Utilitarianism Quiz

During which century did John Stuart Mill write Utilitarianism?

• The 17th

• The 12th

• The 19th

• The 20th

Which writer was a major proponent of the theory of utilitarianism?

• Jeremy Bentham

• Karl Marx

• Immanuel Kant

• John Rawls

Which of the following does Mill present as a potential criticism of utilitarianism?

• It cannot account for the differences between higher and lower pleasures

• It is a godless theory

• Virtue is more important than happiness

• All of the above

Mill argues that justice is:

• a less important consideration than practical utility

• valuable because it is socially useful

• valuable by a standard that exists independent of utility

• at odds with social utility

An example of an "internal sanction" would be

• the fear of going to jail for bad actions

• the fear of being punished by God for bad actions

• the guilt of one's own conscience for bad actions

• All of the above

Mill notes that the foundational principles of science are as hotly debated as those of morality. However, he argues, the difference between the two debates is that:

• The lack of first principles is more serious in the case of morality

• The lack of first principles is more serious in the case of science

• Morality does not need first principles at all

• Science does not need first principles at all

The utility can be defined as:

• Usefulness, in opposition to pleasure

• Fulfillment of animalistic desires

• pleasure and the absence of pain.

• a constant state of rapturous excitement.

Utilitarianism dictates that actions are morally good

• when they promote the actor's interests and well-being.

• when they promote general happiness.

• when they are performed by a virtuous person.

• when they reflect the following of a just principle, regardless of the consequences.

In response to the criticism that the most virtuous people have been martyrs who gave up their happiness, Mill replies

• that martyrdom is only valuable because they sacrificed their own happiness for the general good.

• that martyrdom is actually not virtuous.

• that martyrs are always much happier than other people.

• that virtue is not a morally valid standard of judgment.

Which of the following actions would Mill judge as morally the best?

• Saving a person from drowning out of a sense of moral duty.

• Saving a person from drowning out of a desire for celebrity.

• Saving a person from drowning out of a desire for celebrity.

• All three actions are equally good.