Deck 10: Virtue Ethics

Question 1

Talk about:
-Continence

Answer 1

the ability to manage to do the right thing, but with little or no pleasure, and only by suppressing very strong contrary desires.

Question 2

Talk about:
-Contradiction

Answer 2

when one and the same claim is said to be both true and false.

Question 3

Talk about:
-Moral exemplar

Answer 3

a moral role model; someone who exhibits the moral virtues to a great degree.

Question 4

Talk about:
-Virtue

Question 5

What are virtues, and how (according to virtue ethics) do we acquire them? Do you find this story plausible? Do you think it makes sense of who the moral exemplars are and why they are role models? Defend your answers.

Question 6

Write an essay explaining the priority problem for virtue ethics, illustrating the problem with at least one example. Does this objection succeed in refuting virtue ethics? Why or why not?

Question 7

How do cases of moral conflict pose a problem for virtue ethics? How is this problem similar to the problem that arises for the ethic of prima facie duties, and how might the virtue ethicist respond to the problem? Do you think this response succeeds? Why or why not?

Question 8

According to virtue ethics, how do we determine who to look to as moral role models? How do you determine who to look to as role models in your own life? Does your approach differ from the virtue ethicist's approach, or is it the same? If they differ, which approach do you think is better? Explain and defend your answers.

Question 9

According to Aristotle, people are naturally

A) virtuous.
B) wicked.
C) irrational.
D) None of the above

Question 10

According to Aristotle, taking pleasure in virtuous actions

A) is unimportant; what matters is whether one does the right thing.
B) is a sign that one is truly virtuous.
C) deprives an action of its moral worth.
D) is a sign that one is not truly virtuous.

Question 11

Aristotle calls virtue a "mean" because

A) being virtuous is in between being a horrible person and being perfect.
B) virtue sometimes involves treating people unkindly.
C) virtue is a matter of avoiding excess and deficiency.
D) virtue is a matter of compromising one's self-interest with the interests of others.

Question 12

To become virtuous, Aristotle recommends

A) avoiding whichever extreme (excess or deficiency) is more dangerous.
B) performing virtuous actions until it becomes habitual.
C) training from a very early age.
D) All of the above

Question 13

According to Aristotle, virtue is a kind of

A) passion.
B) faculty.
C) state of character.
D) All of the above

Question 14

By "faculties," Aristotle means

A) dispositions to act in certain ways.
B) capacities to experience passions.
C) states of character.
D) virtues and vices.

Question 15

According to Aristotle, we grasp virtues via

A) careful philosophical reasoning.
B) perception.
C) experimentation.
D) All of the above

Question 16

According to Aristotle, what is characteristic of vice?

A) Excesses of passions and actions
B) Defects of passions and actions
C) Passions and actions which cause harm
D) Both a and b

Question 17

Aristotle thinks that virtues and vices cannot be kinds of passions because

A) we are praised and blamed for virtues and vices, but not for passions.
B) passions are states of character, but virtues and vices are not.
C) virtues and vices are innate to our nature, but passions are not.
D) None of the above (Aristotle thinks that virtues and vices are kinds of passions.)

Question 18

Which of the following describes Aristotle's view of human beings?

A) They are naturally virtuous; it is society that makes them wicked.
B) They are naturally vicious; it is society that teaches them to be virtuous.
C) They are naturally neither virtuous nor vicious; virtue must be learned.
D) They are irreparably bad; they can never truly become virtuous.

Question 19

What does Aristotle mean when he says that "virtue is a kind of mean?" Do you find this claim plausible? Does it help us to understand how to live our lives? Explain and defend your response.

Question 20

How does Aristotle think that people become virtuous? What does he think is the difference between performing virtuous actions and being a virtuous person? Which does he claim is more important? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Question 21

Write an essay discussing Aristotle's conception of virtue. What exactly is a virtue, according to Aristotle? Give an example of a virtue and explain why it is a virtue, in Aristotle's view. Is his account plausible? Why or why not?

Question 22

Case Study
Ever since she was a child, Tai has loved theater and film. She longs to become an actor. She doesn't know any great actors personally, but she studiously learns about the field and develops sophisticated taste in the quality of acting performances. By the time she is an adult, Tai has a short list of actors she truly admires as artists and she looks to them as role models. When planning how to live her life and pursue her career goals, she does her best to model the trajectories and traits of these role models.
Tai decides to go to college to study the dramatic arts. There, she takes a course in ancient Greek philosophy and finds virtue ethics very appealing. She decides to apply the theory to her own way of life. Before she can determine how to live, she has to determine whether she is aiming at the right target. She asks herself: "Are the people I've identified as my role models truly moral exemplars?"
-How can Tai determine whether the actors she admires are moral exemplars? Does virtue theory have any special tools to help her make this determination?

Question 23

Case Study
Ever since she was a child, Tai has loved theater and film. She longs to become an actor. She doesn't know any great actors personally, but she studiously learns about the field and develops sophisticated taste in the quality of acting performances. By the time she is an adult, Tai has a short list of actors she truly admires as artists and she looks to them as role models. When planning how to live her life and pursue her career goals, she does her best to model the trajectories and traits of these role models.
Tai decides to go to college to study the dramatic arts. There, she takes a course in ancient Greek philosophy and finds virtue ethics very appealing. She decides to apply the theory to her own way of life. Before she can determine how to live, she has to determine whether she is aiming at the right target. She asks herself: "Are the people I've identified as my role models truly moral exemplars?"
-Imagine that Tai learns more about her role models and discovers they do not prioritize spending time with their families. She's not sure how important it is to spend time with one's family. Can virtue theory help her answer this question?