Deck 35: Julia Annas

Question 1

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-What does Annas mean by the computer manual model of ethics? What objections does she give to this approach? Do you find her objections compelling? Defend your answer.

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas argues that the manual model of ethics makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. What does she believe is the problem with this possibility? Do you agree that this is a problem? Why or why not?

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas draws an analogy between becoming virtuous and developing a skill. She also criticizes the manual model of ethics for being paternalistic. Do you think being told to look to exemplars is more or less paternalistic than being told to follow a manual? Explain your answer.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-If the right act is the act that the fully virtuous agent at your stage of development would do, is it ever right to become more virtuous? Do you think virtue ethics has a problem with right action when it comes to self-improvement? Does focusing on the developmental process help here? Why or why not?

Question 5

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what you should do - i.e., you are told what to do. Why does Annas think this is objectionable? Are all instances of being told how to reason objectionable - e.g., the demands of logic? Defend your answer.

Question 6

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-If the fully skilled builder does not consult experts while novice builders do, does this pose a problem for Annas's account of doing the right thing? Why or why not?

Question 7

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-To be virtuous, Annas maintains that we must develop both intellectual and affective aspects. Do you agree that both aspects are required for right action? Explain your answer.

Question 8

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-One common objection to virtue ethics, according to Annas, is that:

A) it is too vague to be capable of telling us what to do.
B) it is too vague to resolve ethical disagreement
C) it tends to be parochial in a way unsuitable for ethical thinking.
D) all of the above.

Question 9

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas claims that ethical theories that have been orthodox among philosophers in the twentieth century have typically:

A) searched for a decision procedure.
B) searched for a theory of right conduct.
C) searched for a theory of moral responsibility.
D) search for a theory of how to live.

Question 10

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, a decision procedure for telling us what to do gives us:

A) a list of instructions on how to live our individual lives.
B) specific instructions for how to act which are applicable to everyone in the same way.
C) specific instructions of the persons we should be.
D) a step-by-step guide on how to resolve moral disagreements.

Question 11

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, the clearest example of a moral theory that produces a decision procedure telling us what to do is:

A) Kantian deontology.
B) the divine command theory.
C) utilitarianism.
D) natural law theory.

Question 12

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, the appeal of the computer manual model of ethics comes from:

A) its precision.
B) its completeness.
C) its egalitarianism.
D) none of the above.

Question 13

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas objects to the manual model of ethics on the grounds that it:

A) predicts there could be moral savants.
B) makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice with a morally detestable character.
C) gives specific and decisive answers concerning what you should do.
D) all of the above.

Question 14

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, if a moral theory correctly tells us what to do it:

A) would hugely benefit humankind.
B) would make us lose an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions.
C) would surely be right to follow.
D) would also tell us what we have most reason to do.

Question 15

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas's theory involves:

A) the virtuous person.
B) right action.
C) developmental process.
D) all of the above.

Question 16

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas argues that we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of:

A) learning to be a computer technician.
B) learning to be a builder.
C) learning to be parents.
D) learning to be a ship captain.

Question 17

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, becoming more fully virtuous requires each of us to:

A) think for ourselves.
B) reject conventional wisdom.
C) develop practical skills.
D) all of the above.

Question 18

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas claims that the truly brave person does the right thing:

A) from the right reasons
B) as a result of having the right disposition
C) both a and b.
D) neither a nor b.

Question 19

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas argues that the theory of right action provided by virtue ethics applies:

A) in one way to the beginner and in another way to the fully virtuous.
B) in one way to the beginner and in another way to the fully vicious.
C) in the same way to the beginner as to the fully virtuous.
D) in the same way to the beginner as to the fully vicious.

Question 20

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, we initially identify virtuous people by:

A) looking a what actions they perform.
B) looking to others to tell us.
C) looking to their credentials.
D) looking to who the virtuous look to as experts.

Question 21

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas argues the problem of the vagueness of the ideally virtuous:

A) does not matter because we need only look to those who are more virtuous than we are.
B) was never a serious problem in the first place.
C) is still a problem but not a serious one.
D) is a serious problem but one she does not have space to address.

Question 22

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas claims that virtue ethics guides us by:

A) improving our practical reasoning.
B) directing us to emulate people who are generally better than we are.
C) both a and b.
D) neither a nor b.

Question 23

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas cites Kant's deontology, with its universalizability test, as the clearest example of the decision procedure model of moral theory.

Question 24

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas maintains that by the time we get to reflecting about ethical matters at all, we already have firm views about right and wrong ways to act, and worthy and unworthy ways to be.

Question 25

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, moral methodology should be modeled after scientific methodology.

Question 26

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas claims that the possibility of a person brilliant at giving moral advice with a morally detestable character is absurd.

Question 27

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas argues the main appeal of the manual model of ethics is that it tells us what to do.

Question 28

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas maintains that the manual model of ethics gives us a picture of moral life as endless busybodying.

Question 29

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, virtue ethics gives us an anxious and obsessive picture of the moral life.

Question 30

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas maintains that an action is right if and only if it is what a virtuous person would (characteristically) do.

Question 31

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-Annas claims that learning to be moral is like acquiring a practical skill.

Question 32

Julia Annas: Being Virtuous and Doing the Right Thing
Annas begins by describing the orthodox way of doing ethics in the twentieth century. The standard aim of ethical theory, she maintains, has been the search for a decision procedure - i.e., a specific set of instructions for how to act that applies to everyone in the same way. Annas believes that this "manual model" of ethics should be rejected, and replaced with the approach offered by virtue ethics.
Before turning to her virtue-based approach, Annas offers three main criticisms of the manual model of ethics. First, the manual model predicts there could be moral savants. But, unlike in mathematics, there are no moral savants. Children are moral idiots. Second, the manual model makes possible a person brilliant at giving moral advice, while having a character and values that are morally detestable. But this, Annas claims, is absurd. Third, and most importantly by Annas's lights, the manual model of morality give specific and decisive answers concerning what we should do - i.e., we are told what to do. But we do not want morality dictating our lives around. Aren't we, Annas questions, losing an important sense in which we should be making our own decisions? Virtue ethics, Annas claims, avoids these problems.
According to Annas, we should think of becoming virtuous on the lines of learning to be a builder. To become a better builder you start by picking a role model and copying what she does. Slowly, you learn to build better, engaging in the activity in a way which is less dependent on the examples of others and expresses more understanding of your own. Finally, you progress from piecemeal understanding of building to a more unified understanding of building. You have, that is, become a good builder. Being morally good, Annas argues, proceeds in this same way. We look to virtuous human beings, and the practical wisdom they demonstrate, so that we too can become virtuous - doing the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right motive. In short, we learn to live virtuous lives by acting as the virtuous person acts, until we can grasp what virtue demands for ourselves. Thus, just as what is right for one acquiring a skill depends on her stage of development, the morally right action differs depending on where the agent is in her development of a virtuous character.
-According to Annas, development from learner to expert essentially involves acquiring your own understanding of the field you are learning.