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CHAPTER 7 Virtue Ethics: Be a Good Person
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. The Ethics of Virtue
A. Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
B. Virtues
II. Virtue in Action
III. Evaluating Virtue Ethics
IV. Learning from Virtue Ethics
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Aristotle distinguishes between
a. intellectual virtues and moral virtues.
b. intellectual virtues and political virtues.
c. temporal virtues and earthly virtues.
d. moral virtues and happiness virtues.
2. For Aristotle, a person living a life of reason is living a life of
a. excess. c. struggle.
b. virtue. d. strict adherence to moral rules.
3. According to Aristotle, the greatest good for humans is
a. virtue law. c. virtuosity.
b. the Golden Mean. d. eudaimonia.
4. Aristotle says that moral virtue comes about as a result of ________.
a. divine inspiration.
b. following the Golden Rule.
c. conforming to the greatest happiness principle.
d. habit.
5. Contemporary virtue ethicists argue that if virtues were eliminated entirely from morality,
leaving only principles or rules of justice, the moral life would appear
a. one-dimensional. c. complete.
b. richer. d. complicated.
6. By the lights of virtue ethics, if you rescue someone from disaster solely out of a sense of duty,
then your action is
a. a morally deficient response. c. a morally appropriate response.
b. wrong. d. selfless.
7. Virtue ethicists try to achieve the moral ideal by
a. looking to well-established moral rules. c. fulfilling duties.
b. reading books on ethics. d. looking to moral exemplars.
8. The primary focus of virtue systems, according to the philosopher Louis Pojman, is on
discovering the proper moral example and ________ that person or ideal type.
a. avoiding c. worshipping
b. imitating d. evaluating
9. Virtue ethics puts primary emphasis on being a good person and living a good life, whereas
duty-based moral systems
a. emphasize a life of happiness and flourishing.
b. emphasize happiness through correct living.
c. pay much less attention to following rules of conduct.
d. pay much less attention to virtuous character and living a good life.
10. Critics have taken virtue ethics to task for alleged problems in
a. its focus on character and motivation. c. adapting the views of Aristotle.
b. the usefulness of the theory in guidance. d. the requirement of coherence.
11. Virtue ethics claims that the right action is the one performed by the virtuous person and that
the virtuous person is the one who performs the right action. But some philosophers say that
this way of framing the matter amounts to
a. arguing with no premises.
b. arguing from the obvious to the less than obvious.
c. arguing in a circle.
d. arguing too strongly.
12. It seems that a person can be benevolent, honest, and loyal but still treat a stranger unjustly.
This shows that
a. the rightness of actions necessarily depends on the content of one’s character.
b. the rightness of actions does not necessarily depend on the content of one’s character.
c. most people are without virtues.
d. having the right virtues can prevent moral error.
13. According to critics of virtue ethics, one may be virtuous (kind, just, and honest) and still not know
a. which actions are morally permissible.
b. what the consequences of one’s actions will be.
c. whether virtue is good.
d. whether virtues are worth cultivating.
14. It’s possible that someone would have to choose between performing or not performing an
action that could lead to serious harm to a friend—yet each choice could involve the same two
virtues in contradictory ways (for example, one choice could privilege the virtue of honesty to
the detriment of loyalty, and the other could privilege loyalty to the detriment of honesty). Such
a case suggests that virtue ethics may have a problem with
a. Criterion 1 (consistency with commonsense moral judgments).
b. Criterion 2 (consistency with moral experience).
c. Criterion 3 (usefulness).
d. both Criterion 1 and Criterion 2.
15. In pointing out the shortcomings of rule-based ethical theories, the philosopher William
Frankena says that principles without virtues are
a. irrelevant. c. impotent.
b. intractable. d. intelligible.
16. The fact that we regularly judge the moral permissibility of actions as well as assess the
goodness of character suggests that
a. principles and virtuous behavior are in conflict.
b. rule-based moral theories should be discarded.
c. ethics is false.
d. virtue and character are important elements of the moral life.
TRUE/FALSE
1. In ethics, the central question asked by a virtue ethicist is “What should I do?”
2. For virtue ethicists, motivations for moral or immoral action are essential.
3. Suppose you are seriously ill and laid up in the hospital. If a friend came to visit you only
because it was her duty to do so (duty was her only motivation), you would likely view her
action as heartfelt and genuine.
4. A conscientious practitioner of Aristotelian virtue ethics would have to appeal to a moral rule
such as “Do not lie” in order to know that she should not lie to a friend in order to avoid
paying a debt.
5. Many duty-based theorists believe that motivation for moral action cannot be derived entirely
from considerations of duty, just as appropriate motivation cannot be based solely on virtuous
character.
6. One objection to virtue ethics is that it’s possible for a virtuous person to act entirely from
virtue and still commit an immoral act.
SHORT ANSWER
1. A theory of morality that makes virtue the central concern is known as ________.
2. A ________ is a stable disposition to act and feel according to some ideal or model of excellence.
3. Aristotle argues that the true goal of humans is ________, which means “happiness” or
“flourishing” and refers to the full realization of the good life.
4. Aristotle’s conception of virtue as a balance between two behavioral extremes is known
as the ________.
