A consequentialist theory may define the good as
pleasure, happiness, well-being, or flourishing
A major reason for devising a moral theory is to
obtain practical guidance
A moral theory is ________ on an issue such as euthanasia
a guide for moral reasoning
A moral theory is
more useful than a moral code
A moral theory is
an explanation of what makes an action right or what makes a person or thing good
A moral theory that judges the rightness of abortion by the end result of the action is
consequentialist
A moral theory that suggests that our moral judgments cannot be rationally supported is inconsistent with
our moral experience
A moral theory that would have us torturing infants for fun conflicts with
our considered moral judgments
A person who reasons that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered, is a(n)
utilitarian
A traditional natural law theorist would say that lying is immoral because it
goes against human nature
According to Kant, the principle and the maxims derived from the categorical imperative are
universal and absolutist
According to ________, right actions are those that directly produce the greatest overall good, everyone considered
act-utilitarianism
Applying the moral criteria of adequacy is
rational and objective
Evaluating the worth of a moral theory requires the application of the
moral criteria of adequacy
If Erika maintains that killing the innocent is wrong because the action is contrary to God's will, she probably accepts the
divine command theory
If John always acts to produce the most favorable balance of good over evil for himself, he is probably
an ethical egoist
In addition to being consistent with our considered moral judgments, a plausible moral theory should be consistent with
moral background knowledge
John Rawls says that ________ are those judgments rendered under conditions favorable to justice, as opposed to judgments made with hesitation or little confidence
considered moral judgments
Suppose a moral theory is inconsistent with two of your most trustworthy and important moral judgments (and other considerations do not counterbalance this fact). You should then regard the theory as
dubious and possibly false
Suppose your favored moral theory says that moral rightness is relative to each individual. This would imply that each person is morally infallible, which shows the theory to be
implausible
The first step in any theory assessment is to ensure that the theory meets the minimum requirement of
coherence
The theory asserting that the morally right action is the one covered by a rule that if generally followed would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered, is
rule-utilitarianism
The ultimate goal in the give-and-take of theory and judgment (or principle) is
reflective equilibrium
To a(n) ________, breaking promises is wrong because if the implied rule were universalized (if everyone followed the rule), then no promise anywhere could be trusted and the whole convention of promise making would be obliterated. Thus no one would be wi
Kantian
We are entitled to accept our commonsense moral experience as trustworthy evidence unless
we have good reasons to doubt it