Philosophy questions
From a virtue theoretic perspective, what is the most important skill to develop in the course of one’s moral upbringing? A. the tools to persuade others to do what one wants B. the ability to judge and compare the benefits and harms in a situation C. the habits that will allow one to hit the mean as a matter of second nature D. the ability to know the rights and duties in a situation 2. From a utilitarian perspective, what is the most important skill to develop in the course of one’s moral upbringing? A. the tools to persuade others to do what one wants B. the ability to judge and compare the benefits and harms in a situation C. the habits that will allow one to hit the mean as a matter of second nature D. the ability to know the rights and duties in a situation 3. From a deontological perspective, what is the most important skill to develop in the course of one’s moral upbringing? A. the tools to persuade others to do what one wants B. the ability to judge and compare the benefits and harms in a situation C. the habits that will allow one to hit the mean as a matter of second nature D. the ability to know the rights and duties in a situation 4. A consequentialist might argue that the rating agencies bear some ethical responsibility for the financial crisis because they _________________________ A. forced borrowers to take risky mortgages. B. invented credit default swaps. C. failed to respect the autonomy of large-scale investors. D. gave high ratings to financial products that predictably did a great deal of harm. 1 5. A Kantian might argue that some of the big investment banks on Wall Street bear some ethical responsibility for the financial crisis because they _________________________ A. did not accurately assess the consequences of their actions. B. treated the rating agencies as mere means to making money. C. forced borrowers to take risky mortgages. D. allowed the rating agencies to make fair assessments of their new financial products. 6. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg uses the story of the young women not taking a seat at the table during the meeting with Timothy Geithner to demonstrate ___________________ A. the utilitarian idea that rights are less important than overall happiness. B. the Aristotelian idea that sometimes you have to overshoot the mean to develop better habits. C. the challenges of respecting privacy rights. D. the phenomenon of imposter syndrome. 7. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg describes the Heidi/Howard Roizen experiment in order to ________________ A. explain imposter syndrome. B. demonstrate the leadership ambition gap. C. explain gender discount. D. show that many people judge successful women to be unlikable. 8. According to an Aristotelian virtue theorist, the good life ______________ A. aims at maximizing overall happiness. B. is a life of good habits. C. is just a matter of luck. D. is easy to achieve. 9. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg argues that stereotype threat ________________ A. produces the Dunning-Kruger effect. B. leads to gender discount. C. counteracts imposter syndrome. D. contributes to the leadership ambition gap. 2 10. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg argues that the stereotype that women are naturally communal and helpful _______________ A. explains imposter syndrome. B. demonstrates the leadership ambition gap. C. can contribute to gender discount. D. shows that many people judge successful women to be unlikable. 11. The person who is good at hitting the Aristotelian mean ______________ A. never gets too upset. B. lies whenever it is beneficial to do so. C. does the right thing in the right way at the right time for the right reason. D. aims at maximizing overall happiness. 12. According to Sheryl Sandberg, one solution to imposter syndrome is ______________ A. to stop acting like a phony. B. to find ways to maximize overall happiness. C. to act differently than one thinks of oneself. D. to force banks to hold more in reserves. 13. What is a consequentialist argument against the way credit default swaps were used in the mid-2000s? A. They were bad because they violated shareholders rights. B. They were bad because they increased rates of default. C. They were bad because they led to risky uncertainty in the global financial system. D. They were bad because their underlying assets were toxic mortgages. 14. Aristotle says that the “experience courage” of professional soldiers _______________ A. does not involve the right way of being courageous. B. is genuine courage. C. is part of a life of virtue. D. is better than the courage found in citizens. 3 15. According to Aristotle, to perform an action in the right way, one must ______________ A. act with as little emotion as possible. B. calculate all of the potential costs and benefits before acting. C. never fear anything. D. feel the degree of emotion that suits the situation. 16. Which of these is NOT part of a virtue theoretic analysis of Sheryl Sandberg’s recommendation to “fake it till you feel it”? A. It is a recommendation that involves developing good habits. B. It is a recommendation to practice certain behaviors. C. It is a recommendation that requires courage and moderation to follow. D. It is a recommendation to get better at hitting the mean by temporarily over-shooting it. 17. A deontologist could argue that mortgage brokers who issued NINA loans ____________ A. violated the rights of investment banks. B. respected the rights of the rating agencies. C. violated the principle of humanity as it applied to mortgage borrowers. D. could not have predicted the effects of issuing the loans. 18. The Implicit Association Test shows that __________________ A. people are generally good at understanding their prejudices. B. women tend to be better at holistic thinking than men. C. most people are biased against groups they perceive as powerful. D. many people make biased judgments that they do not realize they make. 19. According to Aristotle, an action is rational only if it ___________________ A. is something the person who is acting has thought a lot about. B. is performed without emotion. C. is neither excessive nor deficient in the situation. D. aims at maximizing happiness for the greatest number of people. 4 20. A deontologist could argue that the Standard and Poor’s executive who said “Let’s hope we are wealthy and retired when this house of cards falters” _________________ A. violated the rights of large-scale investors. B. ignored the rights of mortgage brokers. C. violated the principle of humanity as it applied to mortgage borrowers. D. could not have predicted the effects of issuing NINA loans. 21. Aristotle claims that virtue is “up to us” because _______________ A. the goal of an action justifies its means. B. it is easy to be virtuous. C. the mean lies between excess and deficiency. D. our habits are formed through the individual actions we choose.
