Deck 5: Reasoning With Virtues and Vices

Question 1

A virtue is:

A) A character trait that contributes to making someone a morally excellent person.
B) A character trait that other people consider good.
C) A character trait that contributes to someone's getting what he or she wants.
D) A character trait that makes people like someone.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A vice is:

A) A character trait that contributes to making someone morally bad.
B) A character trait that most people would consider undesirable.
C) A character trait that interferes with someone's getting what he or she wants.
D) A character trait that causes people to dislike someone.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following best explains the difference between a "thick" ethical term and a "thin" one?

A) A thick ethical term applies to societies or groups as a whole, whereas a thin term applies only to individuals.
B) A thick ethical term contains both descriptive and normative content, whereas a thin term contains only normative content.
C) A thick ethical term both describes a character trait and implies that people value it, whereas a thin ethical term describes a character trait without implying that anyone values it.
D) Thick ethical terms are purely descriptive, whereas thin ethical terms are normative.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is a thick ethical term?

A) Evil.
B) Good.
C) Supererogatory.
D) Compassionate.

Question 5

Which of the following is a thick ethical term?

A) Infectious.
B) Obligatory.
C) Brave.
D) Permissible.

Question 6

Which of the following is a thin ethical term?

A) Generous.
B) Wrong.
C) Honest.
D) Tall.

Question 7

Which of the following is a thin ethical term?

A) Disorganized.
B) Lazy.
C) Good.
D) Treasonous.

Question 8

Which of the following best captures Aristotle's doctrine of the "golden mean"?

A) Each virtue is intermediate between two vices.
B) Being virtuous requires doing everything in moderation.
C) A person can have "too much" of a particular virtue.
D) Truly having one virtue requires having all of the virtues.

Question 9

Which of the following best describes Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean"?

A) Being virtuous consists in understanding that anything is acceptable in moderation, but only in moderation.
B) Each virtue can be understood as avoiding two extremes in a particular area of life, such as spending money.
C) Having a virtue consists in knowing which things to avoid.
D) Someone who has a virtue requires knowledge of the "golden mean" to put the virtue into practice.

Question 10

Which of the following best illustrates Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean"?

A) The virtue of being prone to shame consists in knowing when to feel shame and when not to feel shame.
B) The virtue of trustfulness consists between the extremes of being too gullible and too suspicious of others.
C) The virtue of courage consists in never backing down from danger when something valuable is at stake.
D) The virtue of respect for property consists in recognizing when circumstances make it permissible to steal from others.

Question 11

According to Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean," the virtue of courage would be intermediate between which of the following?

A) Justice and greatness of soul.
B) Obedience and honor.
C) Selfishness and selflessness.
D) Cowardice and recklessness.

Question 12

According to Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean," which of the following words would best describe someone who always insists on telling the whole truth, no matter how hurtful it is to person hearing it?

A) Tactless.
B) Excessively forthright.
C) Extremely honest.
D) Cruel.

Question 13

What role does motivation play in exhibiting the virtue of honesty?

A) Only someone who does the honest thing from a desire to be honest has truly acted honestly.
B) Sometimes people need external motivation to exhibit a virtue such as honesty.
C) Anyone who does the honest thing exhibits the virtue of honesty, regardless of his or her motivation for doing so.
D) Only someone who does the honest thing from a desire to do his or her duty has truly acted honestly.

Question 14

Do you need to know someone's motivation for acting to evaluate whether he or she has acted virtuously? Why?

A) No, because all that matters in thinking about virtue is whether the person acts as a truly virtuous person would.
B) Yes, because doing the virtuous thing isn't really acting virtuously if it's done from the wrong motivation.
C) No, because motivation matters for determining whether someone is a virtuous person, but not whether they acted virtuously.
D) Yes, because doing the virtuous thing is only virtuous if you act from a sense of moral obligation.

Question 15

According to Jason Brennan's PROFIT FOR PROSPERITY argument, when does working for a for-profit business exhibit civic virtue?

A) When the business contributes to the good of society.
B) When the business avoids harming others unfairly.
C) When it is done for the love of the job rather than for money.
D) When it is done for the sake of promoting the common good.

Question 16

Which of the following best captures the idea of practical wisdom?

A) Practical wisdom is the ability to turn a situation to one's own advantage, which is not necessarily virtuous.
B) Practical wisdom is a deep understanding of the nature of virtue and motivation, which is required to be truly virtuous.
C) Practical wisdom is the ability to recognize the appropriate way to put a particular virtue into practice in a specific situation.
D) Practical wisdom is a deep understanding of human relationships, which is required for exercising certain kinds of virtues.

Question 17

Why is practical wisdom essential in acting virtuously?

A) Practical wisdom is required for recognizing what a particular virtue requires in a particular situation.
B) Practical wisdom is required for knowing which virtue to exercise in a particular situation.
C) Practical wisdom consists in understanding situations correctly, without which a person cannot have the proper motivation to act virtuously.
D) Practical wisdom consists in understanding the golden mean between two vices, which is essential for virtuous action.

