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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the maxim of Utilitarian philosophy?
(a) The greatest good to the deserving.
(b) Might makes right.
(c) The greatest good to the wealthiest.
(d) The greatest good for the greatest number.

2. Why is the argument called the Original Position?
(a) Because it was a very early argument that Rawls revived.
(b) Because it is about the first thing that a person sees when they wake up.
(c) Because it was the first argument Rawls thought of.
(d) Because it comes before everything else.

3. What does Rawls think a person would decide about their society if they had any choice?
(a) That it be at least a wealthy society.
(b) That it would be at least a strong society.
(c) That it would be at least fair.
(d) That it be at least a beautiful land.

4. What is the first virtue of social institution, according to Rawls?
(a) Strength.
(b) Militarism.
(c) Justice.
(d) Wealth.

5. What defines a good society, according to Rawls?
(a) A society that owns the most land.
(b) A just society.
(c) A wealthy society.
(d) A strong society.

6. What is the Veil of Ignorance in Rawls' argument?
(a) A metaphor for not being able to tell what kind of society one will later be in.
(b) A metaphor for a different type of belief.
(c) A metaphor to describe different types of citizens.
(d) A garment worn by politicians.

7. What is John Stuart Mill's Theory of Higher Pleasures?
(a) The belief that going to church is the highest form of pleasure.
(b) The belief that feelings are better pleasures than stability, wealth or objects.
(c) The belief that intellectualism, refinement and poetry are better pleasures that dancing, lust or wealth.
(d) The belief that one should spend the most money on the finest things in life.

8. How does the ignorant chooser know what is fair and what is not, according to Rawls?
(a) Because the monarch told them so.
(b) Because they are taught what to believe.
(c) Because of an innate knowledge of fairness.
(d) Because God told them so.

9. Which century was Intuitionism first developed?
(a) Sixteenth.
(b) Seventeenth.
(c) Fifteenth.
(d) Eighteenth.

10. What is another name for the Original Position?
(a) The Waiting Room Argument.
(b) The Brain in the Vat Argument.
(c) The Man in the Barrel Argument.
(d) The First Argument.

11. What is the implicit assumption that the Social Contract theory makes?
(a) That everyone intrinsically knows right from wrong.
(b) That there is a God.
(c) That there is a scientific truth.
(d) That there is some form of agreement between Individual and government.

12. Who should hold the greatest advantage in Rawls’ ideal society?
(a) No one.
(b) The poor.
(c) The rich.
(d) The royals.

13. What is the essential problem of Intuitionism?
(a) It makes defending one’s country more difficult.
(b) Many philosophers don't agree with it.
(c) It doesn't support a healthy economy.
(d) Some people do not seem to act with a natural morality.

14. Whom of the following was a leading 'Intuitionist'?
(a) Socrates.
(b) J.S. Mill.
(c) John Locke.
(d) John Hurt.

15. What is the greatest criticism levelled against Utilitarianism?
(a) That majority views are ignored.
(b) It is not strong enough.
(c) It's not realistic.
(d) That minority views are ignored.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Utilitarian thinking not really understand the difference between persons?

2. What does Rawls accept about his own theory?

3. Who was the father of Utilitarianism?

4. What does Rawls claim about the Social Contract theory?

5. In the chapter “The Original Position,” what does Rawls say must be assumed about the person?

(see the answer keys)

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