Aristotle's Virtue Ethics

What does it mean to be virtuous?

Doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, in the right amount, towards the right people. Virtuous people will take action that is right in the particularq situation.

How do we obtain virtues

Aristotle argued that the capacity for morality was a skill or excelleve (arete), much like any of the other skills that we can obtain through life.

Doctrine of the Mean

Aristotle argued that the morally virtuous life involved living in moderation. We must use phronesis in order to find a path between excess and deficiency. We have to direct our virtues towards the right goal, towards the right people and for the right reason. Cowardice - Courage - Rashness

Individual vs Community

Aristotle was more concerned about the wellbeing of the community than the individual. Virtue Ethics is about community being harmonious.

Community based

Because there are not objective morals, what is good is centred around our community. This presents some problems! All it takes for something to be a moral, is for the community to accept it It would be virtuous to be racist in a racist community This theory does not helped those who are oppressed!

The importance of role Models and Emulation

He argues that in order to develop our morality, we must look to what he calls "men of practical wisdom". We need to emulate these heros. There are usually older people, who have experience of phronesis.

Bertrand Russell Criticisms

He believes it is a bourgeois philosophy. Its victorian ethics Its not what you want to be but rather what EVERYONE else wants to be It is not help if you are a slave in a society where slavery is acceptable!

JL Mackie

He believes that Aristotle's theory is too circular. What would a virtuous person do? Look to emulate virtuous people! But, what do virterious people look like?

Aristotle

He believes that doing good is not about being involved in a series of isolated good actions. Instead it is about building good habits and characteristics that will allow us to flourish (Eudaimonia). The only way that humans will be able to ensure that their acts will be good is for those acts to become habits. (A habit is disposition of a character to act in an appropriate way according to the circumstances)

Virtue Ethics is different to normative ethics

It is agent centered rather than rule centered. Is asks what does it mean to live a good life or what does it mean to be a good person. Thus it can be culturally relative, because what is means to be a good person in Germany, will be different to that of the UK. What would it take to be successful and to flourish in the society I live in

What is Phronesis

It is concerned with how to act in a particular situation. In order to apply phronesis to real world situations, we must have experience of the world. We need to apply virtues such as honesty correctly in situations. We must look at context. It is made up of a) Experience: We do things and reflect on how er have done them, and how we would be able to better do them next time. b) Emulation: We learn to become virtuous by following our heroes. c) Education: We learn by being taught by those around us.

Martha Nussbaum Criticism

It is culturally relative, and therefore there would be no room for moral advancement. If turning in runaway slaves aided in flourishing in society, then we would have to do just that.

Susan Wolf Criticisms

She criticizes the belief that we should emulate moral heroes, because she believes that they cannot exist. They are not real people! They are merely phatomons of our mind, and we are imposing their virtuousness upon them. She says that moral saints are dull and boring. But it would be difficult to suggest people such as Gandhi were dull! She says that they wouldn't contemplate non moral virtues, such as reason. Aristotle would have championed non moral virtues such as sport as he believed that it would added to a person's character.

Practical/moral virtues

These are not innate, but rather they are acquired through repetition and practice, like learning a musical instrument. It is through the practice and the doing that you become a type of person. Overtime these virtues become second nature.

Intellectual Virtues

These are virtues are virtues of the mind. Such as the ability to understand, reason and make sound judgement. These Virtues may be taught, like mathematics.

Why is virtue ethics better than normative ethics?

They fail to motivate or inspire us to action. The usually tells us what not to do, rather than what to do. They militate against doing good when it breaks the rules. They are traditionally inflexible. They have been detached from their theological moorings. Virtue ethics is concerned about what would make us flourish in the society that we live in.

Aristotle believed that we all had a function

Things are good to the extent that they fulfil their function, and bad to the extent that they do not.

Phronesis

This is one the practical virtues and it is a requirement for developing virtues and achieving Eudaimonia. Aristotle believed that though young men may have intellectual virtues, such knowledge of geometry, then cannot have possess Phronesis because experience is the fruit of years.

Strengths of Virtue Ethics

Virtue Ethics allow the happiness of society. (Benjamin Franklin) They are culturally relative. Do as Romans do! We can learn from our mistakes. This is how we live our lives!

Weaknesses of Virtue Ethics

Virtue Ethics does not give us clear guidance on how to act in particular situations. Evaluation: But it does not try to! It instead asks what would a virtuous person do. It does not matter how you acquire virtues, but rather that you have them. In a society where manners were of great importance, the criminal with good manners would be better than a good person who was on their way to good manners.

How do we get to Eudaimonia?

a) Our telos is to flourish in our community b) Virtues are the characteristics that enable individuals to live well in a community. c) The function of human beings is to use reason (practical or intellectual) to achieve Eudaimonia. d) We can get better at these habits through phronesis e) Phronesis can happen through experience or emulation This will lead to eudaimonia.