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P141 Midterm

Terms in this set (40)

Which century did Aristotle live in?
4th century BC
What does Aristotle mean by "the chief good"?
The purpose of which everything is done
Which word does Aristotle think practically everyone agrees fits the chief good (even though widespread agreement on applying this word masks disagreement on what it consists in)?
Happiness
What does Aristotle think most people pursue, wrongly thinking it is the highest good?
Pleasure
What does Aristotle decide (BkI, Ch7) the chief good (happiness) consists in?
Indicate both the general answer he gives (applicable to any kind of creature) and then the specific way this is realizedin human beings.
General answer: everything has a function. Happiness for anything is the ability for it to perform its function well.

Human answer: we have a function (reason or rationality that makes us special) to live life in accordance with rational principles. To exercise virtue in the living of your life does not mean you get to a state and stop but you constantly work towards your goal.
Can you be happy despite suffering grave misfortune, acc. to Aristotle? Why or why not?
No, misfortunes will diminish happiness, but a virtuous person will handle the misfortune better than a person without virtue because we have a greater control over our virtue than our misfortune which is a product of chance.
Identify the teacher-student relationships among Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates.
Socrates taught Plato and Plato taught Aristotle
Explain Aristotle's doctrine that is sometimes referred to as 'the Golden Mean' or 'Goldilocks Principle.'
Find the average of two vices and the virtue in between
Does the doctrine apply to actions, emotions, neither, or both?
Both actions and emotions
What does Aristotle mean when he says that we become just by doing just things?
We must have knowledge about just things and choose just acts and have a firm unchangeable character that isn't just imitation. At first, some people just imitate others but it is important to naturally choose the act.
Why is practical wisdom crucial to acting virtuously, according to Aristotle?
Finding the "mean" is not easy as it requires good judgement and discipline(practical wisdom), for many cases there are no simple rules by which we may judge a person's conduct.
What does Aristotle contend (in Book X) is the best form of human life, and why?
Philosophers who contemplate life with theoretical wisdom not practical wisdom.
In which century did Thomas Aquinas live? [Bear in mind: 2020 is in the 21st century, etc.]
13th century
How did Aquinas propose that Christian thinkers should respond to the newly-rediscovered work of Aristotle?
He thinks that Aristotle has the general framework, however he has the wrong idea on some metaphysical matters.
What is 'natural law'?
The needed universal principles governing practical reason
What (surprisingly) does Aquinas identify with goodness?
Goodness is being and existence
According to Aquinas, three facts that differentiate us from animals account for the challenge we face in seeking happiness, and so point to the need for cultivating the virtues. Identify them.
3 facts that make us different from animals: conflicts among desires, our social nature, human activity is open ended.
Identify Aquinas's three core theological virtues and indicate for each what it enables.
Faith, Hope, Charity. Faith is the knowledge that enlightens us to supernatural truth. Hope is to desire our supernatural happiness in the right way. Charity is to choose our spiritual union with God in the right way.
Explain the difference between Aristotle's and Aquinas's accounts of the virtue of magnanimity. Then explain why Aquinas thinks his account is morally preferable.
Magnanimous man for Aristotle is " a great souled man" for Aqiunas its "one who aspires to fulfill their potential" Aquinas' definition is preferable since his version does not involve pride (and pride is a sin)
State Aquinas's two-condition analysis of what ordinary love (amor) consists in.
The desire for the good of the beloved and the desire for the union with the beloved. Both things have to be true in order for true love to happen.
Explain what charity (caritas) is, how it transforms ordinary love, and what its proper object is.
Charity is love and it transforms the inclination of normal love into perfected love. The proper object of perfected love is God. God is what transforms normal love to perfected love.
Which century was Kant born (and mostly live) in?
18th century
What is it to have a good will, according to Kant?
In Kant's terms, a good will is a will whose decisions are wholly determined by moral demands or, as he often refers to this, by the Moral Law.
Why, according to Kant, is it always wrong to lie?
First, lying corrupts the most important quality of my being human: my ability to make free, rational choices. Second, my lies rob others of their freedom to choose rationally.
What does Kant mean by a metaphysics of morals?
This is whatever we can learn by a basis of reason. Most of this reasoning helps us determine what constitutes a good will and what does not.
What is the form of a hypothetical imperative?
If you desire X (or not X), you should (or should not) do Y.
What is the form of a categorical imperative?
If you want some thing, then you must do some act
State the 1st (universality) formulation of the moral categorical imperative
Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become universal law.
State the 2nd (humanity) formulation of the moral categorical imperative.
Act in such a way to treat humanity, whether it is yourself or anyone else, always as an ends, never as a means.
State the 3rd (autonomy) formulation of the moral categorical imperative.
Act in a way that you are the giver of the moral law
What problems does Shafer-Landau see in Kant's moral theory?
Kant's ethics give you unclear guidance on complicated moral issues. Serious problems with account for those beings that lack humanity.
Which century did John Stuart Mill live in?
19th century
What is happiness, according to Mill?
Happiness is experiencing pleasure in the absence of pain
What for Mill is the foundational principle of morality? (Give the name and its content.)
The greatest happiness principle. Actions are right in the proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.
What is the central practical challenge to putting this principle into practice?
It's not always clear which of our actions will cause pain and which will cause pleasure. It is difficult to predict long term consequences.
Why in brief (Ch.2) should we accept this foundational principle of morality, acc. to Mill?
Pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things that are desirable ends.
Does Mill think that one's motive partly determines the moral value of an action?
Mill believes in ends rather than means. So to Mill, the right action will be the action that causes the most happiness in the end rather than the motive of why that action is being done.
Spell out the steps of Mill's Ch.4 'proof' of his foundational principle.
1. Happiness is desirable as an end.
2. The "general happiness" is desirable as an end.
3. Nothing except happiness is desirable as an end.
What does Mill think the difference is between the duties of justice and other moral duties?
Duties of justices are things you must always do or refrain from doing. It is important that you respect other moral duties, however it is not mandatory.
Why do some people believe that Mill's moral theory potentially licenses injustice?
They might think it would allow people to act unjustly if doing so would produce a greater happiness in a group overall.
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