La Salle University

Ozamiz City

Preliminary Exam

NAME: RIZA MAE HECERA BSPSYCH-4

ETHICS Gerry Arambala

February 7, 2019 Instructor IV

Instructions: Examine the questions below and critically assess and provide the exact answer that
is needed for each of the questions. The questions are taken from the readings that we had in the
class; answer each of them and provide citations in order to substantiate your claim. The readings
that will be needed for this exam are: The Apology and The Nechomachian Ethics. Each of the
questions is worth 15 pts.

Note: Your answers must not be over 250 words; answers that are less than 250 words are
automatically deducted with 5 pts.

1.What moved Socrates to seek for the Truth of his being?

The truth that Socrates is trying to seek out of his being is stated that “If I say that it is the

greatest good for man to discuss virtue every day and those other things about which you hear

me conversing and testing myself and others, for the unexamined life is not worth living for man,

you will believe me even less”. (Grube, 2000 p. 12) Socrates insists that human being is called

to reflect upon our beliefs, account for both the things we know and don’t know and defend the

views that we feel that lead to a meaningful and well-lived life. Socrates’ call to live examined

lives is not necessarily an insistence to reject all the motivations and influences but rather a mode

to appraise their true worth for each of our souls. The purpose of the examined life according to

Socrates is to reflect upon our everyday motivations including values and also to inquire into

what meaning they really have. If they have no value or indeed are even harmful, it is upon us to

discard such things and for those things that are truly valuable and where we can feel like we can

benefit from. As human beings, we are innately directed by pleasure and pain. We are all drawn

to power and reputation the kind of values to which Athenians during that time were drawn to as
well. We must really always take time to internalize the things we really desire and worthy of

pursuing.

2. Did Socrates teach the young people of Athens what is just and moral?
For me, it is no because first, he really denies that he is a teacher and he does not defend the

substance and the methods of what he had imparted. The text “ Furthermore, the young men who

follow me around of their own free will, those who have most leisure, the sons of the very rich,

take pleasure in hearing people questioned; they themselves often imitate me and try to question

others. I think they find an abundance of men who believe they have some knowledge but know

little or nothing. The result is that those whom they question are angry, not with themselves but

with me”. (Grube, 2000 p.4) Socrates has been notorious for failing to acknowledge the Athenian

pantheons god and has preached the youth about other deities far from what they were

accustomed to. Socrates having rejected both of these charges offered his own legal defense

against the following accusations of corruption and impiety. Regarding the corruption charge in

this case, Socrates argued that he was an encourager to the Athenian youth, nowhere near from a

being corrupter of the youth. In regards to the Athenian charge, Socrates argued that the charge

was absurd since the accuser talked about a topic that the accuser had known little or absolutely

nothing of. Socrates however failed to save himself, as the vast majority of the jury’s decision

was that Socrates was guilty as charged. Socrates was also accused of being a sophist, during that

time and was despised.

3. What wisdom does Socrates possess?
In the article, The Apology by Plato, Socrates stated that the wisdom he possesses is “Human

wisdom, perhaps.” which refers to Socrates' understanding of the limits of his knowledge in that

way he only knows that which he just realizes what he knows and makes no presumption of

knowing much else or less. He spoke to the people with different profession’s, such as politicians,

poets, and craftsmen; however, he found that they only possessed “human wisdom”. For instance,

Socrates' once said: “I do not think that I know what I do not know." (Plato, 2000, p. 3)In the

context of this quote, Socrates is explaining that he does not claim to possess the knowledge of

artisans or scholars on subjects he has not studied, that he bears no falsification to

comprehension those. Socrates stated, “I know great that I have no information worth

discussing" (Plato, 2000, p. 3) on the subject of building a home. Socrates' human wisdom plays

thus a prominent role in his account of his life and philosophical mission. His human wisdom

confirmed the truth of the oracle. It was apparently in part the value of human wisdom which

prompted Socrates to attempt to show others the truth about themselves.' human wisdom appears

at once important and trivial. It’s common to interpret Socrates' remarks that his wisdom is

"worth little or nothing" and is "worthless” as meaning that it’s worth little in comparison to the

surpassing value of more than human wisdom, the expert knowledge of virtue.

4. Why is self-knowledge necessary to live a good life?

It’s true that Self- Knowledge is important and necessary to live a good life as it is stated that “

In the face of life’s most bitter sorrows, the virtuous and happy man will continue to be virtuous

and will endure hardship with resigned dignity. Although it is really true that to a certain extent

external goods are for happiness, their absence or loss will not make the happy man unhappy. He
will always be able to make the best of whatever happens.” (Aristotle, 2000, p. 21) It was also

claimed by Aristotle that each person has a meaning or purpose of life that is earthly happiness

and can be achieved by any reasons and the acquisition of virtue. It includes a clear

understanding of the end towards which a person’s life aims, Aristotle claims that each human

being should use his or her abilities to their fullest potential and should obtain happiness and

enjoyment through the exercise of their realized capacities. Aristotle contented that human

achievements are animated by purpose and reason and that people should take pride in being

excellent at what they do. According to Aristotle, each human beings have a natural desire and

capacity to really know and understand the truth, to pursue moral excellence, and to instantiate

their deals in the world through the action. It is important as this sheds light on what we want and

how we can find ways to satisfy this inner longing for the things we really wanted to achieve.

