To study for the Faith exam in Mr. Sciuto’s classes:
Show you read, know and understood the ideas of the article. You have to use Aristotelian language in this essay. Remember to write this as if you were writing it for your mom or dad.
“Homer and Aristotle” by Raja Halwani
from The Simpson’s and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer
Explain in Aristotelian terms how Homer’s character would fare when evaluated morally.
“Homer Simpson does not fare well when evaluated morally.” Aristotle’s condition for right action: First, the agent must, when acting virtuously know that his action is virtuous. The second condition seems to embody two,and not one, conditions. The agent must act voluntary and he must do so because the action if virtuous. The third stated condition is crucial, and it brings us to the start of this discussion: a virtuous person acts virtuously not only when the action is fair and because it is so, but he acts virtuously because he is a fair person.
I) Homer’s Character: D’oh!, D’oh!, and Double D’oh!
A) Consider the virtue of temperance; Homer is far from being a temperate man.
B) Homer is a habitual liar
C)He lacks sensitivity to the needs and claims of others; he seems to lack both benevolence and justice.
D) He has a number of buddies, but does not have friends.
E) Homer’s marital and parenting skills leave much to be desired.
F) Any hope for Homer that he might acquire moral virtues would be dashed by the recognition that he lacks the one intellectual virtue necessary for an ethical character, namely, that of practical wisdom (phronesis).
1. Homer subscribes to some highly dubious nuggets of wisdom.
2. Homer seems to lack minimal powers of inference.
3. Homer lacks one of the most crucial aspects of practical reasoning: the ability to organize one’s life around important and worthy goals, and to pursue them responsibly and morally.
II) Homer’s Character: The Glimmer of a Few Woo-hoos
A) Homer does sometimes act admirably. Sometimes he shows care and courage; he sometimes even displays intelligence and theoretical wisdom.
III) Assessment: Judging Homer
A) The harshest reaction we can have toward shim is pity.
B) He is not generally a malicious person.
C) He exhibits what the Greeks called akrasia, or “weakness of will.”
IV) Conclusion: The Importance of Being Homer
A) Homer is set on enjoying life--or his version of it--to the fullest. The zest for life is calculated on his part, not that he is necessarily conscious of it. But it manifests itself in his actions, in his attitudes, in his lack of malice, and in his childlike (maybe even childish) behavior.
1. “I am not arguing that Homer is, as such, an admirable person, but only that he has an admirable trait.”
“Jerry and Socrates: The Examined Life” by William Irwin
from Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book About Everything and Nothing
How are Jerry and Socrates alike? How are they different?
I) The Jerry Problem and the Socratic Problem
A) Is the fictional Jerry Seinfeld the actual Jerry Seinfeld.
B) How do we know what Socrates said and thought and opposed to what Socrates said and thought?
II) The Life and Death of Socrates
A) Note his unwillingness to compromise himself, his commitment to his principles and his serenity in the face of death.
III) Jerry and Socrates, Flies on a Horse’s Ass
A) Socrates tells us that “the greatest good in a man’s life is this, to be each day discussing human excellence and other subjects you hear me talking about, examining myself an other people...the unexamined life not worth living.”
B) Both
1. provoke friends and audience by bringing to mind subjects they would not
ordinarily give much thought.
2. Are fond of using irony.
C) Difference:
1. Jerry’s questions are pretty meaningless; Socrates asks the big questions.
2. Jerry thinks he knows it all, Socrates knows he does not know.
IV) The Fates of Socrates and Seinfeld
A) Socrates should be counted among Jesus, Buddha, and Gandhi as archetypes of the examined and well-lived life. the character of Jerry Seinfeld, on the other hand, lives an examined life, but by no means an exemplary life.
“George’s Failed Quest for Happiness: An Aristotelian Analysis” by Daniel Barwick
from Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book About Everything and Nothing
Of the four main characters on Seinfeld, George is clearly the loser. Give a summary of the reasons for George's misery based upon an “Aristotelian analysis.”
I) “Of the four main characters on Seinfeld, George is clearly the loser. His misfortunes are not the result of bad luck, however. Nor are they the result of his many failed relationships or his sad physical condition. Rather, they are a direct result and ongoing consequence of his pathetic personality.” “He is one of ‘the many,’ not part of ‘the wise.’”
A) George has neither theoretical wisdom nor practical wisdom
B) His reasoning skills are terrible.
C) Aristotle and George are polar opposites because they think about what man seeks in life
in a completely different way. Aristotle believes “First, then, action should express correct reason.”
II) Why George is a Virtueless Man (In Twentieth Centuryspeak: Why George is a Pathetic Slob)
A) The distinguishing feature of man is his reason, and Aristotle believed that the highest good of man is the complete realization of his reason. This, Aristotle believed, brings happiness...For Aristotle, the definition of happiness or the good life is activity in accordance with virtue, and thus the harmonious fulfillment of man’s natural tendencies.
B) George cannot even hope to approximate this because he hates himself. George believe that his lot in life is a matter of fortune. He rarely takes responsibility of what happens to him, and he looks ot others to improve his station.
