Exam 2 Business Ethics

What is moral psychology the scientific study of?

The scientific study of how people think, feel, and behave about moral issues.

Which is the main function of moral theory?

To provide a framework for determining right and wrong actions.

If two people hold the same moral theories might they nevertheless disagree about whether any given action is right or wrong?

Yes, they might interpret or apply the theory differently.

Is it true that the three major ethical theories presented in this course never arrive at the same conclusions about what is right and wrong?

No, sometimes they reach the same conclusions for different reasons.

What do utilitarians hold to be intrinsically valuable?

Happiness or pleasure.

Is it true that for hedonistic utilitarianism "good" is the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain?

Yes, that is the basic idea of hedonistic utilitarianism.

How does one assess the morality of an action according to utilitarianism?

By the amount of happiness or pleasure it produces for everyone affected.

Is it true according to Bentham that we must maximize pleasure in order to protect people's rights?

No, Bentham focused on maximizing pleasure, not protecting rights.

Is it true according to Sandel, that the welfare issues raised in contemporary discussions about morality are largely rooted in deontological ethical theory?

No, they are rooted in utilitarian reasoning about welfare.

Is it true that cost-benefit analysis is based on utilitarian reasoning?

Yes, it aims to maximize total benefit over cost.

Is it true according to Bentham, that we should just maximize pleasure and that moral concepts like rights, liberty, etc. are all either unnecessary or mistaken?

Yes, Bentham believed such concepts were secondary to maximizing pleasure.

What is Mill's distinction between higher and lower pleasures?

Higher pleasures involve the mind; lower pleasures involve the body.

How does Bentham justify his normative hedonism?

He argues that pleasure and pain are the only things desirable as ends.

For Kant, what motive or intention must one act from in order to act morally?

From duty and respect for the moral law.

How should one assess the morality of an action according to Kant?

By whether it can be universalized and done from duty.

From the deontological perspective, for me to have a moral duty means what?

That I must act according to a moral law I recognize as binding.

Is it true according to Kant, that treating someone as a thing rather than as a person would involve a failure to respect his or her capacity to exercise free choice?

Yes, it violates respect for autonomy.

What is the difference between autonomy and heteronomy for Kant?

Autonomy means acting from moral law; heteronomy means acting from desires or external causes.

Is it true that heteronomy involves the free choice to act according to a moral principle?

No, it involves acting under outside influence.

Is it true according to Kant, that it is moral to act out of sympathy for someone's suffering?

No, morality must come from duty, not emotion.

Is it true that a good will, according to Kant, is one that wants all people to flourish as human beings?

No, a good will is one that acts from duty alone.

What is a telos for Aristotle?

An end or purpose that something aims to fulfill.

What is the primary moral question for virtue ethicists?

What kind of person should I be?

For Aristotle, what are the components of a virtue?

A habit or disposition to choose the mean between extremes.

What is the final end/highest good according to Aristotle?

Eudaimonia, or human flourishing.

How does Aristotle define good?

That which all things aim toward.

What is the distinctive function or telos of humans according to the function argument?

Reason and rational activity in accordance with virtue.

According to the function argument, what does objective human happiness consist in?

Living rationally and virtuously.

What is the doctrine of the mean?

Virtue lies between excess and deficiency.

How do the virtues relate to objective happiness for humans according to Aristotle?

Virtues enable humans to live according to their rational function.

Why is it important to acquire the virtues, according to Aristotle's theory?

Because they are necessary for achieving true happiness.

According to virtue ethics how do we figure out what to do in any specific situation?

By acting as a virtuous person would act.

What is objective happiness according to Aristotle?

The fulfillment of human purpose through rational virtue.

What is a Pareto Improvement?

A change making at least one person better off without making anyone worse off.

What is the relationship between markets and Pareto Improvements for a welfare economist?

Markets promote Pareto efficiency when voluntary exchanges benefit all parties.

What do people who agree with the utilitarian justification of the market generally think about preference satisfaction?

That satisfying preferences increases overall happiness.

What is one way of arguing against the idea that preference satisfaction is always good?

Preferences can be mistaken or harmful.

Is someone who rejects the utilitarian justification of the free market logically committed to thinking that the free market cannot be morally justified?

No, it could be justified by other theories like rights or virtue.

What is the first objection to the market system solution for military service?

It may coerce poorer individuals to enlist out of necessity.

What are background conditions and how do they affect our choices?

They are social and economic circumstances that shape the freedom of choice.

How does the issue of coercion in the market relate to the issue of class discrimination in the military?

Poorer people may feel compelled to enlist, making the choice less free.

Under what conditions does the coercion objection apply to the military labor market?

When unequal circumstances pressure some to enlist.

In what sort of society could no one complain that the choice to enlist was less than free (coerced)?

In an equal society without economic pressure.

What is the second objection the market system solution for military service?

It may degrade civic duty by turning it into a commodity.

According to Sandel, what do jury duty and military service both have in common?

Both are civic responsibilities not meant to be bought or sold.

According to Sandel, once the market system solution for military service has been adopted then there is no reason to restrict it to what class of people?

To any class; it could extend to all citizens.

What are the two types of surrogacy?

Commercial and altruistic surrogacy.

According to the New Jersey Supreme Court, a surrogate is irrevocably committed before she knows what crucial piece of information?

Whether she can bear to give up the baby.

What is the first objection to commercial surrogacy contracts?

They can involve coercion or lack of informed consent.

According nonlibertarian theories, is it true that choices made under pressure or in the absence of informed consent are not truly free?

