Quiz: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

All 30 questions. A perfect score earns the gold medal; 80% earns silver.

1. 1. What does Kant call the hatred of reason found among those most experienced in its use?

   Enthusiasm Misanthropy Misology Scepticism
2. 2. Why, according to Kant, can the imperatives of prudence not strictly command?

   Happiness is forbidden to us altogether by the moral law Happiness is an ideal of imagination, not of reason Prudence concerns only the welfare of other people, not our own Happiness can be calculated exactly by summing pleasures and pains
3. 3. Which of these does Kant say has a market value?

   Benevolence from principle Skill and diligence in labour Fidelity to promises Humanity as capable of morality
4. 4. What does Kant call the principle that a person is bound only by laws of his own giving?

   Liberty of indifference Heteronomy of the will The principle of perfection Autonomy of the will
5. 5. In the concluding remark, what does Kant say we do comprehend about the moral imperative?

   Its incomprehensibility Its origin in the will of God Its derivation from happiness Its proof from experience
6. 6. In the example of neglected talents, who does Kant say let their talents rust?

   The South Sea islanders The Spartans The subjects of the Turks The ancient Romans
7. 7. Who, according to Kant, would take over the ground if philosophy left the contradiction between freedom and necessity untouched?

   The sceptic The theologian The empiricist The fatalist
8. 8. How does Kant read the Scripture command to love our neighbour, even our enemy?

   As a counsel of prudence for living peaceably among one’s neighbours As commanding practical beneficence from duty, not a feeling As commanding a warm emotional affection for every human being As applying only to fellow believers, never to strangers or enemies
9. 9. What does Kant say even the most consummate villain wishes when shown examples of honesty and benevolence?

   That he might also possess these qualities To see them punished as foolish To imitate them outwardly for advantage To mock those who show them
10. 10. According to the opening of Section I, what alone can be called good without qualification?

    Happiness A good will Courage Intelligence
11. 11. Why can the maxim of a lying promise not be willed as a universal law?

    The state would punish everyone who was found to have lied God has forbidden it in Scripture It would always make the liar unhappy Under such a law there would be no promises at all
12. 12. Whose method does Kant invoke for directing ordinary people’s attention to the principle they already use?

    Plato’s Cicero’s Aristotle’s Socrates’
13. 13. What does Kant say about the precept “Thou shalt not lie”?

    It holds only among Christians who accept the authority of Scripture It holds for all rational beings, not only for human beings It is a rule of prudence drawn from long experience of social life It admits exceptions in cases of genuine distress or great danger
14. 14. To what does Kant compare a good will that achieves nothing?

    A jewel that shines by its own light A coin of true metal A seed that waits patiently for the spring A lamp that keeps burning without any oil
15. 15. How does Kant describe his first definition of freedom, as independence from foreign causes?

    Positive, and full of content Empirical, drawn from experience Self-contradictory Negative, and unfruitful for discovering its essence
16. 16. In the kingdom of ends, what has dignity rather than value?

    Whatever meets the general wants and needs of all mankind What is above all value and admits no equivalent Skill and diligence in labour Whatever pleases a certain taste
17. 17. What does Kant conclude about a free will and a will subject to moral laws?

    The second is a contradiction They are opposites They are one and the same Only God has the first
18. 18. What name does Kant give to the empirical part of ethics?

    Empirical psychology Moral sense Practical anthropology Natural theology
19. 19. Complete Kant’s formula: “Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time…”

    win the approval of others will that it should become a universal law obey the will of God promote the greatest happiness
20. 20. With what must even the Holy One of the Gospels first be compared before we recognise Him as good?

    Our ideal of moral perfection The law of Moses The teaching of the Church The examples of the saints
21. 21. What problem does Kant admit in reasoning from freedom to the moral law and back?

    A paralogism A sort of circle An antinomy of pure reason A contradiction in the will
22. 22. What does Kant say holds even if there has never been a sincere friend?

    Pure sincerity in friendship is still required of every man Duties of friendship lapse Friendship is a mere chimera, and so imposes no duties on anyone Sincerity is only a counsel of prudence, binding on the wise alone
23. 23. Whose “general practical philosophy” does Kant say is not the metaphysic of morals he demands?

    Garve’s Hutcheson’s Wolf’s Hume’s
24. 24. Why does Kant say moral feeling cannot supply a standard of good and evil?

    Feelings are forbidden by Scripture Feelings are always selfish Feelings cannot be observed by others, and so prove nothing at all Feelings differ infinitely in degree from person to person
25. 25. Why does the prudent tradesman keep a fixed price for everyone?

    Because he loves his customers Because duty commands it Because the law of the land forbids overcharging Because his own advantage requires it
26. 26. When does the philanthropist’s beneficent action first have genuine moral worth?

    When helping others gives him a lasting inner joy and contentment When he acts without any inclination, simply from duty When his kindness is publicly praised When his sympathy for others is at its warmest and strongest
27. 27. In Kant’s second example, what is the man in need of money tempted to do?

    Promise to repay a loan he knows he cannot repay Steal from a neighbour Beg in the streets Gamble his remaining property
28. 28. How does the practical imperative command us to treat humanity?

    As a means to the greatest happiness of the greatest number As God’s property Always as an end, never as a means only According to each person’s rank and station in society
29. 29. Into which three sciences does Kant say ancient Greek philosophy was divided?

    Physics, ethics and logic Mathematics, physics and theology Logic, aesthetics and ethics Metaphysics, politics and rhetoric
30. 30. Whose precepts does Kant say are of equal value as imperatives of skill?

    The merchant’s and the thief’s The general’s and the surgeon’s The judge’s and the executioner’s The physician’s and the poisoner’s