CHAPTER 4 The Power of Moral Theories
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Theories of Right and Wrong
II. Major Theories
A. Consequentialist Theories
1. Utilitarianism
2. Ethical Egoism
B. Nonconsequentialist Theories
1. Kant’s Theory
2. Natural Law Theory
3. Divine Command Theory
III. Evaluating Theories
A. Criterion 1: Consistency with Considered Judgments
B. Criterion 2: Consistency with Our Moral Experiences
C. Criterion 3: Usefulness in Moral Problem Solving
IV. Devising a Coherent Moral Theory
A. Prima Facie Principles
B. Negative and Positive Rights
C. Retributive and Distributive Justice
D. Self-Evident Statements
1. A moral theory is
a. more useful than a moral code. c. a moral code.
b. a set of rules. d. less useful than a moral code.
2. Choose the statement that BEST summarizes the purposes of moral theories.
a. Moral theories support and provide detail to traditional moral codes, thereby making moral codes easier to defend against
objections.
b. Moral theories explain the meaning of moral language and the sources of our knowledge of moral truths.
c. Moral theories explain moral rightness and give us practical guidance on how to act, even in difficult cases where moral codes do
not apply.
d. Moral theories explain people‘s behavior and motivations, thereby allowing us to understand historical events better and predict
future behavior.
3. A moral theory is ________ on an issue such as euthanasia.
a. an account of common practices c. not useful
b. the final authority d. a guide for moral reasoning
4. Which of the following BEST summarizes consequentialist theories?
a. Consequentialist theories rate actions by how consequential or important they are, with more consequential actions being better.
b. Consequentialist theories consider actions to be good when they produce good consequences. Different consequentialist theories
specify different kinds of consequences as being good consequences.
c. Consequentialist theories consider actions to be good when most persons believe they are good, even if other persons disagree
about what is good.
d. Consequentialist theories remind us that actions have consequences, and so they support punishment for morally wrong actions,
with no exceptions.
5. A consequentialist theory may define the good as
a. adherence to a moral code.
b. doing one’s duty for duty’s sake.
c. obedience to moral laws.
d. pleasure, happiness, well-being, or flourishing.
6. A person who reasons that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable
balance of good over evil, everyone considered, is a(n)
a. utilitarian. c. rule-Kantian.
b. ethical egoist. d. natural law theorist.
7. Which of the following BEST describes a similarity between consequentialist theories and nonconsequentialist theories?
a. They are not primarily about evaluating persons as good or bad.
b. They both focus on producing as much good as possible.
c. They both allow each individual to decide what is right for them.
d. They agree that breaking promises is always wrong.
8. The theory asserting that the morally right action is the one covered by a rule that if generally
followed would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered, is
a. rule-egoism. c. rule-Kantian.
b. act-utilitarianism. d. rule-utilitarianism.
9. If John always acts to produce the most favorable balance of good over evil for himself,
he is probably
a. a utilitarian. c. a nonconsequentialist.
b. an ethical egoist. d. a divine command theorist.
10. According to Kant, the principle and the maxims derived from the categorical imperative are
a. consequentialist and rule based. c. universal and absolutist.
b. nonconsequentialist and egoistic. d. universal and consequential.
11. To a(n) ________, breaking promises is wrong because if the implied rule were universalized
(if everyone followed the rule), then no promise anywhere could be trusted and the whole
convention of promise making would be obliterated. Thus no one would be willing to live in
such a world.
a. egoist c. Kantian
b. utilitarian d. categorical theorist
12. A traditional natural law theorist would say that lying is immoral because it
a. violates the categorical imperative. c. goes against the Ten Commandments.
b. uses people as a means to an end. d. goes against human nature.
13. If Chanté maintains that killing the innocent is wrong because the action is contrary to God’s
will, she probably accepts the
a. natural command theory. c. divine command theory.
b. divine imperative theory. d. natural law theory.
14. A moral theory would fail to meet the minimum requirement of coherence if
a. it fails to cohere with considered moral judgments.
b. it states that the same action in the same conditions is both right and wrong.
c. it fails to cohere with common cultural practices.
d. it states that some widely practiced actions are in fact wrong.
