Virtue Ethics"The nature of a human being is not what he is born as, but

what he is born for."

Greek Virtue EthicsSocrates (470?-399 B.C.E.)Plato (427-347 B.C.E.)Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)

KnowledgeVirtueHappiness

Nicomachean Ethics

The Nature of Ethics according to Aristotle

Ethics refers primarily to characterEmphasis is on character and human

excellence, the virtuesThe criterion for moral rightness is good

character

Character

The virtuous person acts out of a set disposition to do the right act in the right way, at the right time, and for the right reason

If you don’t know what the right thing to do is, find the good person and watch what he does

Teleological thinking All nature is teleological (purposive)

Pre-designed telos Plants nutritionAnimals sensationHumans nutrition, sensation, and

reasonThe ability to deliberate, to use reason in a

practical and theoretical manner is the essence (function) of a human being

Human NatureHumans by nature are political animalsGood state provides good and happy peopleGood people along with good laws are

necessary for a well-governed state

Ethics is considered as a branch of politics: the state should actively encourage citizens to inculcate the virtues, which in turn are the best guarantee of a flourishing political order

The Functionalist Account of Human Nature

To know what something is, is to know what it is used for, what it is meant to become: what its function is.

E.g. what is the function of a knife?

Human beings have a distinct functionSome humans fulfill this function better than

others(NE, Book 1, 7)

“Reason is the true self of every person, since it is the supreme and better part, It will be strange, then, if he should choose not his own life, but some other’s….What is naturally proper to every creature is the highest and pleasantest for him. And so, to man, this will be the life of Reason, since reason is, in the highest sense, a man’s self.” (NE, 10.7)

What is the Good life?

The three classes of goods: (NE 1,8)

What kind of life is most worth living?

“There is general agreement; for both the common person and people of superior refinement say that it is happiness, and identify living well and doing well with being happy; but with regard to what happiness is they differ, and many do not give the same account as the wise. For the former think it is some plain and obvious thing, like pleasure, wealth or honor.” (NE, I.4)

Happiness

How does Aristotle define “happiness”? What are the chief characteristics of happiness? How does he arrive at this definition?

(Book 1, 8)

Happiness (eudaimonia)It is not merely a subjective state of

pleasure or contentment but the kind of life we would all want to live if we understood our essential nature.

Our function (essence) is to live according to reason and thereby become a certain sort of highly rational being.

When we fulfill the ideal of living the virtuous life, we are truly happy.

Happy life is directed toward worthwhile goals.

The Good Life

“Activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete.”

The best and most complete virtue is to be found in intellectual virtues

Virtue

“We can experience fear, confidence, desire, anger, pity, and generally any kind of pleasure and pain too much or too little, and in either case not properly. But to experience all this at the right time, toward the right object, toward the right people, for the right reason, and in the right manner-that is the mean and the best course, the course that is the mark of virtue. (NE)

Types of virtuesIntellectual

Virtues

- The virtues of the rational part of the soul

- Practical reason: prudence

- Theoretical reason: wisdom

Moral Virtues

- Derive from attitudes in us (habituation)

E.g. by carrying out acts of courage we easily bring in completion the acts of courage

Intellectual virtuesPrudence (phronesis):

Consists in knowing correctly how to direct the life of man

Assist us in deliberating correctly about the true aims of man: it points out the suitable means to the achievement of true goals

Wisdom:The most elevated dianoetic virtueIt regards those things that are higher than

man: e.g. theoretical sciences, metaphysics.

Correlation between intellectual and ethical virtues“For virtue makes us aim at the right mark, and

practical wisdom makes us take the right means.”Intellectual virtues points out the suitable means but

they do not point out the ends themselvesThe true ends and aims are grasped by the ethical

virtues that directs the will in the correct way

“It is not possible to be virtuous without prudence or to be wise without ethical virtues.”

Prudence is the virtue of practical intelligence of

knowing how to apply general principles in particular situations.

is the ability to act so that principle will take a concrete form.

Is not only a virtue but it is the keystone to all virtues.

Prudence is the virtue which is manifested in acting so that one’s adherence to other virtues is exemplified in one’s actions.

“Whereas young people become accomplished in geometry and mathematics, and wise within these limits, prudent young people do not seem to be found. The reason is that prudence is concerned with particulars as well as universals, and particulars become known from experience, but a young person lacks experience, since some length of time is needed to produce it (Nichomachean Ethics).”

Ethical virtues“ virtue of character is a mean, …, it is a mean

between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency; and that it is such because it is the sort of thing able to hit the mean in feelings and actions. This is why it is hard to be good, because in each case it is hard to find the middle point; for instance, not everyone can find the center of a circle, but only the person with knowledge. So too anyone can get angry, or give and spend money – these are easy; but doing them in relation to the right person, in the right amount, at the right time, with the right aim in view, and in the right way – that is not something anyone can do, nor it is easy. This is why excellence in these things is rare, praiseworthy and noble.” (NE)

“Virtue… is a state involving rational choice, consisting in a mean relative to us and determined by reason – the reason, that is, by reference to which practically wise person would determine it. It is a mean between two vices, one of excess, the other of deficiency.” (NE)

The Golden Mean

The morally good persons live a life of moderation, the “mean” between two extreme type of actions

The life of moderation is one that:- Avoids the excesses and the deficiencies of

behavior- Is governed by reason- Is not directed by uncontrollable desires and

passion

PleasurePleasure accompanies every activity and brings

it to perfection, it completes and activity

Which pleasures are good?Those which have good sources (even bodily

pleasures are good up to some point - temperance)

The only real pleasures are those of the virtuous person.

Pleasure crowns the virtuous life and is the necessary consequence of which virtue is the antecedent

HappinessHow is virtue related to the attainment of

happiness?Happiness consists in the activity of the mind in

conformity with virtueThe true goods of man are the spiritual goods that

consist in virtue of his soul, and this is happinessThe care of the soul remains the only way that

leads to happinessBeing sufficiently endowed with the possession of

exterior goods is indispensable, but they don’t guarantee happiness

Happiness: life of contemplation

Having a good moral character, the intellectual habits of the mind places us in a position to acquire scientific and philosophical wisdom

The central intellectual virtue is to discover the truth

The life of the philosopher is the greatest chance to achieve happiness: “this activity is the best …, and, … it is the most continuous;” “the philosopher, even by himself, can contemplate truth, …, he is the most self-sufficient, …. And this activity alone would seem to be loved for its own sake.”

The Revival of Virtue Ethics

The Ethics of CareRelationshipNarrativeThe person as a whole