Section I: Matching (Maximum 20 points)
This section consists of ten (10) matching questions worth two (2) points each. Match the moral theories in the shaded box below with the ten numbered descriptions set forth below the shaded box. Choose the moral theory that corresponds best to each numbered question and write the letter that corresponds to the appropriate moral theory in the space provided below.
[Hint: Some questions may have more than one moral theory that is applicable to it. In such a case, simply choose one applicable theory and write its corresponding letter on the space provided. Only one correct response is required in such cases.]
A. Utilitarianism
B. Natural Law theory
C. Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
D. Kantian Ethics
1. ____C___ The Cardinal Virtues
2. ____D___ Ethical reasoning is practical and subjective.
3. ____D___ The Doctrine of Double Effect.
4. ___A____ The ends justify the means.
5. ___C____ Human beings fulfill their nature and potential most fully as loving, spiritual beings.
6. ___B____ The human person is a social being with the potential to achieve human excellence.
7. ____C___ The only proper moral intention is to do “the right thing” and objective reason is the guide.
8. ____C___ All human beings possess intrinsic value and moral worth that must be respected.
9. ____D___ Human Dignity arises from one’s status as an autonomous agent.
10. ___D____ Morality is defined by universal, objective, rational and natural principles.
Section II: Multiple Choice (Maximum 30 points)
This section consists of ten (10) multiple choice questions worth two (3) points each. Choose the best response to each question and write your answer below in the space provided.
1. ___D__. Which of the following DOES NOT accurately state a legal principle decided or affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade?
A. The “right to choose” is constitutionally protected and expressly set forth in the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution.
B. Women have a constitutional right to an abortion because the right to privacy protects personal and intimate decisions, including the decision to bear or beget a child, from unwarranted governmental intrusion.
C. The States have a recognized interest in adopting reasonable regulations or restrictions on abortion post-viability, but a state’s right to regulate or restrict abortions is subject to the right of a woman in individual cases to procure an abortion to protect her life or health.
D. The interests of the pregnant woman would be weighed against the interests of the State and the embryo/fetus during each trimester of a pregnancy in order to determine the proper balance of rights.
2. __D___. Which of the following ethical theories is least likely to be properly relied upon by persons supporting the right to an abortion?
A. Kantian ethical theory
B. Utilitarian theory
C. Aristotle’s Virtue theory
D. Ethical Egoism
3. __A___. All of the following have been found by the U.S. Supreme Court to constitute reasonable regulations or restrictions on abortion except ____?
A. a federal ban on the performance of partial-birth abortions.
B. imposition of a 24-hour waiting period prior to the performance of an abortion
C. requirement of parental consent prior to a teen abortion
D. requirement of spousal consent prior to an abortion
4. __B____. Which of the following ethical theories is MOST LIKELY to make the strongest argument in favor of cloning for biomedical research purposes (a.k.a. embryonic stem cell research)?
A. Kantian ethical theory
B. Utilitarian theory
C. Aristotle’s virtue ethics
D. Natural Law theory
5. __B____. The arguments made by various members of the President’s Council on Bioethics in favor of human cloning for biomedical research (a.k.a. embryonic stem cell research) invoked all of the following ethical theories implicitly except __?
A. Utilitarianism
B. Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
C. Kantian ethical theory
D. Natural Law theory
6. ___B___. All of the following theories were used by members of the President’s Council on Bioethics that opposed human cloning for biomedical research (a.k.a. embryonic stem cell research) except?
A. Utilitarianism
B. Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
C. Kantian ethical theory
D. Natural Law Theory
7. __B____. The slippery slope argument is an argument involving unintended but foreseeable consequences that is often made to oppose which of the following arguments that typically assert that the benefits and happiness produced by certain contemplated actions outweigh the costs and unhappiness that might be produced?
A. Kantian
B. Utilitarian
C. Natural Law
D. Virtue Ethics’
8. ___B___. The case of Karen Quinlan involved the withdrawal of a respirator from a young woman in a persistent vegetative state and best illustrates which of the following concepts?
