What is metaethics?
A) The study of moral actions
B) The study of the nature, scope, and meaning of moral judgments
C) The study of societal rules
D) The study of religious ethics
Answer: B
Which of the following is a major focus of metaethics?
A) Moral behavior
B) Moral judgments
C) Moral consequences
D) Moral obligations
Answer: B
What is moral realism?
A) The belief that there are no moral truths
B) The belief that moral truths exist independently of human beliefs
C) The belief that moral truths are created by human beliefs
D) The belief that moral truths are always relative
Answer: B
What is moral anti-realism?
A) The belief that moral truths exist independently of human beliefs
B) The belief that there are no objective moral truths
C) The belief that moral truths are created by human beliefs
D) The belief that moral truths are always absolute
Answer: B
What is emotivism?
A) The theory that moral judgments are expressions of emotional responses
B) The theory that moral judgments are factual statements
C) The theory that moral judgments are commands
D) The theory that moral judgments are relative
Answer: A
What is prescriptivism?
A) The view that moral statements describe facts
B) The view that moral statements prescribe actions and are not true or false
C) The view that moral statements are expressions of approval or disapproval
D) The view that moral statements are cultural norms
Answer: B
What is error theory?
A) The theory that all moral statements are true
B) The theory that moral statements are expressions of emotional responses
C) The theory that all moral statements are false
D) The theory that moral statements prescribe actions
Answer: C
What is moral relativism?
A) The belief that moral truths exist independently of human beliefs
B) The belief that moral truths are relative to cultural or individual preferences
C) The belief that moral truths are always absolute
D) The belief that moral truths are non-existent
Answer: B
What is the main question of metaethics?
A) How should one act?
B) What is the good life?
C) What is the nature of moral judgments?
D) What are the consequences of moral actions?
Answer: C
Who is a notable proponent of emotivism?
A) Immanuel Kant
B) David Hume
C) A.J. Ayer
D) John Stuart Mill
Answer: C
What does non-cognitivism claim about moral statements?
A) They are factual statements
B) They are neither true nor false
C) They describe objective realities
D) They are universally binding
Answer: B
What is the focus of normative ethics?
A) The nature of ethical statements
B) The principles of right and wrong
C) The cultural origins of ethical systems
D) The metaphysical basis of ethics
Answer: B
What is moral subjectivism?
A) The belief that moral truths are objective
B) The belief that moral truths are dependent on individual beliefs
C) The belief that moral truths are cultural norms
D) The belief that moral truths are universally binding
Answer: B
What is the naturalistic fallacy according to G.E. Moore?
A) Defining “good” in terms of natural properties
B) Believing that moral truths are culturally determined
C) The view that there are no moral truths
D) The idea that emotions can determine moral truths
Answer: A
What does the open question argument suggest?
A) Moral truths are relative
B) Defining “good” in natural terms always leaves an open question
C) Moral statements are prescriptive
D) Moral realism is false
Answer: B
Who is associated with the open question argument?
A) Immanuel Kant
B) John Stuart Mill
C) G.E. Moore
D) A.J. Ayer
Answer: C
What does ethical non-naturalism claim?
A) Moral truths are natural properties
B) Moral truths are supernatural properties
C) Moral truths are independent of natural properties
D) Moral truths do not exist
Answer: C
What is a key feature of moral objectivism?
A) Moral truths are culturally relative
B) Moral truths depend on individual preferences
C) Moral truths are independent of human opinions
D) Moral truths are based on emotions
Answer: C
What is the main criticism of emotivism?
A) It does not account for moral disagreements
B) It suggests moral statements are factual
C) It does not explain the nature of moral truths
D) It is too rigid in its approach
Answer: A
Which philosopher is known for advocating moral relativism?
A) Immanuel Kant
B) John Stuart Mill
C) Ruth Benedict
D) Aristotle
Answer: C
What is the “is-ought” problem associated with David Hume?
A) The difficulty of deriving prescriptive statements from descriptive statements
B) The difficulty of defining “good”
C) The challenge of moral relativism
D) The issue of moral realism
Answer: A
What is moral intuitionism?
A) The view that moral truths are known through intuition
B) The view that moral truths are based on emotions
C) The view that moral truths are culturally determined
D) The view that moral truths are nonexistent
Answer: A
What is the primary concern of moral semantics in metaethics?
A) The nature of moral actions
B) The meaning of moral terms and statements
C) The consequences of moral actions
D) The principles of right and wrong
Answer: B
What does moral non-cognitivism argue?
A) Moral statements express beliefs
B) Moral statements describe facts
C) Moral statements are neither true nor false
D) Moral statements are universally valid
Answer: C
What is the difference between metaethics and normative ethics?
A) Metaethics focuses on the nature of moral judgments, while normative ethics focuses on the content of moral judgments
B) Metaethics focuses on moral behavior, while normative ethics focuses on the nature of moral judgments
C) Metaethics is about societal rules, while normative ethics is about individual behavior
D) Metaethics is about religious ethics, while normative ethics is about secular ethics
Answer: A
What is the main question in the study of moral ontology?
A) What are moral duties?
B) What is the nature of moral properties and facts?
C) What is the meaning of moral terms?
D) What are the principles of right and wrong?
