Study Questions for Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book II

1. What reasons does Aristotle give to support his claim that “none of the virtues of character arises in us naturally”? (1103a17-1103b25)

2. Why does Aristotle think it is crucial to acquire the right habits when we are young? (1103b13-25)

3. What do you suppose Aristotle means by “use evident cases as witnesses to things that are not evident”? (1104a14)

4. Virtues “tend to be ruined by excess and deficiency.” Explain. (1104a13-27)

5. Aristotle says that a virtuous person enjoys acting virtuously. (1104b5-10) If I don’t like to give, but give anyway, then I am not really a generous person (he seems to imply). But why not say that my actions make me generous, regardless of how I feel?

6. Again (1105a28-32) “for actions in accord with the virtues o be done temperately or justly is does not suffice that they (the actions) themselves have the right qualities. Rather, the agent must be in the right state when he does them.” What state? Why is this necessary?

7. Why is a virtue a state and not a feeling or a capacity? What does this mean? (Chapter 5)

8. (Famously) Aristotle says that virtue “lies in a mean” (and “aims at what is intermediate”) between two extremes – one of excess and one of deficiency. But what does he mean by saying that this mean is “relative to us”? He gives an example (1106b2-8) about how much food different people need. How does this help to illustrate his point?

9. Note Aristotle’s definition of virtue at 1107a1-5. Try to understand each of its parts.

10. In Chapter 7 Aristotle runs quickly through a list of virtues and vices. He will discuss these in greater detail in Books III and IV. You might find it helpful to look at the chart I handed out (though some parts of it are based on the more detailed discussions to come later.)

11. In Chapter 9 Aristotle gives some practical advice for “hitting the mean.” What is it? Note that the advice to “steer clear of the more contrary extreme” refers back to the point at 1109a1-18: that sometimes one of the two vices associated with a virtue is more opposed to the virtue than the other vice (as cowardice seems farther from bravery than rashness does). How helpful do you think this advice is?

12. A characteristically Aristotelian remark: “How great and how serious a deviation receives blame is not easy to define in an account, for nothing else perceptible is easily defined either. Such things are among particulars, and the judgment depends on perception.” (1109b20-23) Aristotle has said several times by now that ethics is about particular cases, that precise general accounts cannot be given, that we must be content with rough outlines, etc. Is this wise or just a sign that he has failed to do his job as a moral philosopher?