Philosophy and Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real BA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Philosophy and Ethics flashcards as text
Utilitarianism holds that the morally right action is the one that:
Answer: Maximizes overall happiness or utility for the greatest number
Utilitarianism, developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, judges actions by their outcomes—specifically, the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
Kant's categorical imperative instructs that one should:
Answer: Act only according to principles you could will to be universal laws
Kant's categorical imperative requires acting only on maxims that you could consistently will to become universal laws, making morality independent of outcomes.
The ethical theory that focuses on the character and virtues of the moral agent rather than rules or outcomes is:
Answer: Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics, rooted in Aristotle's philosophy, emphasizes developing good character traits (virtues) as the foundation of moral life.
John Stuart Mill's version of utilitarianism distinguished between:
Answer: Higher and lower pleasures
Mill argued that intellectual and moral pleasures (higher) are qualitatively superior to purely physical pleasures (lower), refining Bentham's purely quantitative calculus.
The philosophical position that there are no objective moral truths and that moral judgments are culturally or individually relative is called:
Answer: Moral relativism
Moral relativism holds that moral judgments are not universally valid but are relative to cultural, social, or individual perspectives.
According to John Locke's social contract theory, individuals consent to government primarily to secure:
Answer: Protection of natural rights to life, liberty, and property
Locke argued that people form governments to protect their pre-political natural rights, and governments that fail this purpose lose their legitimacy.
The belief that 'the ends justify the means'—that morally questionable actions are acceptable if they produce good outcomes—most closely reflects which ethical framework?
Answer: Consequentialism
Consequentialism judges the morality of actions solely by their results, meaning an action causing harm might be justified if it produces greater overall good.