III) George’s Brushes with Happiness
IV) George and Virtue--Like Oil and Water
A) Three ways to encourage virtuous action
1. Avoid the more opposed extremes.
2. Avoid the easier extreme.
3. Be careful with pleasures.
Are these methods George is likely to adopt?
“Marge’s Moral Motivation” by Gerald J. Erion and Joseph A. Zeccardi
from The Simpson’s and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer
Describe in Aristotelian terms how Margie is a model of moral virtue.
“Marge’s overall pattern of behavior can serve as an especially illustrative introduction to Aristotle’s moral philosophy.”
I) Virtue and Character
A) The ancient Greeks were more likely to focus upon traits of character that make a person a good person.
B) We can understand Aristotelian virtue as a character trait that helps make a person a good person.
C) We find excellent illustration of Aristotle’s virtuous personality in Marge.
1. She is clearly a brave woman.
2. She has a penchant for temperance.
3. She has a strong sense of honesty.
4. Marge is generous.
5. Marge is inherently moderate in all things.
II) Justifying the Life of Virtue
A) Aristotle argues that the virtues are desirable because they promote the long-term happiness of those who possess them. While living virtuously does not guarantee that we will fare well in life, traits like self-confidence, friendliness, and honesty do increase our chances of success. Thus we can justify the virtuous life because the virtues promote the well-being of people who have them.
III) Cultivating Virtue
A) According to Aristotle, “ None of the virtues of character arises in us naturally.” Instead he says we have a natural ability to acquire virtue through habituation; “We become just by doing just action, temperate by doing temperate actions, and brave by doing brave actions.”
B) Virtuous people can serve as important models in our moral development. Marge know how important her model can be tot he moral development of her children. Marge knows what needs to be done to cultivate the virtues in those still unable to fully appreciate their value.
IV) Marge’s Opposition to the Divine Command Theory
A) Marge’s everyday decision-making is driven more by her own well-developed conscience than by her religious faith.
V) Conclusion: “Just do what I would do”
A) Is Marge the model Aristotelian? No. nevertheless, Marge typically follows the Aristotelian recipe for a happy, moral life and with great success. Like so many people today, Marge might best be described as a Christian flavored Aristotelian.
Heroes and Superheores by Jeph Loeb and Tom Morris
from Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice and the Socratic Way
I. Defining a Hero and a Superhero
II. How to Be a Hero
III. Fear and the Superhero Stories
IV. The Example of the Superhero
"The Aspiring Jedi’s Handbook of Virtue" by Judith Barad
from from Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful Than You Can Possibly Imagine
"Tolkien’s Six Keys to Happiness" by Gregory Bassham
from from The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All
"The Courageous Harry Potter"
from Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts
akrasia or “weakness of the will.” Used in “Homer and Aristotle” (pg. 19) to explain why Homer sometimes chooses to do the wrong thing despite his knowledge of what ought to be done.”
eudaimonia from “George’s Failed Quest...” (pg. 18) “What does man seek? Unfortunately there is no single English word that captures the meaning of Aristotle’s term. It will be sufficient for out purposes to adopt the most common explanation, which is the good for man is the fulfillment of his function.”
phronesis or “practical wisdom.” Used in Homer and Aristotle” (pg. 14) and alluded to in “George’s Failed Quest...” This practical wisdom is the ability to steer one’s way through the world intelligently, morally and in a goal oriented way. Seems very close to prudence.
Ponder these. They might help you bette understand recent important ideas. It might help prepare you for the exam.
The other day I asked my students to close their eyes. I asked, “What color are the walls of this classroom?” When they opened their eyes, and I asked their answer, some of my said the walls in the classroom are white. I said they are a grey-blue.
• Why the difference? Explain this in light of “The Five Step Process of Knowing.”
• How can we solve this disagreement? Answer in light of The Five Step Process of Critical Thinking.
• What does this show about how the mind works?
Who knows more about what it is like to be insane? The insane person or the doctor? Who knows and understand more about addiction, the addict or the counselor? Who knows more about depression, the adolescent going through depression or the counselor? Consider your answer in light of the the three ways of knowing.
Apply the “Five Steps for Critical Thinking” to you decision about what to do after high school. List and underline each of the steps and then give a concrete and specific way to do that critical thinking in your contemplation's about what to do after you graduate from St. Louis U. High.
Explain why SLUH juniors would continue to get the snail question wrong. Why they would continue to misspell experience, separate, perceive, resurrection and continue to misuse affect and effect? Give me something more insightful than “they just did not learn it.” Why wouldn’t they learn these relatively simple and easy ideas? What part of the course helps best explain the deeper reasons.
List and explain what you think is the key part of content from each of the first three sections of the course. Give one idea significant for you from each of these sections and explain how it has affected how you think and feel.
You’ve seen the “think different” logo at various times in this course. Give one way this first quarter has influenced you to “think different.” Give this in a clear and persuasive manner.
1. Review your tests and quizzes. These should be corrected.
2. Use the review pages on the internet at