Study Questions for Final
How do A's views differ from both the moralists and the utilitarians?
• He does not say that morality is a thing of absolute worth, or that it is good because it is useful
What is a disposition and what role does this notion play in A's definition of virtue?
Disposition is a formation that results from the repeated practice of choosing well
What is the true meaning of character and how is this different from temperament?
o Character refers to shape of inner soul ♣ How does it develop? habituation ♣ NOT mechanical, characterizes positive freedom, acquired freedom/self rule ♣ Need to experience pleasure virtuously/appropriately
What are the fundamental differences between intellectual and moral virtues?
o Excellence of mind vs. excellence of character ♣ Excellence of mind is necessary for the highest excellence of character, but this does not make them have good character, need to engage in habit o Intellectual vs. moral virtues ♣ Without practical wisdom you cannot be morally virtuous ♣ Wants to achieve a union of these two aspects although it is extremely difficult
What are the virtues of magnanimity and universal justice according to A?
o Magnanimity/greatness of soul ♣ Complete virtue contains all other virtues ♣ All should seek a life that embodies this
Why does A think that eudaimonia is primarily an activity rather than a state or condition?
o Why is Eudaimonia an activity? ♣ We flourish when we engage in distinctive activities well ♣ Flourishing is activity
According to A, what are debates about justice really about?
• Arguments about justice and rights are often arguments about the purpose, or telos, of a social institution, which in turn reflect competing notions of the virtues the institution should honor and reward
What is the difference between working for an incentive and working to achieve the telos of an activity?
• Aristotle claims that in order to determine the just distribution of a good, we have to inquire into the telos, or purpose, of the good being distributed. • working for incentives is not the same as working for telos
What is the purpose of politics according to A and how does this differ from many modern approaches?
• Aristotle doesn't see it this way. For Aristotle, the purpose of politics is not to set up a framework of rights that is neutral among ends. It is to form good citizens and to cultivate good character.
How is the entire NE ethics a response to cultural relativism?
• Aristotle exhibits a lot of knowledge about cultural relativism • After acknowledging that what men call noble and just differs from place to place, Aristotle offers and entirely new way of thinking about ethics
What does the Miss Manners example reveal according to S?
• Aristotle's emphasis on habit does not mean he considers moral virtue a form of rote behavior. • Habit is the first step in moral education. • if all goes well, the habit eventually takes, and we come to see the point of it. • Miss Manners once bemoaned the lost habit of writing thank-you letters. o if you write enough thank-you letters, you may actually feel a flicker of gratitude." o That's how Aristotle conceives moral virtue. Being steeped in virtuous behavior helps us acquire the disposition to act virtuously.
How might A's ethics itself represent an act of friendship?
• Aristotle's ethics itself is an act of aristotelian friendship for the willing reader
How does this explain why that A's ethics is not a system of rules or commandments?
• Artistotle's ethics is not a system of rules and commandments, but rather about the unique grown-togetherness of heart and mind we call someones character
How does the example of the ballerina reveal this?
• As the ballerina both exploits and resists the downward pull of gravity to rise freely and gracefully above it, so the person of ethical virtue exploits and elevates the necessities of our embodied existence to act freely and gracefully
What are the 2 purposes any social practice?
• As this episode shows, social practices such as cheerleading have not only an instrumental purpose (cheering on the team) but also an honorific, or exemplary, purpose (celebrating certain excellences and virtues).
Why would A think that forms of association such as defense pacts and free trade agreements don't amount to genuine political communities?
• Because their ends are limited.
What is the best way to translate eudaimonia and why?
• Better to translate it as human flourishing, an enviable way of living and being, approaching blessedness • We flourish when we are experiencing activity, and we must engage in eudemon activities
What is the story of Callie Smart and what is the significance of this story?
• Callie Smartt was a popular freshman cheerleader at Andrews High School in West Texas. She had cerebral palsy but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm she inspired among the football players and fans by her spirited presence. At the end of the season, Callie was kicked off the squad
what are the two questions raised by her story?
