Homework 7 (Due 6/29 by 5:00 PM)

Note: HW 6 was never posted, and, since the material has already been covered, I just went ahead to HW 7. Don't worry, there are plenty of points available to get the grade you want.

Part 1
1. Can you be morally required to do something which is impossible? Why?
2. Who has the authority to decide how a piece of property will be used? Why?
3. Who has the authority to set the rules for a pet? Why?
4. Who has the authority to set the rules for a child? Why?
5. Who has the authority to set the rules for adults? Why?
6. Can there be moral rules without reference to God? Why?
7. Can it ever be morally right to try to do something which will fail? Give an example.
8. Can it ever be morally right to do something which will cause people pain? Give an example.
9. What is the difference between a moral temptation and a genuine moral dilemma?
10. Describe how you solved the last major ethical decision you made.
11. When you don’t know what to do on your own, how do you decide?
12. Why do we read and study the lives/biographies of great men and women of history?
13. Are good intentions more or less important than good results? Why?

Part 2
Please answer the following questions in the order given, one at a time, without reading ahead. Rank your agreement with the statement on a 1-5 scale:
1 = Disagree strongly 2 = Disagree somewhat 3 = Neutral 4 = Agree Somewhat 5 = Agree strongly
Then answer the “why?” portion in your own words. Keep your answers short and try to go with your first response. As before, the actual answer you give is not so important. The important thing is to think of where you get your answer. Try to be honest. Don’t try so much to defend your answers as to simply assess where your answers come from in your own thinking. Also consider how strongly you hold each of your answers. I want you to think about the implications of the questions and also of your answers, all the while looking for patterns and structure.
1. It is wrong for you to kill an innocent person. Why?
2. It is wrong for you to have slaves. Why?
3. It is wrong for you to walk around naked in public. Why?
4. It is wrong for you to use LSD. Why?
5. It is wrong for you to worship an idol. Why?
6. It is wrong for you to impose the beliefs you accept on someone else. Why?
7. It is wrong to teach your children to have your beliefs. Why?
8. It was wrong for the United States to bomb on Hiroshima, killing thousands of innocent people. Why?
9. It is wrong for the Sudanese to own slaves. Why?
10. It is wrong for women living in the Amazon jungle to walk around without covering their breasts. Why?
11. It is wrong for American Indians to use hallucinogens which are otherwise illegal in the U.S. Why?
12. It is wrong for a pagan to worship the statue of a god. Why?
13. It is wrong for public school teachers to force children to learn the facts they choose to teach. Why? It is wrong for a Satan-worshiper to teach his child to cast spells and sacrifice animals. Why?