Q&A Hero

Q: Free speech is enshrined in the U.S. Constitutions ________ Amendment, which guarantees freedom of expression by barring Congress from restricting what the press can disseminate and what individuals can say.

Q: For virtue ethicists, motivations for moral or immoral action are essential.

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that any speech found to be offensive, such as antiwar protests, antigovernment rhetoric, blasphemy, and obscene speech, may be banned by the government.

Q: Suppose you are seriously ill and laid up in the hospital. If a friend came to visit you only because it was her duty to do so (duty was her only motivation), you would likely view her action as heartfelt and genuine.

Q: The most frequently heard arguments about campus free speech concern whether hate speech should be regulated to prevent harm to vulnerable groups.

Q: A conscientious practitioner of Aristotelian virtue ethics would have to appeal to a moral rule such as Do not lie in order to know that she should not lie to a friend in order to avoid paying a debt.

Q: Nonconsequentialists necessarily hold the view that the right of free speech is absolute, overriding such competing values as justice, equality, security, and the right to privacy.

Q: Many duty-based theorists believe that motivation for moral action cannot be derived entirely from considerations of duty, just as appropriate motivation cannot be based solely on virtuous character.

Q: Consequentialists necessarily reject restrictions on free speech, because the consequences of doing so are always a net harm.

Q: Its possible that someone would have to choose between performing or not performing an action that could lead to serious harm to a friendyet each choice could involve the same two virtues in contradictory ways (for example, one choice could privilege the virtue of honesty to the detriment of loyalty, and the other could privilege loyalty to the detriment of honesty). Such a case suggests that virtue ethics may have a problem with a. Criterion 1 (consistency with commonsense moral judgments). b. Criterion 2 (consistency with moral experience). c. Criterion 3 (usefulness). d. both Criterion 1 and Criterion 2.

Q: One objection to virtue ethics is that its possible for a virtuous person to act entirely from virtue and still commit an immoral act.

Q: The central conflict in campus free speech controversies is between two moral goods that are crucial to higher education: (1) free speech that enables the expression of all ideas and the unfettered search for truth, and (2) a campus environment that protects and respects the learning experiences of all students.

Q: In pointing out the shortcomings of rule-based ethical theories, the philosopher William Frankena says that principles without virtues are a. irrelevant. c. impotent. b. intractable. d. intelligible.

Q: The terms free speech and free expression refer only to speaking, not to other actions, such as acting, painting, or burning flags.

Q: The fact that we regularly judge the moral permissibility of actions as well as assess the goodness of character suggests that a. principles and virtuous behavior are in conflict. b. rule-based moral theories should be discarded. c. ethics is false. d. virtue and character are important elements of the moral life.

Q: Free speech is what is called an absolute right.

Q: In ethics, the central question asked by a virtue ethicist is What should I do?

Q: A 2015 survey of college students showed that almost three-quarters favor disciplinary action for any student or faculty member on campus who uses language that is considered racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive.

Q: The primary focus of virtue systems, according to the philosopher Louis Pojman, is on discovering the proper moral example and ________ that person or ideal type. a. avoiding c. worshipping b. imitating d. evaluating

Q: Virtue ethics puts primary emphasis on being a good person and living a good life, whereas duty-based moral systems a. emphasize a life of happiness and flourishing. b. emphasize happiness through correct living. c. pay much less attention to following rules of conduct. d. pay much less attention to virtuous character and living a good life.

Q: Critics have taken virtue ethics to task for alleged problems in a. its focus on character and motivation. c. adapting the views of Aristotle. b. the usefulness of the theory in guidance. d. the requirement of coherence.

Q: Virtue ethics claims that the right action is the one performed by the virtuous person and that the virtuous person is the one who performs the right action. But some philosophers say that this way of framing the matter amounts to a. arguing with no premises. b. arguing from the obvious to the less than obvious. c. arguing in a circle. d. arguing too strongly.

