Ohio University Immanuel Kant’s Moral Theory End-Means Philosophy Exam Practice

QUESTION 1concept.
Autonomy is a
a. deontological
b. natural law
c. consequentialist
d. metaethical
QUESTION 2
Kant’s moral theory
a. is based on the assumption that nature can be known by the mind and this allows moral agents to participate in the eternal moral law that is
encoded in the universe
b. is based on the assumption that the concepts of moral right and wrong are definable only for a mind that works like the human mind, and are, as
such, known a priori
c. combines consequentialist with deontological elements but runs into inconsistency because of this
d. is a theory that considers the morally right act to be defined as the act which the morally virtuous person would chose to do
QUESTION 3
Kant argues that suicide is morally wrong because
O a. if we attempt to generalize and universalize the maxim (moral principle) that considers suicide as morally permissible, we derive a contradiction
(logical absurdity).
b. the person who commits suicide goes against the moral norms of his or her society.
c. because no one of sound mind would commit suicide.
d. because suicides make the greatest number of people unhappy in a society.
QUESTION 4
According to the ends-means formulation of Kant’s categorical imperative,
a. we do something morally wrong when we disobey the moral norms of our culture.
b. one should always do what promotes the overall happiness of the greatest number of people.
c. an act is morally wrong if its omission would make the greatest number of people unhappy.
d. no person should ever treat another person (or himself/herself) as a means to an end.
QUESTION 5
If we apply the means-ends formulation of Kant’s categorical imperative, we conclude that
a. ordering a waiter to bring us something is morally bad.
b. lying to someone, even for their own undisputed benefit, is morally bad.
O c. it is morally permissible to commit a morally wrong act insofar as a greater moral good is expected and that good cannot be attained in any other
way.
d. it is morally permissible to lie in order to save a life.
QUESTION 6
According to Utilitarianism,
a. the pleasures and pains of a criminal should be discounted when we run the calculus of pleasures and pain to determine what the right thing to do
is.
b. an act is morally right only if it maximizes the overall happiness of the greatest number of people.
c. an act is morally right or wrong regardless of its consequences.
d. moral dilemmas cannot be solved.
QUESTION 7
According to Rule Utilitarianism,
a. deontology is the theory we should follow in order to determine what is morally right and what is morally wrong.
b. we should first extract the moral principle of a contemplated act and then apply the calculus of happiness-unhappiness on that principle and not on
the act itself.
c. one should follow the right moral rules and not consider consequences of an action.
d. Act Utilitarianism failed because it could not be distinguished from Deontology.
QUESTION 8
A homeless person is treated in a hospital and is about to be discharged. He has no known relatives, and very few acquaintances. If he is killed and his
transplantable organs are used to save several lives, it appears that this would increase the overall happiness of the greatest number of people when
everything is taken into account. Act Utilitarianism seems to be running into the problem that it has to accept that such an act – of killing a person and
using his organs for life-saving transplantations – is morally right since it maximizes overall happiness of the greatest number of people. On the other hand,
Rule Utilitarianism presumably avoids this problem because
a. if it were known that there is such a rule of killing one to save many lives, most people would be anxious that it would happen to them: so, this rule
cannot pass the utilitarian test (it does not make the greatest number of people happy.)
b. any rule applied in a society about killing a person to save others can never be legal.
c. we don’t know how to make the rule specific enough to check if it satisfies the utilitarian test (of maximizing overall happiness for the greatest
number of people.)
d. you would be treating the person who is to be killed as a means to an end and this is not allowed in Rule Utilitarianism.
QUESTION 9
A building is in fire. You can only save one of the following five people.
1. a homeless woman who has no family or relatives or friends
2. a migrant male worker who also has no family or friends
3. an eccentric millionaire woman who lives with her dogs and is not in touch with any of her children
4. a very popular preacher whose death would spread sorrow among the thousands of members of his congregation
5. a battered woman who was hiding from her abuser and whose death would devastate her two elder parents and five or so friends
As a Utilitarian , you should choose to save
a. the homeless woman
b. the battered woman
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c. the eccentric millionaire woman
d. the very popular preacher
QUESTION 10
Back to the burning building again. You can only save one person. As a deontologist,
a. you cannot decide whom to save – this is a genuine moral dilemma you cannot make go away.
b. you should save the person whose death would cause maximum sorrow.
c. you should save the person who arises the most sympathy among reasonable people.
d. you should not save anyone because you could put yourself in danger if you try to save anyone.
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