virtue ethics

• virtue ethics says we shouldn't focus on following guidelines

  we should aim to become better people and develop positive character traits called virtues

  as we develop these virtues we will make better choices
• virtue ethics aims to help people achieve their potential as human beings rather than focusing on the rightness/wrongness of their actions.
• the ultimate end of ends and the greatest good is called eudaimonia
• eudaimonia encompasses three ways of understanding happiness

  -as a life of enjoyment of pleasure

  -a free member of society

  -as a philosopher
• eudaimonia must be deserved happiness
• the function argument


  relation between goodness and function

  • function in greek is ergon meaning work or accomplishment, eg a good knife is one that works well and fulfils its purpose
• aristotle defines the hierarchy of souls

  plants - vegetative - nutrition and growth

  animals - sensitive - nutrition and growth, movement, sense perception, low level thought

  humans - rational - nutrition and growth, movement, sense perception and reason
• a good life means we have to exercise reason well
• eudaimonia is happiness or flourishing
• • Aristotle believed that everything has a purpose – the good for a knife is to cut, and a good knife is one that cuts well.
  • In the same way, Eudaimonia is the ‘good’ for a person.
  • ‘Eudaimonia’ is the end goal or purpose behind everything we do as people, and is desired for its own sake – it is an end in itself.
• aristotle also argued friendship was the key to eudaimonia

  • living alongside good people inspires our behaviour
  • vices eventually disappear
• virtue ethics is agent centred. its about the person performing the actions, not the action performed
• the moral development of the person counts more than the act
• virtue ethics can appear selfish, but the theory has the intention of achieving eudaimonia and so personal achievement impacts upon society
• there are two types of virtues:

  • intellectual, which are developed by training yourself and being educated
  • moral, which are developed by practice and habit
• the four cardinal virtues are justice, courage, temperance and prudence
• justice - treating people equally and fairly
• courage - confronting fears etc
• temperance - moderation
• prudence - practical wisdom
• the two vices are deficience and excessiveness
• vice of deficiency

  lack of virtue
• vice of excess

  too much of a virtue
• the virtue exists at the point between the two vices - this is called the doctrine of the mean
• vice of deficiency - cowardice

  mean - courage

  vice of excess - rashness
• in summation, virtue ethics consists of...

  the doctrine of the mean

  relevant virtues and vices

  good and bad habit forming behaviour

  virtuous role models
• problems for the mean

  how can the true mid point be definitive

  intuition?

  how do we deal with traditions?
• problems for role models

  how do we decide which parts of their life is virtuous? eg hitler
• strengths of virtue ethics

  avoids use of formula

  different but good ways of acting virtuously

  distinguishes between good people and those who just follow rules
• weaknesses of virtue ethics

  eudaimonia is too idyllic

  some things dont have a mean eg rape

  no concrete answers

  immoral actions are praised

  • philippa foot
• modern virtue ethicists include philippa foot, rosaline hursthouse, alasdair mcintyre and michael slote
• philippa foot

  virtues are only virtuous as long as they are correctly used to bring a good outcome
• rosalind hursthouse

  though it may not explain exactly how a person would or should act, but it does explain how a virtuous person would think about the moral dilemma
• alasdair mcintyre

  ancient virtues are not necessarily relevant to the modern world
• michael slote

  agent-based – which means that the moral rightness of acts is based on the virtuous motives or characters of the agent. This contrasts with Aristotle who was agent-focused – which means that the inner life of the agent is the focus.