Deck 7: Virtue Ethics: Be a Good Person

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true about virtue ethicists?

A) They focus on moral character.
B) They don't formulate their theory in terms of duty.
C) They use the hedonic calculus to measure happiness.
D) They think that a full-blown ethics must take into account motives, feelings, intentions, and moral wisdom.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Aristotle's notion of a moral virtue is what he calls:

A) ethical flourishing
B) the good life
C) the Golden Mean
D) eudaimonia

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Aristotle says that the moral life consists not in following moral rules that stipulate right actions,but in:

A) striving to maximize pleasure and minimize pain
B) achieving virtuous perfection by performing perfect duties
C) striving to overcome evil
D) striving to be a virtuous person whose actions stem naturally from virtuous character

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Aristotle insists that there must be room in morality for:

A) ethical egoism
B) religious codes
C) moral theories
D) moral achievement

Question 5

Virtue ethics puts primary emphasis on being a good person and living a good life.

Question 6

Most virtue ethicists look not to moral principles for guidance but to moral exemplars such as Socrates and Gandhi.

Question 7

Caring is a vital and inescapable part of the moral life.

Question 8

Virtue ethics is a theory of morality that:

A) makes moral principles the central concern
B) makes utility the central concern
C) makes virtue the central concern
D) does not concern itself with actions

Question 9

There is general agreement among ethicists that a gap exists between the moral thinking styles of men and women.

Question 10

Virtue theorists believe that right action is unimportant.

Question 11

Aristotle argues that the greatest good for humans is eudaimonia,which means:

A) pleasure or contentment
B) happiness or flourishing
C) altruism
D) justice

Question 12

Contemporary virtue ethicists maintain that a full-blown ethics must take into account:

A) motives, feelings, intentions, and moral wisdom
B) emotions, rules, codes, and principles
C) the duty to act out of duty alone
D) right action in accordance with moral theories

Question 13

Generally,in virtue ethics,moral obligations are derived from:

A) rules
B) principles
C) virtues
D) theories

Question 14

Some argue against virtue ethics by pointing out that a person may possess all the proper virtues and still be unable to tell right from wrong actions.

Question 15

Virtue theorists and Kantian theorists agree that we must always act out of a sense of duty,not from such unstable motivations as compassion or loyalty.

Question 16

One criticism of virtue ethics is that it is built on a foundation of circular reasoning,in which the right action is both defined by,and itself defines,the virtuous person.

Question 17

Critics of virtue ethics claim that appeals to virtues or virtuous character without reference to principles of duty cannot give us any useful guidance in deciding what to do.