PHIL 160 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Morally right actions, according to Mill, never produce unhappiness. True or False? -
Answers - False
According to Mill, happiness (i.e., pleasure and freedom from pain) is... - Answers - a
measure of the balance of pleasure and pain (pleasure - pain = happiness)
According to Mill, there are different kinds of pleasure, and - Answers - Some hold more
desirable and valuable than others
Higher pleasures are more intellectual
Mill holds that "of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or almost all who
experience it give a decided preference," then ... - Answers - "that is the more desirable
pleasure." [Chapter 2, pg 8]
Mill claims that an individual who is familiar with both intellectual pleasures and physical
pleasures will always choose intellectual pleasures over physical pleasures. True or
False? - Answers - False
If Option X produces more happiness overall than any other alternative, but hurts
someone, Mill would say Option X is... - Answers - the right/good action to do
When it comes to the pleasures of the higher and lower faculties, Mill thinks:
A. both can be enjoyed by any creature
B. competent judges recommend avoiding the pleasures of the lower faculties
C. creatures capable of enjoying both who have experienced both usually prefer the
pleasures of the higher faculties
D. pleasures of the lower faculties are more valuable, since they are easier to satisfy
E. both are equally valuable, although most rational creatures prefer pleasures of the
higher faculties. - Answers - C. creatures capable of enjoying both who have
experienced both usually prefer the pleasures of the higher faculties
Mill recognizes that people often pursue lower pleasures rather than higher pleasures.
According to Mill, this is because: - Answers - "Men often, from infirmity of character,
make their election for the nearer good, though they know it to be the less valuable; and
this no less when the choice is between two bodily pleasures than when it is between
bodily and mental." [pg 10]
On Mill's version of Plato's "competent judge" argument, if a majority of people who
have knowledge of two different pleasures consistently prefer one to another, this
shows: - Answers - we are justified in ascribing to the preferred enjoyment a superiority
in quality so far outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison, of small account
, Plato and Aristotle both gave eudaimonia (which is often treated as happiness) a central
role in their moral theories. How does their understanding of eudaimonia differ from
Mill's understanding of happiness? - Answers - Plato and Aristotle: eudaimonia is
thriving, not just a feeling
Mill: eudaimonia is restricted. Eudaimonia is just the feeling of happiness.
Ex: you have lots of friends, but let's say they are all fake but you don't know it
Mill - you're in eudaimonia bc you're happy, that's all that matters
Plato and Aristotle - you're not in eudaimonia, you aren't thriving
Since the maximization of happiness is the end of human action, Mill infers that it... -
Answers - "is necessarily also the standard of morality which may accordingly be
defined "the rules and precepts for human conduct""
Which of the following is an objection to the principle that the end of human action is to
ensure the greatest happiness that Mill considers in the text? - Answers - 1. A doctrine
worthy only of swine.
2. Happiness is unavailable
Man can do without happiness
3. People would be end up unsatisfied with their share of happiness
4. Sets too high a standard by requires a constant concern for others
5. Will make people cold and unsympathizing
6. Just the immoral counsel of expediency
7. Requires endless calculation
8. Utilitarianism is a Godless doctrine.
According to Mill, self-sacrifice is NOT... - Answers - necessary
"It is noble to be capable of resigning entirely one's own portion of happiness, or
chances of it; but, after all, this self-sacrifice must be for some end; it is not its own end;
and if we are told that its end is not happiness but virtue, which is better than happiness,
I ask, would the sacrifice be made if the hero or martyr did not believe that it would earn
for others immunity from similar sacrifices?"
Self-sacrifice is not its own end, not good in itself, not something we should pursue for
its own sake
Mill's version of utilitarianism holds that the correct standard against which actions
should be judged as right or wrong is: - Answers - if and only if it is among the best
options available
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" expresses completely the spirit of utilitarianism.
