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, Chapter: 4- Egoism, Altruism, and the Social Contract -Problem: 2 >> Can a selfish person be a moral person? Can a self-interested person be a moral person? Explain the difference, if there is any, between being selfish and being self-interested?
Answer Preview: They should be able to distinguish between selfishness a…

, Chapter: 8- Virtue Ethics -Problem: 1 >> How do we know what traits ought to be considered virtues and what vices?
Answer Preview: They should be able to talk about how virtues are d…

, Chapter: 19- Environmental Ethics -Problem: 3 >> What is ecofeminism? In what ways do environmental ethical concerns overlap with feminist ethical concerns?
Answer Preview: They should be able to define ecofemini…

, Chapter: 8- Virtue Ethics -Problem: 2 >> Aristotle says that virtue is a mean between two extremes. How would one decide just where that middle is between too much and too little of some trait?
Answer Preview: They can discuss various examples of virtues and vices such as co…

, Chapter: 17- Punishment and the Death Penalty -Problem: 1 >> Which do you think is the most convincing rationale for legal punishment, a deterrence view or a retributivist view? Why?
Answer Preview: They can first characterize the deterrence view by pointing ou…

, Chapter: 14- Economic Justice -Problem: 3 >> Do you think that people in Rawls's "original position" would choose the two principles that he suggests? Explain.
Answer Preview: They must first articulate Rawls's two princ…

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, Chapter: 2- Religion and Global Ethics -Problem: 3 >> Martin Luther King Jr. learned about nonviolent resistance from Mohandas Gandhi, who advocated ahimsa, or nonviolence. Do you think that nonviolent civil disobedience is morally justified? How would you argue for or against nonviolent civil disobedience?
Answer Preview: They should first be able to define civil disobedienc…

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, Chapter: 1- Ethics and Ethical Reasoning -Problem: 2 >> What role, if any, do you believe that emotions should play in moral reasoning? Why or why not?
Answer Preview: They should be able to distinguish reason …

, Chapter: 2- Religion and Global Ethics -Problem: 1 >> Kant thought that history would develop in a cosmopolitan direction. Do you think he was correct? Given the cultural and religious differences across the world, do you think his vision is possible?
Answer Preview: They should be able first to define cosmopolitanism as a global worldview. …

, Chapter: 18- Peace, Violence, and War -Problem: 3 >> Explain the principle of last resort. What are some ways of applying this ideal?
Answer Preview: They should be able to talk about jus ad bellum or the justness o…

, Chapter: 2- Religion and Global Ethics -Problem: 2 >> Do you believe that there are limits to toleration? Should we tolerate those who are intolerant of the very idea of toleration?
Answer Preview: They should be able to define tolerance. They sh…

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, Chapter: 7- Natural Law and Human Rights -Problem: 2 >> Does a theory of civil disobedience necessarily depend on there being a natural law?
Answer Preview: They should be able to define natural law and give examples of dif…

, Chapter: 1- Ethics and Ethical Reasoning -Problem: 3 >> Do you think that an action ought to be judged morally in terms of its motive, its consequences, the action itself, or some combination of these? Explain your answer.
Answer Preview: They should be able to identify the elements of an act. They …

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, Chapter: 19- Environmental Ethics -Problem: 2 >> Do you favor an anthropocentric approach or an ecocentric approach to environmental ethics? Why?
Answer Preview: They should first be able to define …

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, Chapter: 14- Economic Justice -Problem: 1 >> How are equality and liberty related to justice? Which of these two interests (liberty or equality) is most important to your sense of fairness? Is it possible to achieve a fair balance between the two interests?
Answer Preview: They should first be able to give working definitions of equality a…

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, Chapter: 7- Natural Law and Human Rights -Problem: 1 >> Do you think that the essential characteristics of humanness can be specified? Discuss your answer.
Answer Preview: They should be able to attempt a list of characteristics t…

, Chapter: 10- Health Care Ethics -Problem: 2 >> In defining health, we must also think about illness and disease and what constitutes them. Is color blindness a disease? Do you think nearsightedness or myopia is a disability? People normally become presbyopic, or farsighted, in their forties and fifties; do you think farsightedness is a disease? Define disability and explain your answer.
Answer Preview: They should be able to distinguish between illness a…

, Chapter: 5- Utilitarianism -Problem: 2 >> Mill claims it's better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. What do you think of this argument? Do you think there is a qualitative difference between sensual and intellectual pleasures? Would you prefer to be a satisfied pig or a dissatisfied Socrates? Why? Explain your answer.
Answer Preview: They should be able to talk about Mill's distinction betwee…

, Chapter: 18- Peace, Violence, and War -Problem: 1 >> Are you a pacifist? Explain your answer. What do you take to be the strongest argument for pacifism, and what is the strongest argument against it?
Answer Preview: They can refine their own notion of pacifism by thinking about wh…

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, Chapter: 20- Animal Rights—and Beyond -Problem: 1 >> Do you think that nonhuman animals have interests? Does this mean that they also have rights? Explain your answer.
Answer Preview: The key to understanding this question is bein…

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, Chapter: 17- Punishment and the Death Penalty -Problem: 3 >> Do you think that death is the only fitting punishment for some crimes? For which crimes is this the case, and why?
Answer Preview: In this question students are asked to think about the …

