Deck 5: What Is Character

Question 1

Aristotle's school of thought is called

A) Ethical Formalism
B) Utilitarianism
C) the Ethics of Heroes
D) the Ethics of Virtue

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Character, our basic moral disposition, originates

A) once we become adults
B) in our professional lives
C) in childhood
D) after death

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Character traits can include a sense of humor, intelligence, energy level, shyness, or optimism.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Formation of our character is:

A) dynamic
B) malleable
C) status
D) subject to adjustment

Question 5

Character is not an essential element in professionalism.

Question 6

In Aristotle's view

A) people should always behave the same, no matter the circumstances
B) ethics are above change
C) individuals of good character might behave in different ways at different times
D) good character is evidenced solely and exclusively through action

Question 7

Character traits are often called "virtues."

Question 8

Which of the following is not a character trait?

A) integrity
B) courage
C) intelligence
D) honesty

Question 9

Which of the following is not a personality trait?

A) courage
B) shyness
C) sense of humor
D) optimism

Question 10

Aristotle defined virtue as the

A) Golden Rule
B) Universal Rule
C) Golden Mean
D) Mean Rule

Question 11

According to Aristotle

A) you must accomplish good deeds to be a good person
B) the virtuous officer would focus on long-term implications
C) no one needs an ethical hero, you should do it all on your own
D) we should focus on absolute rules of conduct

Question 12

The dominating, central fact about the intelligence of human life is that it is so open to possibility.

Question 13

The concept of right is static, and does not vary according to changes in circumstances.

Question 14

Our character is entirely inherited, not learned.

Question 15

Character traits are often called

A) virtual
B) virtues
C) verbose
D) verbal

Question 16

When we ask if people have good character, we are asking if they possess the moral strength to do the right thing.

Question 17

The two impacts of possibilities on our lives are fate and choice.

Question 18

Words remain stable in a way that concepts do not.

Question 19

Under the ethics of virtue

A) a police officer should focus on equality of treatment, and only equality of treatment
B) short-term interests are critical
C) what is just can be different from what is equal
D) long-term implications should be ignored

Question 20

Personality consists of our "inner" makeup and character is our "outermost" indicators.

Question 21

There are two types of justice

A) instant and delayed
B) equal and unfair
C) substantive and procedural
D) substandard and procedural

Question 22

Two constantly converging possibilities are

A) fate and probability
B) imagination and reality
C) fate and choice
D) what is and what will be

Question 23

Police officers often think that they are constantly under scrutiny and being watched. But this is a myth. Discuss why police officers are taught to believe this myth-why it might be a good thing that many believe it and why it might be a bad thing. How does this discussion plug into our analysis of the importance of individual police officer character?

Question 24

In Aristotle's terms, who are your exemplars? Who in the contemporary world are your role models? Discuss where and how we get our heroes today.

Question 25

Dealing with people justly and fairly is

A) necessary to keep a balance of different ideas of what is good and supporting ways of deciding indifferences
B) necessary to keep a balance of different ideas of what is good and supporting ways of deciding differences
C) necessary to keep an imbalance of different ideas of what is good and supporting ways of deciding differences
D) necessary to keep an imbalance of different ideas of what is good and supporting ways of deciding indifferences

Question 26

A person's imagination

A) can limit their range of options
B) is unrelated to their options
C) is unaffected by outside factors
D) is unaffected by their personal experiences

Question 27

Humans adapt

A) through phototropism
B) through reaction
C) through redaction
D) through reflection

Question 28

Circumstances in life

A) should trigger a natural range of response
B) should never dictate one's response
C) are irrelevant to one's response
D) should dictate the one and only correct response

Question 29

Procedural justice encompasses

A) the rules of the game
B) society's specific rules of conduct
C) unfair playing conditions
D) society's individual rules of conduct

Question 30

Justice is

A) a moral concept
B) a legal concept
C) a Nicomachean concept
D) unrelated to satisfactory relationships

Question 31

Justice is all of the following except

A) the requirement for fairness
B) always the same, regardless of the individuals or the circumstances
C) a moral concept
D) essential to the possibility of satisfactory relationships and to the possibility of the development of community between people

Question 32

The law must

A) have a conscience that keeps its operations consistent with American ideals of justice
B) be a living entity that is not stagnant but that responds to the heartbeat of life on the street, to people's hopes and dreams
C) be tempered with a feeling for life's circumstances that allows human empathy to modify its application
D) all of the above

Question 33

Personality

A) consists of the innermost indicators of an individual's makeup
B) is an absolute indicator of the inner person
C) is another word for character
D) consists of the outermost indicators of an individual's makeup

Question 34

The Declaration of Independence states that we have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This idea of "happiness" is analogous to that of "the good," which we have been discussing here. We each define it for ourselves. What do you define as "the good" in your life? What are your long-terms goals? What would you like your life to look like in the future?

Question 35

A rather critical differentiation is made between "equality of treatment" and "justice." Create your own examples of how justice might not be served by equal treatment. How might injustice be created by treating people in exactly equal ways?

Question 36

The nature of one's original community builds in a

A) false sense of security
B) demand for some form of justice or fair treatment
C) demand for some form of injustice or unfair treatment
D) language barrier

Question 37

When police officers decide to ignore deviance and leave people alone

A) their decision is reviewed by their supervisors
B) they are applying ethical formalism
C) they are applying absolutism
D) their actions are not reviewed by others

Question 38

Consider Aristotle's list of "the virtues." Do you agree with his conceptualization? Would you add anything to this list? For example, he does not specifically discuss integrity, which many people have always believed is an additional, absolutely critical element of good character. To have integrity is to live one's life in agreement with one's philosophy. To be hypocritical is to lack integrity. Or what about kindness? Isn't kindness toward others another critical element of good character?
Construct an essay that discusses what you might add to this ancient list. (Instructors: Have your class share and discuss their conceptualizations of this Aristotelian concept of "the virtues" and of what other ideas your students might wish to add to it.)

Question 39

Integrity is

A) a whole number
B) unimportant in police work
C) that characteristic of wholeness, unity, and completeness
D) the source of grits

Question 40

When examining our own personal histories, our recollections are always colored

A) with fear
B) with clouded judgment
C) with Crayola crayons
D) with a sense of unrealized possibilities, by the things that might have been