall except for oral sex.
b. impermissible.
c. permissible.
d. permissible overall except for the use of contraception.

7. An unmarried man and woman have frequent sex and engage in activities that most of society
would label unconventional, unnatural, and deviant. Their sexual behavior results in the
greatest net good for all concerned. A utilitarian would therefore say that their sexual
activities are
a. permissible except for deviant sex.
b. permissible except for activities labeled unnatural.
c. impermissible.
d. permissible.

8. A 2008 study showed that teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as
likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence, and they are
significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do. If we
assume that the goal of such pledges is to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, what
would a utilitarian determine should be done?
a. These pledges should be discouraged.
b. These pledges should be encouraged.
c. It does not matter one way or the other whether the pledges continue.
d. These pledges are unnatural.

9. Alan Goldman says that the conventional view of sexuality is that sexual behavior must have
 a morally significant goal, such as procreation. But he argues that
a. sex is directed towards goals but not toward conventional goals.
b. sex is not a means to some other goal.
c. sex should be directed toward communicating ideas or expressing love.
d. sex is a spiritual journey.

10. Alan Goldman and Igor Primoratz affirm that sexual behavior
a. cannot be immoral merely because it is sexual.
b. can never be immoral.
c. is always moral.
d. cannot be labeled.

11. Many who argue against homosexuality appeal to an idea that is central to natural law
theory—mainly that
a. human beings are at liberty to dispose of their anatomy and physiology as they see fit.
b. people are not obligated to stay as nature made them.
c. the way nature is tells us nothing about how we ought to be.
d. the way nature is tells us how humans ought to be.

12. Biologists report that homosexual behavior among nonhuman animals is

a. nonexistent. c. widespread.
b. extremely rare. d. found only in primates.

13. Many human activities are statistically out of the norm (such as skydiving and eating snails),
and for that reason they are sometimes deemed unnatural. From this fact it follows that
unnatural activities are
a. necessarily immoral. c. morally suspect.
b. departures from evolutionary change. d. not necessarily immoral.

14. One conventionalist argument asserts that homosexuality’s misuse of bodily parts leads to
a. unhappiness. c. dishonesty.
b. sin. d. disillusionment.
 Chapter 20 THE ETHICS OF IMMIGRATION
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. In 1790, a U.S. law was passed stating the requirements for becoming a naturalized citizen.
In order to be eligible for naturalization, each applicant had to be
a. a person born at some point after the founding of the nation or the parent of such a person.
b. a descendant of someone who had come over on the Mayflower or a person related to an indigenous
person.
c. a resident of the United States for two years, a person of good moral character, and a free white
person.
d. a Christian person who fought in the Revolutionary War and had at least two hundred acres of land.

2. In 1965, the U.S. Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act. While immigration
policy had previously been based on a quota system, the new policy favored
a. skilled immigrants and those who, by immigrating, could help reunite families.
b. unskilled immigrants who would benefit from American education.
c. immigrants from Western Europe.
d. immigrants from Latin America.

3. Americans tend to overestimate immigrants’ share of the population. Many believe that it is
more than twice as large as it actually is, which is around
a. 0.5 percent. c. 14 percent.
b. 3.4 percent. d. 28 percent.

4. Many people, including many politicians, overestimate the number of unauthorized immigrants
living in the United States. In 2015, the number was about
a. 800,000. c. 11 million.
b. 4 million. d. 43 million.

5. Stephen Macedo sums up his perspective on immigration in this way: “If high levels of
immigration have detrimental impact on our least well-off citizens, that is a reason to limit
immigration, even if those who seek admission seem to be poorer than our own poor whose
condition is worsened by their entry.” His view is best characterized as
a. authoritarian. c. cosmopolitan.
b. egalitarian. d. anticosmopolitan.

6. Some argue that a wealthy nation that offers substantial welfare benefits to its citizens
(such as Sweden and other Scandinavian countries) cannot afford to have open borders,
because doing so would
a. result in more civil unrest. c. undermine the purpose of immigration.
b. cause the welfare system to collapse. d. deplete the military’s resources.

7. Which of the following would be a utilitarian reason for limiting immigration?

a. Immigration is not natural.
b. Immigration will disrupt the economy.
c. Immigration violates the rights of natural-born citizens.
d. Immigration treats natural-born citizens as mere means, rather than as ends.

8. Christopher Heath Wellman argues that nations have a right to close their borders, a right
derived from the more fundamental right to ________.
a. freedom of association c. self-defense
b. freedom of religion d. make laws

9. Consider the following premises of a moral argument about immigration:

 1. If high levels of immigration by low-skilled workers make it unlikely that we will fulfill our moral obligations to the poorest
Americans, then we should reduce or stop such immigration.
2. Currently high levels of immigration by low-skilled workers do make it unlikely that we will fulfill our moral obligations to the
poorest Americans.
Which of the following conclusions would make this argument valid?
a. Therefore, we should encourage immigration, especially from countries with low-skilled workers.
b. Therefore, we should reduce or stop high levels of immigration by low-skilled workers.
c. Therefore, we should not reduce or stop high levels of immigration by low-skilled workers.
d. Therefore, we should try to improve the education systems of countries with low-skilled workers.

