Deck 10: Virtue Ethics and Authenticity: Contemporary Perspectives

Question 1

Bernard Mayo wants us to emulate role models. Can you think of a person, either a historical figure, a living person, or a fictional character, whom you would like to emulate? Explain who and why (or why not).

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Philippa Foot claims that a person who has a good disposition is slightly better than a person who has to control himself or herself. Kant would say the opposite. Explain these viewpoints, and take sides. Which do you agree with and why?

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Evaluate the question of character vs. conduct in politics. Which do you think is of the highest importance for a person running for (or elected to) office: that he or she has personal integrity or a view on government that you agree with? Is there an alternative? Explain.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Explain Bernard Mayo's views on how we should choose our actions in an everyday situation. Discuss the criticisms of his view.

Question 5

Discuss the story of Sommers's colleague whose students cheated on their ethics tests. Why did they cheat? According to you, does the style and content of teaching ethics make a difference in terms of students cheating on tests? Should it?

Question 6

Explain the relationship between Kierkegaard and his father and the consequences it seems to have had for his philosophy.

Question 7

Explain what Nietzsche's slave morality is. Why does he find it dangerous?

Question 8

What is the connection between Nietzsche's master morality and his notion of living an authentic life?

Question 9

In your opinion, does it make a difference that Heidegger was a member of the Nazi Party? Why or why not?

Question 10

What does Sartre mean by anguish? Explain and give an example of how it feels and why it happens.

Question 11

Explain Sartre's concept of bad faith using two examples: one of Sartre's and one of your own.

Question 12

Discuss Levinas's view that the Other is more important than oneself. What does he mean? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Question 13

What are Levinas's views on the political quest for equality?

Question 14

Relate Good Will Hunting to Sartre's concepts of anguish, authenticity, and bad faith. Which characters exemplify the Sartrean existential conflicts and how?

Question 15

How does Sartre's view of hell in No Exit relate to his view of dominance between individuals? What might Levinas comment on this play?

Question 16

A scene in The Searchers is called a "Levinas moment" in the textbook. Which scene is it, and what is the significance of this label? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Question 17

Which of the following is true of Bernard Mayo?

A) He insisted that we ought to take responsibility for every single thing we do.
B) He held that people who "do their duty" cannot be bad people.
C) He asserted that an ethics of conduct is excluded from virtue ethics.
D) He noted that an ethics of conduct without virtue may not be benevolent at all.

Question 18

Which of the following problems does Christina Hoff Sommers highlight in her quest to return to virtue ethics?

A) the irony of students cheating on an ethics test
B) the futility of conforming to societal standards
C) the lack of good intentions on the part of instructors
D) the scapegoating of one's peer in a tricky situation

Question 19

There are three major criticisms that one may raise against Mayo's idea of emulating role models. Which one should NOT be on the list?

A) What if your idea of a role model doesn't correspond to what other people consider models of decent behavior?
B) Merely imitating what someone else does is a life of inauthenticity.
C) What if your role model turns out not to be so perfect after all?
D) Everyone is imperfect, so there really are no positive role models.

Question 20

In her virtue theory, Philippa Foot shares characteristics with

A) John Stuart Mill.
B) Plato.
C) Aristotle.
D) Søren Kierkegaard.

Question 21

The words "It is wrong to mistreat a child, to humiliate someone, to torment an animal. To think only of yourself, to steal, to lie, to break promises" were spoken by

A) Christina Hoff Sommers.
B) Jean-Paul Sartre.
C) Emmanuel Levinas.
D) Philippa Foot.

Question 22

According to Alasdair MacIntyre, virtues are linked to

A) the mean and extreme of one's behavior.
B) telling one's culture's traditional stories.
C) social atomism.
D) volunteering for one's community.

Question 23

According to Kierkegaard, the words "Subjectivity is Truth" mean that

A) there is no objective knowledge, except for mathematical theorems.
B) personal experience becomes a universal one if a person can merely relate to another person's experiences.
C) there is no objective truth about life, only a personal truth for each individual.
D) the meaning of life can be best understood from the works and lives of others.

