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Sep 15, 2023 · Lean too much to one side, and you’ll fall into excess; tilt too far the other way, and deficiency awaits. Aristotle’s ethical tightrope is the path of virtue – it’s about striking that perfect balance. He argued that every virtue stands between two vices – that of excess and deficiency. Courage, for example, is the mean between ...
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Mar 30, 2023 · Defining Aristotle’s virtue ethics. Aristotle (384–322 BCE) is one of the most influential philosophers in history, and he turned his gaze to a dizzying range of subjects: including metaphysics, politics, the arts, biology, and more. When it comes to human behavior and morality, Aristotle is known for his “virtue ethics” — an ethical ...
- Andy Cain
- Aristotelian Virtue Ethics Introduction
- The Function Argument
- Aristotelian Goodness
- Eudaimonia and Virtue
- Developing The Virtues
- Practical Wisdom
- Voluntary Actions, Involuntary Actions and Moral Responsibility
- Objections to Virtue Ethics and Responses
- Moral Good and Individual Good
- Summary
Aristotle(384–322 BC) was a scholar in disciplines such as ethics, metaphysics, biology and botany, among others. It is fitting, therefore, that his moral philosophy is based around assessing the broad characters of human beings rather than assessing singular acts in isolation. Indeed, this is what separates Aristotelian Virtue Ethics from both Uti...
Aristotle was a teleologist, a term related to, but not to be confused with, the label “teleological” as applied to normative ethical theories such as Utilitarianism. Aristotle was a teleologist because he believed that every object has what he referred to as a final cause. The Greek term telosrefers to what we might call a purpose, goal, end or tr...
On the basis of the previous argument, the good life for a human being is achieved when we act in accordance with our telos. However, rather than leaving the concept of goodness as general and abstract we can say more specifically what the good for a human involves. Aristotle uses the Greek term eudaimonia to capture the state that we experience if...
The quotation provided at the end of section three was the first direct reference to virtue in the explanatory sections of this chapter. With Aristotle’s theoretical presuppositions now laid out, we can begin to properly explain and evaluate his conception of the virtues and their link to moral thinking. According to Aristotle, virtues are characte...
In a quote widely attributed to Aristotle, Will Durrant (1885–1981) sums up the Aristotelian view by saying that “…we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit”.It is fairly obvious that we cannot become excellent at something overnight. Making progress in any endeavor is always a journey that requires both effort and p...
Aristotle does offer some specifics regarding how exactly we might, to use a depressingly modern phrase, “upskill” in order to become more virtuous. Aristotle suggests that the aim of an action will be made clear by the relevant virtuous characteristic as revealed by the Golden Mean; for example, our aim in a situation may be to respond courageousl...
Despite the focus on agents and not actions, Aristotle does have something to contribute when it comes to discussions of potential moral responsibility as associated with particular actions. We can separate actions into two obvious categories: 1. Voluntary actions 2. Involuntary actions Very broadly, an action is voluntary when it is freely chosen ...
Objection: Unclear Guidance
Consider yourself caught in the middle of a moral dilemma. Wanting to know what to do you may consult the guidance offered by Utilitarianism or Kantian Ethics and discover that various specific actions you could undertake are morally right or morally wrong. Moving to seek the advice of Aristotelian Virtue Ethics, you may find cold comfort from suggestions that you act generously, patiently and modestly whilst avoiding self-serving flattery and envy. Rather than knowing how to live in general,...
Objection: Clashing Virtues
Related to the general objection from lack of guidance, a developed objection may question how we are supposed to cope with situations in which virtues seem to clash. Courageous behaviour may, in certain cases, mean a lack of friendliness; generosity may threaten modesty. In these situations, the suggestion to “be virtuous” may again seem to be unhelpfully vague. To this particular objection, the Aristotelian virtue ethicist can invoke the concept of practical wisdom and suggest that the skil...
Objection: Circularity
An entirely different objection to Aristotelian Virtue Ethics is based on a concern regarding logical circularity. According to Aristotle, the following statements seem to be correct: 1. An act is virtuous if it is an act that a virtuous person would commit in that circumstance. 2. A person is virtuous when they act in virtuous ways. This, however, looks to be circular reasoning. If virtuous actions are understood in terms of virtuous people, but virtuous people are understood in terms of vir...
For Aristotle, moral goodness and individual goodness may seem to be intimately linked. After all, a virtuous person will be charitable and friendly etc. and as a result of these characteristics and dispositions will both advance their own journey towards eudaimonia and make life better for others. Hedonism (which claims that pleasure is the only s...
Aristotelian Virtue Ethics is very different in nature to the other act-centered normative moral theories considered in this book. Whether this, in itself, is a virtue or a vice is an issue for your own judgment. The lack of a codified and fixed moral rule book is something many view as a flaw, while others perceive it as the key strength of the th...
- Mark Dimmock, Andrew Fisher, Ethics for A-Level. Cambridge, Uk: Open Book Publishers
- 2020
- Aristotelian Virtue Ethics Introduction. Aristotle (384–322 BC) was a scholar in disciplines such as ethics, metaphysics, biology and botany, amongst others.
- The Function Argument. Aristotle was a teleologist, a term related to, but not to be confused with, the label “teleological” as applied to normative ethical theories such as Utilitarianism.
- Aristotelian Goodness. On the basis of the previous argument, the good life for a human being is achieved when we act in accordance with our telos. However, rather than leaving the concept of goodness as general and abstract we can say more specifically what the good for a human involves.
- Eudaimonia and Virtue. The quotation provided at the end of section three was the first direct reference to virtue in the explanatory sections of this chapter.
Evaluate Aristotle’s moral theory. Virtue ethics takes a character-centered approach to morality. Whereas Mohists and utilitarians look to consequences to determine the rightness of an action and deontologists maintain that a right action is the one that conforms to moral rules and norms, virtue ethicists argue that right action flows from good character traits or dispositions.
Aristotle: Ethics. Standard interpretations of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics usually maintain that Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) emphasizes the role of habit in conduct. It is commonly thought that virtues, according to Aristotle, are habits and that the good life is a life of mindless routine. These interpretations of Aristotle’s ethics are ...
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9. 9. Objection: Clashing Virtues. 10. Objection: Circularity. An act is virtuous if it is an act that a virtuous person would commit in that circumstance. A person is virtuous when they act in virtuous ways. Julia Annas 10. Great piano playing is what great pianists do.
