PHIL 120: Chapter 7 Reading Guide

Vaughn, Doing Ethics — Chapter 7: Virtue Ethics

Instructions

This reading guide is designed to help you understand and answer the Review Questions for Chapter 7 (Vaughn, pp. 150–155). This assessment also verifies your active reading of the chapter. For each question below, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Navigate to the exact page and paragraph indicated. Locate the sentence using the provided beginning words and type the entire sentence verbatim into the first box.
Step 2: Answer the question based on your reading of the chapter (no outside research needed or permitted) in your own words in the second box. (Page hints are provided in the answer boxes to help you locate the core answer).
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Review Question 1

On p. 150, (the paragraph beginning "Consequentialist moral theories are concerned with the consequences of actions..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Virtue ethics, however, takes a different turn..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What central question distinguishes virtue ethics from consequentialist and duty-based theories?

Review Question 2

On p. 150, (the paragraph beginning "For Aristotle, every living being has an end toward which it naturally aims..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Aristotle argues that the true goal of humans..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is eudaimonia, and how does virtue relate to achieving it?

Review Question 3

On p. 150, (the paragraph beginning "A virtue is a stable disposition to act and feel according to some ideal..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "A virtue is a stable disposition to act and feel..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is Aristotle's definition of a virtue, and what is the difference between intellectual and moral virtues?

Review Question 4

On p. 151, (the paragraph beginning "Aristotle's notion of a moral virtue is what he calls the \"Golden Mean\"..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Aristotle's notion of a moral virtue is what he calls the "Golden Mean"..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is Aristotle's concept of the Golden Mean, and how does courage illustrate it?

Review Question 5

On p. 151, (the paragraph beginning "Like Aristotle, contemporary virtue ethicists put the emphasis on quality of character..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Like Aristotle, contemporary virtue ethicists put the emphasis on quality of character..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How does virtue ethics evaluate a case of lying differently than a duty-based theory would?

Review Question 6

On pp. 151-152, (the paragraph beginning "Contemporary virtue ethicists are also Aristotelian in believing that a pure duty-based morality..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Contemporary virtue ethicists are also Aristotelian in believing that..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How does virtue ethics differ from Kant's ethics on the role of motives and feelings?

Review Question 7

On p. 152, (the paragraph beginning "What guidance can Helen obtain in her strivings toward a moral ideal?..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Like most virtue ethicists, she looks to moral exemplars..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What role do moral exemplars play in virtue ethics?

Review Question 8

On p. 152, (the paragraph beginning "A case can be made for virtue ethics based on how well it seems to explain..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Some philosophers, for example, claim that..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

Why do some philosophers think virtue ethics explains moral motivation better than duty-based systems?

Review Question 9

On p. 153, (the paragraph beginning "The critics' main contention is that appeals to virtues or virtuous character..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "The critics' main contention is that..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the circularity problem critics raise against virtue ethics?

Review Question 10

On pp. 153-154, (the paragraph beginning "The virtue theorist can respond to these criticisms by asserting that there is actually plenty of moral guidance..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "The virtue theorist can respond to these criticisms by asserting..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How does Rosalind Hursthouse's "v-rules" reply address the no-guidance criticism of virtue ethics?

Review Question 11

On pp. 154-155, (the paragraph beginning "Another usefulness-related criticism crops up because of apparent conflicts between virtues..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Another usefulness-related criticism crops up because of..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the conflict-of-virtues problem (loyalty vs. honesty), and how do virtue ethicists reply?