ETHC-445 Principles of Ethics - Week 8 Final - Devry

Page One 

 This exam covers all 14 TCO's.

For each of the following multiple choice questions, please select the Philosophy (and/or Philosopher) which best goes with each description below.

1. (TCOs 2, 4, 5, 6)  The idea that the assisted suicide of terminally ill patients should be allowed simply at the patient's direction reflects what type of ethics? (Points : 5)

       Hobbes' State of Nature

       Rand's Objectivism

       Aristotle's concept of Virtue

       Thomas Aquinas' concept of conscience

       Socrates' concept of excellence

2. (TCOs 1, 2, 7) What is the moral ideal of temperance? (Points : 5)

       Exercising control over one's own desires and inclinations

       Keeping one's temper under control

       Minimizing the impact of one's decisions

       Seeking the good of others before one's own

       Overcoming one's passions

3. (TCOs 1, 2) One of the common errors in Ethics is that of the hasty conclusions. Hasty conclusions consist of what? (Points : 5)

       Rushed work under pressure

       Comparing unknown cases to known ones to find precedents

       Embracing conclusions before examining cases fully

       Judging cases by the source of their origin

       Belief that first impressions are valid until challenged

4. (TCO 2)  Prescriptive language is commonly used in ethics for what reason? (Points : 5)

       To indicate what is prohibited or impossible

       To indicate that one choice is better than others

       To show what actions are legal

       To convey requirements and obligations

       To indicate that there are really no choices available

5. (TCOs 7, 8)  Ethical Egoism proposes that all decisions should be made to promote what? (Points : 5)

       Our fiduciary responsibilities

       The good will of others

       Our self-interests

       The welfare of the community

       Stronger relationships

6. (TCOs 2, 4, 9) Free people are motivated toward forming social structures according to a social contract in order to overcome what problem identified by Thomas Hobbes? (Points : 5)

       The need to overcome disagreements

       A perpetual state of warfare

       The establishment of a monarchy

       Taxation to support the costs of government

       Organized ways to select leaders

7. (TCOs 3, 6) Agricultural biofuels are not properly a renewable source of energy in the environmental ethics debate. Which of the following also is not a renewable source of energy? (Points : 5)

       Windmill turbines

       Hydroelectric power

       Tidal flow generators

       Biomass waste systems

       Solar cells

8. (TCOs 3, 6, 7)  The notion that the only thing good without qualification is a good will is attributed to whom? (Points : 5)

       St. Thomas Aquinas

       Socrates

       John Locke

       Immanuel Kant

       Oliver Cromwell

9. (TCOs 8, 9) Which ethical concept is organized and directed toward following the greatest happiness principle? (Points : 5)

       Natural ethics and law

       Justice and mercy

       Rights and responsibilities

       Virtue-ethics of excellence

       Principle of utility

10. (TCOs 3, 6, 7)  Syllogisms in formal deductive logic are called "valid" when: (Points : 5)

       the correct form of the syllogism style is used.

       the premise statements are true.

       the syllogism is first determined to be "sound."

       the verbs are written in present tense.

       the conclusion proceeds from the premises.

11. (TCOs 1, 2) When choosing one course of action while working with a dilemma, the other courses of action are lost and become unavailable. This makes ethical choices in dilemma situations particularly what? (Points : 5)

       Incoherent

       Complicated

       Illogical

       Painful

       Cruel

12. (TCOs 1, 2, 7)  What is the role of conscience as Thomas Aquinas sees it? (Points : 5)

       To teach ethical principles

       To disclose and build religious faith

       To enable rational thought about consequences

       To align personal ethics with those of others

       To guide actions through a view of right and wrong

13. (TCOs 2, 8) The rule or principle to be applied in making decisions is an example of which kind of ethical discovery process? (Points : 5)

       Principle of utility

       A posteriori rationality

       A priori rationality

       Empirical rationality

       Scientific method

14. (TCOs 1, 2, 5)  The Social Contract theorist whose troubled childhood was most clearly reflected in his theories was who? (Points : 5)

       Thomas Aquinas

       Thomas Jefferson

       Jean-Jacques Rousseau

       Thomas Hobbes

       John Locke

15. (TCOs 3, 6, 7)  Kant's concern that people choose to observe universal laws as their duty is expressed through what actions? (Points : 5)

       Their habits

       Their maxims

       Their desires

       Their loves

       Their loyalties

16. (TCOs 2, 7, 8)  Aristotle's Ethics of Virtue have found modern application for business and industry through what practice? (Points : 5)

       Resolution models applications

       Goals and objectives

       Core values of organizations

       Business models

       Professional codes of discipline

17. (TCOs 2, 8)  Professional codes of conduct serve what function for business and industry? (Points : 5)

       Allow businesses to avoid training professional staffers

       Enable transfer of valued employees across state lines

       Enable contracting of temporary employees

       Specify continuing education needs and requirements

       Providing assurance of the professional qualifications of members

18. (TCOs 2, 7)  Aristotle's Ethical Doctrine of the Mean measured personal virtues on a scale that included the virtue itself, the excess of it, and the deficiency of it. 

