CARS CARS Ethical and Philosophical Reasoning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An author in a CARS passage argues that we have a duty to future generations to preserve natural resources. This argument most directly relies on which philosophical concept?
- Intergenerational justice (Correct answer)
- Social contract theory
- Moral luck
- The naturalistic fallacy
Correct answer: Intergenerational justice
Obligations to preserve resources for those not yet born is the core concern of intergenerational justice.
Question 2: A passage presents a thought experiment in which a person must choose between saving five people or one person from harm. This type of philosophical scenario is best described as a:
- Reductio ad absurdum
- Slippery slope argument
- Moral dilemma or trolley problem scenario (Correct answer)
- Inductive generalization
Correct answer: Moral dilemma or trolley problem scenario
Scenarios forcing a choice between two morally significant but conflicting options — such as the trolley problem — are classic moral dilemmas used in ethical philosophy.
Question 3: An author argues that a law is unjust because it was enacted without the meaningful consent of those it governs. This argument is rooted in which philosophical tradition?
- Virtue ethics
- Social contract theory (Correct answer)
- Nihilism
- Pragmatism
Correct answer: Social contract theory
The legitimacy of laws resting on the consent of the governed is the foundational claim of social contract theory.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes the 'is-ought problem' as it applies to CARS reasoning?
- Assuming that what is natural is automatically good
- Assuming that because something is the case, it therefore ought to be the case (Correct answer)
- Claiming that moral rules must override all empirical evidence
- Arguing that past practices predict future moral standards
Correct answer: Assuming that because something is the case, it therefore ought to be the case
The is-ought problem, identified by Hume, is the logical error of concluding a moral 'ought' from a purely descriptive 'is' without justification.
Question 5: A CARS author argues that a person cannot be blamed for an outcome that resulted from circumstances entirely outside their control. This reasoning most closely reflects the concept of:
- Moral luck (Correct answer)
- Absolute liability
- Determinism as a moral excuse
- Consequentialism
Correct answer: Moral luck
Moral luck refers to how factors outside an agent's control affect the moral judgments others make of them — and whether it is fair to assign blame when outcomes depend on chance.
Question 6: An author claims that lying is always wrong regardless of the consequences, citing a universal moral law. Which of the following best identifies the type of ethical reasoning used?
- Consequentialist reasoning
- Deontological reasoning (Correct answer)
- Pragmatic reasoning
- Relativist reasoning
Correct answer: Deontological reasoning
Holding that an action is always wrong based on a universal rule regardless of its outcomes is the defining feature of deontological ethics.
CARS CARS Ethical and Philosophical Reasoning 2
An author in a CARS passage argues that we have a duty to future generations to preserve natural resources.
This argument most directly relies on which philosophical concept?