1B: Virtue Theory

Question 1

What is virtue theory?

Answer 1

it is interested in defining what are good people and the virtues that make them good

Question 2

What is a virtue?

Answer 2

the good characteristics we have eg kindness, patience

Question 3

What is a vice?

Answer 3

bad characteristics we have eg greed and jealousy

Question 4

What do virtue theorists believe makes a ‘good’ person?

Answer 4

developing virtues and reducing vices - a good person of character would automatically do good actions

Question 5

What would a virtue theorist say in regards to lying?

Answer 5

They would focus less on the action of lying, and instead concentrate on what a decision to lie says about a persons character ie was the lying associated with a virtuous or vice characteristic

Question 6

What question is virtue theory most interested in?

Answer 6

“What sort of characteristics do I have?”

Question 7

What is the name of Aristotle’s book?

Answer 7

‘Nicomachean Ethics’ (it is a collection of his lectures on Ethics, compiled by his son Nicomachus)

Question 8

What are some moral virtues?

Answer 8

courage and wittiness

Question 9

What does excess vice mean?

Answer 9

too much of a certain virtue

Question 10

What does a deficiency vice mean?

Answer 10

too little of a virtue

Question 11

What does Aristotle say is the key to a good life?

Answer 11

following the moral virtues and practicing until it becomes a habit ; allows human flourishing (eudaimonia) by the end of life

Question 12

Name 3 of the key virtues

Answer 12

• justice
• temperance
• fortitude

Question 13

What is every virtue stuck in the middle of, and what is Aristotle’s way of describing virtues?

Answer 13

Excess and deficiency vice: tells us what the good moral virtues are and also how to follow them

Question 14

How can we develop moral goodness, according to Aristotle?

Answer 14

By steering clear of the vices of excess and deficiency in order to identify the ‘golden mean’ where the virtue is situated. By practice it will become habitual and we will be able to make excellence our habit

Question 15

What does Aristotle mean by ‘the golden mean’?

Answer 15

we all have the potential to develop these moral virtues. The way we do this is to ensure that we keep away from either the excess or deficiency of the
virtue; so we hit the ‘mean’ or midway point. He argued the good virtues were a matter of balance between the extremes.

Question 16

Example of wittiness applied to the golden mean

Answer 16

The way to achieve this virtue is to avoid the two extremes. No one likes ‘hanging around with’ someone who is boorish (boring) and therefore they will not be a successful member of a group. On the other extreme nobody likes ‘hanging around’ with a buffoon because they quickly become irritating and thus they too will not be a successful member of a group. Therefore, the way to develop the virtue of wittiness is to take the golden mean (middle way) between the two extremes of boorishness and buffoonery. If you can do this (with practice) you will become happy because you will be a successful (popular) member of a group because people like to ‘hang around with’ witty people.

Question 17

What is the name of Kotva’s book?

Answer 17

The Christian Case for Virtue Ethics

Question 18

What does Kotva argue?

Answer 18

• Christianity and Virtue Theory are compatible and this can be seen in Biblical passages

Question 19

Kotva: “the most obvious __________ between _____ and virtue theory is his concern with the ______ qualities of human action, not just the _____ acts themselves”

Answer 19

similarity, Jesus, internal, overt

Question 20

Where can Jesus’ teachings on virtue generally be found?

Answer 20

Sermon on the Mount

Question 21

What are the beatitudes?

Answer 21

the virtues referred to by Jesus in Sermon on the Mount

Question 22

Beatitude of ‘poor in spirit’

Answer 22

• “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
• relates to physical, mental and spiritual poverty eg those oppressed and slaved: they are humble before God

Question 23

Beatitude of ‘mourn’

Answer 23

• “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”
• extends beyond the loss of a loved one to loss of possessions, status, wealth, recognising concern and regret for being separated from God

Question 24

Beatitude of ‘meek’

Answer 24

• “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”
• discipline and self control exhibiting a gentle disposition towards others

Question 25

Beatitude of ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’

Answer 25

• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”
• desire for the virtuous outcome of justice in life in relation to the kingdom of God
• depicting the virtue of seeking righteousness/justice personally, spiritually, socially etc

Question 26

Beatitude of ‘merciful’

Answer 26

• “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”
• Christian’s are encouraged to display mercy towards others, because it is a virtuous disposition in itself

Question 27

Beatitude of ‘pure in heart’

Answer 27

• “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”
• sincerity of character that wills and determines the correct choices and decisions in life without selfish drives

Question 28

Beatitude of ‘peacemakers’

Answer 28

• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”
• traditionally ascribed to Messiah, those who follow and work for peace in a world of conflict truly appreciate the nature of God’s kingdom

Question 29

Beatitude of ‘persecuted because of righteousness’

Answer 29

• “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
• displays a willingness to suffer for religion and moral principles but simultaneously display an underlying determination to survive and stand up for what’s right despite the obstacles

Question 30

Challenge - virtues are not a practical guide to moral behaviour

Answer 30

• Ethics should give a clear system for making moral choices: should enable moral agents to know right from wrong
• DCT gives a clear command on what is right but VE doesnt
• since VE doesn’t give guidance on how to act, we have to decide for ourselves
• William Frankena: “virtues without principles are blind”

Question 31

Challenge - issues of cultural relativism

Answer 31

• Key virtues differ from culture to culture eg Al Qaeda thinks it is virtuous to be a suicide bomber, others would see this as a vice
• Therefore, one persons terrorist is another persons freedom fighter: so goodness must depend on something else other than virtue

Question 32

Challenge - virtues can be used for immoral acts

Answer 32

• Ethics based on virtues can lead to evil; this is because criminals can use these virtues to become powerful and/or rich (eg a banker robber needs courage to rob a bank)

Question 33

Other challenges towards Virtue Ethics

Answer 33

• can be considered imprecise and vague; lacks focus on real behaviour
• depends too much on the potential goodness of others
• too individualistic, not practical for society as a whole

Question 34

Reasons to suggest being a good person is better than doing good deeds

Answer 34

• developing virtues allows people to learn to become moral beings and promotes a change and development in character that will last
• just following rules does not make one good intrinsically, but simply indicated that a person has done the right thing
• the idea of developing virtue is a process of self development where a person grows in moral character and recognises ‘good’ beyond the action itself
• the virtuous person is an exemplar and therefore the clear guiding principles arise from within rather than being imposed on
• a good deed may be done with impure motives and without good intent

Question 35

Reasons to suggest doing good deeds is better than being a good person

Answer 35

• a person still chooses right over wrong, good over bad, and so even if the intentions are insincere, does that make them less good than another that performs acts graciously? the end product is still the same
• if no good deeds are done how can a person be good?

Question 36

Reasons to suggest virtue theory is useful when faced with a moral dilemma

Answer 36

• a problem with having no rules to follow is that it could encourage an ‘anything goes’ society, which is inconsistent with religion and philosophy
• the liberal and relative aspect to virtue theory means it will not appeal to the more conservative, traditional religious followers or those who wish for a more structured approach to ethics
• it stresses altruism, which is consistent with all forms of religion and philosophy and a useful principle when facing moral dilemmas
• if virtue theory was not useful then people such as Aquinas would not have developed the theory later in conjunction with Natural Law
• there is a clear social context for virtue theory in the writing of Aristotle and in this way it is a very practical system: it focuses on the way we behave

Question 37

Reasons to suggest virtue theory is not useful when faced with a moral dilemma

Answer 37

• are the virtues really moral absolutes?: this makes virtue theory uncertain for some since VT sees every moral dilemma as contextual, meaning it is open to interpretation and debate so therefore potentially confusing
• there are limitations