Q: It seems that a person can be benevolent, honest, and loyal but still treat a stranger unjustly. This shows that a. the rightness of actions necessarily depends on the content of ones character. b. the rightness of actions does not necessarily depend on the content of ones character. c. most people are without virtues. d. having the right virtues can prevent moral error.

Q: Therefore, speech codes should be eliminated. Which of the statements above would be accepted by both supporters and opponents of speech codes? a. Statement 1 c. Statement 3 b. Statement 2 d. Statement 4

Q: According to critics of virtue ethics, one may be virtuous (kind, just, and honest) and still not know a. which actions are morally permissible. b. what the consequences of ones actions will be. c. whether virtue is good. d. whether virtues are worth cultivating.

Q: In 2017, the website security company Cloudflare discontinued its relationship with the Daily Stormer, a website run by white supremacists who spread hateful, offensive messages online. Without Cloudflares protection, the Daily Stormer was forced to retreat to the Dark Net, where it is inaccessible to the majority of Internet users. Someone with a nonconsequentialist perspective on free speech would say that Cloudflares decision was a. morally unproblematic, because most people in the country are not white supremacists. b. morally unproblematic, because white supremacists waive their right to free speech. c. morally problematic, if the rationale was solely that the content incited violence. d. morally problematic, if the rationale was solely that there was offensive content.

Q: Aristotle says that moral virtue comes about as a result of ________. a. divine inspiration. b. following the Golden Rule. c. conforming to the greatest happiness principle. d. habit.

Q: According to Chemerinsky and Gillman, which of the following kinds of on-campus speech should be permitted without punishment? a. threats or harassment b. destruction of property c. offensive language d. disruptions of classes and campus activities

Q: Contemporary virtue ethicists argue that if virtues were eliminated entirely from morality, leaving only principles or rules of justice, the moral life would appear a. one-dimensional. c. complete. b. richer. d. complicated.

Q: According to the nonconsequentialist approach to the freedom of speech, this freedom is allowed up to, but not beyond, the point at which it a. causes offense to someone based on the views or ideas expressed. b. expresses a dislike of the government. c. communicates a disagreement with a widely held religion. d. interferes with someone elses free speech rights.

Q: By the lights of virtue ethics, if you rescue someone from disaster solely out of a sense of duty, then your action is a. a morally deficient response. c. a morally appropriate response. b. wrong. d. selfless.

Q: Some consequentialists have argued that speech critical of an identity group or speech that upsets people in such a group is in fact a form of violence. They contend such violent speech is a. definitely harmful, and on those grounds should be banned. b. possibly harmful, but possible harm is irrelevant to whether it should be banned. c. not harmful in the right way, and should not be banned. d. harmful, but not enough to outweigh the benefits of this kind of speech, so it should not be banned.

Q: Virtue ethicists try to achieve the moral ideal by a. looking to well-established moral rules. c. fulfilling duties. b. reading books on ethics. d. looking to moral exemplars.

Q: Some consequentialists recognize the harms of hate speech, but argue that censoring it causes even more harm. They therefore endorse a. banning all hate speech. b. allowing citizens the freedom to express hate speech. c. banning some forms of hate speech. d. revoking the First Amendment.

Q: The doctrine of ________ is the principle that performing a good action may be permissible even if it has bad effects, but performing a bad action for the purpose of achieving good effects is never permissible.

Q: Free speech scholars Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman explain the tendency of college students to favor disciplinary action for those who use offensive language by pointing out that a. this generation of students is especially sensitive to harm caused by bullying and hateful speech. b. todays college students are more attracted to authoritarian rule. c. this generation of college students has lost the capacity to care about freedom. d. college students are naturally swayed by emotion.

Q: Aristotle distinguishes between a. intellectual virtues and moral virtues. b. intellectual virtues and political virtues. c. temporal virtues and earthly virtues. d. moral virtues and happiness virtues.

