Is the rightness of an action determined by its consequences

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 471, Date: 23-Nov-2019
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Is the rightness of an action determined by its consequences, or by the intentions of the agent behind the action? Deontological ethics, in contrast to teleological or utilitarian ethics, asserts the latter. For example, Immanuel Kant argued that the only absolutely good thing is a good will, and thus that the only means of determining the rightness of an action is the motive of the person performing that action. Thus, if a person is acting on a bad maxim (“Stealing is good”), then the action is wrong, even if it produces some good consequences (e.g., stealing from the rich and giving to the poor). However, not all deontologists are absolutists: W.D. Ross, for instance, holds that lying is sometimes the right thing to do if the results of the action are likely to be beneficial.

A criticism levied by Jeremy Bentham, a utilitarian philosopher, is that deontological ethics were merely a dressed-up version of popular morality, wherein the ostensible “universal laws” were actually merely subjective opinion. A separate critique of deontology comes from aretaic theories, which hold that it is not the good will of the agent nor the consequences of the action that determine the moral rightness of that action— rather it is the character of the person performing the action. This is by no means a new idea: the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is considered the founder of virtue ethics, which seeks to describe the traits of an ideally virtuous person, and then posit that we should act in accordance with those traits.    1  
 C 
 1. Which of the following best describes the function of the first paragraph?

(A) It poses a question to be answered. 
(B) It outlines a process and contrasts it with an opposing process.
(C) In introduces a theory and indicates that variations in that theory exist. 
(D) It advances an argument to be disputed later in the passage.
(E) It introduces a philosophy and attempts to reconcile it with another philosophy.

2  
 B 
 2. Which of the following can be inferred about teleological theories of ethics?

(A) Unlike utilitarian theories, they are in opposition to the main idea of deontological ethics.
(B) Like utilitarian theories, they are in opposition to the main idea of deontological ethics.
(C) Unlike deontological theories, they are in opposition to the main idea of virtue ethics.
(D) Like deontological theories, they are in opposition to the main idea of utilitarian ethics.
(E) Unlike deontological theories, they are widely taught in philosophy programs.

3  
 A 
 3. According to the passage, virtue ethics:

(A) suggests that individuals should behave like a person w hose character matches an ideal
(B) purports that those acting on a bad maxim can still be morally correct
(C) has been more influential in society than deontological ethics
(D) is more widespread in modern-day Greece than elsewhere
(E) contrasts with teleological ethics in its view of the human will

AA01 · Answer

I marked D for the 1st question. Could you explain how C is correct?

Mansoor50 · Answer

#2.....

in reading this line ....... "Deontological ethics, in contrast to teleological or utilitarian ethics, asserts the latter." i made the mistake of reading  teleological or utilitarian ethics   to mean that teleological was the same thing as universal ethics.

How could i have avoided this?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. Which of the following best describes the function of the first paragraph?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

(A) Answer choice (A)  is attractive— the first sentence of the passage is, indeed, a question! However, answer  choice (A) is a trap.  You have to have read (or at least scanned) the rest of the passage to know that the question  “Is the rightness of an action determined by its consequences, or by the intentions of the agent behind the action?”  is never answered. The author simply describes philosophers’ views on the topic (the author does not take a side). Also, the point of the paragraph is not to ask the question. The question is just a small introduction to explaining deontological ethics.

(B)  Answer  choice (B)  refers to a  “process.”  What process? Two (or more) ethical theories are being talked about.

(C)  The first paragraph does  “introduce a theory”  (the theory of deontological ethics). Does the paragraph  “indicate that variations in that theory exist” ? Look at your chart— Kant is an absolutist, and W. D. Ross is not.  Choice (C) is correct.  Note that if you had not made a chart, you might think that Kant and W. D. Ross were on totally opposite sides, so it might have been very difficult to realize that their ideas are really  “variations”  on the same idea.

(D) Choice (D)  says that the passage  “advances an argument.”  This implies that the author is actually advocating a position (to  “advance”  is to argue for). The author is simply describing philosophers’ views, not arguing in favor of anything.

(E) “Introduces a philosophy”  sounds okay, but the author does not  “reconcile”  deontology with another philosophy (to  “reconcile”  two ideas would be to show that the ideas are compatible with one another). You can see from your chart that the contrast remains throughout the passage.

The answer is (C).

Hope it helps

MeghnaIjjapureddy · Answer

Can someone please help me with question 3? Why is option E wrong?

Posted from my mobile device

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hello MeghnaIjjapureddy

You only know similarities between virtue ethics and teleological theories; you weren’t told of any differences. That is why  E  is wrong.

yatharthbadala · Answer

Hello MeghnaIjjapureddy

the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is considered the founder of virtue ethics, which seeks to describe the traits of an ideally virtuous person, and then posit that we should act in accordance with those traits.  reading this part carefullly must've saved you from erring. the correct option has been slightly paraphrased.

Dinesh654 · Answer

Hii,
Q1 is really good!

I have doubts for choice A and B.
It poses question to be answered.
whats the exact meaning of this; 
i think a question that needs to be answered and in a sense this choice seems right, needs to be answered doesn't necesseraly means author should answer it.

and B,
Isn't it a process or a way- the rightness needs to be determined by intention?
what exactly is a process?
and it is an opposing process to utilitarian and teleological?

why not A/b with respect to my reasoning?

Raman109 · Answer

1. Which of the following best describes the function of the first paragraph?

(A) It poses a question to be answered. - Yes, the passage asks a question in the beginning, but that doesn't describe the function of the 1st paragraph. The first paragraph shares the stance of the "deontologists" in contrast with the "teleological or utilitarian" and then shares the variation among the "deontologists." Distortion.

(B) It outlines a process and contrasts it with an opposing process. - How would the paragraph look like had option B been true? I would start with deontologists' views put side by side with "teleological or utilitarian" views. It then would detail the process used by each - deontologist and people with teleological or utilitarian views. Does the first paragraph look anything like this? No. Wrong.

(C) In introduces a theory and indicates that variations in that theory exist. - Yes. A theory is an idea or an organized set of principles. The first paragraph states the idea of "deontologists." It then shares a variation in that idea or principle by W.D. Ross. Ok.

(D) It advances an argument to be disputed later in the passage. - How would the first paragraph look had option D been correct? What is an argument? A claim, opinion, or advocacy followed by the supporting premises or rejecting the ideas against the theory. Had option D been correct, the passage would have contained some claim by the author or someone else, like saying - a deontologist's view is the best. Then, persuade the reader with some analysis supporting the view and adding the challenges later in the passage. Does the 1st paragraph look like it? No. The word "assert" in the 1st paragraph states/describes the view of the deontologists. It's just descriptive rather than argumentative. The author doesn't take any sides or premises substantiate any opinion. Wrong.

(E) It introduces a philosophy and attempts to reconcile it with another philosophy. - No attempt is to reconcile deontological ethics with teleological or utilitarian ethics. The author shares the contrasts between the two. There is no attempt to find the middle ground or to integrate the perspectives.

Is the rightness of an action determined by its consequences

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Is the rightness of an action determined by its consequences

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