Midterm Exam

Question 1

What is moral philosophy about?

Answer 1

Moral philosphy is about what we ought to do in a certain situation.

• What is morally right or morally wrong?
• What is good or bad?

Question 2

What is bioethics?

Answer 2

The moral philosphy of medicine

Question 3

What is meant by an argument?

Answer 3

Arguments are propositions/facts presented in logical support of a conclusion.

Question 4

Deductive Logic

Answer 4

The premises contain/indicate the conclusion; if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.

The argument “draws out” the conclusion from the premises.

Question 5

Inductive Logic

Answer 5

The premises provide evidence (or raise the probability) for the conclusion; even if the premises are true, the conclusion can be false.

The conclusion extends beyond (infers from) what is contained in the premises.

Question 6

Ex: Deductive Logic

Answer 6

Mathematical Proof

Question 7

Ex: Inductive Logic

Answer 7

Generalization about Society

Question 8

What are secular moral philosphical arguments based on?

Answer 8

Normative Ethical Principles/Theories

Question 9

Levels of Moral Discourse

Answer 9

• Cases
• Rules, Rights, Codes
• Normative Ethics
• Metaethics

Question 10

Moral Discourse: Cases

Answer 10

The facts of the case

Question 11

Moral Discourse: Rules, Rights, Codes

Answer 11

The basic rules, fundamental rights, and institutional ethical codes pertaining to the case

Question 12

Moral Discourse: Normative Ethics

Answer 12

The principles of right action, the values, or the virtues of the case

What is ethical?

Question 13

Moral Discourse: Metaethics

Answer 13

The source of ethics for the case

How do we know what is ethical?

Question 14

What are the sources of ethics?

Metaethics

Answer 14

• Religious: Divine Will, Divine Law
• Secular: Natural Law, Hypothetical Contracts
• Relativist: Culture, Personal Preferences, Social Contracts

Question 15

How do we know what is ethical?

Metaethics

Answer 15

• Religious: Revelation, Scripture, Experience, Church Experience
• Secular: Reason, Intuition, Social Contract, Experience/Observation

Question 16

Simple Method of Moral Discourse

Answer 16

• Facts
• Concepts
• Values
• Logic

Question 17

What makes an argument valid?

Answer 17

If the conclusion logically follows from the premises

Question 18

What makes an argument sound?

Answer 18

• If the conclusion logically follows from the premises
• If the premises are true

Question 19

Valid Inference Rules

Answer 19

• Modus Ponens
• Modus Tollens

Question 20

Modus Ponens

Answer 20

1. If A is true, then B is true
2. A is true
3. Therefore, B is true

Question 21

Modus Tollens

Answer 21

1. If A is true, then B is true
2. B is not true
3. Therefore, A is not true

Question 22

Formal Logical Fallacies

Answer 22

• Affirming the Consequent
• Denying the Antecedent

Question 23

Af

Affirming the Consequent

Logical Fallacy

Answer 23

1. If A is true, then B is true
2. B is true
3. Therefore, A is true

Question 24

Denying the Antecedent

Logical Fallacy

Answer 24

1. If A is true, then B is true
2. A is not true
3. Therefore, B is not true

Question 25

**Informal** Logical Fallacies

Answer 25

* Argumentum ad Hominem (Argument against Person) * Tu Quoque (Hypocrisy) * Argumentum ad Populum (Appeal to Populace) * Straw Man Argument (Mischaracterization) * Appeal to Authority * Red Herring (Irrevelance) * Begging the Question (Petitio Principii) * Slippery Slope Argument * Argument from Nature * False Dichotomy * Equivocation * No-True-Scotsman Fallacy (Appeal to Purity) * Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc * Ten-Leaky-Buckets Tactic

Question 26

Argumentum ad Hominem | Argument against Person

Answer 26

An argument against an opponent **personally** (rather than against the opponent's argument/conclusion)

Question 27

Tu Quoque | Hypocrisy

Answer 27

An argument that accuses an opponent of **hypocrisy**. (While the opponent does not practice what they preach, what they preach is not necessarily incorrect.) ## Footnote **Tu Quoque** is a type of Argument ad Hominem fallacy.