• Callie's story raises two questions. o One is a question of fairness. ♣ One way of answering this question would be to invoke the principle of nondiscrimination: Provided she can perform well in the role, Callie should not be excluded from cheerleading simply because, through no fault of ♣ we have to decide what's essential to cheerleading, and what's merely incidental. o The second question raised by Callie's story is about resentment. ♣ What kind of resentment might motivate the head cheerleader's father? Why is he bothered by the presence of Callie on the squad? ♣ his resentment probably reflects a sense that Callie is being accorded an honor she doesn't deserve, in a way that mocks the pride he takes in his daughter's cheerleading prowess. ♣ If great cheerleading is something that can be done from a wheelchair, then the honor accorded those who excel at tumbles and splits is depreciated to some degree
According to A, what are the limitations of rule-following?
• Can know how to be the "perfect person" but still will not be this person simply because you know the rules • Need to actively engage in virtuous activities o it sometimes depends on rules and principles, but rules themselves can't do the job
What is the example of Casey Martin and how does it reveal a question of justice in a classic Aristotelian form?
• Casey Martin was a professional golfer with a bad leg. o Martin had always excelled at the sport. o Martin asked the PGA (Professional Golfers'Association) for permission to use a golf cart during tournaments. • The PGA turned him down, citing its rule prohibiting carts in top professional tournaments. Martin took his case to court. o He argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) required reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, provided the change did not "fundamentally alter the nature" of the activity. • the case raised a question of justice in classic Aristotelian form: In order to decide whether Martin had a right to a golf cart, the Court had to determine the essential nature of the activity in question. o the court had to determine the telos, or essential nature, of the game
According to S, what are the 2 ideas central to A's theory of justice?
• Central to Aristotle's political philosophy are two ideas, both present in the argument over Callie: o 1. Justice is teleological. Defining rights requires us to figure out the telos (the purpose, end, or essential nature) of the social practice in question. o 2. Justice is honorific. To reason about the telos of a practice—or to argue about it—is, at least in part, to reason or argue about what virtues it should honor and reward
1. What is the notion of acquired freedom and how does it differ from negative freedom?
• Character characterizes positive/acquired freedom • Freedom "from" acts as a freedom "for" o FROM enslavement FOR good life
How does A criticize both oligarchs and democrats?
• Each has a claim, he says, but only a partial claim. o The oligarchs maintain that they, the wealthy, should rule. o The democrats maintain that free birth should be the sole criterion of citizenship and political authority. o But both groups exaggerate their claims, because both misconstrue the purpose of political community. • Both sides overlook the highest end of political association, which for Aristotle is to cultivate the virtue of citizens.
What is the relation between the moral and the aesthetic according to K and A?
• Ethical turns out to be analogous with aesthetics beauty and virtue coincide
What does character ultimately refer to according to K?
• Ethical virtue means fine character o Moral virtues are states of soul and not only states of mind o Moral excellence is primarily a matter of heart o Character is not temperament
Why is it essential to live in a polis or political community in order to live a virtuous life?
• First, the laws of the polis inculcate good habits, form good character, and set us on the way to civic virtue. • Second, the life of the citizen enables us to exercise capacities for deliberation and practical wisdom that would otherwise lie dormant
What is the relationship between the 2 questions according to S and how might they be resolved?
• For Aristotle, justice means giving people what they deserve, giving each person his or her due. o His way of reasoning from the purpose of a good to the proper allocation of the good is an instance of teleological reasoning. (Teleological comes from the Greek word telos, which means purpose, end, or goal.) o Aristotle claims that in order to determine the just distribution of a good, we have to inquire into the telos, or purpose, of the good being distributed.
Why does A spend so much time discussing friendship in his ethical theory?
• Friendship o First, most of the people we call our friends are merely friends of utility or pleasure o The only true and lasting kind of friendship is based on virtue o Philosophical friendship of mutual learning
2) What is Aristotle's conception of virtue?