Answer: B
Which of the following is a criticism of moral relativism?
A) It implies moral infallibility
B) It allows for universal moral truths
C) It suggests that moral disagreements are always resolvable
D) It undermines the concept of moral progress
Answer: D
What is the difference between ethical naturalism and ethical non-naturalism?
A) Ethical naturalism claims moral properties are natural properties, while ethical non-naturalism claims they are not
B) Ethical naturalism denies the existence of moral truths, while ethical non-naturalism affirms them
C) Ethical naturalism is a form of moral relativism, while ethical non-naturalism is not
D) Ethical naturalism is based on emotions, while ethical non-naturalism is based on reason
Answer: A
What is constructivism in metaethics?
A) The view that moral truths are constructed by social processes
B) The view that moral truths are discovered
C) The view that moral truths are relative
D) The view that moral truths are non-existent
Answer: A
What is moral skepticism?
A) The belief that moral truths are relative
B) The belief that we cannot have knowledge of moral truths
C) The belief that moral truths are absolute
D) The belief that moral truths are based on emotions
Answer: B
What does the term “moral epistemology” refer to?
A) The study of the meaning of moral terms
B) The study of the origin of moral judgments
C) The study of how we come to know moral truths
D) The study of the nature of moral properties
Answer: C
Which of the following best describes ethical intuitionism?
A) Moral knowledge is derived from sensory experience
B) Moral knowledge is innate and self-evident
C) Moral knowledge is constructed by society
D) Moral knowledge is always relative
Answer: B
What is the primary challenge to moral realism?
A) Explaining moral disagreement
B) Defining moral terms
C) Justifying moral beliefs
D) Denying the existence of moral facts
Answer: A
Who is a well-known proponent of error theory?
A) G.E. Moore
B) J.L. Mackie
C) A.J. Ayer
D) David Hume
Answer: B
What is a common argument against moral subjectivism?
A) It leads to moral absolutism
B) It fails to account for moral disagreement
C) It implies that moral judgments can be false
D) It suggests that moral truths are objective
Answer: B
What does “internalism” in metaethics refer to?
A) The view that moral judgments are linked to motivational states
B) The view that moral judgments are independent of human psychology
C) The view that moral truths are discovered through reason
D) The view that moral truths are culturally relative
Answer: A
What is moral externalism?
A) The belief that moral judgments are independent of motivational states
B) The belief that moral truths are culturally determined
C) The belief that moral truths are self-evident
D) The belief that moral judgments are based on emotions
Answer: A
What is the “queerness” argument against moral realism?
A) Moral properties are too strange to be part of the natural world
B) Moral truths are relative to individual preferences
C) Moral statements are expressions of emotional responses
D) Moral judgments are prescriptive
Answer: A
Which of the following best describes the concept of “moral luck”?
A) The idea that morality is based on chance
B) The concept that moral judgment can be influenced by factors beyond a person’s control
C) The belief that moral truths are randomly determined
D) The view that moral properties are supernatural
Answer: B
What does moral conventionalism claim?
A) Moral truths are absolute
B) Moral truths are based on societal conventions
C) Moral truths are discovered through reason
D) Moral truths are based on emotions
Answer: B
What is a key feature of moral expressivism?
A) Moral statements describe facts
B) Moral statements express attitudes or emotions
C) Moral statements are commands
D) Moral statements are relative
Answer: B
What is the main difference between cognitivism and non-cognitivism in metaethics?
A) Cognitivism holds that moral statements can be true or false, while non-cognitivism holds that they cannot
B) Cognitivism denies the existence of moral truths, while non-cognitivism affirms them
C) Cognitivism is based on emotions, while non-cognitivism is based on reason
D) Cognitivism is a form of moral relativism, while non-cognitivism is not
Answer: A
What does moral fictionalism propose?
A) Moral statements are literally true
B) Moral statements are useful fictions
C) Moral statements describe natural properties
D) Moral statements are expressions of emotions
Answer: B
What is a major challenge to moral non-cognitivism?
A) Explaining how moral disagreements can be rational
B) Defining moral terms
C) Justifying moral beliefs
D) Denying the existence of moral facts
Answer: A
What is the supervenience of moral properties?
A) Moral properties are independent of natural properties
B) Moral properties depend on and are determined by natural properties
C) Moral properties are supernatural
D) Moral properties are non-existent
Answer: B
What does moral deontology focus on?
A) The consequences of actions
B) The inherent rightness or wrongness of actions
C) The cultural context of actions
D) The emotional responses to actions
Answer: B
Which philosopher is known for his work in deontological ethics?
A) John Stuart Mill
B) Aristotle
C) Immanuel Kant
D) David Hume
Answer: C
What is the primary concern of virtue ethics?
A) The consequences of actions
B) The character and virtues of the moral agent
C) The inherent rightness or wrongness of actions
D) The cultural context of actions
Answer: B
Who is a notable proponent of virtue ethics?
A) John Stuart Mill
B) Aristotle
C) Immanuel Kant
D) David Hume
Answer: B
What is the focus of consequentialism?
A) The character and virtues of the moral agent
B) The inherent rightness or wrongness of actions
C) The consequences of actions
D) The cultural context of actions
Answer: C