>> Multiple choice questions (45 points in total): 15 questions about ethical theories (3
points each at max)
1. Which of the following arguments is an instance of Kant's first formulation of the
categorical imperative?
A. Treating people as means is wrong.
B. If people were allowed to kill, everyone would be dead.
C. If everyone lied on their CV to get a better job, then employers wouldn't take CVs into
account when hiring.
D. If everyone downloaded movies illegally then the movie industry would sue everyone.
2. Which of the following statements are/is correct, regarding various philosophers' views of
justice?
A. According to Rawls, freedom has priority over general good and virtue.
B. According to Mill, general good has priority over freedom and virtue.
C. According to Aristotle, virtue has priority over freedom and general good.
D. All of the above.
3. Which of the following statements describe/describes the issues of modern libertarianism
according to Aristotle?
A. Libertarians see individuals in opposition to society. On the contrary, Aristotle sees
society as the only institution where human beings can fully realize their telos.
B. The libertarian tenet that “no one should be forced to help anyone” weakens the
internal ties of solidarity among citizens, and results in a society less able to train
individual virtues.
C. Aristotle would reject the libertarian tenet that society should not protect its citizens
from making “bad choices”. Indeed, such a society would fail its own main telos.
D. All of the above.
4. Which of the following statements reflects Aristotle’s views on ethics?
A. Human beings are virtuous by nature.
B. Human beings are virtuous by habit.
C. Only gods are perfect.
D. To understand the goal of a practice you need to consider what ideals it should honour.
5. In his book, Sandel argues that “Aristotle’s own theory of justice provides ample resources
for a critique of his views on slavery.” Which of the following statements summarises Sandel's
argument?
A. Coercion is the symptom of the injustice, not the source of it.
B. Slavery is not suitable to all the human beings who happen to be slaves.
C. Some jobs people freely accept are even more unsuitable to human nature than slavery.
D. Slavery is unjust because it is inherently at odds with human nature.
6. Which of the following statements is not descriptive?
A. In Saudi Arabia until recently women were not allowed to drive cars.
B. Mills believes that forcing a person to live according to custom or convention or
prevailing opinion is wrong.
C. According to Aristotle, every human being should train and actively pursue their virtue.
D. All of the above statements are descriptive.
7. Which of the following are/is examples of intentions?
A. I ate a snack to satiate my hungry.
B. I like to go on walks on Saturday.
C. I study hard because I like learning.
D. None of the above.
8. Why did Jeremy Bentham introduce the concept of utility in his philosophical views?
A. To capture, on a single scale, the whole spectrum of what we value and care about,
including immaterial values such as knowledge, dignity, or urban decorum
B. To prove that natural rights are nonsense.
C. To be able to translate moral values into monetary units.
D. None of the above.
9. Which of the following statements agree/agrees with John Stuart Mill's version of
utilitarianism?
A. Everything has a price, even human life.
B. If more people would rather watch dogfights than view Rembrandt paintings, then
society should subsidize dogfight arenas rather than art museums.
C. Both of the above.
D. None of the above.
10. Which of the following statements reflects Jean Jacques Rousseau's views on ethics and
politics?
A. Humans are always in conflict with each other.
B. Freedom and the authority of the state can be reconciled.
C. The desires of the king reflect the general will of the state.
D. None of the above.
11. Which of the following statements describes consequentialist theories in ethics?
A. Ethical views according to which a morally right action is one which produces a good
outcome.
B. Ethical views according to which a morally right action is one which does not produce
any harm.
C. Ethical views according to which actions are not inherently right or wrong, it depends on
the circumstances.
D. All of the above.
12. What is the difference between intentions and motives?
A. Intentions concern which consequences we want to bring about with our actions.
Motives concern why do we want to bring about these consequences.
B. Intentions are the short-term goals. Motives are the long-term goals.
C. Both statements above correctly capture the difference between intentions and
motives.
D. None of the above capture the difference between intentions and motives.
13. Which of the following statements describe/describes the issues of libertarianism?
A. They focus on individual rights.
B. It disregards the fact that value and ownership are themselves social constructions.
C. It permits cannibalism.
D. All of the other answers apply
14. Which of the following statements reflects Thomas Hobbes’s views on ethics and politics?
A. The general will of the people is expressed by the sovereign entity Hobbes refers to as
the Leviathan.
B. The executive power should preside over the legislative power.
C. In their natural state people desire peace and possess the capacity to reason.
D. None of the above.
15. Which of the following statements is an a priori truth?
A. The universe is infinite.
B. When there is smoke, there is fire.
C. An instant before being dead, Monsieur de La Palisse was alive.
D. Both the second and third options are a priori truths.
>> Open questions (55 points in total): 1 question about an ethical dilemma induced by a
case study (15 points) plus 4 questions about ethical theories (10 points each at max).
16. (Ethical dilemma) Consider the following case [excerpt from
https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/apple-vs-fbi-case-study/].
In the wake of the December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, attention turned to the perpetrator’s
iPhone. A federal judge asked Apple, maker of the iPhone, to provide “reasonable technical assistance” to
the FBI in accessing the information on the phone with that hope of discovering additional threats to
national security.
Apple provided the FBI with data it had in their possession and sent Apple engineers to advise the FBI, but
refused to comply with the court order to bypass the phone’s security measures: specifically the 4-digit
login code and a feature that erases all data after ten incorrect attempts. The FBI argued that the bypass
could only be used for this phone, this one time. The agency also cited national security concerns, given the
phone may lead to better understanding the attack and preventing further incidents.
Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a public letter reiterating Apple’s refusal to cooperate. Cook advocated for the
benefits of encryption in society to keep personal information safe. He stated that creating the backdoor
entry into the iPhone would be akin to creating a master key capable of accessing the tens of millions of
iPhones in the U.S. alone. Cook also had concerns that the FBI was outstepping its bounds - by using the
court system to expand its authority - and believed the case should be settled after public debate and
legislative action through Congress instead.
Public opinion polls on the issue were split. A number of major tech firms filed amicus briefs in support of
Apple. The White House and Bill Gates stood behind the FBI. In anticlimactic fashion, the FBI withdrew its
request a day before the hearing, claiming it no longer needed Apple’s help to assess the phone. It is
speculated that an Israeli tech firm, Cellebrite, helped the FBI gain access.
Write an assessment of the decision to not complying with the FBI’s request and evaluate if it is
morally justifiable or not, with the proviso that
A. Your argumentation should be based on at least four commonly accepted ethical
theories.
B. Your argumentation includes a balancing of the different ethical theories.
17. Consider the maxim: ``I only care about myself’’. Construct an argument based on Kant’s
first formulation of the categorical imperative that shows that this maxim is immoral.
18. Both Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill devoted much attention to developing a theory
of pleasure. What is the role pleasure plays in utilitarian ethics?
19. What is according to Aristotle the eudaimon life?
20. What is the intended role of the Rawlsian condition that the social contract should be
agreed upon "behind a veil of ignorance" in the context of his theory of justice?