Some acts stay wrong whatever they buy

Personal & Social Development · Ethics & Philosophy · ages 16-18

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Taking a stranger's wallet to fund your charity drive is wrong mainly because...?
- Charity drives are forbidden
- It raises too little money
- It uses them as a mere tool without consent
What comes first in duty ethics?
- Duty, even when a better result tempts you
- Results, since outcomes matter most
- Moods, since feelings matter most
Duty ethics lets you harm one innocent person whenever it saves ten.
Circle one: True False
Lying to one patient would fund care for ten. What does duty say?
- The lie stays forbidden whatever it buys
- Lie, since ten beats one
- Ask the ten patients to vote first
Why does consent matter so much in this view?
- It speeds decisions up
- It improves overall results
- Using someone without it treats them as an object
Truthfulness and protection collide at the door. How does the theory handle clashing duties?
- It flips a coin
- It ranks them and lets the stricter duty win
- It always picks the easier one
Critics say absolute strictness can freeze you when two duties shout at once. What do they mean?
- The theory needs a ranking it never quite delivers
- Duties never actually clash
- Freezing is always the right move
A student hides a friend's mistake from a teacher to protect the friend's team place. A duty thinker objects. Why?
- Teachers never forgive mistakes
- Teams matter more than truth
- Lying stays forbidden even when it protects someone

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

It uses them as a mere tool without consent · The owner never agreed to serve your cause. Using them anyway treats a person as equipment.
Duty, even when a better result tempts you · Outcomes sit second here. Obligation binds even when the price looks steep.
False · False. Forbidden stays forbidden whatever the trade buys. Numbers never override duty here.
The lie stays forbidden whatever it buys · This is the same hospital choice the results view answers with maths. Duty answers with a ban.
Using someone without it treats them as an object · Consent marks the line between dealing with a person and handling a thing.
It ranks them and lets the stricter duty win · Ranking is the standard move. It settles many collisions, though no ranking satisfies every critic.
The theory needs a ranking it never quite delivers · Without a convincing order, each duty vetoes the other and action stalls. That stall is the freeze.
Lying stays forbidden even when it protects someone · Protection is a real duty, but lying keeps its ban. Good motives cannot launder a forbidden act.