Exam 11: Normative Theories, Part 1

Kant's categorical imperative says that you should only act on those maxims whose consequences you would be willing to accept if everyone else acted on your maxim, too.

Consequentialism is the normative theory according to which actions are right if and only if they have good consequences.

What is a virtue?

Normative ethics involves trying to develop general theories about what makes something right or wrong or good or bad.

According to Kant's categorical imperative, it is never morally permissible to use another person as a means to an end.

What is a vice?

What is rule utilitarianism?

What is act utilitarianism?

Which of the following best captures Kant's idea of universalizing the maxim of your action?

What is act utilitarianism?

What is the connection between virtue and eudaimonia?

State Kant's Formula of Universal Law. Explain the Formula of Universal Law in your own words.

Which of the following gives the best definition of a categorical imperative?

Which of the following best captures the difference between a hypothetical imperative and a categorical imperative?

A hypothetical imperative is a proposed moral principle that has not yet been tested, whereas a categorical imperative is a moral principle that has been tested and shown to be correct.

Act utilitarianism is:

Act utilitarianism is the view that an action is right if and only if it brings pleasure to more people than any other available action does.

What is the Formula of Humanity, as stated in Chapter 11?

Act utilitarianism is the view that an action is right if and only if it produces a greater balance of pleasure over pain, counting everyone's pleasure and pain equally, than any available alternative.

According to virtue ethics, it is impossible to evaluate individual actions, since ethics is about what kind of person to be.