Study Questions for Aristotle's
Nicomachean Ethics Book II

Instructor: Dr. Jan Garrett

Last revised date: August 1, 2007

Study Questions for use with T. H. Irwin's translation (Hackett, 1999). This version prepared in July 2007.

Book II: Virtue of Character (in General)

1. How many [main] kinds of virtue are there? (1103a15; cf. also 1103a4-11) Of what is intellectual virtue a result? (a15-16)

2. Of what is virtue of character a result? (a16-17)

3. Can virtues of character arise in us naturally? (a19-24)

4. Is nature wholly irrelevant to virtue? (a25-26)

5. How do we acquire virtues [of character]? (a31-b25) To what is Aristotle comparing such virtue here?

6. What is the aim of the present inquiry? How does it differ from the aim of other inquiries, e.g., physics or theology? (1103b26)

7. What must the right sort of habituation avoid? (1104a12-27) With what two opposites are virtues of character concerned? (1104b3ff) What arguments does Aristotle give supporting this claim? (1104b5-1105a17)

8. Why does Aristotle say that mere knowledge of what one is doing is insufficient for moral virtue? (What other conditions are more important?) (1105bff)

9. What does Aristotle mean by "feelings," "capacities." and "states"? (1105b22-29)

10. Are virtues and vices feelings like love, joy, hatred, envy? Explain. (1105b30-1106a6) Are they capacities for experiencing such feelings? Explain. (1106a-12)

11. In the broad sense of the term "virtue" (=approximately "goodness" or "excellence"), what does virtue cause with respect to those who have it? (1106a16ff) What, then, does human or moral virtue do? (a23-25)

12. How does the mean "relative to us" differ from the arithmetic mean? (1106a27-b8)

13. Why does Aristotle say that virtue is a mean or intermediate? (a34-b36)

14. How does Aristotle summarize his account of moral virtue? (1107a1-3)

Irwin groups into three classes the ten virtues Aristotle discusses beginning at 1107b1 (See p. 199). This classification is a little misleading since most virtues mentioned are involved with having feelings at the right time, toward the right person, etc., and the presence of any of them will give a degree of excellence to our social interaction. Note that justice is mentioned separately.

15. Why can we say both that virtues are the contraries of vices and that vices are contraries of other vices? (1108b11-36)

16. For what two reasons are some extremes closer to the intermediate condition than others? (1109a1-19)

17. What three pieces of "practical advice" does Aristotle give at 1109a20-b11?

Note the point Aristotle makes about perception, particulars and the limits of a (verbal) account at b21-23.