Aristotelian ethics

• Virtue ethics - developing a virtuous character
• Aristotle


  • lived 300 years BCE
  • Studied at Plato's academy
  • Founder of formal logic
  • Wrote over 170 books e.g: nicomachean ethics
  • Set up Lyceum (a university)
  • Dualist
  • Often known as "the philosopher"
• Aristotle's ethics

  • Who is the agent?
  • What is their character like?
  • Who should I be?
  • Agent centered ethics
• Eudaimonia

  The good life
• Aristotle's ergon 


  Every living being has a unique function (ergon) that, when performed well leads to a good life 👍😊

  The ergon of humans is rational activity
• Populist ideas of the good life in ancient greece. (Aristotle disagrees)


  • Honour - how others feel about you
  • Wealth
  • (Moral) goodness
  • Pleasure
• Aim one of Aristotle's function arguement

  To show that the good for humans consists in us fulfilling our function (ergon) well.

  E.g: a flute player's goodness is determined by how well they play the flute. Their performance of their function.

  Our goodness is determined by whether or not we fulfill out function well as humans
• Aim 2 of Aristotle's function argument

  To show that humans do have a distinct function

  1. Sculptor has a unique function to sculpt things, humans have a function unique to them
  2. Composition argument- body parts each have a function so if we put it all together then humans must have an overall function
• Aim 3 of Aristotle's function argument

  To see precisely what that function is. What exactly is a humans function?

  • Our function cannot be to grow, other things grow, we need a unique function
  • It can't be sentience (perception) as animals have this
  • The unique thing humans have is reason & rationality. So this is a human's function
• Criticisms of Aristotle's function argument

  • Composition criticism, fallacy of composition
  • Just because the parts of something share a common feature, does not mean the whole things has a common feature
• Criticism of Aristotle's function argument

  • Aristotle is saying everything must have a telos
  • Even plants and animals have a telos
  • Not everything has a telos or purpose, they just exist
  • We are here by luck (scientific) we haven't been born for a specific purpose
• Aristotle says that virtues are characteristics that enable someone to perform their function well

  Therefore, for humans, virtues are characteristics that enable someone to excel at rational activity

  E.g: courage helps not to succumb to fear (coward) helps us not to act recklessly (foolhardiness)
• How to reach Eudaimonia

  1. Make virtuous decisions
  2. Develop virtues
  3. Become virtuous
  4. Act rationally
  5. Perform function

  You have reached Eudaimonia
• Intellectual virtues perfect the mind 🧠🤯

  Moral virtues develop our desires

  🙏
• The golden mean 


  There is a mean amount virtue you need. It's just the right amount, it's good for you

  You can have a deficiency of virtue (absence of virtue) which leads to a vice

  You can also have an excess of virtue (too much virtue) which leads to a vice

  
  

  A vice is an immoral characteristic
• Habituation

  Developing virtuous habits - you become virtuous when a virtue becomes a habit

  • The virtue will eventually become part of your character
  • Follow moral exemplars to learn how to be virtuous
  • When virtues become a habit, it becomes effortless
• Virtues and vices are not.....

  Passions:

  • Bodily appetites (for food, sex, drink ect
  • Emotions
  • Feelings that are accompanied by pleasure/pain

  Because.....

  • Having just passion doesn't make you bad/good
  • We don't choose passions, virtues/vices are choices
  • Passions are desires that motivate our virtues/vices, they're not desires that motivate us, but dispositions
• Virtues and vices are not.....

  Natural faculties

  • Things we just have the ability to do; e.g: sight, walking, experience, emotions, ability to think

  Because....

  • We have them naturally, whereas we have to choose to practise virtues/vices
• Virtues help us to act rationally so we can fulfill our ergon & reach Eudaimonia

  Virtues come from practice and habitation

  • Reason is our ergon, the golden thread from virtue to Eudaimonia
  • Reason is essential in finding the golden mean- each individual situation relies on us practicing our reasoning skills.
  • Reason binds moral and intellectual virtues together, they both help us act rationally
• Theoretical reason

  Abstract contemplation of the world 🌍

  • Maths
  • Physics

  "Arm chair reasoning" 🪑
• Practical reason

  Reason about real lives, our real goals, the means by which we can achieve our ends. 🔚

