Question 1
Moral philosopher Thomas Hobbes argued that morality (that is, willingness to abide by basic ethical rules) arises not from benevolence (the desire to be kind and beneficial) but from rational self-interest.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 2
According to Hobbes, since people in the state of nature are not bound by ethical rules and laws, business will inevitably flourish.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 3
Thomas Hobbes argued that there is no need for a government or its laws to enforce the social contract because people understand that they ultimately benefit from cooperating to maintain social order and they will do so without enforcement measures.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 4
A principal difficulty with social contract theory is that it requires people to follow the social contact rules - to keep their agreements and not to harm others - even when many others in society refuse to abide by the social contract rules.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 5
According to social contract theory, the purpose of the state (or government) is to enforce essential rules of social living; however, social contract theorists make an exception for business because the greater good is best served when commercial transactions are not restrained by government interference.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 6
According to your assigned reading, it is moral to treat lawbreakers who harm others and don't keep their agreements differently from citizens who abide by the law and social contract because
Answer
lawbreakers violate the social contract and the state must punish violators to encourage general others to keep, and not break, the social contract. |
the state has a duty to protect citizens who keep the social contract from those who do not |
lawbreakers do not abide by the reciprocal rules of the social contract and thus open themselves to punishment not afforded to those who conform to the rules of social living |
all of theabove |
none of the above |
1 points
Question 7
According to Rachels and Rachels, a weakness of social contract theory is that it cannot deal with the following problem: if you think you will be caught doing something harmful, then it is rational to obey the social contract. But if you think you will not be caught and can further your own interests by harming others, it is rational to disobey the social contract.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 8
The state exists to enforce the rules of morality that rational people will accept, on the condition that others do likewise.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 9
The online case study indicates that powerful business interests in the U.S. have influenced legislators (who are supposed, under the social contract, to enforce the rules for social living) to pass environmental and labour laws which weaken consumer safety protections (as in cases of e-coli poisoning reported in Food, Inc.) and worker safety protections (illustrated in Food Inc. by meat packers). In such cases the U.S. government is violating the social contract by not enforcing the social contract rule not to harm others.
Answer True
False
1 points
Question 10
The online case study explains why certain violations of the social contract we see illustrated in Food Inc. are neither adequately prohibited nor punished. In such cases powerful corporations and government officials do not uphold the principle of reciprocity for they receive the benefits of social living while violating their own social contract obligations for gain.
Answer True
False