If the virtue is COURAGE and the deficiency is COWARDICE, what is the excess?

(Points : 5)

       Wisdom

       Moderation

       There is no excess

       Recklessness

       Love

19. (TCOs 8, 9)  In personal or organizational conflict, what benefits accrue to all parties when a leader or consultant employees one of the ethical conflict resolution models of Week 6? (Points : 5)

       Objectives of what winning the conflict means get refined and better understood

       Conflict management gets slowed down and settled.

       Conflict can be handled in a sequential, step-by-step manner

       Parties can be reconciled without solving the issues

       Personal relationships can be separated from issues

20. (TCOs 1, 2)  The Latin term a priori describes the origin of knowledge developed rationally, and the term a posteriori describes knowledge developed through observation and experience. What is an example of ethics is best described as discovered in an a postiori manner? (Points : 5)

       Social ethics

       Care-based ethics

       Consequentialist ethics

       Theological ethics

       Operational ethics

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Page 2 - Essays

1. (TCOs 1, 2, 3, 7) In support of TCO #7 and in the Week 7 discussions, you developed and placed into the threaded discussions your personalized ethics statement of what has become important to you in the practice of ethics as you have practiced ethics during the course. Your first task in this question is to briefly present that personalized statement in just a few sentences before continuing with the question. Much of the rest of the exam will involve your working with that personalized statement through brief applications and cases.

Use your ethical philosophy to solve the following ethical situation. Explain how your philosophy helped you make your decision.

Should citizens have an ethical obligation to serve their country when it is at war? Under what circumstances, if any, is it ethical for a person to refuse to serve?

A significant number of people believe war is always wrong, and that no circumstances justify one nation's taking up arms against another.  Is this view ethically sound? How about realistically?  Please state which side you agree with, and why. Explain and defend your position using your ethical position statement.

In answering, be sure to look at both sides of war: that is, a country defending itself against aggression and of a strong country coming to the aid of a weaker country that has been attacked unjustly.  Then, explain how your ethical philosophy affected how you answered this problem. (Points : 30)

2. (TCOs 1, 2, 7) Analyze the following ethical situation using YOUR ethical philosophy. Read the situation and then in your answer, explain why this is an ethical situation, what the "issues" are, and how an "ethical" person would resolve them.  Explain how YOUR ethical philosophy has helped you read a conclusion about how to resolve or analyze this situation.

Employees' worth to their employers may diminish before they are eligible for retirement.  In such cases, the employer is faced with the dilemma of choosing between retaining an old and trusted yet unproductive worker for 5 or 10 more years, or firing that worker and jeopardizing his or her retirement benefits.

1.  Should an employer have an ethical obligation to keep such unproductive, but loyal employees?  What if the employee had been a problem his or her entire career? Are there certain circumstances where your answer to these questions would be different?

2.  What is the duty of an unproductive employee to his or her employer? Is there an ethical obligation to retire when productivity begins to wane? If a person is simply "coasting" for his or her last few years, is that person "unethical?" Be sure to explain your answer. (Points : 30)

3. (TCOs 1, 7, 9) How do you feel St. Thomas Aquinas would have solved the above ethical situation differently or the same as you did using your philosophy? Please explain the reasons for the similarities or differences. (Points : 40)

4. (TCOs 1, 2, 4, 9) A first-term junior senator has placed a bill before the Senate that promises to correct tax inequities that affect thousands of workers.  However, the bill is being held up in committee.  The senior senator who serves as Sub-Committee Chairperson is responsible.  The senator, however, has learned of a secret scandal in the Chairperson's personal life.  The junior senator visits the Chairperson and tells him that unless the bill is released from committee, he will divulge the scandal to the press. The Chairperson then releases the bill from committee and it is passed—and becomes law.

Identify and tell what ethical philosophy the senior and junior senators are using, if any.

Now, use your ethical philosophy to analyze the situation.  Explain how, using your philosophy, you would have solved this situation either the same way as the characters in the situation did, or differently. Why? (Points : 30)

5. (TCOs 5, 6) You work for a grocery store and a new manager is hired to oversee your department. He comes into your department (the butcher shop) and explains to you that for the past 6 months, your department has been losing money for the store because of the waste and spoilage going on from having to discard unsold meat and poultry. He tells you that from now on, he wants you to package ground meat in smaller, more compact packages, with older meat on the bottom of the package (so it is not visible to the customer) and the fresher meat on the top, where it is visible to the customers.  In this way, you can move more of the older meat and still receive the top dollar for it. As he leaves the department where you were having the discussion, he turns and says, "And by the way, one more month of losses like we had last month from this department, and you can kiss your job goodbye."

Will you repackage the meat in the way he requested?

Why or why not? Explain what ethical analysis you used to come to this conclusion.   (Points : 30)

6. (TCOs 6, 8) Analyze your answer above using the Front Page of the Newspaper ethical dilemma resolution model. Show your steps.  (Points : 40)

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