rsrevision.com/ethical theory

Exam practice

There are various types of questions you may get asked:

• You may get asked to explain Bentham's Hedonic Calculus or Mill's Utilitarianism
• You may be required to evaluate the theory or compare it to another theory.
• You may be asked to apply Utilitarianism to one of the issues studied.

Have a look at 'Evaluating the Theories' and TICKETs (pdfs), as well as each of the ethical theories on War (AS) and the Environment (A2).

The exams changed from 2009 (AS) and 2010 (A2).

This question was from the January 2009 AS Ethics paper:

1. Explain how Bentham’s version of Utilitarianism can be used to decide on the right course of action.

2. ‘Utilitarianism is the best approach to euthanasia.’ Discuss.

This question was from the OCR Website :

1. Explain the main strengths of a Utilitarian ethical system.

2. Assess the extent to which Utilitarianism is a useful method of making decisions about abortion.

The following are AS exam questions written by OCR:

(a) Describe and explain the main principles of Utilitarianism. [33]

(b) ‘Utilitarianism has nothing at all in common with religious ethics’.  Discuss. [17]  

(a) Explain a Utilitarian approach to issues raised by fertility treatment. [33]

(b) ‘A Utilitarian approach to issues raised by fertility treatment leads to wrong moral choices.’ [17]

(a) Explain the main differences between Act and Rule Utilitarianism. [33]

(b) To what extent is Utilitarianism a useful method of making decisions about euthanasia? [17]

This A2 exam question is from June 2006:

'Utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental issues.' Discuss. [45]

This question is from June 2005:

Compare and contrast Utilitarianism with the ethics of the religion you have studied. [45]

(taken from the OCR website)

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.