Professional Ethics:
Sample Exam Questions
Here are some sample exam questions to familiarize you with the format of the exams for PHIL 316. The answers are given below.
Short Answer:
1. (a) Explain Milton Friedman's Legalism, and then (b) explain two of the objections given in class to Friedman's Legalism (do NOT just give their names!).
2. (a) Explain Cultural Relativism, (b) explain one of the arguments for Cultural Relativism given in class, and then (c) explain one of the objections to Cultural Relativism given in class (do NOT just give their names!).
3. (a) State the Divine Command theory, (b) explain the Euthyphro argument, and then (c) explain one of the objections given in class to the second claim of the Divine Command theory.
Multiple Choice:
1. Cultural Relativism is the view that
a. if someone believes that an action is morally right or wrong, then it is
b. if the majority of people in a society believe that something is morally right or wrong, then it is
c. people within a culture often have differing views about what is morally right or wrong
d. that culture which produces the most overall good is the best culture
2. On the Due Care theory of manufacturer's duties to consumers,
a. consumers must take due care to ensure that they are not injured by a product
b. manufacturers are liable for any harm befalling a customer using or misusing their products
c. manufacturers must take all steps that a reasonable person could have foreseen to prevent harm to the consumer
d. consumers and manufacturers must agree on an acceptable level of risk of injury for a product
3. As defined in class, morality is
a. the rightness and wrongness of actions, events, etc.
b. the philosophical study of ethics
c. the application of NETs to specific moral problems
d. whatever one has a duty to do
4. In theoretical ethics, scholars primarily attempt to answer the question
a. what do people believe about morality?
b. what makes any action morally right, wrong, or neutral?
c. why do people believe what they do about morality?
d. how can there be any moral theories?
5. A deductive argument is conclusive whenever
a. it is strong
b. one of the premises is true
c. it is valid
d. none of the above
6. As described in class, one of the steps involved in applying Classical Utilitarianism is to
a. determine who will be effected by your action
b. ask each person effected by your action whether they approve of it, so as not to violate their rights
c. see whether most people in your society think the action is right
d. do whatever results in the most profit for your company
7. As defined in class, a moral right is
a. a legal right
b. a duty correlative to a just demand
c. a justified constraint upon how others may act
d. all of the above
Answers:
Short Answer:
1. (a) Legalism is the view that a corporation's only obligation is to maximize its profits without breaking the law. (b) One objection to Legalism given in class was that it takes time to make illegal a new harm caused by a corporation, leaving the first-generation of people harmed by the corporation unprotected. A second objection to Friedman's Legalism was that an action may be legal and yet be morally wrong.
2. (a) Cultural Relativism is the view that what makes an action morally right, wrong, or neutral is that most people in a society believe that it is. (b) One of the arguments given in class for Cultural Relativism was that since one's moral beliefs depend on one's culture, what is morally right or wrong depends on one's culture. (c) One of the objections to Cultural Relativism given in class was the Definitive Example objection. The Definitive Example objection is that if Cultural Relativism were true, then things that are such that if any action is morally wrong, they are - such as Nazi Genocide - could get counted as morally right.
3. (a) The Divine Command theory is that what makes an action morally right, wrong, or neutral is that God commanded it to be so. (b) The Euthyphro argument begins with the observation that God either has a reason for giving a command or he doesn't. If he does, then it is the reason and not the command that makes the action morally right or wrong, hence the Divine Command theory is false. If God has no reason, then his command would be arbitrary. But morality cannot be arbitrary because if morality requires anything it requires fairness, and treating people arbitrarily will be unfair. So, the Divine Command theory would again be false. Since he wither has a reason or he doesn't, the Divine Command theory is false. (c) One of the objections to the second claim of the Divine Command theory given in class was that it is sometimes morally permitted to kill, e.g., in self-defense.
Multiple Choice:
1. b
2. c
3. a
4. b
5. d
6. a
7. c
Two Cow Theories of Capitalism:
Traditional Capitalism:
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
American Capitalism:
You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights for all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new President of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.
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