• Full and complete possession of a virtue is extremely hard to achieve o Most of us are somewhere in between • Virtues are habituated but not habits • Virtue is a mean between excess and deficiency • Person who is truly virtuous will feel pleasure by engaging in virtuous actions o Virtuous action chosen for its own sake • Virtue is stable, if you truly possess a virtue you will never act against it • excellences we need to thrive as human beings/succeed in our practices
what does the person of fine character seek to do and why?
• He seeks to display his own fineness in word and in deed, and seeks to show the harmony of his soul and the rightness of his choice in the doing of graceful and gracious deeds
Who would CS Lewis rather play cards against and why?
• He would rather play cards against someone who knows nothing of ethics but firmly believes a gentleman does not cheat
What is the Greek word for habit and what does this reveal about A's ethical theory?
• Hexis, meaning a having and a holding • It is an established disposition • Not something mechanical, it is an acquired freedom and self rule
According to A, who should the highest offices and honors ultimately go to?
• If Aristotle is right that the end of politics is the good life, it's easy to conclude that those who display the greatest civic virtue merit the highest offices and honors.
Why is moral excellence a matter of the heart?
• It is the state of our desires, the shape of our wishes, the direction of our intentions
Why did Justice Scalia disagree with the majority opinion and how does S criticize his dissent?
• Justice Antonin Scalia disagreed. o he rejected the notion that the Court could determine the essential nature of golf. o His point was not simply that judges lack the authority or competence to decide the question. o He challenged the Aristotelian premise underlying the Court's opinion—that it is possible to reason about the telos, or essential nature of a game
What were the experiences that led K to doubt his Enlightenment faith in human perfectibility?
• Kass goes to deep south and sees uneducated poor people with many virtues and compares it to the wealth, well-educated and privileged people at Harvard who are bad people without virtue • Can learn how to be perfect person on paper but no guarantee we will use it • Technological progress does not reflect moral progress
Why are the 4 reasons that we living in a democratic age might face special challenges in reading A?
• Living in democratic times, we have trouble forgiving Aristotle for not being a democrat • Living under a liberal regime, we bridle at the suggestion that ethics is a branch of politics • Thinking we know what ethics should look like, we are perplexed by aristotle's dialectical manner and his failure to offer foolproof arguments and moral declarations of right and wrong • Having embraced the new absolute of moral relativism, we will resist any suggestion that there is a better or worse answer on how to live well
What is the point of the story of Luke the wise custodian? How does it illustrate A's conception of practical wisdom?
• Luke the wise custodian o adapted his job to the situation at hand • do not just need deliberation but also moral perception o deliberation is just a means to an end • empathy is crucial o cognitive skill o emotional skill • emotion is critical to moral perception o serve as navigational guide
What characterizes modern theories of justice and how do they differ from A's approach?
• Modern theories of justice try to separate questions of fairness and rights from arguments about honor, virtue, and moral desert. • They seek principles of justice that are neutral among ends, and enable people to choose and pursue their ends for themselves. • Aristotle does not think justice can be neutral in this way. o He believes that debates about justice are, unavoidably, debates about honor, virtue, and the nature of the good life
How does A's account of happiness (eudaimonia) differ from utilitarian accounts?
• Moral excellence does not consist in aggregating pleasures and pains but in aligning them, so that we delight in noble things and take pain in base ones. • Happiness is not a state of mind but a way of being, "an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue • If moral virtue is something we learn by doing, we have somehow to develop the right habits in the first place. For Aristotle, this is the primary purpose of law—to cultivate the habits that lead to good character. o Habit is the first step in moral education. o the habit eventually takes, and we come to see the point of it. o Being steeped in virtuous behavior helps us acquire the disposition to act virtuously • only general thing that can be said about moral virtue is that it consists of a mean between extremes. • Practical wisdom is a moral virtue with political implications. o People with practical wisdom can deliberate well about what is good, not only for themselves but for their fellow citizens, and for human beings in general. o Deliberation is not philosophizing, because it attends to what is changeable and particular. ♣ It is oriented to action in the here and now ♣ it is more than calculation ♣ It seeks to identify the highest human good attainable under the circumstances
According to K, what are the two major insights that A's conception of friendship offers us?