  "Action reasoning" 🎬
• Phronesis

  Virtues cannot just be theoretical or intellectual

  • You must be able to practically apply them
  • The golden mean is not mathematical, but practical, based on circumstances
  • Virtue is about acting the right way, for the right reasons at the right time, towards the right people, in the right manner
  • Knowing & applying this is called phronesis
  • Phronesis is developed overtime, through practice
• Voluntary actions 


  Praised or blamed

  • "You made that choice"
  • "You knew what you were doing"
• Involuntary actions 


  Aren't praised or blamed

  • "It wasn't intentional"
  • "It was an accident"
• Example of voluntary/involuntary actions

  You should be blamed if you deliberately, voluntarily step on someone's foot

  You should not be blamed if you accidentally, involuntarily step on someone's foot
• Force


  Sometimes we are forced to do things, these actions are involuntary

  We will not be praised/blamed for them
• Ignorance 


  We may be unaware of all the circumstances that effect the outcome of your actions

  It comes down to the circumstances of the situation, e.g: accidentally stepping on someone's foot

  Involuntary, no blame:

  Acting out of ignorance, you feel guilt for your actions

  Non-voluntary, blame

  Acting out of ignorance, you don't feel pain and regret for your action
• What is a choice?

  Not a...

  • Desire, we can choose not to act on a desire
  • Wish, a wish is an end, we choose our means
  • Opinion, these are true/false, a choice is good/bad

  A choice is a voluntary action as a result of deliberation
• The relationship between Eudaimonia and pleasure

  Eudoxus- pleasure only

  Plato- Goodness only

  • Pleasure is part of Eudaimonia, not the supreme good
  • "Cattle" if you solely seek pleasure
  • The more virtuous you are, the more pleasure you feel
  • Developing virtues eventually leads to pleasure, but it isn't the end.
• The importance of feelings

  Not just a disposition to an act, but a certain type of feeling - you feel the virtues

  Virtues should be a second nature
• Criticism of virtue ethics

  Utilitarianism and Kantain ethics have clear direction/rules/principles

  Virtue ethics doesn't have clear direction on how to act, just "be the right amount"

  The golden mean would be better in the middle, but it's not, the right amount changes every time.

  How are we supposed to know how to act right in each situation?
• Response to no clear guidance criticism

  
  

  • Julia Annas, you don't need rules, you need phronesis. The rule approach doesn't work, every situation is different. Practical wisdom accounts for how to navigate all situations
  • Rosalind Hursthouse, Aristotle provides sufficient guidance through virtues and vices - 'V rules'
  • James Rachels, Aristotle's virtues are consistent, the virtues he listed 2500 years ago are still needed today.
• Criticism

  competing virtues


  If someone asked you if you liked their outfit and you don't, the virtues of honesty and kindness are clashing.

  How can you decide which virtue is most important?

  • People rely on phronesis to navigate situations, individuals then come to different conclusions, phronesis very subjective
  • Aristotle does not provide a hierarchy of virtues, we do not know which to prioritize, which is more important?
• Response to criticism of competing virtues

  • Facing moral dilemmas helps you to develop phronesis and achieve eudaimonia
  • You become skilled at finding the golden mean for scenarios
  • With phronesis, you will begin to know what to do in situations with competing duties
• Criticism

  Circularity

  Aristotle says a virtuous act is an act a virtuous person would do, A virtuous person is someone who performs virtuous acts

  • we use one to define another, vice versa

  So which comes first? virtuous people who then perform virtuous acts? or normal people performing virtuous acts and then become virtuous people?

  
  

  Is the concept of virtue empty? referencing itself without meaning?
• Response to criticism of circularity

  Knowing what a virtue is isn't based on a definition

  • It's a matter of phronesis, which is acquired over a lifetime, cannot simply read then learn the definition of a virtue
  • Aristotle's ethics should be understood in the concept of an entire lifetime, not just in isolation. We recognize someone is virtuous overtime by observing a pattern of behavior rather than a singular action
• Criticism

  Do virtues need to contribute to Eudaimonia?

  Someone being extremely virtuous may result in them sacrificing their own well being for the purpose of others

  Altruism, selflessness is considered a virtue, this could however be damaging to yourself in order for you to help others

  Eudaimonia is too narrow in such a complex world
• Response to do virtues lead to eudaimonia?

  Virtues are connected to living a good life, they will eventually lead to eudaimonia even if they include short term difficulties

  virtues are aligned with personal and moral good so should facilitate a life which is good for individuals as well as for society