Quiz: 

1. Which of the following is not one of Appiah’s indicators that a practice will be condemned in the future?

a. There are already arguments against the practice.

b. People who engage in the practice tend to engage in other vicious activities.

c. Defenders of the practice tend not to offer moral counter arguments.

d. Supporters of the practice engage in strategic ignorance.

2. Appiah worries about which of the following features of the U.S. prison system?

a. It imprisons so many people.

b. Prisoners suffer sexual abuse in prison.

c. Prisoners are held in isolation.

d. all of the above

3. According to Singer, the morality of an action depends on the

a. consequences of the action.

b. intentions of the person performing the action.

c. moral character of the person performing the action.

d. all of the above.

4. Singer claims that refraining from giving money to charity is  

a. bad, but not as bad as selling a child to organ peddlers.

b. just as bad as selling a child to organ peddlers.

c. even worse than selling a child to organ peddlers.

d. justified because everyone has a right to his or her own income.

5. According to Singer, the case of Bob and the Bugatti shows that  

a. people are sometimes required to make large sacrifices for their loved ones.

b. people are sometimes required to make large sacrifices for strangers.

c. no one is required to make large sacrifices for the good of others.

d. it is silly to become too attached to one’s possessions.

6. According to Narveson, we typically attribute causality to someone’s inaction only when

a. the consequences of their inaction are large.

b. the consequences of their inaction are small.

c. they have a responsibility to act.

d. none of the above

7. According to Narveson, in what sense are killing and letting die logically distinct?

a. Only when you kill are you morally blameworthy.

b. When you kill, you bring about someone’s death when they would otherwise remain living.

c. Killing is more violent than letting die.

d. Letting die is more common than killing.

8. In the case of Jack the cancer patient, Rachels claims that Jack’s suffering is  

a. the result of poor medical care.

b. preventable without resorting to euthanasia.

c. the inevitable product of his disease.

d. both a and b

9. Rachels thinks that the utilitarian argument for the permissibility of active euthanasia

a. is the best argument for active euthanasia.

b. succeeds but is not the best argument for euthanasia.

c. does not succeed.

d. shows why active euthanasia is not morally permissible.

10. A survival lottery is a

a. game similar to Russian roulette.

b. system of redistribution of money.

c. system for procuring organ donors for transplants.

d. proposal for a reality TV show.

11. Harris thinks that instituting a survival lottery is  

a. a good idea that we should implement as soon as possible.

b. presently not feasible in practice but would be desirable if it could be made to work.

c. a bad idea because it violates people’s rights.

d. equivalent to the murder of innocent people.

12. In Norcross’s opening story, Fred tortures puppies because

a. he enjoys it.

b. it gives him a compound that is good for his health.

c. it gives him a compound that enhances his gustatory pleasure.

d. all of the above

13. Norcross claims that eating factory-farmed meat is less bad than Fred’s behavior because  

a. Fred intentionally tortures puppies, whereas meat-eaters do not intentionally harm animals.

b. a single person cannot prevent the suffering of animals by abstaining from meat.

c. both a and b

d. neither a nor b

14. What does Frey think about value of animals’ lives?

a. Animals’ lives have no value.

b. Every animal’s life is less valuable than every human’s life.

c. Typical animal life is less valuable than typical human life.

d. No two lives are equally valuable.

15. What is Frey’s position regarding animal experimentation?

a. It is sometimes morally permissible to experiment on animals.

b. There should be a presumption against the use of animals in medial/scientific research.

c. It is sometimes better to experiment on humans than on animals.

d. all of the above

16. What do Posner and Sunstein think is the most effective way to achieve redistribution?

a. direct cash transfers

b. energy subsidies

c. climate change mitigation

d. all of the above

17. Posner and Sunstein claim that current poor have a stronger claim to assistance that the future poor because the

a. future poor are likely to be much less poor than the current poor.

b. claims of current people are more important than the claims of future people.

c. current poor have been wronged but the future poor have not.

d. all of the above

18. Many people claim that a fetus is a person from the moment of conception. In her paper, Thomson  

a. agrees with this claim.

b. disagrees with this claim.

c. grants this claim for the sake of argument.

d. both b and c

19. In the case of the violinist, Thomson thinks  

a. you are obligated to unplug yourself.

b. you are obligated not to unplug yourself.

c. it would be nice of you to remain attached, but you are not obligated to do so.

d. it would be nice of you to unplug yourself, but you are not obligated to do so.

20. According to Thomson, the right to life is a right to  

a. not be killed.

b. not be killed unjustly.

c. the bare minimum one needs for continued life.

d. individual liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

21. According to Marquis, standard anti-abortion arguments

a. succeed in establishing that abortion is immoral.

b. rely on a moral principle concerning the wrongness of killing that is too broad in scope.

c. rely on a moral principle concerning the wrongness of killing that is too narrow in scope.

d. entail that it is morally permissible to kill infants.

22. Marquis claims that killing is wrong primarily because it

a. brutalizes the one who kills.

b. causes a great loss to the loved ones of the victim.

c. deprives the victim of a future of value.

d. ends the life of the victim.

23. The Doctrine of Double Effect is based on a distinction between  

a. doing something and allowing something.

b. foreseeing something and intending something.

c. killing and letting die.

d. positive and negative rights.

24. Foot claims that the Doctrine of Double Effect should be taken  seriously because  

a. it is correct.

b. its opponents seem to be committed to indefensible views.

c. there is no other possible explanation of the moral difference between certain cases.

d. all of the above

25. Retributivism is the view that the harshness of a punishment should be based on  

a. what the criminal deserves.

b. the consequences of carrying out the punishment.

c. the costs of carrying out the punishment.

d. all of the above

26. Primoratz claims that the death penalty is the only penalty that is  

a. an effective deterrent to murder.

b. proportional to murder.

c. cost-effective when it comes to punishing murderers.

d. all of the above

27. The principle of lextalioniswould require us to  

a. execute an innocent person if it would prevent a riot.

b. torture suspects to gain information.

c. rape rapists.

d. all of the above

28. Nathanson claims that the principle of lextalionis would give us no guidance in devising a punishment for  

a. murder.

b. assault.

c. robbery.

d. drunk driving.

29. What does it mean for a right to be derivative?

a. It is unimportant.

b. It characterizes a right that people generally, but don’t always have.  

c. It derives at least some of its weight from its relationship to another right.

d. all of the above

30. What does it mean for a right to be fundamental?

a. It has some force that is independent of other rights.

b. All of its force is independent of other rights.

c. It is unrelated to any other rights.

d. It is more important than any other rights.