Mister Poll: moral philosophy questions

Do you agree with the following principle? "Always act in order to maximize the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people."

Yes

No

Unsure

Is it ever permissible to lie?

Yes, lying is not wrong

Yes, but you have to have a pretty good reason

Yes, but only rarely for very grave reasons

No, never

Not sure

Are there fundamental inalienable human rights?

Yes

No

Not Sure

What is the foundation for human rights?

Revelation from God

Dignity of human being

Natural interests of human beings

Rational self interest

Societal contract/convention

None, there are no human rights

Not sure/other

Do you agree with the following statement? "Always act so that you treat others as ends in themselves and not only as means for your own projects."

Yes, absolutely

Yes, for the most part

No

Not Sure

Are moral principles objective and universal for all people?

Yes

No

Not Sure/Other

Which element is most important for considering the morality of an act?

Intent

Means

Consequences

All of them are equally important

Not Sure/Other

Consider the following situation: You discover that your boss is embezzling money from the company and your boss is aware of your knowledge. Your boss indicates to you that if you tell anyone at all of his activity, he will have your family killed. You know that your boss is capable of carrying it out and would in all likelihood, succeed. Are you obligated to report your boss anyway?

Yes

Yes, but when it is prudent to do so

No moral obligation under the circumstances

Not sure

What is the primary end for which human beings should act?

God's glory

Personal happiness

Good of the species as a whole

Any freely chosen personal end

There is no primary end of human action

Other/Not Sure

Of the following, which is the highest good?

Assume that the following are rights. Which of these rights is the most fundamental?

life

liberty

property

privacy

Assuming that these are rights, which is the least fundamental?

life

liberty

property

privacy

To which person or institution is one primarily obligated over the others?

God

Self

Nation

Family

Species

Planet

No primary obligation to anyone or anything

Not sure

Primarily, why is drunkenness morally wrong?

Because God commanded it

Because drunkenness is damaging to human nature

The Overall longterm pain outweighs pleasure

Because society thinks its wrong

Drunkness is not morally wrong

Not sure/Other

What is the origin of moral principles?

The commands of God

Human reason determining the natural goods for man

Human reason self-legislating universal law

Human reason calculating consequences

Emotions, impulses, and nonrational preferences

biological determination, evolution

Societal norms and customs

Resentment

Not sure/Other

If it were true that all moral principles were culturally relative and no one set of principles were better than any other, would that mean that there would be no moral basis for criticizing one's own society?

Yes

No

Not Sure

Would it be permissible to commit infanticide if one could determine that the infant would experience much greater total pain in life than pleasure?

Yes

No

Not Sure

If God commanded you to kill your son, would you do it?

Yes

No

Not Sure

Was Abraham morally justified in offering Isaac as a sacrifice to God

Yes, God determines what's moral and what isn't

No, we cannot break the moral law period

Not Sure

Is it the case that something is good because God commands it or is it that God commands things because they are good?

Something is good because God commands it.

God commands things because they are good.

Not sure

Can God determine the rules of morality in any fashion? For example changing the rules to make murder and theft moral acts and generosity and charity sins?

Yes, God can will anything he wants.

No, God cannot will anything against his nature

Not sure

What is the primary purpose of government?

To protect individual rights and liberties

To promote justice and the common good of all

To serve itself by maximizing its power

To enforce the will of the majority

None/Other/Not sure

Which is the best definition of justice?

the strong rule the weak

Each one minds his own business

All people are equal in every aspect

Each person receives an equal amount of wealth

All rights are respected and all goods available

The good is promoted and evil is punished

All persons get what is their due

None/Other

Not sure

A soldier deserts his squad in the heat of battle out of fear and retreats to safety until the battle is over. How would you characterize this person?

Courageous

Coward

Prudent

Rational

Not sure

Which of the following do you think is the most true?

Reason rules the will and guides it

Reason is the slave of the passions

Not Sure

Neither

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