Q: Courts have often ruled against the use of speech codes at colleges and universities because the codes were found to be a. too permissive regarding offensive comments made in the classroom and thus ineffective. b. so narrow that they didnt prohibit any forms of speech and thus were ineffective. c. too vague to be useful and so broad that they identified obviously protected speech as banned speech. d. beyond the authority of college administrators.

Q: For Aristotle, a person living a life of reason is living a life of a. excess. c. struggle. b. virtue. d. strict adherence to moral rules.

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot forbid or punish any speech unless it is an instance of a. comments offensive to religious figures or people holding public office. b. speech aimed at expressing negative opinions about democracy or capitalism. c. harmful insults about vulnerable populations. d. libel, incitement to lawlessness, obscenity, harassment, serious threats, or fighting words.

Q: According to Aristotle, the greatest good for humans is a. virtue law. c. virtuosity. b. the Golden Mean. d. eudaimonia.

Q: The ________ view says that morally permissible sex does not require marriage, but it does entail more than just the informed, freely given consent of the people involved, like an emotional connection.

Q: Hate speech is not merely unpleasant or offensive, because it can leave a. people unsatisfied with democracy. c. perpetrators feeling guilty. b. physical impacts on its targets. d. traces on the social conscience.

Q: Suppose a ninety-year-old man is dying of cancer and is in excruciating pain that no medicine can relieve. He asks to be given a lethal injection. According to the doctrine of double effect, giving the injection is not morally permissible.

Q: ________ is a term that refers to rape as well as nonpenetrative sexual acts such as attempted rape and unwanted groping of sexual parts.

Q: According to Kants theory, duties that absolutely must be followed without fail are known as ________.

Q: Some observers of the sexual assault phenomenon on campuses think that a lot of the blame for it should be laid on campus ________ culture, as todays college students are thought to reject the notion of traditional dates, opting instead to pursue no-strings-attached sexual encounters disconnected from the messiness of romantic commitments.

Q: The idea that we must always treat people (including ourselves) as ends in themselves, never merely as things of instrumental value, is known as the ________ principle.

Q: The right to express your opinions or ideas without burdensome restraints from government or society is called a. the right to bear arms. c. the freedom of religion. b. free speech. d. speech codes.

Q: The moral theory that says the morally right action is the one that follows the dictates of nature is known as ________.

Q: Which philosopher said that free and unfettered debate is vital for the pursuit of truth? a. Immanuel Kant c. John Stuart Mill b. Thomas Aquinas d. Plato

Q: According to Kant, it is morally permissible to treat a server in a restaurant as a means to the end of buying food.

Q: Consider this argument: Sexual experiences express and affirm moral values, and the right kind of sex expresses and affirms the right kind of values. This view is advocated by conventionalists.

Q: A pregnant woman has cancer and will die unless she receives chemotherapy to destroy the tumors. If she takes the chemotherapy to destroy the tumors, the fetus will die. According to the doctrine of double effect, it is not morally permissible for her to do so.

Q: A utilitarian is likely to sanction many kinds of sexual activity provided that such activities do not use people as a means to an end.

Q: Natural law theorists claim that humans naturally incline toward procreation, which implies that the use of contraceptives is always wrong.

Q: Many conventionalists favor censoring ________, which is defined as sexually explicit images or text meant to cause sexual excitement or arousal.

Q: According to natural law theory, it would be morally permissible to abort a womans fetus to save her life.

Q: Research shows that sex before marriage is almost universal among Americans.

Q: Many philosophers insist that the teleological character of nature has never been supported by logical argument or empirical science because a. the church has disagreed with science. b. scientists have been uninterested in teleology. c. natural law theory is internally illogical. d. nature is not teleological at all, but instead random and purposeless.

Q: The terms rape and sexual assault are synonymous with one another and can be used interchangeably.

Q: The absolutism of natural law theory (that is, the fact that some actions are always wrong [or right] regardless of circumstances) would not bother a. Aquinas. c. an act-utilitarian. b. Mill. d. an ethical egoist.

