Multiple Choice Quiz

According to Ayer, ethical philosophy consists of:

definitions of ethical terms.

propositions describing the phenomena of moral experience.

exhortations to moral virtue.

all of the above.

Ayer objects to utilitarianism on the grounds that:

there are many things besides happiness that have intrinsic value.

it fails to account for the value of individual rights.

it is not self-contradictory to say that it is sometimes wrong to do what causes the greatest happiness.

all of the above.

Ayer claims that a strictly philosophical treatise on ethics should:

give an analysis of ethical terms.

make no ethical pronouncements.

show what is the category to which all ethical pronouncements belong.

all of the above.

According to Ayer, ethical concepts are:

unanalyzable.

mere pseudo-concepts.

irreducible to empirical concepts.

all of the above.

On Ayer's view, evaluative claims are:

statements of empirical fact.

assertions of feeling.

expressions of feeling.

none of the above.

Ayer claims that utilitarianism and subjectivism are attractive because:

they endorse tolerance and respect.

they construe ethical assertions as ordinary empirical assertions.

they allow that ethical claims are neither true nor false.

they construe ethical claims as expressions of emotion.

In addition to expressing feelings, Ayer claims that ethical terms serve to:

stimulate action.

stimulate belief.

stimulate imagination.

all of the above.

Ayer claims that ethical disputes boil down to:

disputes about the nature of the good.

disputes about what the other person is feeling.

disputes about the facts of the case.

disputes about what our duties are.

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