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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Deliberation is, for Aristotle, principally about the things to be done by whom?

2. What causes a distortion to come about in most people, according to the opinion of Aristotle in III.4?

3. By doing what, in the opinion of Aristotle, does man make himself a certain sort of person?

4. Aristotle states in I.6 that it is nobler to give the higher honor to which of the following?

5. For the sake of what does Aristotle state the courageous person endures the fearful?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the proper distinction Aristotle makes between things that are good in themselves and things that are good only in a derivative sense? Illustrate this distinction by means of an example.

2. Explain what is meant by Aristotle in saying that youth should not be involved in the study or practice of politics.

3. To which of the vicious extremes is the truthful man closer in disposition and why, according to Aristotle?

4. What are the conditions Aristotle gives for properly calling someone happy in Book I, Chapter 9, and why does he give these?

5. What is Aristotle's distinction between the sort of injustice that is unlawful and the sort of injustice that is inequitable?

6. What is the relationship that Aristotle claims exists between the virtues of courage and temperance?

7. The magnanimous man is concerned with what things and in what manner, according to Aristotle?

8. What is the tripartite distinction in the soul that Aristotle makes in Chapter 13 of the first book?

9. In what way does Aristotle claim gentleness (or mildness) is related to the virtues concerned with honor and magnanimity?

10. Why is doing injustice worse than suffering injustice, from Aristotle's perspective?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the Ethics, the topic of man's volitional powers frequently becomes relevant to the subject at hand. Compose an analytical essay which considers the relationship of man's will to his virtue, particularly regarding the topics of friendship and justice. Why is man's will important to these topics? What is the role of man's volitional powers in his pursuit of virtue? How does man's will relate to his states of moral character? How does it relate to his friendships? Why is it important to the enacting of justice?

Essay Topic 2

Though not addressed as explicitly in the Ethics, a persistent topic around which much of Aristotle's philosophical inquiry circles is the relationship between friendship and the community. Analyze this topic in a carefully developed essay, considering both the way in which friendship influences the community and how community influences friendships. What is the effect of virtuous, true friendships on a community? Upon what principles do such friendships exist, and why are these important to a solid community? What are the conditions of the community that help create such friendships? In what way are these two things reciprocal in terms of giving to one another?

Essay Topic 3

Oftentimes, examining a thing's contrariness is helpful in understanding the thing itself: consequently, Aristotle speaks at some length on the conditions in which man is found to be consumed with vice. These are scattered throughout the Ethics; in an insightful essay, unite and analyze the nature of vice as it is presented by Aristotle. What characterizes the vicious man? What is the vicious man's relation to knowledge of his actions? Why can the vicious man not engage in true friendships? How is the nature of vice demonstrated through particular examples of the behavior of vicious men?

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