Aristotle's virtue ethics

• Aristotle was an Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath
• a polymath is someone who knows a lot about a lot of subjects. This influenced Aristotle's philosophies
• Aristotle went to Plato's Academy in Athens
• Plato is one of the most widely read philosophers of all time. Plato invented the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy- his theories were worked out through conversation
• Nicomachean ethics is the idea that each action has an end goal

  "Every art and every enquiry, and similarly every action as well as choice is held to aim at some point"
• Subordinate actions is the idea that not all actions hold the same weight
• The discovery of the final end was likely aimed at politicians as politicians held lots of power and made up Aristotle's audience
• Eudaimonia is a kind of happiness that cannot be sought through simple pleasures, materialistic gain or power.
• Aristotle argues that human good is a function of the soul in accord with virtue, there is a relation between function and goodness
• An example of the function argument is a knife: a good knife will have a sharp blade, a good handle and will cut well
• The function of the human is focused on the rational soul. A good life will be one in which reason is exercised well.
• Plants are vegetative, animals are sensitive and humans are rational. There is a hierarchy of function
• virtue in a human is defined by natural characteristics of the soul
• "The good life is not the kind in which we eat, reproduce, sense, move, remember or imagine well (plants and animals do that) but that in which we exercise reason well"
• Moral virtue is measured over a lifetime
• There are two aspects of the human soul: rational and non-rational
• A virtuous person must:

  • know what they are doing in any situation and not act through ignorance
  • and they must choose to act virtuously
• phronimos is a type of wisdom or intelligence related to practical action
• Martha Nuassbaum (1947-present) is an American philosopher who summed up Aristotle's means:

  "Aristotle's norm of a reasonable person is one whose character is infused completely by the correct reasons for action, which have shaped their motives and attitudes."
• Elizabeth Anscombe was a British philosopher who published an essay in 1958 urging a move towards virtue ethics and a move away from act-based ethical theories
• Virtue- a character trait which is valued
• Eudaimonia- that which is good for humans, defined as happiness and complete well-being
• Theoria- the intellectual virtue of contemplation
• Function- something is 'good' if it fulfils its function
• Soul- the blueprint or form of the body, represents the function of a being
• Hierarchy- a system to which members are ranked based on status
• Mean- specific virtues that lie between two extremes. The mean is relative to the disposition of an individual
• dispositions- character traits
• Phronimos- to become a 'man of practical wisdom' who is best qualified to identify virtuous behaviour
• Temperance- the virtue of self-control
• Altruism- love of others
• Voluntary action- action brought about by the will