Study Questions for Aristotle's
Nicomachean Ethics Book III

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 III, First Part: Voluntary Action

1. What is required if feelings and actions are to receive blame or praise? (1109b30)

2. When is an action involuntary? (1110a1-5) What about an action performed under duress? (a12-20) When is a "mixed" action praised? When is it pardoned? blamed? (a20-35)

3. Metaphysically speaking, what is one distinguishing mark of voluntary action? (1110b5, b17)

4. Does the fact that something appears pleasant or fine (kalon) to an agent mean that (s)he is forced to do it? (1110b10-17)

In the difficult passage from 1110b19-1111a21, we need to distinguish, within the class of harmful actions (all of which, for Aristotle, are done in ignorance),

A. those not caused by (dia) ignorance (which are, therefore, voluntary and blameworthy)
B. those caused by ignorance
     1. of particulars
          a. some of which are involuntary and to be pardoned
          b. some of which are nonvoluntary and to be blamed
     2. of universals voluntary and blameworthy (especially in adults)

5. Give an example of A, B1a, B1b, and B2.

6. What sorts of ignorance makes an action involuntary? (1111a1-21)

At 1111a22-24 Aristotle summarizes his account of voluntary action.

7a. How is decision related to what is voluntary? (1111b5-10)

7b. How is it related to appetite?

7c. How is it related to spirit (capacity for social emotions like anger)?

7d. How is it related to wish (the mental act aimed at the wished-for state)?

7e. . . . to belief? (1111b11-1112a13)

8a. What criterion distinguishes decision from other voluntary things? (1112a15)

8b. About what kinds of things do we not deliberate? (Aristotle mentions at least five classes) (1112a23-30)

8c. About what do we deliberate? (a31-32, 33, b3-5, 8-13)

8d. On his analysis do we deliberate about ends? (b13-17)

9. How does deliberation proceed? (1112b17ff) When does deliberation stop? (1113a5-7)

10. What is wish? Distinguish the wishing of the excellent (virtuous) person from the wishing of the base person. (1113a15-b2)

11. How does Aristotle defend his claim that the virtues and vices are "up to us"? (1113b3-14) that it is (at least partly) false that no one is willingly bad? (1113b19-1114a30)

12a. What objection does Aristotle take up at 1114b1ff.? How does he respond to it?

12b.How does character relate to the way the end appears to a person? (b23)

12c. Has Aristotle successfully answered the objection or are we locked into a sort of vicious deterministic circle (character -> ends -> deliberation -> decisions -> character)?