Deck 15: The Good Life

Question 1

What is the good life for you? Write a dialogue between yourself and Aristotle. What is happiness for you? How does your position affect your professional life?

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Is greed a vice? Or can greed be good? Write a short defense of greed. Now offer an attack on your own position.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Why does integrity matter?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Explain why it might be good to be idle. What do Russell and Aristotle say on this topic?

Question 5

What are good reasons for philanthropy? List ten.

Question 6

Explain the importance of pleasure to the good life for Epicurus. How important is pleasure to you? Nietzsche once suggested that understanding one's purpose in life was more important than being happy. What would Epicurus say? Do you agree or disagree?

Question 7

Think of a job you had that you considered meaningful. What made it meaningful?

Question 8

Joanne Ciulla writes that "Organizations do not have a moral obligation to provide meaningful work; however, they do have an obligation to provide work and compensation that leaves employees with energy, autonomy, will, and income to pursue meaning at work and a meaningful life outside of work." What is the difference between these obligations? On Ciulla's understanding of meaningful work, is it even possible to have an obligation to provide meaningful work? Why or why not?

Question 9

Make a list of ten virtues you think a person should have. How does your chosen profession depend on this list? Will your profession interfere with cultivating your list of virtues or support it?

Question 10

Explain Aristotle's understanding of the good life. Does it agree with your own view? With a Judeo-Christian view? What appeals to you about Aristotle's understanding of the good life, and where do you think he went wrong?

Question 11

Answer all twelve questions posed by Solomon on pages 88-89. Now ask yourself: Does this list change your career plans? Are you really striving to be what you believe you ought to be

Question 12

Robert Solomon brings up the interesting fact that the essential factors of the good life seem to be rather __________ over time.

A) different
B) pleasurable
C) mysterious
D) constant
E) insignificant

Question 13

Career planning and life planning should not be:

A) Treated as the same thing
B) Considered at the same time
C) Considered apart from one another
D) Activities that interfere with one another
E) About hobbies, one's hobbies

Question 14

Which of these is NOT one of Robert Solomon's questions regarding planning for the good life?

A) How important is spare time to you?
B) What do you most enjoy doing?
C) How do you see your ideal self in terms of character?
D) What do you consider the most important things in life?
E) What are your financial obligations such as bills and loan payments?

Question 15

For Aristotle, little of what was essential for living a good life?

A) Pleasure
B) Happiness
C) Virtue
D) Greed
E) Money

Question 16

According to Aristotle, the function of a man:

A) Is a spiritual and emotional endeavor
B) Follows from a rational principle
C) Is to become content with his natural inclinations
D) Is to discover the meaning of life
E) Is to accrue an agreeable amount of wealth

Question 17

Aristotle says that happiness is the same as:

A) Self-delusion
B) Pleasure
C) Wealth
D) Honor
E) None of these

Question 18

Adam Smith's opinion of capitalism is that:

A) Anyone can become wealthy if he or she is industrious and frugal.
B) It is unfair that some people get extravagant luxury while others live simply.
C) Poor people would be better off in a noncapitalist system.
D) Even poor people under capitalism are better off than anyone in noncapitalist countries.
E) It is the only option, since communism was tried and it failed.

Question 19

In Aesop's story about the ant and the bee, the conclusion is that:

A) The ant is better, because it works hard and is self-reliant.
B) The bee is better, because it creates a product that the world can share.
C) The ant is better, because it works cooperatively with other ants.
D) The bee is better, because it has a stinger and defends the hive.
E) The ant and the bee are both inferior to the cicada, which sings pleasantly.

Question 20

Working like the ant, for Ciulla, would be:

A) Working in a team
B) Working mindlessly
C) Valuing security and planning for the future
D) Valuing pleasure and the present moment
E) Valuing the greater good more than one's own self-interest

Question 21

Working like the grasshopper, for Ciulla, would be:

A) Valuing pleasure and the present moment
B) Valuing work for its own sake
C) Valuing security and being frugal
D) Working for your own self-interest
E) Creating a product that the world can share

Question 22

In a discussion of worthy work, William Morris separates two kinds of work. These are:

A) Work with high or low pay
B) Interesting or boring work
C) Manly jobs or babysitting jobs
D) Work with or without hope
E) Work with or without respect

Question 23

Epicurus thought that some desires are natural and others are:

A) Transcendentally moral
B) Simply vain
C) Needed to stay alive
D) For pleasure
E) To cause evil

Question 24

Freedom from "pain in the body and trouble in the mind" is what Epicurus means by:

A) Virtuous living
B) Freedom from evil
C) Pleasure
D) Philosophy
E) Death

Question 25

Which thinker believed that leisure was a factor to include when considering what constitutes the good life?

A) Aristotle
B) Solomon
C) Ciulla
D) Russell
E) All of the above

Question 26

Because of public anger at the result of extreme social damage, in 1990, Congress passed a law that made __________ a possible punishment for certain financial crimes.

A) death
B) life imprisonment
C) fines in excess of $10 million
D) up to fifty years in federal prison
E) up to twenty-five years in federal prison

Question 27

What, for Schimmel, is the cause of much unhappiness but is rarely perceived as undesirable?

