Understanding Skills, Virtues, and Wholes

Flashcards summarizing the key concepts from lecture notes on skills, virtues, and the nature of wholes.

What are the three parts of skills according to the lecture?

Choice, Repetition over time (habitus), and Natural goal (telos).

In the context of skills, what does 'Choice' refer to?

Libertarian free will; the ability to decide on actions and directions.

What is meant by 'Repetition over time'?

The process of habit formation through repeated choices that enhance skill.

Define 'Natural goal' or 'telos' in skill context.

The inherent purpose or aim of an action, such as getting a ball into a pocket.

According to Nicomachean Ethics, how is skill or 'art' acquired?

Through repeated choice to engage in that art.

What does 'virtue' represent in the context of achieving happiness?

The tools or means by which a person can reach their chosen life or harbor of happiness.

Explain the Knife analogy in terms of virtues.

The goal (telos) of the knife is to cut well; excellence (areté) is its sharpness.

What is the 'golden mean' in the context of virtues?

A virtue represents the mean between two excesses.

What does 'Eudaimonia' refer to?

A compound of goods that collectively compose happiness.

What does the Fire analogy signify in the discussion of happiness?

Fire is the cause (objective reason), while smoke is the experienced consequence of happiness.

Describe the concept of degrees of pleasure mentioned in the lecture.

Pleasures range from low to high, with some being attention-grabbing and others requiring more effort.

What is the difference between instrumental and intrinsic value?

Instrumental value is means to an end; intrinsic value is desirable for its own sake.

How did St. Augustine's learning of Greek illustrate the transition from instrumental to intrinsic value?

He initially learned Greek to avoid punishment but later appreciated it for its own sake.

Explain the concepts of wholes and parts.

A whole has properties independent of its parts; removing a part may not eliminate the whole's existence.

Distinguish between natural wholes and composites.

Natural wholes can exist independently of some parts; composites rely on their parts for existence.

What does the discussion of flux imply in relation to knowledge of the perfect?

Drawing from imperfect observations to understand ideal forms or concepts.

What does the reference to degrees of properties suggest about goodness, truth, and beauty?

These properties depend upon an absolute for their existence and can be deemed lesser without it.