Deck 7: Virtue Ethics: Be A Good Person

Question 1

For Aristotle,motivations for moral or immoral action are:

A)essential.
B)signs of a good will.
C)irrelevant.
D)the source of true morality.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Suppose you are seriously ill and laid up in the hospital.If a friend came to visit you only because it was her duty to do so (duty was her only motivation),you would likely view her action as:

A)welcome.
B)virtuous.
C)emotional.
D)insensitive.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

If virtues were eliminated entirely from morality,leaving only principles or rules of justice,the moral life would appear:

A)barren.
B)richer.
C)complete.
D)complicated.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In ethics,a virtue ethicist asks:

A)"What should I do?"
B)"What should I be?"
C)"What is the moral law?"
D)"What is the virtuous rule?"

Question 5

Virtue ethics puts primary emphasis on being a good person and living a good life,whereas duty-based moral systems:

A)emphasize a life of happiness and flourishing.
B)emphasize happiness through correct living.
C)pay much less attention to following rules of conduct.
D)pay much less attention to virtuous character and living a good life.

Question 6

A physician may be virtuous (kind,just,and honest)and still not know:

A)which actions are morally permissible.
B)how to be virtuous.
C)whether virtue is good.
D)whether virtues are worth cultivating.

Question 7

Many duty-based theorists believe that motivation for moral action cannot be derived entirely from considerations of duty,just as appropriate motivation cannot be based solely on:

A)Aristotle.
B)motivational factors.
C)virtuous character.
D)considerations of duty.

Question 8

A virtue is:

A)a stable disposition to act and feel according to the moral law.
B)a stable disposition to act and feel according to some ideal or model of excellence.
C)habitual acts that result in eternal excellence.
D)an act of charity.

Question 9

The "Golden Mean" is Aristotle's notion of:

A)the perfect human.
B)excellence in philosophy.
C)flourishing in the arts.
D)virtue as a balance between two behavioral extremes.

Question 10

Critics have taken virtue ethics to task for alleged problems in:

A)its focus on character and motivation.
B)applying the theory.
C)adapting the views of Aristotle.
D)the requirement of coherence.

Question 11

Our considered moral judgments seem to suggest that moral disagreements among people with identical virtues are:

A)impossible.
B)possible.
C)rare.
D)uncompromising.

Question 12

It seems that a person can be benevolent,honest,and loyal but still treat a stranger unjustly.This shows that:

A)the rightness of actions necessarily (or invariably)depends on the content of one's character.
B)the rightness of actions does not necessarily (or invariably)depend on the content of one's character.
C)most people are without virtues.
D)having the right virtues can prevent moral error.

Question 13

It's possible that someone might have to choose between performing or not performing an action that could lead to serious harm to a friend-yet each choice could involve the same two virtues (for example,the virtues of honesty and loyalty).Such a case suggests that virtue ethics may have a problem with:

A)Criterion 1 (consistency with commonsense moral judgments).
B)Criterion 2 (consistency with moral experience).
C)Criterion 3 (usefulness).
D)both Criterion 1 and 2.

Question 14

For Aristotle,a person living a life of reason is living a life of:

A)excess.
B)virtue.
C)struggle.
D)nature.

Question 15

By the lights of virtue ethics,if you rescue someone from disaster solely out of a sense of duty,then your action is:

A)a morally deficient response.
B)wrong.
C)a morally appropriate response.
D)selfless.

Question 16

A theory of morality that makes virtue the central concern is known as:

A)virtue consequentialism.
B)virtue command theory.
C)virtue ethics.
D)teleological ethics.

Question 17

Virtue ethicists try to achieve the moral ideal by:

A)looking to well-established moral rules.
B)reading books on ethics.
C)fulfilling duties.
D)looking to moral exemplars.

Question 18

Aristotle distinguishes between:

A)intellectual virtues and moral virtues.
B)intellectual virtues and political virtues.
C)temporal virtues and earthly virtues.
D)moral virtues and happiness virtues.

Question 19

Virtue ethics claims that the right action is the one performed by the virtuous person and that the virtuous person is the one who performs the right action.But some philosophers say that this way of framing the matter amounts to:

A)arguing with no premises.
B)arguing from the obvious to the less than obvious.
C)arguing in a circle.
D)arguing too strongly.

Question 20

According to Aristotle,the greatest good for humans is:

A)virtue law.
B)the golden mean.
C)virtuosity.
D)eudaimonia.

Question 21

Annette C.Baier argues that in moral theory there is a place for:

A)both care and justice.
B)both justice and consequences.
C)both virtue and egoism.
D)Gilligan and Kant.

Question 22

The fact that we regularly judge the moral permissibility of actions as well as assess the goodness of character suggests that:

A)moral principles and virtuous behavior are in conflict.
B)principle-based moral theories should be discarded.
C)virtue ethics is false.
D)virtue and character are important elements of the moral life.

Question 23

The perspective on moral issues that emphasizes close personal relationships and moral virtues such as compassion,love,and sympathy is known as:

A)compassionate care.
B)love theory.
C)virtue ethics.
D)the ethics of care.

Question 24

The ethics of care is a reminder that caring is:

A)not as important as the consequences of actions.
B)a critical part of Kantian ethics.
C)a vital and inescapable part of the moral life.
D)an important element in Aristotle's virtue ethics.

Question 25

According to ________,men and women think in radically different ways when making moral decisions.

A)Annette Beacon
B)Carol Gilligan
C)Louis Pojman
D)Carol Baier