• Most of the people we call our friends are merely friends of utility or pleasure • Most durable/rewarding friendship is that of mutual learning
How do we learn to be practically wise?
• Must engage in activity • Habituated, but not a habit
Why might it be the case that no one takes up Kass's invitation to drop the course?
• Nobody wants to admit they are unexperienced/unintelligent and don't have a longing for the noble and good
How is A's vision of citizenship more elevated and strenuous than ours?
• Not everyone was included in the citizenship Aristotle celebrated. o Women were ineligible, as were slaves. o their natures did not suit them to be citizens o now see such exclusion as an obvious injustice. o For slavery to be just, according to Aristotle, two conditions must be met: it must be necessary, and it must be natural.
what are the two connected aspects of the noble?
• One inner and one outer o Inwardly, there is a freedom from enslavement o Outwardly, this inner freedom from permits an active freedom for to act in a seemly and gracious manner
according to K, what is our highest and most pressing duty?
• We have no higher duty than to remind ourselves and our students of political greatness, human greatness, of the peaks of human excellence
What question do we need to answer before we can meaningfully talk about the distribution of political rights and authority?
• we have to inquire into the purpose, or telos, of politics. We have to ask, "What is political association for?"
Why does A think that participating in politics is somehow essential to living a good life?
• Only by living in a polis and participating in politics do we fully realize our nature as human beings. o Aristotle sees us as beings "meant for political association, in a higher degree than bees or other gregarious animals." o Only in political association can we exercise our distinctly human capacity for language, for only in a polis do we deliberate with others about justice and injustice and the nature of the good life o we only fulfill our nature when we exercise our faculty of language, which requires in turn that we deliberate with others about right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice
Why is A's ethics not about virtue for its own sake?
• Overarching concern of Aristotle's ethics is not about virtue for its own sake but rather human happiness and human flourishing o A good we seek only for its own sake. Not as an instrument to some further end o The good for whose sake we ultimately do everything else we do
Why is character different than our conception of personality?
• Personality is a term we use to describe the non intellectual aspects of the people we meet, the mask to the world by which we are identified o Surface and appearance
How does A's ethical theory conceive of pleasure? What are not only the mistakes present in the hedonist account but also the truths?
• Pleasure o Pleasure is not bad, it is good and integral to happiness ♣ But alone it is not happiness o Pleasure follows in the wake of the activity and lights it up into consciousness ♣ Without the activity there is no happiness
What is the relation between practical wisdom and skill?
• Practical wisdom is a moral skill that enables us to discern how to treat people in our every day social activities • Skills and virtues are stable features of a person and both enable a person to do certain sorts of things • Ability to frame situations well and tell good stories are critical to the practice of moral skill
What is Aristotle's conception of practical wisdom?
• Practical wisdom is a state grasping the truth, involving reason, concerned with action about things that are good or bad for human beings • Master excellence/virtue= practical wisdom • Practical wisdom is a moral skill that enables us to discern how to treat people in our every day social activities
What are the primary differences between a rule based and virtue based form of ethics?
• Rules are never enough • Need to temper rules with wisdom and virtue
How does this differ from the views of the Sophists?
• Sophists believe that you can make people good by speeches and reasoning
What is Aristotle's conception of telos?
• Telos= purpose or aim of an activity o end of practice o need to understand telos and allow it to shape you
Why might it be the case that many beginning students struggle with reading A's ethics?
• The book is not for the young and inexperienced o Need to have a longing for the noble and good
Why does practical wisdom require more than just knowledge of the "facts?"
• The capacity of the soul which judges correctly the best action to perform in a given set of circumstances successful exercise of thought concerned with action
According to Leo Strauss, what does the death of Churchill reveal and why?