5. Are all of human activities directed towards the good?

In The Nichomachean Ethics, Chapter 1: The Aim of all Actions is the Good; I agree with

Aristotle’s statement that “All human actions and choices aim at some good, which may be

defined as the end or object of that action or choice.” (Aristotle, 2000, p. 15) It means that there

kinds of activities which in the end aim to be good and if you do such activity that you think in

the end it would benefit and satisfy you then your aim is good. For example is you try study hard

to graduate but this is not the final because if you graduate then you can find a job as there are

also subordinate ends or minor ends, for example is you want to plant a tree and you think it is

just a minor end but the thing is that if you plant a tree then you can save the earth which may

become a major end. If the end is desirable for its own sake and determines and motivates all

other actions and choices, then this end would be that which absolute good. As a person if you

think that your actions or what you wanted to do would make you become successful then it
would be a perfect fit that your actions aims to be good. Good is derived from the kind of life

he/she leads which aims to be good and that’s why I agree that knowledge, activity, and choice is

directed toward some good.

6. Is Eudaimonia a contingent good?

I disagree that Eudaimonia is a Contingent Good as it defined that Eudaimonia is the right

action that leads to the well-being of the individual which evidently states that people are given

the freedom to choose their actions and along with it is consequences for the decisions they

make. “And if be better that men should attain happiness in this way rather than by chance, it is

reasonable to suppose that it is so, since in the sphere of nature all things are arranged in the best

possible way and likewise in the sphere of art, and each mode of causation and most of all in the

sphere of the noblest mode of causation. And indeed it would be also too absurd to leave what is

noblest and fairest to the dispensation of chance. (Peters, 1893, p. 23) Example of this is if a

person is a Psychologist then he or she should be very good at giving right and exact

medications, assessing and helping person who have mental disabilities. One’s well-being is

purely a result of his or her actions, and not by chance. All human beings shares a purpose one

thing we all do that makes human , In order to achieve true Eudaimonia, you have to really excel

at this as well-being a moral person. Aristotle argued that the most advanced and uniquely human

abilities. So, instead of happiness, Eudaimonia could be translated as a fulfillment , living a good

life, human flourishing,and moral or spiritual success.

7. How is the nature of the human psyche necessary for the acquisition of Eudaimonia?
The nature of the human psyche necessary for the acquisition of Eudaimonia as it was stated

that“Needless to say, the virtue we must consider is human virtue, for we are seeking the nature
of human good and human happiness. By human virtue we mean an excellence of the soul, not

the body, for happiness has been defined as an activity of the soul. Clearly then, it is necessary

for a stateman to have some knowledge of the workings of the soul, or psychology.”(Aristotle,

2000 p. 22) Aristotle argues that happiness is an activity of rational soul in accordance with

virtue. He claims that all human intellectual functions are produced by a person’s psyche. He

also claimed that t

8. Is mesotes universal, so that it is necessitated for a life that is virtuous?

9. Is moral virtue similar to intellectual virtue?

The Moral Virtue and Intellectual Virtue have different definitions because according to The

Nichomachean Ethics Book 1, Chapter XIII: Psychological Basis of Virtue it is stated that

“Moral Virtue and Intellectual Virtue differs because Intellectual virtues are those are for

wisdom, intelligence, prudence and are virtues of the rational faculty of the soul. Other virtues

like generosity or liberty and temperance or self-control are called Moral Virtues, the virtues of

character, and belong to the irrational element of the soul, They are attained when the irrational

element is made to act in accordance with the dictates of the reason. (Aristotle, 2000, p.

23)People with Moral Virtues consist of bringing the appetites and physical desires under the

control of reason and has disposition or habits of living that deal with the whole person and as to

behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess, which are

vices. Intellectual Virtues are habits of thinking like understanding the nature of things, judging

the truth of matters, reasoning from the truth known to a truth and comes from learning while

moral virtue comes from habit. Hence none of the moral virtues are implanted by nature, for

what is implanted by nature cannot be influence by habit, whereas moral virtue can be. It is in the
course of our dealings with our companions that we become just or unjust. It is our behavior in a

crisis and our habitual reactions to danger that make us brave or cowardly.

As the ego cogito, subjectivity is the consciousness that represents something, relates this
representation back to itself, and so gathers with itself.
-Martin Heidegger-