Test Bank Chapter.5 God and Morality - Exploring Ethics 6e | Test Bank Cahn by Steven M. Cahn. DOCX document preview.
to accompany
Exploring Ethics, Sixth Edition
Cahn
Chapter 5
God and Morality
Steven M. Cahn
[NOTE: Questions marked with “*” also appear in the student self quizzes on Learning Link.]
Multiple Choice
1. Cahn suggests that some might be made to feel insecure by the knowledge that the world had been planned by an all-good being because they would*
a. realize the extent to which their existence depended on the will of that being.
b. realize that it is immoral to eradicate germs, disease-bearing rats, and other natural sources of illness.
c. fear damnation.
d. All of the above
2. Cahn denies that one can base the wrongness of murder on God’s existence because
a. perhaps God gave us the potential to murder because murder is right.
b. some things potentially created by God, such as vermin and disease, are not wrong to kill.
c. death is part of life, so perhaps God’s gift of life implies a duty to kill.
d. All of the above
3. Cahn asserts that the moral prescriptions in holy books*
a. converge.
b. conflict.
c. reveal the will of God.
d. do not reveal the will of God.
4. Cahn notes that, if the good is whatever God commands, to say that God’s commands are good amounts to saying
a. God’s commands are God’s commands.
b. God’s commands are reasonable.
c. God’s commands reflect what is best for us.
d. None of the above
a. depends on belief in God.
b. is incompatible with belief in God.
c. is independent of belief in God.
d. is based in illusion.
6. On Cahn’s view, if God exists and something is wrong because that being says so,*
a. one is morally obligated to avoid doing it.
b. one should explore alternatives anyway.
c. there is no way to determine whether it is really wrong, after all.
d. anything, however apparently wrong, would be right by definition.
True or False
7. Cahn argues that proving God’s existence would prove the wrongness of harming God’s creation.*
a. True
b. False
8. Cahn describes the essence of his position as “might does not make right.”
a. True
b. False
9. To say that good is whatever God commands, Cahn argues, is to lose the possibility of meaningfully praising God’s goodness.*
a. True
b. False
10. According to Cahn, those who do not believe in the existence of God can be highly moral.
a. True
b. False
11. Euthyphro’s dilemma runs as follows: Is an action wrong because God says so, or does God say so because it is wrong?*
a. True
b. False
12. According to Cahn, God’s existence can serve as the foundation for moral philosophy, at least for those who believe in such a being.
a. True
b. False
Essay
13. Is it possible to be moral without believing in God? Why or why not?
14. Cahn argues that God’s existence would not matter morally. How does he defend this assertion? Do you find his argument compelling? Why or why not?
15. What is the dilemma that Socrates raises in the Euthyphro? Do you think this dilemma poses a damning problem for the divine command theorist? Explain your answer.