University of Kansas, Fall 2004
Philosophy 160: Introduction to Ethics
Ben Eggleston—eggleston@ku.edu

Preview of test on applied ethics

The test will be given in class on Tuesday, December 7. There will be twenty multiple-choice questions worth 5 points each.

You should expect the test, in its form and in the nature of its questions, to be similar to the test on meta-ethics test and the test on normative ethics. You should not count on its being very similar to the test I gave in the Spring 2004 section of this course. I have posted that on the course web site only to provide equal access to it, since I assume that, without its being posted, some people would have access to it, from students who were in that class, and some would not, which I think would be unfair (even though, as I have said, I do not recommend relying on that test as a guide to this one).

Here are the main topics you can expect this test to cover:

  1. implication
    1. the concept of implication
    2. the evaluation of theories in applied ethics
  2. Peter Singer and Harriet McBryde Johnson
    1. which normative-ethical theory Singer's view is closest to
    2. what Singer's view has to do with the golden rule
    3. what the main principle of “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” says
    4. how the two versions of that principle differ
    5. what a supererogatory action is
    6. what Singer says about common-sense morality
    7. what Singer says about the effects of disability on persons’ well-being
    8. what Johnson says about the effects of disability on persons’ well-being
  3. the ethics of abortion
    1. the classic anti-abortion view
    2. problem cases for the classic anti-abortion view
    3. the classic pro-choice view
    4. problem cases for the classic pro-choice view
    5. Marquis’s view
    6. how Marquis’s view deals with problem cases for the classic anti-abortion view
    7. how Marquis's view deals with problem cases for the classic pro-choice view
  4. ethics and genetics
    1. considerations for and against genetic discrimination in employment
    2. considerations for and against prenatal genetic testing for diseases
    3. considerations for and against using another person's genetic identity to get a job