True or False? - Answers - False
The great advantage of utilitarianism is that it requires that the sole motive of all our
actions be a feeling of duty. True or False? - Answers - False
The morality of an action depends, according to Mill, entirely on - Answers - Only if
there was no option that was morally better
Morally right actions, according to Mill, never produce unhappiness. True or False? -
Answers - False
According to Mill, happiness (i.e., pleasure and freedom from pain) is... - Answers - a
measure of the balance of pleasure and pain (pleasure - pain = happiness)
According to Mill, there are different kinds of pleasure, and - Answers - Some hold more
desirable and valuable than others
Higher pleasures are more intellectual
Mill holds that "of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or almost all who
experience it give a decided preference," then ... - Answers - "that is the more desirable
pleasure." [Chapter 2, pg 8]
Mill claims that an individual who is familiar with both intellectual pleasures and physical
pleasures will always choose intellectual pleasures over physical pleasures. True or
False? - Answers - False
If Option X produces more happiness overall than any other alternative, but hurts
someone, Mill would say Option X is... - Answers - the right/good action to do
When it comes to the pleasures of the higher and lower faculties, Mill thinks:
A. both can be enjoyed by any creature
B. competent judges recommend avoiding the pleasures of the lower faculties
C. creatures capable of enjoying both who have experienced both usually prefer the
pleasures of the higher faculties
D. pleasures of the lower faculties are more valuable, since they are easier to satisfy
E. both are equally valuable, although most rational creatures prefer pleasures of the
higher faculties. - Answers - C. creatures capable of enjoying both who have
experienced both usually prefer the pleasures of the higher faculties
Mill recognizes that people often pursue lower pleasures rather than higher pleasures.
According to Mill, this is because: - Answers - "Men often, from infirmity of character,
make their election for the nearer good, though they know it to be the less valuable; and
this no less when the choice is between two bodily pleasures than when it is between
bodily and mental." [pg 10]
On Mill's version of Plato's "competent judge" argument, if a majority of people who
have knowledge of two different pleasures consistently prefer one to another, this
shows: - Answers - we are justified in ascribing to the preferred enjoyment a superiority
in quality so far outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison, of small account
, Plato and Aristotle both gave eudaimonia (which is often treated as happiness) a central
role in their moral theories. How does their understanding of eudaimonia differ from
Mill's understanding of happiness? - Answers - Plato and Aristotle: eudaimonia is
thriving, not just a feeling
Mill: eudaimonia is restricted. Eudaimonia is just the feeling of happiness.
Ex: you have lots of friends, but let's say they are all fake but you don't know it
Mill - you're in eudaimonia bc you're happy, that's all that matters
Plato and Aristotle - you're not in eudaimonia, you aren't thriving
Since the maximization of happiness is the end of human action, Mill infers that it... -
Answers - "is necessarily also the standard of morality which may accordingly be
defined "the rules and precepts for human conduct""
Which of the following is an objection to the principle that the end of human action is to
ensure the greatest happiness that Mill considers in the text? - Answers - 1. A doctrine
worthy only of swine.
2. Happiness is unavailable
Man can do without happiness
3. People would be end up unsatisfied with their share of happiness
4. Sets too high a standard by requires a constant concern for others
5. Will make people cold and unsympathizing
6. Just the immoral counsel of expediency
7. Requires endless calculation
8. Utilitarianism is a Godless doctrine.
According to Mill, self-sacrifice is NOT... - Answers - necessary
"It is noble to be capable of resigning entirely one's own portion of happiness, or
chances of it; but, after all, this self-sacrifice must be for some end; it is not its own end;
and if we are told that its end is not happiness but virtue, which is better than happiness,
I ask, would the sacrifice be made if the hero or martyr did not believe that it would earn
for others immunity from similar sacrifices?"
Self-sacrifice is not its own end, not good in itself, not something we should pursue for
its own sake
Mill's version of utilitarianism holds that the correct standard against which actions
should be judged as right or wrong is: - Answers - if and only if it is among the best
options available
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" expresses completely the spirit of utilitarianism.
True or False? - Answers - False
The great advantage of utilitarianism is that it requires that the sole motive of all our
actions be a feeling of duty. True or False? - Answers - False
The morality of an action depends, according to Mill, entirely on - Answers - Only if
there was no option that was morally better
