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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. With what sort of friendship is VIII.14 concerned?

2. Which two thinkers does Aristotle reference in X.8 concerning the nature of those who are happy?

3. Aristotle states in X.4 that a change of place is what?

4. Which virtue does Aristotle explicitly claim to be concerned with regarding the sorts of pleasures that concern the incontinent man, in VII.4?

5. What fact does Aristotle point to in support of the hypothesis that living itself is a good?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Aristotle's distinction between affection and friendship.

2. Why does Aristotle state that words concerning feelings and actions are less believable than actions themselves?

3. Why is it that having friends in a time of one's good fortune is, in the philosophy of Aristotle, more beautiful than in other times?

4. In what way does Aristotle agree with Socrates concerning knowledge and moral action?

5. Explain the distinction of Aristotle between having goodwill and having friendship that Aristotle points to in IX.5.

6. Why does Aristotle state that mothers have greater love for their children than children for their parents?

7. Why does Aristotle state that there is a virtue connected with art, but that practical judgment is itself an end?

8. What is meant by Aristotle saying that pleasures from different sources can be impediments to activities?

9. Explain the distinction, and its significance, between Socrates and Aristotle on the relationship between knowledge and moral action.

10. According to Aristotle, why ought a good person be a lover of himself and a bad person not?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Of the moral virtues, none stands in higher regard than that of one's greatness of soul. Analyze Aristotle's presentation of the great-souled man in a careful and thorough essay, considering both what greatness of soul is in itself and its relationship to all of the other virtues. How does it relate to temperance, courage, generosity, and any of the other moral virtues? How is it related to the intellectual virtues? What are some specific examples of a great-souled man? How does a great-souled man react in specific situations? What makes such a person exemplary for others?

Essay Topic 2

In many cases, ethical rectitude depends not merely on a bland and level equality between men, but upon a sense of proportionality; justice is not merely ensuring that everyone has the same things, according to Aristotle, but that everyone has that which he is due, according to merit. Examine this claim in a structured analytical essay. Why does Aristotle advocate proper proportionality? In what situations does he advocate it? What are the strengths and weaknesses of his argument? Upon what does his argument depend? Upon what does proportionality depend? What is the relationship between proportionality and the various virtues?

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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