Name:______Class: ______Date: ______
Biomedical Ethics
Final Exam, 125pts
Multiple Choice - 35pts, 5pts ea
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. The Moral Law states that we should
a. / act always for the maximum benefit of all in the universeb. / act only when the maximum of our action is good
c. / act mainly for the good of the maximum number, but always also for the minority
d. / act only when the maximum good is clearly known by demonstrative reasoning
e. / act only on that maxim that we can at the same time will that it become universal law
____ 2. For Kant, an action has moral worth only if it is done
a. / from a sense of dutyb. / to create pleasure
c. / through a motive of love
d. / after careful deliberation
e. / in accordance with duty
____ 3. Jeremy Bentham invented which calculus?
a. / Trigonometric Calculusb. / Hedonic Calculus
c. / Virtue Calculus
d. / Bionic Calculus
e. / Myopic Calculus
____ 4. Bentham and Mill both say that happiness
a. / makes pleasure more likelyb. / equals pleasure and equals goodness
c. / is caused by pleasure
d. / causes pleasure
e. / makes pleasure better
____ 5. The Humanity formulation of the Moral Law that allows our feelings to engage it is:
a. / treat others meanly only when you want your friendship to endb. / treat others always as you would have them treat you
c. / treat others never as means, but only as an end
d. / treat others as an end always, and never merely as a means
e. / treat others as a friend always, and never merely as if you’re mean
____ 6. For Mill, the distinction between higher and lower pleasures is necessitated because
a. / the only competent judge of two pleasures is someone with experience of both, and folks who experience both higher and lower pleasures prefer higher onesb. / No one believes all pleasures differ merely in quantity
c. / a pig completely full of pleasure would still be worse off than Socrates lacking pleasure
d. / a and b
e. / a and c
____ 7. When we fall short of virtue, having to struggle with contrary inclination to do what is virtuous, but we still succeed in doing the right thing anyway, we are said to be
b. / incumbent. / e. / continent.
c. / inconsiderate.
Set your answers below apart by using BLUE text
Short Answer - 40pts
8. See the Genetic Choices PowerPoint: What is the “Incoherence argument” against genetic testing to avoid genetically diseased children? (5pts)
Do you think it is a good argument? Why? (5pts)
9. In Garrett, the authors say, “… a right is a moral or legal claim that an individual may assert against someone else,” and then, “Any such claim imposes an obligation on another person….”
Provide an example that you make up yourself that shows why asserting a moral or legal right against others does not always impose an obligation on them. (5pts)
10. Consider Garrett’s definition of disease:
“Any deficit in the physical form or the physiological or psychological functioning of the individual in terms of
· what society wants or expects from that individual, or
· in terms of what the individual wants or expects for himself.”
Provide a counter-example to this definition, i.e., show that the definition includes things that clearly are not diseases. (10pts)
11. Consider the “In Depth” box at the top of page 147 in Vaughn. Which of the two conceptions of informed consent
· Shared Decision-Making
· Informed Consent
do you find most reasonable? Why? (10pts) … Be sure to consider how a patient’s depression might affect your choice. (5pts)
Essay - 50pts
12. In the Truth Telling PowerPoint, regarding the “Placebo Problem,” the authors (Garrett, et al.) excuse a doctor’s deception of a patient (providing a sugar pill while saying something to trick the patient into believing it is an active drug) with a series of reasons (rationalizations?). List each reason (there are 5 in the PowerPoint) and provide a criticism as if you believed they were rationalizations—poor reasons (20pts).
Give your own opinion at the end: were those reasons really poor? (5pts)
13. Over the holiday break, your aunt plops down next to you and says, “So, I hear you had class on health care ethics this term ... what did you learn?” Write your response as if you liked your aunt, wanted to impress her with some relevant ideas or insights, but you are aware your time is short because dinner’s almost ready. (25pts)
Extra Credit: 10pts
At the end of the Placebo Problem list of reasons, Garrett says:
“Indeed, the physician is far more likely to deceive with regard to a pharmacologically active drug if he says, “This will make you better.” This is promising too much, whether said of a placebo or a test drug.”
What fallacy does this commit? Faulty Dilemma, Slippery Slope, or Red Herring? (5pts)
Is the claim that the physician is “far more likely to deceive…” true? (5pts)