Question 18

Which of the following best explains the idea that the virtue of courage is a multitrack disposition?

A) It means that, in addition to acting bravely in the face of danger, having courage requires knowing when it is appropriate to seek out danger and when it is appropriate to flee from danger or protect others from danger.
B) It means that, in addition to acting bravely in the face of danger, having courage requires being motivated to do the brave thing, valuing bravery for its own sake, promoting and admiring brave actions in others, despising cowardly or reckless actions, and so on.
C) It means that, in addition to acting bravely in the face of danger for the sake of being brave, having courage requires having other essential virtues, such as justice and practical wisdom, to exercise bravery correctly.
D) It means that, in addition to acting bravely in the face of danger, having courage requires encouraging others to act bravely and refusing to spend time or associate with people who do not act bravely in the face of danger.

Question 19

How does the idea that virtues are multitrack dispositions affect Michael Cassidy's HONEST PROSECUTORS argument?

A) It leads Cassidy to consider actions other than simply telling the truth.
B) It leads Cassidy to apply practical wisdom to deciding how much honesty the prosecutors should require from the defendant.
C) It enables Cassidy to identify the golden mean between lying and bluntness.
D) It enables Cassidy to justify prosecutors' behavior of striking a plea bargain when they know a defendant is guilty.

Question 20

Virtues are morally admirable character traits that contribute to making someone an excellent person.

Question 21

A vice, as defined in Chapter 5, is a bad habit that contributes to making someone unpleasant to be around.

Question 22

A thick ethical term has both descriptive and normative content.

Question 23

A claim that uses a thin ethical term can make a normative claim about something without making a descriptive claim about it.

Question 24

A claim that uses a thick ethical term can make a normative claim about something without making a descriptive claim about it.

Question 25

A thick ethical term is any descriptive term that might be normatively important.

Question 26

Obnoxious is a thick ethical term.

Question 27

Evil is a thin ethical term.

Question 28

Philosophers from different cultures usually produce completely different lists of virtues.

Question 29

According to Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean," each virtue is a mean between a deficiency and an excess.

Question 30

The idea of the "golden mean" is that in each area of life, there are extreme behaviors or tendencies to be avoided, and the relevant virtue involves an intermediate between those extremes.

Question 31

The idea of the "golden mean" is that the truly virtuous person always knows exactly the right way to put a virtue into practice in a particular situation.

Question 32

According to Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean," the virtue of mildness of temper is intermediate between being easily angered and being unwilling or unable to get angry.

Question 33

According to Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean," having one virtue requires having all of the virtues.

Question 34

The virtue of honesty requires telling the whole truth, no matter the consequences.

Question 35

Someone can be courageous even if he or she is sometimes unwilling to face danger.

Question 36

A truly generous person would always give others anything they ask for.

Question 37

Doing the honest thing is all that is required to exhibit the virtue of honesty.

Question 38

In evaluating whether someone has acted virtuously or viciously, it is essential to know the person's motivation for acting.

Question 39

In evaluating whether someone has acted virtuously, it is not always necessary to know why the person acted in a particular way.

Question 40

A cashier who gives a young child correct change for fear of losing his job still acts honestly because he did the honest thing.

Question 41

A witness in a legal trial who told the truth on the witness stand only because the law requires her to do so has acted honestly.

Question 42

Practical wisdom is the ability to figure out the right way to exhibit a particular virtue in a particular situation.

Question 43

Practical wisdom is necessary to put virtues into practice.

Question 44

A truly generous person will not only act generously for the sake of acting generously, but also value generous actions and attitudes in others.

Question 45

What is a virtue? What is a vice? Give an example of each.

Question 46

How can claims about virtues and vices be used to argue that a particular action is morally wrong? Give an example of such an argument, other than one that appeared in Chapter 5.

Question 47

How can claims about virtues and vices be used to argue that a particular action is morally obligatory? Give an example of such an argument, other than one that appeared in Chapter 5.

Question 48

Which of the virtues listed by Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Mencius, and Mark Alfano do you think is most important? Why?

Question 49

In your own words, explain Aristotle's idea of the "golden mean." Give an example of a virtue that illustrates that idea.

Question 50

Explain the role that a person's motivation plays in acting virtuously.

Question 51

Give an example of someone who does what a virtuous person does but is not actually acting virtuously. Explain why the person is not acting virtuously.

Question 52

Do you agree that working in a for-profit business could exhibit civic virtue, as Jason Brennan argues? Why or why not?

Question 53

Do you think that many people exhibit civic virtue by working for for-profit businesses, as Jason Brennan argues they could? Why or why not?

Question 54

In your own words, explain the idea of practical wisdom.

Question 55

Do you agree with Sheldene Simola that the McDonald's executives exhibited practical wisdom in the way they responded to the mass shooting in San Ysidro in 1984? Why or why not?

Question 56

Give an example of a situation in which someone tries to act virtuously but fails because of a failure of practical wisdom.

Question 57

What does it mean to say that virtues are "multitrack dispositions?"