Ethics

Consequentialism is the ethical theory that judges the rightness of an action based on?

A Its consequences/outcomes
B The intention behind it, regardless of outcome
C Religious commandments only
D Social customs only —

Utilitarianism, a form of consequentialism, holds that the right action is the one that?

A Maximizes overall happiness/utility for the greatest number of people
B Maximizes the happiness of only the actor
C Follows strict religious rules
D Ignores the consequences of actions —

Which philosopher is considered the founder of classical utilitarianism?

A Jeremy Bentham
B Immanuel Kant
C Aristotle
D Socrates —

Jeremy Bentham's principle of utility is often summarized as seeking?

A "The greatest happiness for the greatest number"
B Individual pleasure alone, regardless of others
C Strict adherence to duty
D Blind obedience to authority —

Which philosopher refined utilitarianism by distinguishing between "higher" and "lower" pleasures?

A Jeremy Bentham
B John Stuart Mill
C Immanuel Kant
D Aristotle —

John Stuart Mill argued that intellectual and moral pleasures are of a?

A Higher quality than mere physical/bodily pleasures
B Lower quality than physical pleasures
C Equal quality to physical pleasures, always
D No relevance to ethics —

"Act utilitarianism" evaluates the morality of?

A Each individual act based on its specific consequences
B General rules regardless of specific outcomes
C Only religious commandments
D Only legal statutes —

"Rule utilitarianism" evaluates morality based on?

A Whether an action conforms to a rule that generally maximizes utility when followed
B Only the immediate consequence of a single act
C Only personal preference
D Only religious doctrine —

A common criticism of utilitarianism is that it can justify?

A Sacrificing the rights/wellbeing of a minority for the greater good of the majority
B Never allowing any sacrifice
C Always protecting individual rights absolutely
D Ignoring outcomes altogether —

Which term describes the measurement/calculation of pleasure and pain used by Bentham to assess utility?

A Hedonic/felicific calculus
B Categorical imperative
C Golden mean
D Social contract —

Which of the following best illustrates a utilitarian approach to a public policy decision?

A Choosing the policy that produces the greatest net benefit for the largest number of people
B Choosing the policy that benefits only the policymaker
C Ignoring the impact on the population entirely
D Following tradition regardless of outcomes —

A key strength of utilitarianism, often cited, is its focus on?

A Overall welfare and practical outcomes of actions
B Rigid rule-following regardless of context
C Individual rights above all else
D Religious doctrine, exclusively —

The "trolley problem," a famous thought experiment, is often used to illustrate the tension between utilitarian and?

A Deontological ethics
B Aesthetic theory
C Legal positivism
D Political theory —

Utilitarian thinking has significantly influenced modern policy analysis through which practical tool?

A Cost-benefit analysis
B Only religious doctrine
C Only legal theory
D Only political theory —

"Preference utilitarianism" evaluates the morality of actions based on?

A The extent to which they satisfy individuals' preferences/desires
B Only physical pleasure
C Only religious doctrine
D Only legal compliance —

Which philosopher, associated with utilitarianism, also contributed significantly to political and economic liberalism, including ideas on liberty?

A John Stuart Mill
B Immanuel Kant
C Aristotle
D Thomas Aquinas —

A major ethical dilemma with utilitarianism in public administration is balancing overall welfare with?

A The protection of minority rights and individual justice
B Ignoring all minority concerns
C Only serving majority interests without exception
D Avoiding any welfare calculation —

Cost-benefit analysis, commonly used in public policy, is philosophically rooted in which ethical tradition?

A Utilitarianism/consequentialism
B Deontology
C Virtue ethics
D Divine command theory —

Which of these criticisms is commonly raised against utilitarianism?

A It can be difficult to accurately measure and compare happiness/utility across different people
B It ignores consequences entirely
C It focuses only on rules
D It has no relevance to policy-making —

Utilitarianism is often contrasted with theories that emphasize duty and rules regardless of outcomes, known as?

A Deontological ethics
B Virtue ethics, exclusively
C Relativism only
D Egoism only —

In utilitarian ethics, an action producing the most good, even involving some harm to a few, could be considered?

A Potentially justifiable if it maximizes overall utility (a controversial implication)
B Always strictly forbidden
C Irrelevant to utilitarian calculus
D Impossible under utilitarianism —

Which concept describes the idea that all individuals' happiness/pain counts equally in utilitarian calculations?

A The principle of equal consideration of interests
B Discrimination based on status
C Favoritism towards the wealthy
D Ignoring most people's interests —

"Negative utilitarianism" places priority on which of the following?

A Minimizing suffering/harm, rather than solely maximizing happiness
B Maximizing suffering
C Ignoring both happiness and suffering
D Focusing only on individual rights —

Peter Singer, a contemporary philosopher, applies utilitarian principles to issues like?

A Animal rights and global poverty/effective altruism
B Only religious doctrine
C Only legal theory
D Only aesthetic judgments —

A key challenge in applying utilitarianism to public administration is?

A Accurately predicting and quantifying the consequences of policy decisions on all stakeholders
B Following only rigid rules regardless of context
C Ignoring outcomes altogether
D Focusing solely on individual intentions —