1. Virtue Ethics (outline)
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 23-06-17 18:50
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- 1. Virtue Ethics (outline)
- Agent centred
- focused on individual development
- Intentions of an action is key
- Outcome is irrelevant
- Aristotle
- 'Nichomachean Ethics'
- Purpose of life is to reach eudaimonia
- Greatest happiness, human flourishing
- Achieved by practicing skills and virtues.
- Requires
- Happiness as a life of enjoyment and pleasure
- Happiness as a member of free society
- Happiness as a philosopher
- Requires
- To do right actions requires a right character
- Character (ethos) developed by:
- emulation (copying)
- education (wisdom and understanding)
- Experience (learning from mistakes)
- Achieved by developing virtues
- "Virtue, then, is a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean"
- Character (ethos) developed by:
- Types of virtue
- Intellectual virtues (taught)
- Developing these excels in sophia (intellectual excellence)
- Moral virtues (experienced)
- Developing these excels in phronesis (prudence)
- Intellectual virtues (taught)
- Cardinal virtues (Aquinas - Summa Theologica)
- Justice
- Temperance (moderation)
- Fortitude (courage)
- Prudence (wisdom or phronesis)
- Golden Mean
- Avoid the vices
- Deficiency and excess of virtues
- e.g. the best virtue to have is confidence, a deficiency is doubt and an excess is arrogance
- Deficiency and excess of virtues
- Virtue is the balance of two extremes
- The desirable is middle
- Avoid the vices
- Strengths
- Virtue ethics appeals to both religious and secular approaches to morality
- No need for faith/religion
- It doesn't have strict prescriptive rules
- Unlike Kantian ethics or Natural Law)
- Avoids pitfalls of absolutist theories such as being forced to do something despite negative outcome
- Aimed at helping society as it tries to eliminate vices that could harm society
- Looks at individuals as opposed to actions, so increases self-worth.
- Virtue ethics appeals to both religious and secular approaches to morality
- Criticisms
- Everybody has different goals and motives
- It is nonsensical to say we all work to a common good
- There are cultural differences in what is seen to be virtuous
- e.g. having a young wife. Who is right?
- If virtues clash, how is it determined which one takes precedence?
- "Excess" and "deficiency" are too subjective
- How is it possible to know when bravery becomes recklessness?
- Society may benefit from extremes of character
- Need vices to recognise virtues
- Susan Wolf
- Vices make the world more interesting
- As outcome is irrelevant, virtues can lead to immoral acts
- e.g. loyalty to Hitler and killing Jews
- Phillipppa Foot counters
- A virtue is not virtuous if it is used to a bad end
- Keenan
- What sort of virtuous person should one become
- Compassionate or controlled?
- What sort of virtuous person should one become
- Everybody has different goals and motives
- Agent centred
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