Ethics and political Philosophy

Which of the following is NOT part of the five primary ethical theories?

• Cultural relativism

• Utilitarianism

• Virtue ethics

• Marketplace of ideas

• Divine command theory

• Deontological ethical theory

Marketplace of ideas

Who is mostly associated with Cultural Relativism?

Ruth Benedict

The theory that moral truth is determined by each culture is known as _________

Cultural relativism

True or False:

There is no moral right or wrong independent of culture according to cultural relativists

TRUE

The theory that an action is moral or immoral INDEPENDENT of culture is known as ________

Moral realism

What is the main difference between Cultural relativism and Moral realism?

CR thinks that no culture is better or worse than the other whereas MR thinks that some cultures are better morally

True or False:

Cultures that wrap their babies vs cultures that do not wrap their babies care about their babies more

FALSE

They both care about protecting their baby, they just have different circumstances that require them to care differently

Jill’s culture says it is immoral to steal, but she thinks it is okay for people to steal baby formula to save their baby’s life.

Is Jill a cultural relativist?

NO

If her culture says it is immoral to steal, it is immoral to steal

Culture A allows slavery while culture B bans slavery.

Who thinks that one culture is morally better whereas both cultures are just different?

MR: morally better
CR: just different

What are the two objections to cultural relativism?

• Moral progress (women’s rights, LGBTQ, slavery gets better over time)

• Holocaust counterexample (Are nazis really just culturally different?)

The theory that an action is moral or immoral because god says so is known as _________

The Divine Command Theory

What is the problem with the divine command theory?

The clauses are reversed in a nonsensical fashion.
Eg.
Correct: The car stopped b/c it ran out of gas
(TIFF is wrong b/c it’s hurtful)
Incorrect: The car ran out of gas b/c it stopped.
(God says TIFF is wrong, so it is)

Which theory believes that an action is moral or immoral because it conforms to the rational principle or violates it?

Deontological ethics

The theory that an action is moral or immoral because it maximizes happiness overall is known as __________

Utilitarianism

Who is the main person for Deontological ethics?

Who is the main person for Utilitarianism?

DE: Kant
Util: Mill

True or False:

Kant and Mill agree with cultural relativism

FALSE

They reject CR and agree with Socrates

What would Kant and Mill do in the following cases:

1. Anne Frank

2. Forced Organ Donor

3. Franza Kafka

1. Kant: tell truth about whereabouts
   Mill: Lie about whereabouts

2. Kant: Do not kill anyone
   Mill: Kill man and steal organ

3. Kant: Keep promise and not publish books
   Mill: Break promise and publish books

According to the calculation method, which option would be considered more ethical?

• Share a twinkie with friend (+5 points you, +10 point friend)

• Eat both twinkies (+20 points you)

Eat both twinkies

It does not matter if more people receive happiness, but rather whatever achieves the MOST happiness (it can also be less people)

What is Kant’s “Categorical Imperative”?

A good rule would be rational for everyone to want to follow eg. Keep your promises

What is the method for determining if an action is moral or immoral for a Deontologist?

Categorical Imperative

What is the method for determining if an action is moral or immoral for a Utilitarianist?

The Calculation method

How do Deontology and Utilitarianism interact with
a. Intention
b. Results

D: Intention > Results
U: Results > Intention

Which 3 philosophers are the Idealists?

Plato
Rousseau
Marx

Which 2 philosophers are the realists?

Machiavelli
Hobbes

Who believes that:
- Humans are inherently evil by nature?
- Human are inherently good by nature?

• Realists

• Idealists

Who believes that the cause of social problems is:
- Corrupt culture system
- Human nature

• Idealists

• Realists

Who believes that the state of nature is:
- peaceful “noble savage”
- All vs all, nasty, brutish, short

• Idealists

• Realists

Who believes that the purpose of government is:
- security, police
- to develop our cognitive biases

• Realists

• Idealists

According to Political Relativism what sacrifice must we make for security?

We must give our freedom in exchange for safety

The belief that things are getting better over time is ______

Enlightenment belief

Which two people believe in the enlightenment belief?

Voltaire and Steven Pinker

The belief that things are getting worse with time and people are alienating themselves is known as __________

Rousseau’s criticism of enlightenment and theory of alienation

Who believes in Rousseau’s criticism of enlightenment?

Rousseau