Q: Moral questions surface about sexual assaults on college campuses having primarily to do with (1) whether and how justice is served after a sexual assault occurs, and (2) whether the requirement of consent is met in any kind of sexual encounter.

Q: In natural law theory, the emphasis on reason makes morality independent of a. logic. c. history and common practice. b. psychology. d. religion and belief in God.

Q: According to the Roman Catholic version of natural law theory, sexual activity inconsistent with procreation is prohibited. An example of such forbidden behavior is frequent sex between a man and a woman married to each other.

Q: Kant says that some duties generated by the categorical imperative are absolute. They are perfect duties. So, regarding the perfect duty not to lie, Kant would insist that lying is permitted if the only way to prevent the deaths of several innocent people is to lie.

Q: According to Alan Goldman, sexual desire is desire for contact with another persons body and for the pleasure that such contact produces.

Q: A serious criticism of Kants theory is that it a. ignores the possibility that God exists. b. allows too much subjectivity in moral decision making. c. relies too much on consequences. d. is too specific about how to state a rule describing an action.

Q: Many human activities are statistically out of the norm (such as skydiving and eating snails), and for that reason they are sometimes deemed unnatural. From this fact it follows that unnatural activities are a. necessarily immoral. c. morally suspect. b. departures from evolutionary change. d. not necessarily immoral.

Q: Kants theory emphasizes three of moralitys most important features; the three are a. universality, impartiality, and the consequences of actions. b. respect for persons, absolutism, and subjectivity. c. self-interest, moral consensus, and moral authority. d. universality, impartiality, and respect for persons.

Q: One conventionalist argument asserts that homosexualitys misuse of bodily parts leads to a. unhappiness. c. dishonesty. b. sin. d. disillusionment.

Q: According to Aquinas, the first precept of natural law theory is a. do what is in your own best interests. b. good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be avoided. c. avoid harm to others and yourself. d. good and evil are to be defined by religion.

Q: The moderate view says that sex is morally acceptable only between one man and one woman who are married to each other by legal authority.

Q: Aquinas says that judging the rightness of actions is a matter of a. determining what consequences result from actions. b. consulting our feelings and seeing which way our emotive consciousness points. c. consulting church authorities. d. consulting reason and considering rational grounds for moral beliefs.

Q: Applying the second formulation of the categorical imperative to the act of lying to a friend on important matters would show that the action is impermissible because a. performing the action would treat the friend merely as a means to an end. b. performing the action would treat the friend as an end, not as a means. c. the action cannot be performed. d. the action leads to impermissible consequences.

Q: Alan Goldman and Igor Primoratz affirm that sexual behavior a. cannot be immoral merely because it is sexual. b. can never be immoral. c. is always moral. d. cannot be labeled.

Q: Like many moral theories, Kants system fails to a. articulate its main features. b. provide principles for action. c. provide an effective means for resolving major conflicts of duties. d. take personal autonomy into account.

Q: Many who argue against homosexuality appeal to an idea that is central to natural law theorymainly that a. human beings are at liberty to dispose of their anatomy and physiology as they see fit. b. people are not obligated to stay as nature made them. c. the way nature is tells us nothing about how we ought to be. d. the way nature is tells us how humans ought to be.

Q: Consider this comment from the philosopher C. D. Broad regarding Kants means-ends principle: If we isolate a man who is a carrier of typhoid, we are treating him merely as a cause of infection to others. But, if we refuse to isolate him, we are treating other people merely as means to his comfort and culture. This example suggests that a. our duties not to use people merely as a means can conflict, and Kant provides no counsel on how to resolve such dilemmas. b. our duties not to use people merely as a means can sometimes be difficult to discern, but they never actually conflict. c. our duties not to use people merely as a means are imperfect duties. d. our duties are always clear upon further reflection.

Q: Biologists report that homosexual behavior among nonhuman animals is a. nonexistent. c. widespread. b. extremely rare. d. found only in primates.