A) Hedonism
B) Therapy
C) Greed
D) Pleasure
E) Hard work

Question 28

Schimmel believes that on the whole, society's view of greed is that greed should be:

A) Discouraged
B) Criminalized
C) Encouraged
D) Despised
E) Ignored

Question 29

According to Joanne Ciulla, our lives include certain activities that we consider work but that fall outside the economic definition of work for pay. Such activities include:

A) volunteering.
B) hobbies.
C) learning new things.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 30

Ciulla describes the most meaningful jobs as those in which

A) people occupy leadership positions.
B) people directly help others or make products that make life better for people.
C) people improve their talents.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 31

Ciulla defines the secular sense of "______" as apathy, lack of care, lack of joy, and a lack of active engagement in life.

A) sin
B) moroseness
C) sloth
D) ingratitude
E) unappreciativeness

Question 32

Russell argues that our human capacity for light-heartedness and play has been inhibited by a fixation on:

A) Efficiency
B) Money
C) Work
D) Learning

Question 33

McFall thinks all of the following types of coherence are at risk when integrity is compromised.

A) Simple consistency
B) Consistency between principle and action
C) Personal consistency
D) Both a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 34

Personal integrity requires that an agent:

A) Subscribe to some consistent set of principles or commitments
B) Face temptation and challenges
C) Uphold his or her consistent set of principles or commitments
D) Act in accordance with what the agent takes to be the right reasons
E) All of the above

Question 35

Russell thinks that impersonal interests can be especially useful for:

A) Retaining a sense of proportion
B) Finding one's true destiny
C) Inspiring research ideas
D) Discovering beauty
E) Education

Question 36

The "impersonal interests" that Russell writes about are:

A) Minor interests, things you do to relax during leisure time
B) Major interests, things you build your life around
C) Things that interest other people, not you personally
D) Your interests in helping others, as opposed to your self-interest
E) Activities that are exciting and exhausting

Question 37

One who understands "greatness of soul":

A) Dreads what fate has in store
B) No longer wants to be petty or selfish
C) Has a sense of proportion about one's life and place in the universe
D) Both (b) and (c)
E) All of (a), (b), and (c)

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT one of Russell's suggestions for a good impersonal interest?

A) Gambling
B) Watching ball games
C) Going to the theater
D) Playing golf
E) Reading

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a factor that led to the fall of the Cacique?

A) Religious strife between the Catholic and Protestant churches
B) Military corruption
C) The community's mining policies
D) Separation from the community
E) Democracy

Question 40

Unlike more traditional ethical inquiries, business ethics is not necessarily concerned with the pursuit of the good life.

Question 41

California wise man Sam Keen has remarked that "the most important thing is knowing just how little one needs to be wealthy."

Question 42

According to Solomon, chance is something that can be planned for.

Question 43

In today's fast-moving world, the "good life" is very different from what it used to be.

Question 44

According to Aristotle, the "highest of all goods achievable by action" is generally agreed to be happiness, and there is no disagreement about the nature of this happiness.

Question 45

A 1983 survey of Harvard MBAs showed that six months after graduation, nearly half were frustrated with their lives.

Question 46

Aristotle thinks that no person would choose to live with the intellect of a child throughout his whole life, no matter how much pleasure these pursuits afforded him.

Question 47

Ciulla believes that people who behave unethically in business have often lost their perspective.

Question 48

Play is behavior done for the purpose of learning or practicing skills.

Question 49

For Epicurus, the wise man doesn't seek the greatest amount of pleasure from life but "the greatest length of life."

Question 50

Epicurus argues that we should simply pursue the temporary pleasures of the moment and that the pleasures of tomorrow will "care for themselves."

Question 51

Schimmel believes that unrestrained pursuit of wealth eventually makes us happier.

Question 52

According to Schimmel, our society perceives greed as an undesirable quality.

Question 53

According to Ciulla, you can work long hours but still be slothful.

Question 54

According to Ciulla, a person engaged in meaningful work is always happy in that moment.

Question 55

For McFall, all of one's principles are of equal importance.

Question 56

McFall argues that "to beat someone out of a job by spreading vicious truths is proof that I am no friend."

Question 57

Russell thinks that impersonal interests are good for helping us retain a sense of proportion in our life.

Question 58

Solomon suggests that we should plan for ________ just as we plan our careers.

Question 59

According to Solomon, most of us choose our subordinates carefully, but we should also take care in choosing our __________.

Question 60

According to Aristotle, _________ are concerned with both passions and actions.

Question 61

The final good is thought to be __________ by Aristotle.

Question 62

In Aesop's fable, the creature that worked diligently to save food for the winter was the ______.

Question 63

Ciulla points out that ________ activities are often illogical or inefficient.

Question 64

Epicurus said that "all good and evil consists in __________."

Question 65

We sometimes pass over several __________ when we believe a greater discomfort will come from them.

Question 66

Schimmel writes that _____________ is highly valued in our society.

Question 67

The paradox of __________ follows from the fact that its aim is for the increase of pleasure, but it often sacrifices this very thing by its pursuit.

Question 68

According to Ciulla, meaningfulness cannot be injected into people, but it tends to arise and flourish in people who are ________.

Question 69

Ciulla says that it would be __________ to assume that what makes work count as meaningful is purely subjective.

Question 70

McFall considers moral __________ to be a great threat to true integrity.

Question 71

According to McFall, having integrity means that some of your commitments must be ____________.

Question 72

Russell explains that _____________________ interests are important because they are relaxing and help give you perspective on your life.

Question 73

For Russell, the person who has perceived _______________________ will be freed from fears and will remain happy and joyful.

Question 74

The thought experiment about the _________________ box shows that a life of pure enjoyment might not really be all we want!