UNIT 2 CH 17 The Nature of Virtue, Aristotle

Eudaimonia

A life well lived. Human flourishing. A life of Eudaimonia is a life of striving. Its a life of pushing yourself to your limits and finding success. A Eudaimonistic life will be full of the happiness that comes from achieving something really difficult, rather than just having it handed to you.

Happiness

According to Aristotle, an activity of the soul exhibiting moral and intellectual virtue over the course of a complete life.

character

Aristotle said your character is developed through habituation - if you do a virtuous thing over and over again, eventually it will become part of your character.

What exactly does it mean to be virtuous?

Having virtue just means doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, in the right amount, toward the right people. There's no need to be specific, because if you're virtuous, you know what to do. All the time. You know how to handle yourself and how to get along with others. You have good judgement, you can read a room and you know what's right and when. Virtue is between two extremes. Its the right amount - the golden mean.

Mean

In Aristotle, the virtuous intermediate state between the two extremes of excess and defect in passions (feelings) and actions.

Honesty

It also mean knowing how to deliver hard truths gracefully. how to break bad news gently or to offer criticism in a way that's constructive, rather than soul-crushing.

Courage

Person being mugged. Evaluate the situation to determine if helping physically or called for help would be the best resolution. Courage is the golden mean between cowardice and recklessness. Define: A courageous person will assess the situation theyll know their own abilities and theyll take action that is right in the particular situation. Courage is finding the right way to act.

Virtue is a skill, a way of living, and that's something that can only really be learned through experience

Practical wisdom

Virtue

Synonymous with "excellence" in Aristotle; comes in two forms in humans: intellectual virtue, which is acquired by birth and teaching, and moral virtue, which comes about by habituation.

Characteristic function

That function the performance of which defines a being as the kind of being it is; humans' characteristic function is an activity of soul involving reason.

Proper Functioning

The same goes for humans- we're animals - so all the stuff that would indicate proper functions for an animal holds true for us as well - we need to grow and be healthy and fertile. We're also "the rational animal" and a social animal, so our function also involves using reason and getting along with our pack.

In what sense is moral virtue a "mean" according to Aristotle? a. It occupies the middle ground between excessive and deficient possibilities of feeling and acting. b. It corresponds to what the average person ought to do in any given situation. c. It corresponds to what ordinary common sense recommends in any given situation. d. It is not incompatible with moderate amounts of vice.

a. It occupies the middle ground between excessive and deficient possibilities of feeling and acting..

Aristotle thinks that certain passions and actions are inherently wrong. a. True b. False

a. True

In Aristotle's view, for a thing to perform its function well is to achieve what is good for it. a. True b. False

a. True.

The person who performs a just act is not necessarily a just person. a. True b. False

a. True.

For Aristotle, happiness and long-term pleasure are essentially the same. a. True b. False

b. False.

Human beings have no particular function according to Aristotle. a. True b. False

b. False.

What does Aristotle identify as the chief good? a. virtue b. happiness c. pleasure d. knowledge

b. happiness.

Aristotle claims that the function of human life is a. survival and reproduction. b. service to the gods. c. rational activity. d. to pursue pleasure.

c. rational activity..

How does moral virtue arise? a. as a result of the soul's natural development b. as a result of careful study c. through habituation d. through divine grace

c. through habituation.

Virtue Theory

ethical theory that emphasizes an individual's character rather than following a set of rules If we can just focus on being good people, the right actions will follow, effortlessly

Generous

giving to have money when someone needs it. Golden mean depends on the situation.