, Chapter: 1- Ethics and Ethical Reasoning -Problem: 1 >> Do you think ethics can be taught? Why is this a difficult question to answer?
Answer Preview: They should be able to reflect on their own ethics …

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, Chapter: 14- Economic Justice -Problem: 2 >> Do you think there should be equal opportunity in a just society? What would equal opportunity mean to you?
Answer Preview: They can distinguish between procedural and e…

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, Chapter: 13- Equality and Discrimination -Problem: 3 >> Explain the concept of intersectionality and give an example.
Answer Preview: They can demonstrate their understanding of the concep…

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, Chapter: 6- Deontological Ethics -Problem: 1 >> Do you think that intention affects the moral character of an action? How would you assess the moral character of a good act done with a bad intention? How would you assess the moral character of a bad act done with a good intention? Explain your answer.
Answer Preview: They should be able to identify the components of an actmotive, a…

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, Chapter: 3- Ethical Relativism -Problem: 1 >> Do you believe the fact that ethical values vary among individuals and cultures is adequate reason to accept ethical relativism? Explain why you think so.
Answer Preview: They should be able to characterize ethical differen…

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, Chapter: 9- Feminist Thought and the Ethics of Care -Problem: 3 >> Do you find Caroline Whitbeck's biological explanation of the male-female difference in morality to be persuasive? Why or why not? What issues might there be with this explanation?
Answer Preview: They should first be able to identify Whitbeck's argument an…

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, Chapter: 6- Deontological Ethics -Problem: 2 >> Do you think that moral obligation is categorical in the way that Kant means by this term? That is, if something is moral, it is universally moral. Do you think there are ever exceptions to moral rules? Why or why not?
Answer Preview: They should be able to talk about universalizability as part …

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, Chapter: 4- Egoism, Altruism, and the Social Contract -Problem: 1 >> Do you think that universal ethical egoism is inconsistent or incoherent? Explain your answer.
Answer Preview: They will have to first define universal ethical egoism to res…

, Chapter: 16- Sexual Morality -Problem: 1 >> Which perspective on how to decide matters of sexual morality is most convincing to you: utilitarianism, Kantianism, or natural law? Why? If you believe that more than one of these three (or some other perspective) ought to be used to judge sexual behavior, which do you consider most important? Why?
Answer Preview: They should be able to characterize normative …

, Chapter: 20- Animal Rights—and Beyond -Problem: 2 >> Do some animals have greater value than others? Why or why not?
Answer Preview: They can explore the concept of usefulness or instrumen…

, Chapter: 3- Ethical Relativism -Problem: 2 >> In what ways do you think that science is different from ethics? Are they alike in any ways? For example, do they both involve being impartial and nonbiased? Explain.
Answer Preview: They should be able to characterize and describe fea…

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, Chapter: 9- Feminist Thought and the Ethics of Care -Problem: 1 >> Carol Gilligan argues in her early work that women have a different moral language and reasoning. How would one decide which type of moral reasoning, male or female, is the morally "right" one? Does rightness depend on gender? Consider whether the male and female moral perspectives could complement one another.
Answer Preview: They can assert a thesis about whether they think gender pla…

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, Chapter: 20- Animal Rights—and Beyond -Problem: 3 >> Do you think that it is morally permissible to use animals in experiments? If so, are there any conditions you would set on the experiments regarding the type of animal used, the purpose of the experiments, or how to conduct the experiments? Explain.
Answer Preview: They might discuss prima facie values, which places a pre…

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, Chapter: 12- Biotechnology and Bioengineering -Problem: 1 >> The natural law tradition holds that we should not alter the human body from its "natural" state. Do you think that enhancing the human body is the same as "playing God"? Why or why not?
Answer Preview: They should be able to characterize the natural law tradit…

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, Chapter: 15- Justice and Globalization -Problem: 2 >> Do you think that non-Western nations ought to adopt modern practices of capitalism and political rights? Why or why not?
Answer Preview: They ought to be able to articulate postcolonialism in some way, …

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, Chapter: 9- Feminist Thought and the Ethics of Care -Problem: 2 >> Do you believe that there are some good traits or virtues that are more typical of females and others of males? If so, is this learned behavior or is it natural to each sex? Explain why you think so.
Answer Preview: They can talk about natural law theory with respe…

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, Chapter: 8- Virtue Ethics -Problem: 3 >> Can you think of an example in which a person ends up worse off for behaving virtuously? Is this a reason to not behave virtuously? Is there another way that we should understand virtue? Discuss your answer.
Answer Preview: The book gives the example of Pat Tillman, an NFL …

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, Chapter: 19- Environmental Ethics -Problem: 1 >> Do you think that a book, a plant, or a building can be said to have intrinsic value? Can things be done for the best interest of such things? Explain your answer.
Answer Preview: They should first be able to define and dis…

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, Chapter: 7- Natural Law and Human Rights -Problem: 3 >> Do you think that "nature" provides any basis for knowing what we ought to do? How might you explain this basis without committing the "naturalistic fallacy?"
Answer Preview: They should define the naturalistic falla…

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, Chapter: 15- Justice and Globalization -Problem: 1 >> Which interpretation, or combination of interpretations, of globalization do you think is the most significant and why?
Answer Preview: They should be able to articulate some of the …

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11 Reviews for Ethics Theory And Contemporary Issues Textbook Questions And Answers