Question 28

Argumentum ad Populum | Appeal to Populace

Answer 28

An argument for a conclusion that appeals to **public sentiments** (e.g. patriotism, status, wealth, sex)

Question 29

Appeal to Authority

Answer 29

An argument that appeals to an **irrelevant authority** figure/group. (Even if an individual with status agrees with the argument/logic, the argument logic is not necessarily valid.)

Question 30

Straw Man Argument | Mischaracterization

Answer 30

An argument that **mischaracterizes** an opponent's argument/conclusion to make it **easier to defeat**. ## Footnote The argument claims to defeat the opponent's argument, but the argument only defeats a "straw man" version of the opponent's argument.

Question 31

Red Herring | Irrelevance

Answer 31

An argument that **introduces an irrelevant issue**/topic to distract from the subject under debate

Question 32

What are **fallacies of relevance**?

Answer 32

Arguments that rely on premises that are **not logically relevant** to the conclusion(s)

Question 33

Fallacies of Relevance | Informal Fallacies

Answer 33

* Argumentum ad Hominem * Tu Quoque * Argumentum ad Populum * Appeal to Authority * Straw Man Argument * Red Herring

Question 34

General Informal Fallacies | Informal Fallacies

Answer 34

* Begging the Question * Slippery Slope Argument * Argument from Nature * No-True-Scotsman Argument * False Dichotomy * Equivocation * Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc * Ten-Leaky-Buckets Argument

Question 35

Begging the Question | Petitio Principii

Answer 35

An argument where the premises **assume the truth of the conclusion**. ## Footnote To **beg the question** is to make a circular argument.

Question 36

Slippery Slope Argument

Answer 36

An argument that the acceptance of the opponent's position will make it **difficult/impossible** to avoid **accepting increasingly extreme positions**.

Question 37

Appeal from Nature

Answer 37

An argument claiming that something is **dangerous/wrong** because it is **"unnatural"**.

Question 38

False Dichotomy

Answer 38

An argument forcing someone to accept **one of only two** opposing positions when there are **more alternatives available**.

Question 39

No-True-Scotsman Fallacy | Appeal to Purity

Answer 39

An argument defending a generalization against counterexamples by **excluding the counterexamples by definition**.

Question 39

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc | "After This, therefore, Because of This"

Answer 39

An argument implying that a first event **caused** the second even just because the **two events happened successively**.

Question 39

Equivocation

Answer 39

An argument that makes a **technically true**, but **misleading**, statement/premise. ## Footnote **Equivocation** often involves using a word/term with multiple meanings without specifying its intended meaning.

Question 39

Ten-Leaky-Buckets Tactic

Answer 39

An argument for a conclusion that offers a **series of unsound premises** in its favor, as if the **number of supporting premises** will increase the conclusion's validity.

Question 39

Facts

Answer 39

**True Statements** about the World ## Footnote **Facts =** Statements that correlate to how the world *actually is*.

Question 40

Beliefs

Answer 40

Statements of What are **Thought to be** the Facts ## Footnote Beliefs can be *right* or *wrong*.

Question 40

Cultural Relativism

Answer 40

Moral statements are judged to be ***true*** or ***false*** relative to the **culture's specific values**. ## Footnote There are **no absolute** moral truths.

Question 41

**Advantage:** Cultural Relativism

Answer 41

**Not Ethnocentric:** Cultural relativism does NOT rank moral belief systems across cultures on a hierarchy (with one dominant belief system at the top).

Question 42

**Disadvantage:** Cultural Relativism

Answer 42

**Impossible to Criticize:** Moral relativism can make it impossible to morally criticize a culture's values (from without or from within).

Question 43

Tenets of Utilitarianism

Answer 43

* **Consequentialism:** Consequences matter * **Maximization:** Number of beings affected by a consequence matters * **Theory of Value:** Definition of "good" consequence(s) * **Scope-of-Morality Premise:** Each being's happiness counts as a happiness unit (up to certain boundary)