15. Which of the following BEST summarizes how to evaluate moral theories?
a. First, evaluate the theory for coherence. Then evaluate whether it meets the three moral criteria of adequacy.
b. First, evaluate whether the theory supports our most important moral rules. Then evaluate the theory for coherence.
c. First, evaluate the consequences of the theory to determine whether they are favorable to you. Then apply the three moral criteria
of adequacy.
d. First, evaluate whether the three moral criteria of adequacy apply to the theory. Then consider your personal emotional reaction to
the theory.
16. Suppose your favored moral theory says that moral rightness is relative to each individual.
This would imply that each person is morally infallible. According to the author, this shows the
theory to be
a. implausible. c. absolutist.
b. plausible. d. consequentialist.
17. Which of the following BEST summarizes the evidence of our considered moral judgments
and our moral experience?
a. Our moral experience provides general background knowledge about morality, while our considered moral judgments provide
evaluations of specific actions as right or wrong.
b. Our considered moral judgments provide evidence that our moral code is correct, while our moral experience reveals how to
apply that moral code in practice.
c. Our considered moral judgments and moral experience provide infallible evidence that we can use to evaluate moral theories.
d. Our moral experience shows that we must make exceptions to moral rules, while our considered moral judgments show that moral
rules must be upheld without exception.
18. Moral deliberation requires balancing moral principles derived from our moral theory with our considered moral judgments. The
ultimate goal in this give-and-take of theory and judgment is
a. consensus among moral agents. c. reflective imperative.
b. reflective equilibrium. d. definitive answers.
19. A moral theory is inconsistent with our considered moral judgments if
a. it allows us to torture infants for fun.
b. it judges that we may favor our loved ones over strangers.
c. it considers all actions to have selfish motives.
d. it states that moral judgments are often difficult to make.
20. According to cultural relativism, what’s morally right for a culture is simply whatever that culture approves of or believes is morally
right. According to the text, which of these evaluations is most appropriate?
a. This theory is incoherent, because it allows that different cultures have different beliefs about what is morally right.
b. This theory is inconsistent with our considered moral judgments, because not everyone within a culture will agree on what is
morally right.
c. This theory is inconsistent with our moral experience, because it means that cultures cannot approve of an action that is morally
wrong—but we know that sometimes cultures do approve of morally wrong actions.
d. This theory is not useful in moral problem solving, because it gives me no way to find out what is the right thing to do.
21. Suppose a moral theory is inconsistent with two of your most trustworthy and important moral
judgments (and other considerations do not counterbalance this fact). You should then regard
the theory as
a. definitely false. c. true until proven otherwise.
b. imperfect but true. d. dubious and possibly false.
22. If a moral theory suggests that our moral judgments cannot be rationally supported, it is thereby inconsistent with
a. religious ethics. c. the criterion of usefulness.
b. the requirement of coherence. d. our moral experience.
23. A major reason for devising a moral theory is to
a. rebut rival theories. c. be able to reject other theories.
b. obtain practical guidance. d. determine psychological motivations.
24. According to ethical egoism, the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil for oneself.
Which of these evaluations is most appropriate?
a. This theory is incoherent because it conflicts with other moral theories.
b. This theory is inconsistent with our considered moral judgments because it says that it is right to harm innocent people when it
benefits you.
c. This theory is inconsistent with our moral experience because it says that many of our actions are morally wrong.
d. This theory is not useful in moral problem solving because there is no way to tell if one action will benefit you more than another.
25. The moral theory constructed by the author and described at the end of the chapter has
several features meant to improve on previous theories. In particular, the author wants to
resolve the problem of conflicting rules or principles. Which of the following features BEST
helps resolve this problem?
a. The theory includes only the best of the rules presented in previous theories.
b. The theory includes a principle of respect, requiring respect for all persons.
c. The theory includes three principles, rather than one.
d. The theory includes prima facie principles, rather than absolute rules.