PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy: Morality and The Moral Life 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: W.D. Ross's concept of 'prima facie duties' means that moral duties are:
- Absolute and never overridden
- Binding unless overridden by a stronger duty in a given situation (Correct answer)
- Derived entirely from consequences
- Valid only within social contracts
Correct answer: Binding unless overridden by a stronger duty in a given situation
Ross argued that prima facie duties (e.g., fidelity, non-maleficence) are real moral obligations that can be outweighed by more pressing duties in specific circumstances.
Question 2: The 'is-ought gap' (Hume's guillotine) refers to:
- The impossibility of moral knowledge
- The logical gap between descriptive facts and normative conclusions (Correct answer)
- The distinction between justice and charity
- The problem of other minds in moral reasoning
Correct answer: The logical gap between descriptive facts and normative conclusions
Hume observed that one cannot validly derive normative 'ought' statements from purely descriptive 'is' statements without additional normative premises.
Question 3: Carol Gilligan's ethics of care challenged Kohlberg's moral development theory primarily on the grounds that it:
- Overemphasized emotion at the expense of reason
- Privileged a justice-oriented, typically male moral voice over a care-oriented one (Correct answer)
- Ignored cultural differences in moral development
- Relied on virtue ethics rather than principled reasoning
Correct answer: Privileged a justice-oriented, typically male moral voice over a care-oriented one
Gilligan argued Kohlberg's model was gender-biased, neglecting the relational, care-focused moral reasoning more common among women.
Question 4: According to social contract theory in the tradition of Locke, political authority is legitimate only if:
- It is ordained by divine right
- It is based on the consent of the governed (Correct answer)
- It maximizes aggregate welfare
- It reflects natural aristocratic hierarchy
Correct answer: It is based on the consent of the governed
Locke held that governmental authority derives from the consent of individuals who agree to form a civil society to protect natural rights.
Question 5: Moral luck refers to the phenomenon where:
- Lucky individuals are always more virtuous
- Moral judgments are influenced by factors beyond an agent's control (Correct answer)
- Chance determines the existence of moral facts
- Moral rules apply differently to the wealthy and poor
Correct answer: Moral judgments are influenced by factors beyond an agent's control
Thomas Nagel and Bernard Williams identified moral luck as the troubling way in which factors outside our control affect how we are morally judged.
Question 6: Derek Parfit's 'Repugnant Conclusion' arises within which ethical framework?
- Kantian deontology
- Total utilitarian population ethics (Correct answer)
- Virtue ethics
- Natural law theory
Correct answer: Total utilitarian population ethics
In Reasons and Persons, Parfit showed that total utilitarianism implies a vast population with lives barely worth living can outvalue a smaller flourishing population.
Question 7: The distinction between 'doing' and 'allowing' harm is most directly relevant to which moral debate?
- The nature of supererogation
- The doctrine of acts and omissions in applied ethics (Correct answer)
- The problem of moral relativism
- The foundations of contractarian justice
Correct answer: The doctrine of acts and omissions in applied ethics
The acts/omissions distinction holds that actively causing harm is morally different from merely allowing harm to occur, even with identical outcomes.
PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy: Morality and The Moral Life 3
W.D.
Ross's concept of 'prima facie duties' means that moral duties are: