University of Kansas, Fall 2002
Philosophy 672: History of Ethics
Ben Eggleston
Test Questions / Paper Topics—Aristotle
Your assignment is either to take the test on Aristotle’s Nicomachean
Ethics or to write a paper on that book. Note that, by the
end of the semester, you must have taken tests on two of the four books in the
course, and written papers on the other two. Following are details of the two
options for Aristotle’s Ethics.
I. Test
The test will be given in class on Wednesday, December 11, and will consist
of 100 points’ worth of the following questions. The test will include at least
one of questions 15 and 16, and at least one of questions 17 and 18. There may also be a bonus
question or two, not listed here.
- (20 points:) Why might a reader of Aristotle’s Ethics be
disappointed if she approaches this work looking for an answer to the question
of how to live morally? What question is Aristotle’s Ethics concerned
with, if not the question of how to live morally? (Be sure to explain the
distinction between the question of how to live morally and the question that
Aristotle’s Ethics is concerned with.)
- (20 points:) One of the central concepts in Aristotle’s Ethics is
often translated into English with the word ‘happiness’. What is the meaning
of this concept, and how does it differ from what people ordinarily refer to
in English with the word ‘happiness’? What are two of the four misconceptions
about happiness (as he understands it) that Aristotle is concerned to correct?
- (20 points:) What is Aristotle’s function argument? Specifically, what is
the conclusion it is meant to prove, and what is the reasoning leading to that
conclusion?
- (10 points:) Suppose someone said that what Aristotle means by a virtue of
character is a trait that makes a person morally good. What would be wrong
with this understanding of a virtue of character? In what other way
should we, instead, understand virtues of character in order to understand
them as Aristotle did?
- (10 points:) How does the cultivation of a virtue of character in a person
depend on action and habit?
- (10 points:) To what extent does nature facilitate or impede the presence
of a virtue of character in a person?
- (10 points:) What did Aristotle mean when he said that anyone with a
certain virtue wants to act as that virtue requires?
- (20 points:) What three criteria does Aristotle say must be satisfied in
order for an act to have been done virtuously?
- (10 points:) How is being virtuous different from being good at a craft?
- (20 points:) Some people think that a moral theory is supposed to indicate
what an agent’s duties are, given a non-moral specification of all of the
facts of the situation that the agent is in. How might a person who thinks
this think that Aristotle’s ethics is circular, and thus a failure; and
what would Aristotle’s response to this objection be?
- (10 points:) What is Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean?
- (10 points:) What are some of the things that Aristotle says people might
commonly regard as instances of bravery, but that must be distinguished from
genuine instances of bravery?
- (10 points:) What does Aristotle mean by general (as opposed to
particular) justice? What does it mean to say that it is “complete virtue” and
in what way is it “complete virtue”?
- (20 points:) What are the two kinds of particular (as opposed to general)
justice that Aristotle discusses? What do these have in common?
- (10 points:) What are the two senses of words like ‘ought’ and ‘should’
that Anscombe distinguishes?
- (10 points:) In what way, according to Anscombe, does the notion of moral
obligation depend, for its meaning, on an approach to ethics that used to be
prevalent, but that is now discredited?
- (20 points:) Annas considers, and tries to minimize, five ways in which
ancient ethics and modern moral philosophy are often regarded as fundamentally
different. What are three of the first four of these five ways? (You don’t
have to explain Annas’s position on the differences you mention. You just have
to explain three of the first four of the differences that she is concerned with.)
- (10 points:) A pithy summary of the fifth difference between ancient
ethics and modern moral philosophy that Annas discusses is the statement that
ancient ethics is often seen as essentially egoistic, while modern moral
philosophy is often seen as essentially impartial. Explain the difference
between ancient ethics and modern moral philosophy that this statement is
getting at.
If you want me to mail your test to you after I grade it, give me an envelope
with your address on it. If you don’t turn in an envelope to me, you can pick up
your graded test from me any time until the end of January.
II. Paper
The paper option is to write a paper
of not more than 6 pages (double-spaced, 12-point type) on either (1) one of the
following topics or (2) some other topic that you would like to propose to me
(in which case, just let me know, and we can discuss it). Your paper will be due
to me at my office (3070 Wescoe Hall) by 12:30 p.m. on Friday, December 13. (If
I'm not in my office when you turn it in, you can slide it under the door.)
-
Question 2, above, plus: Is Aristotle’s conception of happiness defensible?
That is, does Aristotle have the right idea of what the good life for a
human being consists of?
-
Question 3, above (to be answered in a more comprehensive, detailed, and
text-grounded way, of course), plus: Is the reasoning that Aristotle uses in
his function argument sound? What objections is it vulnerable to?
-
Aristotle has a particularly demanding conception of what it takes in order
for a person to be acting virtuously. For example, he specifies several
criteria that must be met in order for a person to be acting virtuously, and
when he discusses the virtue of bravery in particular, he distinguishes
acting bravely from several ways of acting that might look brave to ordinary
observers but that Aristotle says are not really brave ways of acting.
Detail the criteria that Aristotle specifies and Aristotle’s remarks on what
is and is not bravery; and then answer the following question: Is
Aristotle’s conception of acting virtuously too demanding, or is Aristotle
right to be so demanding? As always, be sure to give reasons for the
position you take.
-
Anscombe and Annas may be read as giving nearly opposite answers to the
question of whether ancient ethics is radically different from modern moral
philosophy. Write a paper in which you defend this statement by drawing, as
appropriate, on each of these authors’ papers.
In writing your paper you are
welcome to use resources beyond those used in class, but you do not need to do so. For additional suggestions about writing philosophy papers generally, see my “Guidelines
for Writing a Philosophy Paper.”
If you want me to mail your paper to you
after I grade it, give me an envelope with your address on it. If you don’t turn
in an envelope to me, you can pick up your graded paper from me any time until
the end of January.