1. Metaethics is the study of moral rules, norms and principles that guide or govern human action. ______

Answer: False

1. Plato believed moral principles are eternal truths that are only known through reason. ______

Answer: True

1. The word transcend means to go beyond the limits of something. ______

Answer: True

1. Theological voluntarism is also referred to as Divine Command theory. ______

Answer: True

1. Western religious tradition has struggled to combine the views of ancient Roman philosophy with the religion of the first Christians. _____

Answer: False

1. Aristotle’s God changes His mind frequently. ______

Answer: False

Multiple Choice Questions

1. This philosopher believed that God implants moral principles in our mind as innate ideas.

A. Aristotle

B. Descartes

C. Hobbes

D. Socrates

Answer: B. Descartes

2. The belief that what is moral or immoral is commanded by God is known as

A. moral relativism.

B. moral absolutism.

C. theological voluntarism.

D. theological noncognitivism.

Answer: C. theological voluntarism.

3. This religious leader referred to reason as “the Devil’s greatest whore.”

A. Moses

B. Socrates

C. Pythagoras

D. Martin Luther

Answer: D. Martin Luther

4. One implication of accepting the premise that what is moral is moral in virtue of God’s commanding it is that

A. there must be a moral standard independent of God.

B. there must be one God.

C. what is moral is arbitrary.

D. God is not a necessary for there to be morality.

Answer: C. what is moral is arbitrary.

Short Answer Questions

1. Are ethical principles fixed or changing? Explain your response.

Answer: Student responses should be supported by evidence or reasoning.

1. In the text, the author asks the reader to consider how to think carefully, critically, and effectively. What does this proposition mean to you?

Answer: Student responses should be supported by evidence or reasoning.

1. What is the difference between moral motivation and moral justification?

Answer: A motive might be a reward or punishment for doing or not doing something. Justification is an acceptable reason for doing something.

1. What two questions can we ask of someone who holds that “moral” equals “what God commands?”

Answer: Is a law right because God commands it? Does God command a law because it is right?

Essay Questions

1. Explain the difference between natural morality and transcendent morality.

Answer: Student responses should be supported by evidence or reasoning.

1. What two questions are raised by theological volunteerism (Divine Command theory)? What are the implications of holding one or the other true?

Answer: Student responses should be supported by evidence or reasoning.

1. Do you agree with Rachels notion that only those who exercise free will are capable of acting ethically? If you subject your will to the external commands of others, are you acting slavishly? Explain your response.

Answer: Student responses should be supported by evidence or reasoning.