Contemporary Moral Problems Final Exam Fall 2020 Online Semester

Part 1.  Short Answer.  In a sentence or two, respond to the following questions.

1. Describe one of the main issues raised by moral relativism.

2. Name three different varieties of moral relativism.

3. Describe the thesis of Emotivism.  Do you see a problem with it?  Describe the problem.

4. Describe the difference between consequentialism and nonconsequentialism.

5. Define the concept “person” in ethics.  What makes it a key concept in ethics?

6. Define “Virtue Ethics.”  What makes virtue ethics different from either consequentialism or nonconsequentialism?

7. In the abortion issue, what is the one question that apparently must be resolved before taking a position? 

8. Define Euthanasia.  Briefly describe why the concept of “consent” is so central this this question.  

9. In the argument over whether or not healthcare is a right, describe the two main positions put forward on either side of the question.

10. What is the name of the ecological study published in 1972, which created a political commotion?     The next four questions concern this study.

a) What was the thesis of the study?

b) Define “carrying capacity.”

c) Define “sustainability.”

d) Define “overshoot.”  

Part 2. Essay Section.  Below are three questions.  Pick one and respond in 200 words or so, about a page.  

1. Socrates said that “the unexamined life is not worthy to be lived for a human being.”  That is essentially the argument in chapter one of Doing Ethics.  Do you think the book makes a good argument?  Why, or why not?

2. Of the questions we looked at this semester, which one do you think is the most pressing moral question of our time?  And why?

3. What is a right?  Do you think people have rights?  What are our rights based on?  Can you give a coherent defense of the idea of rights?