Question 24

Kierkegaard theorizes that there are three stages to the development of one's character. Which of the following is NOT one of the stages?

A) the ethical stage
B) the existential stage
C) the aesthetic stage
D) the religious stage

Question 25

What does Heidegger mean by "Being-theres" always "care" about something?

A) Humans always have a choice.
B) Humans are fundamentally moral beings that are caring and compassionate.
C) Humans care for things and are in constant fear of something.
D) Humans are always engaged in something.

Question 26

According to Sartre, the belief that there is no God and life is absurd leads to the conclusion that

A) humans must create their own values by making choices.
B) humans can find their values in their own context and rationality.
C) since nothing has value, the life of an individual is worthless and human rights are nonexistent.
D) there is no free will, because all of reality is a matter of material causes and effects.

Question 27

What does Sartre mean by bad faith?

A) believing that there is no foundation for believing in anything
B) trusting someone who turns out to be untrustworthy
C) claiming that one's actions are somehow determined by the situation
D) pretending that there is no God but believing in the existence of God

Question 28

According to Nietzsche, the worst that life could be is

A) a life of constant pain.
B) a life devoid of God and the possibility of heaven.
C) a life that repeats itself.
D) a life just like your current life but without any of the good moments.

Question 29

According to Heidegger, a typical trait of those who are inauthentic is that they

A) deceive themselves 100 percent.
B) become absorbed in just reacting to the things in their world.
C) exist without making choices.
D) think they can turn themselves into things by acting thinglike.

Question 30

The words "Thus there are no accidents in a life; a community event which suddenly bursts forth and involves me in it does not come from the outside. If I am mobilized in a war, this war is my war; it is in my image and I deserve it" were said by

A) Martin Heidegger.
B) Emmanuel Levinas.
C) Christina Hoff Sommers.
D) Jean-Paul Sartre.

Question 31

What does Levinas mean when he says "ethics precedes ontology"?

A) that the philosophy of existence comes before any responsibility toward the Other
B) that understanding the needs of the Other comes before any philosophy of existence
C) that we understand the Other even before we exist
D) that the Other must be recognized as fundamentally different from you

Question 32

Jack believes that his disposition is a result of his genetic composition and upbringing. Thus, he is convinced that his sense of free will is an illusion. Which of the following viewpoints is Jack most likely to hold?

A) libertarianism
B) psychological altruism
C) compatibilism
D) hard determinism

Question 33

Identify the philosopher who said the following: "The approach to the face is the most basic mode of responsibility. As such, the face of the other is verticality and uprightness; it spells a relation of rectitude."

A) Emmanuel Levinas
B) Jean-Paul Sartre
C) Christina Hoff Sommers
D) Søren Kierkegaard

Question 34

According to Levinas, the ultimate disregard for the Other is represented by the

A) Nazi Holocaust.
B) Crusades.
C) First World War.
D) Second World War.

Question 35

Levinas's philosophy of the Other holds a possible key to overcoming the

A) inequality in power distribution in world politics.
B) barrier of cultural differences and stereotypes.
C) ill effects of privatization and globalization.
D) lack of rootedness in one's own cultural practices.

Question 36

Which of the following is true of Sartre's views?

A) He stated that human beings are distinct from the world they inhabit.
B) He maintained that we are capable of deceiving ourselves 100 percent.
C) He believed that we are not alone with our choices and responsibilities.
D) He asserted that every human relationship is a game of dominance.

Question 37

The film Good Will Hunting best covers the concept of

A) conduct vs. character.
B) bad faith.
C) the face of the Other.
D) the eternal return.

Question 38

In The Searchers, Ethan Edwards is searching for his niece Debbie for eight years. What does he intend to do when he finds her?

