University of Kansas, Fall 2003
Philosophy 672: History of Ethics
Ben Eggleston—eggleston@ku.edu
Assignment—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.
You are welcome, though, to complete both of these assignments: to take the
test and to write the paper. Then I’ll grade both of them, count the higher of
the two grades, and ignore the lower one. This would be a good thing to do if
you are nervous about either assignment and want a risk-free way of doing it and
seeing what grade you would get. Here are the two
options for Aristotle’s Ethics.
I. Test
The test will be given in class on Wednesday, September 17, and will consist
of 110 or 120 points’ worth of the following questions. You will be asked to
select 100 points’ worth of questions and to answer them.
- (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
specific) 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 three kinds of specific (as opposed to general)
justice that Aristotle discusses? For each of them (one by one), what is
Aristotle’s main idea or central principle?
- (20 points:) What are the main points that Aristotle makes in regard to
prudence? How is it different from, and yet related to, wisdom?
- (10 points:) What is the difference between incontinence and intemperance?
Which one is worse, and why?
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
in class on Friday, September 19.
-
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), 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? Be sure to give reasons for the
position you take.
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.”