The excess is obsequiousness, and the deficiency is quarrelsomeness. Excess desire is buffoonery, and deficient desire is boorishness.įriendliness – is moderation in the desire to please others generally. Wittiness – is moderation in the desire to amuse others. Truthfulness – is what Aristotle called moderation in one’s presentation of oneself, with boastfulness as the excess and self-deprecation as the deficiency.
The vice of excess is irascibility or irritableness, of deficiency is spiritlessness or passivity (there’s not a good word for it). Good temper – is moderation in one’s proneness to anger. The deficiency we just call “lack of ambition.” There was no name for this virtue in Greek, and in English we use the same word both for the virtue and for the vice of excess (maybe we have trouble distinguishing them). Desiring less than one deserves is excessive humility.Īmbition – is similar to pride but pertains to smaller honors. Desiring more than one deserves is vanity. The mean here is defined by what one deserves. Pride or High-Mindedness – is moderation in one’s desire for or tendency to demand great honors. Magnificence or Munificence – has the same nature as generosity but applies to large public expenditures. The tendency to accept too much and give too little is stinginess. The tendency to give in excess and accept too little is spendthriftiness or prodigality.
Generosity or Liberality – is moderation in the size of the gifts one is prone to give or accept. Deficiency has no common name, but may be labeled “insensitivity.” Temperance – is moderation in the desire for physical pleasures. Deficiency of fear and excess of confidence produce rashness or foolhardiness. Excess in the propensity to fear combined with deficiency in the propensity to be confident constitutes cowardice. Consequently, I begin with narrative descriptions of each virtue.Ĭourage – is moderation in the tendencies to feel fear and boldness or confidence. In Sheldene Simola's argument, why is it important to the argument that the McDonald's executives responded appropriately to the needs of the shooting victims and their families?ġ0.While it is helpful to see Aristotle’s list of virtues and vices laid out schematically, some of these are complicated enough that the abbreviated descriptions that fit on a chart are misleading. What role does practical wisdom play in virtuous action?ĩ. Why, according to Chapter 5, doesn't Mad Max from The Princess Bride count as acting compassionately when he saves Wesley?Ĩ. Which of the following would a virtue theorist be most likely to say about her?ħ. She explains that she thinks she needs to get rid of her money to get into heaven. Suppose that a wealthy business tycoon donates all of her money to charity when she dies. Which of the following appears on Mencius's list of virtues in Chapter 5?Ħ. Which of the following does NOT appear on Aristotle's list of virtues in Chapter 5?ĥ. Which of the following is a thin ethical term?Ĥ. Which of the following is a thick ethical term?ģ. Why is it wrong, according to Rosalind Hursthouse, to get an abortion so that one can “carry on ‘having a good time'”?Ģ. To say that virtues are multitrack dispositions is to say that having a virtue involves both acting in certain ways and having certain attitudes.ġ. Practical wisdom consists in knowing which character traits are virtues and which are vices.ĥ.
You can't know whether someone is acting virtuously in a particular situation if you don't know his or her motivation for acting.Ĥ. The difference between thick and thin ethical terms is how much agreement there is about whether they describe something good or bad.ģ. Virtues and vices are kinds of morally important character traits.Ģ. with Virtues and Vicesĥ True/False Questions & 10 Multiple Choice Questionsġ. CHAPTER 5- Summary and Quiz - Reasoning with Virtues and Vices– Ethics and Contemporary Moral Issues ReadingĬhapter 5.