A) He wants to show his compassion toward her by adopting her.
B) He wants to marry her off to Marty.
C) He wants to bring her home to her mother and father.
D) He wants to kill her.

Question 39

With the advent of Christianity, an ethics of conduct was rejected in favor of virtue ethics.

Question 40

There is a difference between a morality of virtue and an ethics of virtue.

Question 41

Virtue theory focuses equally on positive and negative role models.

Question 42

Since the 1990s, Republican politicians have focused on the trustworthiness of a candidate, whereas Democratic politicians have pointed to the public policies of the candidate.

Question 43

A false dichotomy is an extreme either/or situation that has more than two alternatives.

Question 44

Bernard Mayo believes that an ethics of conduct is not excluded from virtue ethics.

Question 45

Kant believed that we learn virtue best from positive role models.

Question 46

Kant insisted that trying to learn virtue from role models does not lead to virtue but to jealousy and resentment.

Question 47

Philippa Foot stresses that having a virtue is not the same as having a skill; it is having the proper intention to do something.

Question 48

Philippa Foot claims that a person who makes an effort to overcome his or her inclination is morally better than the one to whom virtue comes easily.

Question 49

Christina Hoff Sommers believes that the proper way to teach values is to focus on Christian values of obedience and sexual abstinence.

Question 50

Christina Hoff Sommers wants to teach students that values are not merely a matter of taste.

Question 51

Christina Hoff Sommers believes that moral problems such as pollution, homelessness, or the loneliness of elderly people must be solved by the state and not the individual.

Question 52

Søren Kierkegaard's father believed there was a curse on the family because when he was a child, he had stepped on a loaf of bread to get across a mud puddle.

Question 53

In the Lutheran tradition, there is no confession and no absolution of sins by the clergy.

Question 54

Kierkegaard shocked Romantic nineteenth-century Europe by claiming, a century ahead of his time, that objectivity is truth.

Question 55

The character of Judge William is Kierkegaard's symbol of a person who is locked in the aesthetic stage.

Question 56

Heidegger calls humans "Being-there" because human existence is different from the existence of things and animals.

Question 57

Heidegger believes we ought to take into account what "they say," because forgetting about public opinion removes us from total existential awareness.

Question 58

Heidegger thinks humans feel angst when they realize that all their concerns and rules are relative.

Question 59

Jean-Paul Sartre's example of a young woman on a date illustrates bad faith.

Question 60

According to Jean-Paul Sartre, relationships between lovers are a game of dominance.

Question 61

Nietzsche suggests that the old Christian value system of loving one's neighbor and turning the other cheek must be encouraged.

Question 62

According to Nietzsche, in the mind of a feudal warlord, a bad person is someone who is not willing to stand up for himself.

Question 63

According to Nietzsche, power belongs by right to one who is capable of grabbing and holding on to it.

Question 64

According to Sartre, there are some specific people who do not have freedom of choice, such as soldiers.

Question 65

Sartre strongly argued that essence must precede existence.

Question 66

According to Levinas, people are hostages because their personal identity is determined by how they respond to the demands others place upon them.

Question 67

According to Levinas, religion no longer promises a happy ending; this means that ethics now has become the highest form of religious faith.

Question 68

Levinas has been criticized for insisting that the Other is, essentially, feminine.

Question 69

Levinas sees the bottom line of all human existence as the encounter with the Other in a competition for dominance.

Question 70

In his early writings, Levinas insisted that the Other is, essentially, feminine.

Question 71

The drama No Exit by Sartre features three people on death row awaiting their execution.

Question 72

In his drama No Exit, Sartre claims that hell is other people.

Question 73

In Good Will Hunting, Will is a middle-aged teacher who experiences an existential crisis because of an encounter with a bright young student of his.

Question 74

In The Searchers, Ethan wants to kill his niece Debbie because he believes she has been contaminated by living with Comanche Indians.

Question 75

In Groundhog Day, Phil wakes up every morning at 6 a.m. to the same song and relives the same day.