©FYNDLAY 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:08AM. A+
UNL PHIL 106: Final Exam Questions And
Answers |Latest 2025 | Guaranteed Pass.
Pluralism - Answer✔There is more than one fundamental moral rule
Ex: Ross
Monism - Answer✔There is just one fundamental moral rule
Ex: Kant's categorical imperative
How does W.D. Ross's approach to the moral rule against promise breaking differ from
utilitarian approach and the Kantian approach? - Answer✔Kant- Formulate maxim, test the
maxim and see if you could achieve that purpose in a world when everyone was performing
that maxim
Apply this to promise breaking
Ross- said it is okay to break promises to fill another, conflicting prima facie duty or final duty
What is a prima facie duty? - Answer✔A permanent, excellent but not absolute reason to do
something
How do we know what prima facie duties are? - Answer✔We know what prima facie duties are
because they are self evident;
Evident without any need of proof or of evidence beyond itself
Final duty - Answer✔If you have a prima facie duty to do X and dont have a prima facie duty not
to do X than you have a final duty to do X
What do philosophers mean when they object that Ross's theory doesn't provide any guidance?
- Answer✔Ross's theory does not provide guidance of what a person should do when two prima
facie duties conflict
Ross's reply: is that we shouldn't expect there to be any such rule or behavior
What is moral particularism? - Answer✔The belief that there are no moral rules - neither
absolute moral rules nor prima facie rules
How could one object to moral pluralism? - Answer✔???
1
, ©FYNDLAY 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:08AM. A+
For virtue ethics, what is the relationship between the questions, "what is it to be a good
person" and "Which actions are right"? - Answer✔An act is morally right just because it is one
that a virtuous person, acting in character, would do in this situation
Find out moral role models first
Ask: "what would those moral role models do in this situation?"
The answer to that question is the right action to do
How does virtue ethics approach to theses questions differ from approaches, such as those of
utilitarian and Kantian? - Answer✔Virtue ethicists decide what is morally okay based on if their
role models would do it
Kantianism and utilitarianism are the opposite: decide what actions are right if a person
performs those morally right actions they are considered a good person
According to virtue ethicists, which actions are right? - Answer✔An act is morally right just
because it is one that a virtuous person, acting in character would do in the situation
What did Aristotle mean when he said that virtue lies in a mean between two
extremes?Doctrine of mean example: - Answer✔The virtue of courage
Cowardice- Afraid of everything is one extreme
Rashness- not afraid of anything is the other extreme
According to the Doctrine of Mean Aristotle thinks that you should be somewhere in the middle
of these two extremes
He calls this fearful to the right degree, towards the right things = courage (the mean)
How do people acquire virtue? - Answer✔Habitual behavior:
You know you have acquired a virtuous trait when you feel pleasure when performing virtuous
actions
"You can't come up with a precise set of moral rules and principles but a person with "practice
and wisdom" will see what the right thing to do is
Explain some objections to virtue ethics - Answer✔1. Its too demanding
2. It gives the wrong answer in some cases (sometimes when we ask what would a virtuous
person do it is the wrong answer)
3. It doesn't tell us how to pick role models
4. It doesn't tell us what we should do when there is more than one role model who should we
follow
5. Euthryphro objection
2
UNL PHIL 106: Final Exam Questions And
Answers |Latest 2025 | Guaranteed Pass.
Pluralism - Answer✔There is more than one fundamental moral rule
Ex: Ross
Monism - Answer✔There is just one fundamental moral rule
Ex: Kant's categorical imperative
How does W.D. Ross's approach to the moral rule against promise breaking differ from
utilitarian approach and the Kantian approach? - Answer✔Kant- Formulate maxim, test the
maxim and see if you could achieve that purpose in a world when everyone was performing
that maxim
Apply this to promise breaking
Ross- said it is okay to break promises to fill another, conflicting prima facie duty or final duty
What is a prima facie duty? - Answer✔A permanent, excellent but not absolute reason to do
something
How do we know what prima facie duties are? - Answer✔We know what prima facie duties are
because they are self evident;
Evident without any need of proof or of evidence beyond itself
Final duty - Answer✔If you have a prima facie duty to do X and dont have a prima facie duty not
to do X than you have a final duty to do X
What do philosophers mean when they object that Ross's theory doesn't provide any guidance?
- Answer✔Ross's theory does not provide guidance of what a person should do when two prima
facie duties conflict
Ross's reply: is that we shouldn't expect there to be any such rule or behavior
What is moral particularism? - Answer✔The belief that there are no moral rules - neither
absolute moral rules nor prima facie rules
How could one object to moral pluralism? - Answer✔???
1
, ©FYNDLAY 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:08AM. A+
For virtue ethics, what is the relationship between the questions, "what is it to be a good
person" and "Which actions are right"? - Answer✔An act is morally right just because it is one
that a virtuous person, acting in character, would do in this situation
Find out moral role models first
Ask: "what would those moral role models do in this situation?"
The answer to that question is the right action to do
How does virtue ethics approach to theses questions differ from approaches, such as those of
utilitarian and Kantian? - Answer✔Virtue ethicists decide what is morally okay based on if their
role models would do it
Kantianism and utilitarianism are the opposite: decide what actions are right if a person
performs those morally right actions they are considered a good person
According to virtue ethicists, which actions are right? - Answer✔An act is morally right just
because it is one that a virtuous person, acting in character would do in the situation
What did Aristotle mean when he said that virtue lies in a mean between two
extremes?Doctrine of mean example: - Answer✔The virtue of courage
Cowardice- Afraid of everything is one extreme
Rashness- not afraid of anything is the other extreme
According to the Doctrine of Mean Aristotle thinks that you should be somewhere in the middle
of these two extremes
He calls this fearful to the right degree, towards the right things = courage (the mean)
How do people acquire virtue? - Answer✔Habitual behavior:
You know you have acquired a virtuous trait when you feel pleasure when performing virtuous
actions
"You can't come up with a precise set of moral rules and principles but a person with "practice
and wisdom" will see what the right thing to do is
Explain some objections to virtue ethics - Answer✔1. Its too demanding
2. It gives the wrong answer in some cases (sometimes when we ask what would a virtuous
person do it is the wrong answer)
3. It doesn't tell us how to pick role models
4. It doesn't tell us what we should do when there is more than one role model who should we
follow
5. Euthryphro objection
2
