B.L.A.; occasionally A.L.B. Bachelor of Liberal Arts Philosophy and Ethics

Question 1

Utilitarianism, as developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, holds that moral actions are those that produce which outcome?

Accepted Answer

The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Only on maxims you could will to become universal laws for everyone

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

The distinction between appearance and reality, and the role of education in achieving true knowledge

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Deontological theories judge actions by their inherent rightness or duties, not outcomes

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Human flourishing or well-being achieved through virtuous activity

Answer

Eudaimonia, central to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, refers to the highest human good — living and faring well through the exercise of virtue.

B.L.A.; occasionally A.L.B. Bachelor of Liberal Arts Practice Test