Exam 8: Justice

Which of the following thought that you can judge which society has the fairest government by looking at the well-being of the worst-off members of those societies? The higher the standard of living, education, job opportunities, and so forth, of the lowest class, the better the overall society.

In "The Emotions Of Justice," Bob Solomon argues for the claim that justice is merely an a priori function of reason

"From this fundamental law of nature, by which men are commanded to endeavor peace, is derived this second law: that a man be willing, when others are too, as far-forth, as for peace, and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself." The first fundamental law to which Hobbes referred in this passage can be paraphrased as __________.

The term Hobbes used to denote the mutual transferring of rights is __________.

"The conception of justice which I want to develop may be stated in the form of two principles as follows: first, each person participating in a practice, or affected by it, has an equal right to the most extensive liberty compatible with a like liberty for all; and second, inequalities are arbitrary unless it is reasonable to expect that they will work out for everyone's advantage, and provided the positions and offices to which they attach, or from which they may be gained, are open to all. These principles express justice as a complex of three ideas: liberty, equality, and reward for services contributing to the common good." Which of the following is the author of this passage?

__________ is the view that all men and women are equal just by virtue of their being human.

The three basic rights originally listed in the American Declaration of Independence were "life, liberty, and the right to own private property."

The theory of social justice advanced by Rousseau and Hobbes, among others, is called __________.

Which of the following thought that the power of the people, that is, the general will, was the ultimate voice of authority and liberty?

Carol Gilligan posed two challenges to the ethics of justice. She asserted that ethical systems had historically ignored other dimensions of moral experience, such as compassion and sympathy. They also typically presumed gender neutrality.

According to Hobbes, life in the state of nature was __________.

The key to a successful society is cooperation.

Plato and Aristotle defended slavery.

Hobbes insisted that humankind was naturally evil. Rousseau, on the other hand, believed in the natural goodness of humanity. What do you think? If humankind is naturally good, how does evil ever enter the picture?

Which of the following is not a characteristic of Aristotle's "unjust man"?

Which group of people did Rawls say a society is obligated to help out first?

The first law of nature allowed Hobbes to derive the second. The second law can be paraphrased as __________.

Using the Declaration of Independence as a prime example of social contract theory at work, show how a citizen has not only a right but also a duty to overthrow his or her government should it become destructive to the ends described within the declaration. Discuss the tensions between the citizen's duty to uphold the law and the citizen's duty to abolish the law. How do unalienable rights support both duties?

Discuss the "paradoxes of democracy." It seems right that everyone should vote, for instance, but that's only if everyone did his or her research and came to informed opinions. A well-researched passionate voter may have her vote nullified by an uncaring voter who never bothered to learn the politicians' platforms voting the other way. The clever and well-informed have as much say in how the country is run as the dull and uninformed. That doesn't seem fair to those who care about the outcome of the election. It also doesn't seem fair to not let everyone have a vote. Is there a way to resolve the paradox?

Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen defends the idea that __________ deserves much more dedicated attention than it has been getting from economists and philosophers.