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Aristotle 1

Virtue ethics defines ethics based on the characteristics of an ideal person rather than specific right or wrong acts. It sees the purpose of human life as achieving eudaimonia, or human flourishing, through rational activity and intellectual virtues. Aristotle believed the ideal life was that of a scholar, using reason which defines human nature, in community with other intellectuals. Virtues are dispositions like courage that lead to success when practiced in moderation.

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Franz Chavez Garcia
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854 views15 pages

Aristotle 1

Virtue ethics defines ethics based on the characteristics of an ideal person rather than specific right or wrong acts. It sees the purpose of human life as achieving eudaimonia, or human flourishing, through rational activity and intellectual virtues. Aristotle believed the ideal life was that of a scholar, using reason which defines human nature, in community with other intellectuals. Virtues are dispositions like courage that lead to success when practiced in moderation.

Uploaded by

Franz Chavez Garcia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Virtue Ethics

Defines ethics in terms


of
• the good person vs.
the right act
• the characteristics of
an ideal individual
• successful living
Virtue Ethics

• Based on human nature


• Goal of life = Eudaimonia (success)
– Mistranslated “happiness”
– means doing well what you were meant,
designed to do.
• Teleological system (based on purpose,
function)
Virtue Ethics

• Purpose or Function
• What is a good X?
– What is it supposed to do?
– What is its characteristic activity or function?
– What sets it apart from other things?
– What characteristics allow it to perform its
function well?
Virtue Ethics

Purpose in nature (teleology)


The purpose or function of
• The eye: to see
• The heart: to pump blood
• A fin: to swim
• Bacteria: to decompose
Virtue Ethics
Plants
– Nutrition
– Growth
Animals = plants plus…
– Sensation
– Locomotion
Humans = animals plus…
– REASON
Virtue Ethics

• Aristotle defines Man as the rational


animal
• What he does characteristically, uniquely
and best is rational activity
Virtue Ethics
• Goal of life = success, actualizing one’s
natural potential
• Humanity defined by reason
• Success for humanity therefore defined by
intellectual activity
Virtue Ethics

• The ideal life = scholar, scientist,


intellectual
• This life best actualizes one’s potential as a
rational animal
Virtue Ethics
• Aristotle is a realist
• Being an intellectual requires certain things
– Friends to philosophize with
– Not being hideously deformed
– Wealth for food, servants, avoiding non-
intellectual work (i.e. manual labor)
– Avoiding serious illness or financial ruin
(luck)
Virtue Ethics
• Do natural things have purposes?
• Can you discover their purposes by looking
at what they do?
• If human beings have purposes, must they
be the same?
• Is what humans do characteristically or best
REASON?
Virtue Ethics

• Virtue (arete): A Disposition of character


which lead to success (eudaimonia)
• Disposition: a tendency to act a particular
way
Virtue Ethics
• Virtue is a mean between the extremes of
excess and deficiency.
• Virtue is learned through good upbringing
and practice as an adult
• One learns courage through attempting to
act courageously
• No distinction between the good life in the
natural and moral senses
Virtue Ethics
Virtue means doing something at the right
time in the right amount.
Example virtues: Courage, Temperance,
Honesty, Pride, Generosity
Christianity
• Added Faith, Love, less emphasis on reason
• Replaced Pride with Humility, Servitude
• Made Poverty a virtue
Virtue Ethics
Advantages
• Ethics empirically justified
• No egoism/altruism dichotomy
• What’s good for you is good for others
• Aristotle understands the role of
unquantifiable judgment
Virtue Ethics
Criticisms
• Underlying teleology - purpose in nature?
• Is there a virtue for every moral value?
• Is Aristotle universalizing his bourgeois
intellectual values or those of Greek
culture?

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