• The death of Churchill reminds us of the limitations of our craft, and therewith our duty
What are the three kinds of lives that people associate with eudaimonia and how does A critique each one?
• The many live as if happiness were having fun and amusing oneself • The refined and ambitious live as if happiness were honor and recognition • Some rare people live as if happiness consists in learning, seeking wisdom, and philosophizing
1. What is the good or use of noble character according to A?
• The noble o Aristotle knows that ethical virtue is useful but never talks about its utility o Aristotle repeatedly says that the ethically virtuous man acts for the sake of the noble o Both an inner and an outer aspect to the noble o Virtues of nobilitiy= courage, moderation, liberality, magnificence, greatness of soul, ambition, gentleness, friendliness, truthfulness, and wit
What is the general thing we can say about moral virtue according to A but also why does this not take us very far?
• The only general thing that can be said about moral virtue, Aristotle tells us, is that it consists of a mean between extremes. • concedes that this generality doesn't get us very far, because discerning the mean in any given situation is not easy
How does fine character develop?
• The power of choice is perfected by habituation in choosing well
What is the significance of the story of Dr Jerome Lowenstein and how does it illustrate an important aspect of practical wisdom?
• Though hesitant to agree to his patients wife's wishes, he eventually complied in order to protect his cancerous patient from sad news
How is ethics primarily conceived of today and how does A's view differ?
• Today, ethics is a theoretical subject, whose conclusions one is then supposed to apply to practice • A says character only comes through the gradual process of forming one's power to choose into a firm disposition
How is practical wisdom distinct from scientific wisdom?
• Unlike scientific knowledge, which concerns "things that are universal and necessary," practical wisdom is about how to act. o It must "recognize the particulars; for it is practical, and practice is concerned with particulars." o Aristotle defines practical wisdom as "a reasoned and true state of capacity to act with regard to the human good."
1. What characterizes a virtuous habit and how does this relate to the question of freedom?
• Virtuous habit is not something externally imposed and enslaving, but an acquired freedom • It is a self-acquired self rule, in the absence of which we are slaves to the passions and undisciplined impulses that overtake us
What is the point of the flute example and what does it reveal about A's theory of justice?
• We are distributing flutes. Who should get the best ones? o Aristotle's answer: the best flute players. Justice discriminates according to merit, according to the relevant excellence. And in the case of flute playing, the relevant merit is the ability to play well.
How do we primarily talk about distributive justice today? How does A's approach differ?
• When we discuss distributive justice these days, we are concerned mainly with the distribution of income, wealth, and opportunities. • For Aristotle, distributive justice was not mainly about money but about offices and honors. Who should have the right to rule? How should political authority be distributed?
How do we become virtuous according to A and how is this similar to learning to play a musical instrument or cooking?
• You have to practice. • "we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts." • If moral virtue is something we learn by doing, we have somehow to develop the right habits in the first place.
According to S, how do debates about affirmative action bear out A's point?
• debate over affirmative action can be recast in terms that echo Aristotle's account of flutes. • "What is the purpose, or telos, of a university?" • the telos is not obvious but contestable. o Some say universities are for the sake of promoting scholarly excellence, and that academic promise should be the sole criterion of admission. o Others say universities also exist to serve certain civic purposes, and that the ability to become a leader in a diverse society should be among the criteria of admission. Sorting out the telos of a university seems essential to determining the proper criteria of admission. • Those who believe that universities exist to celebrate and reward scholarly excellence alone are likely to reject affirmative action, whereas those who believe universities also exist to promote certain civic ideals may well embrace it. o Arguments about justice and rights are often arguments about the purpose, or telos, of a social institution, which in turn reflect competing notions of the virtues the institution should honor and reward.
Based on this account, what are debates about justice and rights often unavoidably about?
• debates about justice are, unavoidably, debates about honor, virtue, and the nature of the good life.
