Chapter 6 Essay Questions

Ethics

54. Ruth Benedict: Morality Is Relative

  1. Does Benedict’s view imply that one culture cannot legitimately criticize another—that, say, Americans cannot legitimately criticize a culture that condones human sacrifices? Explain.
  2. Does Benedict’s view imply that each culture is infallible on moral issues? Do you think cultures are morally infallible? Why or why not?

55. James Rachels: Morality Is Not Relative

  1. What are the premises of the cultural differences argument?
  2. According to Rachels, why is there less disagreement among cultures than it seems?

56. Plato: Why Should I Be Moral? Gyges’s Ring and Socrates’s Dilemma

  1. Do you agree with the popular view of justice explained by Glaucon? Why or why not?
  2. What is Socrates’s view of the good? Do you agree with him?

57. Louis P. Pojman: Egoism and Altruism: A Critique of Ayn Rand

  1. Is universal ethical egoism a plausible moral theory? Explain.
  2. What is the argument from counterintuitive consequences? Is it a good argument? Explain.

58. Joel Feinberg: Psychological Egoism

  1. What is Feinberg’s argument against psychological egoism? Is it cogent?
  2. Do you believe in psychological egoism? Why or why not?

59. Immanuel Kant: The Moral Law

  1. How does Kant’s categorical imperative apply to the case of the lying promise?
  2. Does Kant allow any exceptions to a categorical imperative? Would you make an exception if it could save an innocent person’s life (and harm no one else)? Why or why not?

60. John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism

  1. What is the chief difference between utilitarianism and Kant’s ethics?
  2. Do you believe, with Rawls, that utilitarianism is a paternalistic violator of human rights? Explain.

61. Russ Shafer-Landau: Consequentialism: It’s Difficulties

  1. According to Shafer-Landau, why is justice the central moral problem for consequentialist theories?
  2. How have consequentialists tried to defend themselves against the charge that their theories conflict with intuitions about justice? Do you think any of the defenses are successful?

62. Aristotle: The Ethics of Virtue

  1. What does Aristotle mean by “the function of man is activity of soul in accordance with reason”?
  2. According to Aristotle, how does a just man become just? If Aristotle is right, what implications would his view have for the moral education of the young?

63. Virginia Held: The Ethics of Care

  1. How does Held’s view of ethics differ from Kant’s? Can they be reconciled?
  2. What is Held’s critique of the “ethic of justice”? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?

64. Alison M. Jaggar: Feminist Ethics

  1. What are the main goals of feminist ethics?
  2. What are some key misunderstandings about feminist ethics?

65. Annette C. Baier: The Need for More than Justice

  1. Why does Baier believe that justice theories should be combined with other perspectives?
  2. Is her argument for emphasizing both justice and care cogent? Why or why not?

66. Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialist Ethics

  1. Sartre says that “everything is permissible if God does not exist.” Do you agree? Explain.
  2. Are moral decisions always as arbitrary or subjective as Sartre would have us believe? Are there any counterexamples to Sartre’s example of the young student?

67. James Rachels: The Divine Command Theory

  1. What are the premises of Rachels’s argument against the divine command theory?
  2. According to Rachels, why should even religious people reject the divine command theory? Do you agree with Rachels? Why or why not?

68. Thomas Nagel: Moral Luck

  1. How, according to Nagel, does moral luck enter into our moral decision-making?
  2. How does moral luck seem to undermine our moral freedom?

69. Susan Wolf: Moral Saints

  1. Why does Wolf think we should not necessarily strive to become moral saints?
  2. According to wolf, how might someone’s psychological development be stunted by trying to become a moral saint?
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