A. Voluntary Euthanasia
B. Active Euthanasia
C. Prof. J. Gay-Williams’ Argument against Practical Effects
D. Passive Euthanasia
9. ___D___. Which of the following IS TRUE of the AMA Code of Ethics concerning Euthanasia?
A. The AMA Code prohibits euthanasia as unethical because it is violates a patient’s autonomy.
B. The AMA Code prohibits euthanasia on utilitarian grounds because the overall harm that is foreseeable outweighs any potential benefits from allowing the practice.
C. The AMA Code allows and discourages active euthanasia because the natural law theory would permit it consistent with the fundamental dignity of a human being.
D. The AMA Code allows and encourages active euthanasia based on the utilitarian principle that affirms the goodness of alleviating severe pain and suffering.
10. ___A___. Which of the following most accurately reflects the Kantian view of suicide?
A. Suicide is immoral because it would entail treating a person as a mere disposable thing.
B. Suicide is immoral because it irrationally robs someone of personhood and reason, the very things that make all morals possible and provide us with our human dignity.
C. Suicide is moral because all persons have the right to decide to end their own life and everyone is entitled to respect as an autonomous agent.
D. Suicide is morally permissible but only for autonomous agents because they are entitled to more respect than persons not capable of making rational decisions.
Section III. Essay. (Maximum 50 points)
This section consists of three short answer questions. Respond to only two of the three following questions in proper paragraph and sentence format with a minimum of three paragraphs per question. Demonstrate your detailed and accurate knowledge of the course subject matter with regard to each of your responses. Your essay responses are worth a maximum of twenty-five (25) points each.
- The notions of Respect and Human Dignity are used by both sides of the euthanasia debate to justify and oppose the practice of euthanasia. Choose three of the four primary, ethical theories studied in this course and explain how advocates and opponents of euthanasia use these terms to support their respective positions on this issue. Your essay must include the view of the human person or human condition that is assumed and inherent within the theories chosen.
Euthanasia of mercy killing is still one of the most debated issues up to this day. Over time, ethical and moral theories have been used to justify or oppose the social acceptability of this matter. Utilitarianism theory for example do not absolutely allows euthanasia. This is a theory where in the consequences of an action judge whether the said action is moral or otherwise. It believes that the end justifies the means. In the case of euthanasia, utilitarianism allows it if the relief cause by the action overweighs the feeling of grief. For example, a sick person has been suffering pain for so long and the assurance for cure is uncertain and the patient begs to shorten his suffering by ending his life. In this case, utilitarianism allows the mercy killing because the grief of death for the family of the patient will be over powered by the relief felt by both patient and the relatives in the end of suffering.
Law of Nature on the other hand considers euthanasia as evil as murder. The theory asserts that human beings are inherently good and they always avoid evil. Euthanasia in this theory violates one of its basic principles regarding the sanctity of life and that in the religious perspective; human beings have no right to claim life. Meanwhile for Aristotle’s Virtue ethics, mercy killing can be an honorable act today as it believes that the well-being of the whole society is higher than individual well-being. In the instances where there is a need for euthanasia in times of desolate situation like the vegetative state of a sick person, it is justifiable. It is justifiable in the context where the wider society is competing in meager resources.
- Explain three things that you learned in this course and how each has helped you throughout the semester in your personal development and maturation.
- Explain the concept of morality. Include in your explanation whether morality and ethics are subjective or objective concepts and identify two moral theories that best support your views. Be sure to explain why the other competing views are inadequate or inferior views of morality.
I believe that morality is a subjective concept because as society changes, the concepts or what is moral and immoral changes. In Aristotle’s virtue ethics where it asserts that the well-being of a society is higher than an individual, euthanasia before may not still be acceptable as there were still a lot of resources to share with other people even the sickly. Today however, due to scarcity of resources, euthanasia is considered moral in the context where the sickly is suffering too much and his relatives are drained of resources.
Moreover, in an egotist point of view, the morality of an act is based on the personal interest of a person. If the act goes contrary to a person’s self-interest, it can be considered immoral. In this manner, morality is subjective because people have various self-interests. People also come from various perspectives and a moral act for a group of people in Asia may not be moral to the group of indigenous peoples in the Americas.