10. In 1901 Australia passed the Immigration Restriction Act, which aimed to limit nonwhite
immigration to Australia, particularly Asian immigration, and thereby preserve the
predominance of the British within Australia. Suppose that a large majority of Australians
would have been made happier by passage of this law. Would a utilitarian advocate for such
a law in these circumstances?
a. No, because it is unjust for a country to accept only white Europeans.
b. No, because the safety and welfare of refugees is more important than the happiness of Australians.
c. Yes, because the consequences of passing this law would be better overall than if it were not
passed.
d. Yes, because refugees would lack moral status under utilitarianism.
 CHAPTER 21 Global Economic Justice
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The moral issue of whether we have a duty to help the poor and hungry of the world is compelling mainly because the
a. news media constantly remind us of the plight of poor people.
b. world’s poor are now slightly better off than they used to be, which is a reminder of their plight.
c. wretchedness of the world’s poor is an exaggeration that the rich are often confronted with.
d. wretchedness of the world’s poor is profound and the economic gap between rich and poor is wide.

2. Robert Nozick and John Hospers believe that people have a right NOT to be interfered with
and to do whatever they want with their own property as long as they do not violate the liberty
rights of others. This line is clearly
a. utilitarian. c. libertarian.
b. liberal. d. egalitarian.

3. Suppose you strongly believe you have no duty to help the poor and hungry of the world and that
you are not obligated to share your resources with those less fortunate. Your view would be
consistent with
a. authoritarianism. c. libertarianism.
b. utilitarianism. d. egalitarianism.

4. According to Peter Singer’s theory, we (the affluent) ought to give to the needy up to the point where we are just better off than those
we are trying to help. Singer refers to this as ________.
a. egalitarian justice. c. the level of sufficient sacrifice.
b. the level of marginal utility. d. distributive justice.

5. The key premise in Peter Singer’s argument for aiding the world’s needy is
a. “[I]f it is in our power to equally distribute goods throughout the world to all persons,
we ought, morally, to do it.”
b. “We—the well-to-do—have no right at all to the goods we possess; we acquired
them mostly through accidents of birth and geography.”
c. “Giving food and shelter to the poor would only make their plight worse.”
d. “[I]f it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing
anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it.”

6. Critics of Peter Singer’s view admit that we do have an obligation to aid distant people but,
they say, we also have a duty to help
a. those with whom we have a special relationship.
b. everyone near us.
c. our enemies.
d. foreign governments.

7. Garrett Hardin argues that the rich

a. should aid the poor and hungry but not to the level of marginal utility.
b. should not aid the poor and hungry because doing so will only invite catastrophe for the rich and
poor alike.
c. should not aid the poor and hungry because doing so will result in injustice to the rich.
d. should aid the poor and hungry because Peter Singer’s argument is persuasive.

8. Consider the story of Malawi’s transformation from a country that needed emergency food
aid to one that feeds its hungry neighbors. The soil in Malawi was overfarmed and depleted,
which made it impossible for the country to feed itself. The situation improved only when
Malawi began to ignore the advice of the World Bank and rich countries, which, in trying to
provide aid, had advised Malawi to get rid of fertilizer subsidies and to rely on the workings of
 free markets. After the disastrous harvest of 2005, Malawi reversed the trend and subsidized
farmers’ use of fertilizer, just as many Western countries do for their own farmers. The
Malawi government’s decision resulted in a complete turnaround of its people’s situation. This
example would lend most support to the view of ________.
a. Garrett Hardin c. John Arthur
b. Peter Singer d. Louis Pojman

9. Garrett Hardin uses the lifeboat metaphor to suggest that

a. affluent countries, like lifeboats, are inherently unstable.
b. the moral duty of affluent countries is to give aid to the starving, overpopulated ones.
c. the affluent countries have a moral duty not to give aid to the starving, overpopulated ones.
d. giving aid to the poor and hungry will cause a worldwide revolt against the rich and influential.

10. In 2009, Kenya faced an immediate danger of mass starvation due to a drought that
threatened a third of the East African country’s population, or about 10 million people.
In January of that year, the Kenyan government declared the food shortage a national disaster,
and the United Nations appealed for international help. Suppose wealthy countries responded
to the food crisis in Kenya according to Garrett Hardin’s recommendations. Rich countries
would have
a. sent limited food aid. c. sent more food aid than is required.
b. sent fertilizer but no food. d. refused to send any food aid at all.