The following exam question is written by OCR:
(a) Explain why some people believe that there are no moral absolutes. [33]
(b) ‘Issues of genetic engineering need absolute rules; there can be no individual circumstances which allow exceptions to be made.’ Discuss. [17]
This AS question came up in June 2006:
(a) Describe the main strengths and weaknesses of Utilitarianism. [33]
(b) ‘Utilitarianism is a good approach to genetic engineering.’ Discuss. [17]
This AS question is from January 2007:
(a) Explain how a follower of Natural Law might respond to issues raised by genetic engineering. [33]
(b) ‘Genetic engineering is “playing God”.’ Discuss. [17]
(taken from the OCR website)
From the same website, the following is an A2 question (it is possible, but uncommon, to take Religious Ethics 2 for AS and Religious Ethics 1 for A2). The style of question is more challenging, but well worth having a go at for AS students:
How useful is a Utilitarian approach to issues of genetic engineering? [45]
The following A2 question was from the Ethics 2 paper. Questions at A2 can cover any of the issues in AS or A2, as this question from June 2007 shows:
'Absolutist ethics prevent progress in genetic engineering.' Discuss. [45]
We now have an interactive diagram showing how to answer an ethics exam question, The 'structure' of the paragraph will be different for 'ethical theory' questions, but the basic principles are the same. Try filling it in yourself and print out the completed diagram.