Why is emotion critical to moral perception?
• emotion is critical to moral perception o serve as navigational guide • a goal of practical wisdom is to make emotion an ally of reason • We can train ourselves to use our emotions as affective knowledge
According to A, why is empathy critical for practical wisdom?
• empathy is crucial o cognitive skill o emotional skill • Perception allows us to understand the uniqueness of a particular situation • empathy is extremely necessary, but too much empathy can also have a dark side o can cloud judgement and paralyze choice
Why can't good habits be the whole of moral virtue? What would still be missing?
• habit, however essential, can't be the whole of moral virtue. • New situations always arise, and we need to know which habit is appropriate under the circumstances. Moral virtue therefore requires requires judgment, a kind of knowledge Aristotle calls "practical wisdom.
Why does A think that acting according to a precept or rule is a flawed picture of the moral life?
• it is common to think that acting morally means acting according to a precept or a rule. • Aristotle thinks this misses a distinctive feature of moral virtue. o You could be equipped with the right rule and still not know how or when to apply it. o Moral education is about learning to discern the particular features of situations that call for this rule rather than that one
How is justice a matter of fit for A?
• justice is a matter of fit. • To allocate rights is to look for the telos of social institutions, and to fit persons to the roles that suit them, the roles that enable them to realize their nature. • Giving persons their due means giving them the offices and honors they deserve and the social roles that accord with their nature.
What is A's conception of the mean and how does it serve as a kind of balance?
• only general thing that can be said about moral virtue is that it consists of a mean between extremes. • Virtue is a mean between excess and deficiency • Virtue then is a state that issues in decisions, consisting in a mean, the mean relative to us, which is defined by reference to reason, that is to say, the reason by reference to which the practically wise person would define it. It is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency • define human virtue as a disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess
What is the analogy between moral wisdom and jazz music?
• practical wisdom is sort of like a moral jazz o it sometimes depends on rules and principles, but rules themselves can't do the job • need to temper "rules talk" with "wisdom talk"
What is the relation between practical wisdom and the other virtues?
• practical wisdom= ultimate virtue • all other virtues aim toward practical wisdom
How does the English common law system embody the flexibility of practical wisdom?
• the English common law system built in this flexibility o liability in criminal cases generally required proof of blameworthiness o intent and motives matter o however important laws and rules are, they need interpretation
What is the most remarkable thing feature about A's ethical teaching according to K?
• the ethically virtuous man acts for the sake of the noble • Neither a moralist nor a utilitarian o He does not say morality is good because it is useful, he never talks about its utility
According to S, why is the principle of nondiscrimination not much help here?
• the nondiscrimination principle isn't much help, because it begs the question at the heart of the controversy: What does it mean to perform well in the role of cheerleader?
What is the primary purpose of law according to A and how does this relate to his account of moral virtue?
• to cultivate the habits that lead to good character
How does the example of Simon the lawyer illustrate the importance of specificity for practical wisdom and good judgment?
• to provide good advice, Lawyer Simon needed a lot of practical knowledge about the specifics of the situation o such wisdom is needed by almost anyone who works on another's behalf
How can too much empathy cloud judgment or paralyze choice and what is the proper balance?
• too much empathy can also have a dark side o can cloud judgement and paralyze choice
Why are modern moral theories uneasy with the notion of fit?
• worry that teleological conceptions are at odds with freedom. • justice is not about fit but about choice. • To allocate rights is not to fit people to roles that suit their nature; it is to let people choose their roles for themselves
What is the example of the tennis courts and what does it reveal about teleological reasoning?
• you have to decide how to allocate use of the best tennis courts on a college campus. o suppose two renowned scientists were playing a rather indifferent tennis game, barely getting the ball over the net, and the varsity tennis team came along, wanting to use the court. o Wouldn't you say that the scientists should move to a lesser court so that the varsity players could use the best one? o And wouldn't your reason be that excellent tennis players can make the best use of the best courts, which are wasted on mediocre players?
