study guide--exam #4
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
East Carolina University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
4003
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by UltraWombatMaster1055
PHIL 1175: Exam #4 Study Guide
Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
● Be able to identify ethics as an area of philosophy.
● Be able to identify the fundamental questions in ethics.
● Be able to identify a moral problem.
● Be able to decide upon the correct course of action according to each of three major moral theories.
● Be able to evaluate theories by identifying plausibilities and objections, and weighing them.
Module 4 Learning Outcomes
○ Be able to identify four motivations leading to virtue ethics.
○ Be able to identify the fundamental moral question virtue ethics is concerned with. ○ Be able to identify what eudaimonia is, and how it is related to virtue ethics.
○ Be able to identify what a virtue is, what their qualities are, and how they develop.
○ Be able to identify what a virtuous action is, and how virtuous actions are related to the results
of an action and the agent’s intentions.
○ Be able to identify the role of judgment in the virtues, and in virtuous actions.
○ Be able to apply virtue ethics to decisions having moral significance, by deciding upon the correct course of action in example scenarios according to virtue ethics.
○ Be able to identify the plausibilities of virtue ethics.
○ Be able to identify the objections to virtue ethics.
Terms
You should have a good understanding of the terms below well enough to be able to apply them. You should also be able define the terms in the first column.
virtue
disposition
vice
mean between extremes
vice of deficiency
excellence
vice of excess
eudaimonia
Virtue Ethics
You should be able to answer the questions below.
● What is the nature of a virtue?
● What sort of a thing is a virtue?
● How does a virtue affect the person who (or thing which) has it?
● Does having the virtues mean that an agent can never behave in an extreme way?
● How does a virtuous person identify the morally right course of action?
● What are some examples of virtues? What are the vices of deficiency and excess?
● How should the virtues be taught?
● What is a virtuous life like? What is a virtuous person like?
● What is it that makes an action morally right, according to virtue ethics?
● Is virtue ethics able to avoid the pitfalls of utilitarianism and deontologism? If so, how?
● What are the plausibilities of virtue ethics?
● What are the objections to virtue ethics? Are there good responses Aristotle can make to these objections?
Cases
We’ve discussed numerous situations for which virtue ethics prescribes a certain course of action. Given a particular case, you should be able to answer which course of action virtue ethics prescribes as the morally right action. Some additional cases are given below.
1. Offering to Help
When we discussed deontologism, we discovered that while helping is universalizable (as long as helping does not involve lying, deceiving, stealing, harming, or borrowing without permission)
a maxim should be phrased “I will offer
to help...” for it to pass the universalizability test. Suppose that while you are home for break, you notice your mother walking toward the house with both arms full of what must be at least a dozen grocery bags. What does virtue ethics prescribe as the morally right action? Does this differ from what deontologism prescribes? If so, why are the prescribed actions different? 2. Medical Patient Optimism
Suppose that a relative of yours has a serious illness which is treatable, but the success of the treatment depends heavily on the patient’s outlook. In other words, if the patient believes that the treatment will be successful, it is far more likely to be successful. Suppose also that the patient (your relative) is not quite clear about the medical terminology, and believes that a serious illness is one which is not treatable. Finally, suppose that your relative consults you about their illness, since you are a college student, asking, “Is it serious?” How should you respond, according to virtue ethics? How should you respond, according to virtue ethics, if you are not a good liar, or if your relative knows you well and can tell when you are lying? How should you respond, according to virtue ethics, if the success of the treatment does not depend on the patient’s outlook?
3. A Pledge to Pay for College
Suppose that a neighbor of yours back home is a high school senior, and is planning to attend ECU next year. Suppose that she has saved a small sum of money from a part time job, but is expecting her parents to pay her tuition and other expenses. Suppose that her parents have agreed to cover these expenses as long as she maintains a 3.5 GPA once she gets to college. Finally, suppose that this spring there is a major tsunami, leaving tens of thousands of people without homes or food, and that the father, moved by the tragedy, donates his entire savings to the Red Cross, i.e., including the money which would have been used to pay her tuition. Does this action exhibit the virtue of generosity according to virtue ethics? Would it make a difference
if the agreement between the parents and their daughter was to take the family to the Bahamas for two weeks in the summer to celebrate her high school graduation, instead of paying for her college expenses?
4. The Borrowed Chain Saw
Suppose you’ve borrowed a chain saw from your neighbor to cut down a tree in your back yard. You’re done using it, but you’ve forgotten to return it. One evening after dark, your doorbell rings. You find your neighbor standing on your front porch with a companion. Your neighbor is pretty clearly in an altered state, and the companion pretty clearly has his hands bound behind his back, and is gagged, bleeding, and visibly terrified. Your neighbor wants you to return his chain saw. According to virtue ethics, what should you do? According to utilitarianism and deontologism? (Dale Jamieson and Tom Regan, 1982)
5. Protecting the Nation I
Suppose that US Secret Service agents pick up someone whom they have good reason to suspect is involved in a plot to assassinate a high level government official. As far as the Secret
Service knows, the plot is still active and involves several other people. The Secret Service has
plenty of information about the captive and several associates, but they do have some important
unanswered questions about the plot, and so they interrogate the captive. Aware that anything he says would not only lead to charges of treason, a capital offense, but would also likely ruin the plot, the captive refuses to speak. Is it morally permissible for the Secret Service to use enhanced interrogation techniques to elicit information from the captive?
6. Protecting the Nation II
Suppose that US Secret Service agents at Washington National Airport are about to apprehend someone they have good reason to suspect is involved in a plot to assassinate a high level government official. Unfortunately, the suspect’s instincts alert him to the presence of Secret Service agents. Thinking quickly, almost as a reflex, he swallows a cyanide tablet he’s carrying with him. Then, he realizes that he is the only one of the conspirators who knows a certain key piece of information. Thinking quickly again, he runs around the nearest corner, stops a woman
passing by, whispers the important information to her, and falls to the ground dead. Secret Service agents apprehend the woman and take her away for questioning. The woman is shocked and scared. She is afraid that if she tells the agents what she was told, she will be charged with treason and executed, so she refuses to speak. Is it morally permissible for the Secret Service to use enhanced interrogation techniques to elicit information from her?
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help