Ethics Exam

Happiness

According to Aristotle, although humans appear to be busy with many different pursuits, all these pursuits are actually aimed at bringing oneself to one ultimate aim. What is that?

Whenever giving a certain gift seems to be the beautiful thing to do

According to Aristotle, having the disposition of generosity means being disposed to give a gift when?

And enjoying doing so

According to Aristotle, having the disposition of virtue means being disposed to perform virtuous acts and to what?

Dispositions

According to Aristotle, virtues and vices are kinds of what?

It is difficult to find the mean with regard to every virtue and every situation

According to Aristotle, why is it so difficult to be good?

Good rules and good attitudes

According to the lecture slides, Ethics is the study of what?

Traits and dispositions that arise by nature cannot be reversed by anything, not even by persistent training, but it's clear that virtues can be reversed

Aristotle implies that he has found a clue to the fact that virtue does not arise by nature. What is this clue?

Moral questions can be solved simply by contemplating about what human nature is and making inferences about ethics based on one's understanding of human nature

Aristotle is classified as a natural law theorist. The main claim of natural law theory is what?

False

Aristotle's ethics are classified as "Virtue ethics." Virtue ethics focuses on the question of what moral rules one should follow. True or false?

It gives one a clearer understanding of the ultimate good

But if all living beings already aim at the good by nature, what benefit comes from studying ethics?

True

Based on his observations of people in the world and the love of money, Aristotle concluded that people are more likely to become stingy than they are to become wasteful. True or false?

He thought it was human nature to reason and to engage in coherent discourse, and from this he inferred that the happy life must be the life of reasoning and communicating well

How did Aristotle's teleological view of nature influence his moral philosophy?

Excellence, Discipline, and Proficiency

In Ancient Greece, the word for "virtue" did not only mean "morality," but also what?

Understand that each virtue is a mean between two extremes

In order to better understand a certain virtue, Aristotle thinks that one must what?

Aim at the lesser of the two evils

Initially it is very difficult to hit the mean precisely, so Aristotle advices that we do what?

The mean between unthinking patriotism and disloyalty to your country

One thing you can learn from the story of Pat Tillman is that the virtue called "patriotism" does not mean "idolizing your country and thinking it's infallible," but rather should be thought of as what?

About good attitudes

Suppose you asked Aristotle, "Should ethics be about identifying good rules or good attitudes?" How would he probably answer?

About good rules

Suppose you asked Kant, "Should ethics be about identifying good rules or good attitudes?" How would he probably answer?

Temperance, Courage, Justice, and Wisdom

The Ancient Greeks thought there were four cardinal virtues. What were they?

It disposes one to give gifts in a wise way such that one does as much good as possible with the amount one can afford to spare

The disposition of generosity is a virtue when what?

That at which all things aim

The opening lines of Nicomachean Ethics give a very abstract definition of what "the good" is. The good is defined as...

Petty thieves, loan sharks, and gamblers

The word "stinginess" normally means being reluctant to spend and give. But sometimes it means going to excess in taking or acquiring things in a way one ought not. What are three examples of the latter kind of stinginess?

They both proclaim that a human finds happiness only if he lets his life be guided by the logos

There is a significant similarity between Aristotle's ethics and Christianity. What is it?

We are praised by our virtues, but we are neither praised nor blamed for our passions; Virtues involve choice; Passions are commonly said to "move" us, but virtues are said not to move us but to dispose us in certain ways

What are the three clues to the fact that virtues are not passions?

It primarily meant "end," but sometimes meant "goal" or "purpose."

What did the word telos mean in Ancient Greek?

Virtue ethics is concerned with what ideals one wants to follow and what kind of person one wants to be in everyday life

What does MacKinnon mean in saying that virtue ethics is "more personal" than most other moral philosophies?

He thought that each living thing is governed by an immanent principle of order which directs its energies toward its goal of developing into a mature form

What does it mean to say that Aristotle had a telelogical view of nature?

A life of being active in a virtuous way that involves the exercise of reason

What is Aristotle's definition of the happy life?

Courage is having wise and moral fortitude (steadfastness) in an unsettling situation

What is the best universal definition of courage?

Temperance is having moderation with regard to the seductive things in life (food, lust, etc.)

What is the best universal definition of temperance?

Logos

What was the word for "reason" in Ancient Greek?

It's a disposition that allows one to find joy in one's daily tasks, in one's job

Which of the following could woek as a good definition of virtue?

Consuming things is initially very exciting, but during serious activity one does a better job of conserving the excitement of life

Why is it sometimes more fun to be active rather than re-active? In other words, why is serious activity sometimes more fun than consuming things?

The discussion says that a squirrel flourishes when it can do the characteristic squirrel activities well. This helps to illustrate Aristotle's conception of happiness and his teleological view of nature.

Why is there a discussion of squirrels in Chapter 8?