Yes, freedom requires informed voluntary choice.

What is the second objection to commercial surrogacy contracts?

They degrade babies and pregnancy by treating them as commodities.

To degrade babies and pregnancy by treating them as commodities is to fail to do what?

Respect their intrinsic human value.

The first objections to both the military labor market and the commercial surrogacy market are what sorts of objections?

Coercion-based objections.

The second objections to both the military labor market and the commercial surrogacy market are what sorts of objections?

Corruption-based objections.

Do either set of objections attempt to recommend any absolute limits on the free market?

No, they question certain uses but not all markets.

According to H&M, is it true that one distortion in the welfare economics argument for the market is that it identifies wellbeing and preference satisfaction?

Yes, it wrongly assumes they are the same.

According to H&M, who else might have preferences for particular consumption patterns?

Other people or society as a whole.

Is it true that the preference satisfaction account of the good distinguishes between the fact that my preference is satisfied and the pleasurable feeling of that satisfaction?

No, it confuses satisfaction with wellbeing.

What is the test for identity and its converse, the test for difference?

Tests to see if two things can be identified or distinguished conceptually.

The coral snake example shows that preference satisfaction cannot be identified with wellbeing because of what?

False beliefs can lead to harmful satisfactions.

The world-peace-in-the-future example shows that preference satisfaction cannot be identified with wellbeing because of what?

You can prefer something that never affects your experience.

Is it true that welfare economists respond to H&M anti-identity arguments by saying that there is no better indicator of wellbeing than preference satisfaction?

Yes, that is their defense.

Paternalism does not involve____that someone should act differently or even trying to____ someone to do so, but rather _____them.

	Arguing, persuading, coercing.

According to H&M, is it true that providing public assistance benefits as in kind rather than as cash may increase people's wellbeing even though it may provide less market freedom?

Yes, it may improve wellbeing despite less choice.

Libertarians are a sort of deontologist which favor ______ markets and oppose _____ regulation.

Free; government.

What is the fundamental right according to libertarians?

The right to self-ownership.

Know what libertarians would say about the proper function(s) of government.

It should protect rights, enforce contracts, and defend the nation.

What sort of state is libertarianism compatible with?

A minimal state limited to core functions.

The libertarian state is limited to what activities?

Protection of persons, property, and enforcement of contracts.

What are patterned theories of justice?

Theories requiring specific distributions based on moral criteria like equality.

Is it true that libertarians are opposed to patterned theories of justice?

Yes, they see them as violating freedom.

For libertarians, the justice of distributions of wealth and resources depends on what two requirements?

Just acquisition and voluntary transfer.

What are the two (and only) just methods of wealth or resource acquisition?

Original acquisition and voluntary exchange.

According to Nozick, liberty _ patterns.

Disrupts.

According to Nozick, intervening in the market by imposing artificial distributive patterns through the redistribution of wealth _ people's rights.

Violates.

For Nozick, if I__ then I must labor; and if I__ my labor, then I must be __ to the fruits of my labor.

Own, own, mix, entitled.

Taxation is equivalent with what for Nozick?

Forced labor.

Forced labor is equivalent what for Nozick?

Taxation for redistribution.

For libertarians, even if someone needs your money more than you do, their___don't trump your______.

Needs; rights.

How do libertarians answer the charge that people did not deserve or earn their luck/talents and therefore are not morally entitled to keep all that their luck/talents get them?

They argue people own themselves and their talents regardless of luck.

What do libertarians think about unequal distribution of wealth in relation to the moral justification of the market?

It is just if it arises from voluntary exchanges.

Is it true that one role of moral theory is to explain why the distribution of goods and services that results from unregulated exchanges between people is rightful?

Yes, it helps justify free-market outcomes.

What claim does the libertarian justification for the free market rest upon?

The right to self-ownership and voluntary exchange.

Know the arguments for the moral justification of the free market system, both utilitarian and deontological.

Utilitarian: promotes welfare; Deontological: respects freedom and rights.

Know what aspect of the market would make it morally justified according to libertarianism.

Voluntary exchange and respect for self-ownership.

How do libertarians understand self-ownership?

As the right to control one's own body, labor, and property.

Freedom for libertarians is the absence of what?

Coercion.

What are the hard, harder, and hardest cases according to lecture for the self-ownership thesis?

Selling kidneys, assisted suicide, consensual cannibalism.

The core notion of a property right is a right to what?

Exclusive control and transfer of something owned.

What is the utilitarian argument for the kidney market centered upon?

Maximizing welfare by saving more lives.

What is the libertarian argument for the kidney market centered upon?

Respecting self-ownership and voluntary choice.

What is the libertarian argument for physician assisted suicide centered upon?

Respecting individual autonomy and self-ownership.

What is the utilitarian argument for physician assisted suicide centered upon?

Reducing suffering and increasing overall happiness.

What is the ultimate test case for the libertarian principle of self-ownership?

The right to end one's own life.

To what family of arguments for the free market does the argument for virtue economics belong?

Aristotelian or virtue-based arguments.

What is the final end and highest good of economic activity for a virtue theorist?

The cultivation of virtues and human flourishing.

What role do rights and freedom play in the virtue theory argument for the free market according to lecture?

They enable the practice of economic virtues.

According to Hill & Rae, what two freedoms had to be recognized for the transition from feudalism to free market capitalism to occur?

Freedom of movement and freedom of contract.

Be familiar with the virtues that for Hill & Rae a free market is said to be necessary for the development of.

Virtues like prudence, responsibility, and cooperation.