B.L.A.; occasionally A.L.B. Bachelor of Liberal Arts Philosophy and Ethics 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Utilitarianism, as developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, holds that moral actions are those that produce which outcome?
- The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (Correct answer)
- Actions consistent with universal moral duties
- Outcomes that benefit the individual actor most
- Behaviors endorsed by divine or natural law
Correct answer: The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
Utilitarianism judges actions by their consequences, specifically by whether they maximize overall happiness or well-being.
Question 2: Immanuel Kant's 'categorical imperative' instructs us to act according to which principle?
- Only on maxims you could will to become universal laws for everyone (Correct answer)
- Whatever produces the best outcomes for the majority
- Following the moral guidance of divine authority
- Acting in accordance with natural human instincts
Correct answer: Only on maxims you could will to become universal laws for everyone
Kant's categorical imperative demands that we act only on principles that we could rationally will to apply universally to all people.
Question 3: Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave' primarily illustrates which philosophical concept?
- The distinction between appearance and reality, and the role of education in achieving true knowledge (Correct answer)
- The social contract between citizens and the state
- The immortality of the soul after death
- The cyclical nature of democratic and tyrannical governments
Correct answer: The distinction between appearance and reality, and the role of education in achieving true knowledge
The Allegory of the Cave illustrates that most people are trapped by shadows of reality and that philosophical education can lead to true knowledge.
Question 4: In ethics, deontological theories differ from consequentialist theories primarily in which way?
- Deontological theories judge actions by their inherent rightness or duties, not outcomes (Correct answer)
- Deontological theories focus on character virtues rather than rules
- Deontological theories evaluate actions based solely on social consequences
- Deontological theories are based on religious commandments rather than reason
Correct answer: Deontological theories judge actions by their inherent rightness or duties, not outcomes
Deontological ethics holds that certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong regardless of their consequences, based on duties or rules.
Question 5: Aristotle's concept of 'eudaimonia' in ethics is best translated as which idea?
- Human flourishing or well-being achieved through virtuous activity (Correct answer)
- The absence of pain and suffering in one's life
- Rational self-interest as the basis for moral action
- Obedience to divine commands as the source of happiness
Correct answer: Human flourishing or well-being achieved through virtuous activity
Eudaimonia, central to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, refers to the highest human good — living and faring well through the exercise of virtue.
Question 6: The philosophical position of 'empiricism' holds that knowledge is primarily derived from which source?
- Sensory experience and observation of the world (Correct answer)
- Innate ideas present in the mind from birth
- Logical deduction from self-evident truths
- Divine revelation and religious tradition
Correct answer: Sensory experience and observation of the world
Empiricism, associated with Locke, Hume, and Berkeley, maintains that all knowledge originates from sensory experience rather than innate ideas.
B.L.A.; occasionally A.L.B. Bachelor of Liberal Arts Philosophy and Ethics 1
Utilitarianism, as developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, holds that moral actions are those that produce which outcome?