Chapter 2 Aristotle

Question 1

Nichomachean ethics

Answer 1

name normally given to Aristotle’s best-known work on ethics

Question 2

teleologist

Answer 2

a person who assumes that everything in nature aims at some end or good

Question 3

self-realization ethic

Answer 3

Aristotle’s concept of morality and moral development

Question 4

entelechy

Answer 4

Aristotle’s notion that every living thing in nature possesses an “inner urge” to become its unique self, ie and acorn becomes on oak tree, newborn yearns to become adult.

Question 5

happiness

Answer 5

the ultimate end of life (per Aristotle); and end that’s final, self-sufficient and attainable

Question 6

hierarchy of ends

Answer 6

instrumental, intrinsic or ultimate; types of ends people pursue

Question 7

instrumental end

Answer 7

an end that will lead to something further down the road; a means to an end; for the sake of something else

Question 8

intrinsic end

Answer 8

for their own sake; valued in themselves, not because of what they produce or whatever else they may lead to

Question 9

ultimate end

Answer 9

per Aristotle - happiness or eudaimonia

Question 10

eudaimonia

Answer 10

happiness in Greek; ultimate end

Question 11

secondary form of happiness

Answer 11

moral activity, amusement and physical appetite satisfaction

Question 12

ultimate end of life

Answer 12

final, self-sufficient, and intrinsically valuable

Question 13

self-sufficient

Answer 13

make life desirable and lacking nothing

Question 14

final

Answer 14

must be desirable in itself

Question 15

attainable

Answer 15

reachable

Question 16

hedonist

Answer 16

someone who sees the chief good as the pursuit of pleasure

Question 17

state

Answer 17

the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes

Question 18

activity

Answer 18

happiness; mode of living

Question 19

success

Answer 19

fulfilled

Question 20

distinctive function

Answer 20

of humans (over plants) - rational activity;able to be happy and live a good life unlike plants

Question 21

rational capacities

Answer 21

soul’s activity and actions that express reason

Question 22

alternative lifestyles

Answer 22

fall short of human ideal of the good life; lifestyle of pleasure and appetite gratification, statesman’s lifestyle, contemplative lifestyle, virtuous lifestyle

Question 23

lifestyle of pleasure and appetite gratification

Answer 23

one of Aristotle’s alternative lifestyles; instrumental end

Question 24

statesman’s lifestyle

Answer 24

alternative lifestyle of action where honor is paramount; depends on the opinions of others

Question 25

the good life

Answer 25

Per Aristotle, life of the intellect

Question 26

soul

Answer 26

for Aristotle, having a soul means to be alive or animate

Question 27

contemplative lifestyle

Answer 27

humanity’s highest good; incorporates activities of the rational soul; it is most God-like or divine; self-sufficient; intrinsically choiceworthy; contemplation can be done alone

Question 28

divine

Answer 28

God-like

Question 29

balancing process

Answer 29

life of reason and contemplation; rationally ordered life in which intellectual, physical and social needs are met under the rule of reason and moderation

Question 30

virtue

Answer 30

moral excellence; goodness; for Aristotle, two kinds: intellectual and moral

Question 31

intellectual virtue

Answer 31

wisdom and understanding acquired thru instruction

Question 32

moral virtue

Answer 32

temperance and patience and results as a product of habit; feeling and actions

Question 33

habit

Answer 33

an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary

Question 34

Doctrine of the Mean

Answer 34

right conduct is incompatible with excess or deficiency; to live morally, we must find a happy balance between the two extremes; living in moderation

Question 35

moderation

Answer 35

restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses

Question 36

What makes Aristotle a teleologist?

Answer 36

his focus on the ends of human activity; his functional explanation of morality (self-realization ethic); his incorporation of the concept of entelechy into his theory of human development

Question 37

What is the end of human life?

Answer 37

happiness or eudaimoia; ultimate end is final, self-sufficient and intrinsically valuable; successful living; not hedonism; fulfillment of our distinctively human function - rational activity of the soul

Question 38

How are humans distinctive? What do they share with other life forms?

Answer 38

same as plants - nutrition and growth; same as animals- sensory capabilities; differ- higher part of soul involves rational activity; humans have capacity to be happy and live a good life, unlike plants.

Question 39

What lifestyles are discussed by Aristotle?

Answer 39

Lifestyle of pleasure and gratification; statesman; contemplative; virtuous

Question 40

What lifestyle is within reach of most of us? By what is it characterized?

Answer 40

Virtuous lifestyle; virtue offers us secondary happiness and represents a lifestyle of moderation

Question 41

What are some virtues?

Answer 41

courage: mean between cowardice and rashness; modesty: mean between shyness and shamelessness; truthfulness: mean between boastful and understatement; wittiness: mean between buffoonery and boorishness