Aristotelian ethics Flashcards
what type of theory is aristotle’s virtue ethics?
virtue ethics is an agent-centred and asks the question what sort of person should i be?
what is eudaimonia?
the good life for human beings
- the good life for a human being must consist of something unique to human beings
what is eudaimonia about?
eudaimonia is about following moral laws, being happy and successful and more
- it is a good life in the moral sense as well as enjoyable and successful
it is a property of someone’s life taken as a whole
eudaimonia is a final end
what is phronesis?
practical wisdom
- means a general understanding of good that enables someone to think through, understand and act according to what is good
it takes experience to get phronesis
what is ergon?
the function or characteristic activity of a thing.
human beings are rational and reason is their unique characteristic
- the good life for humans (eudaimonia) will be one full of actions chosen according to reason
what is arete?
a property or virtue that enables a thing to achieve its ergon.
what is an example of ergon and arete?
a knifes ergon is to cut things and a good knife has the arete of sharpness because this enables it to cut things well
what is the function argument?`
p1) everything has a function (ergon) that is unique to it and its goodness is determined by how well it fulfils that function
p2) the function of humans must be something distinctive to them, which aristotle argues is rationality, as reason separates humans from other living beings
p3) living a good life (eudaimonia) requires fulfilling this function well, meaning we must engage in rationality in accordance with virtue
p4) since virtues enable a person to reason and act well, developing virtues through habit and practice allows us to achieve eudaimonia
c) therefore, the function argument shows that the best life is one of rational and virtuous activity, where humans flourish
what is a criticism of Aristotle’s function argument?
aristotle is offering a very weak argument from analogy to support his argument that humans have a function.
- analogy arguments are only good when they compare two things alike to each other
but aristotle has chosen random things like the parts of a body and concluded that like these things, humans must too have a function.
what is a response to this criticism?
aristotle replies that he is not providing an argument, but is articulating his teleological assumptions - that everything is directed towards some purpose.
HOWEVER, if we reject this, his argument fails because scientists no longer need teleological explanations to explain the processes of the natural world.
what is the skill analogy?
aristotle compares the development of virtue with the development of a skill (e.g. playing the piano)
- virtue does not come through nothing, but through learning and making mistakes
- in the beginning, virtue will have to be reminded, but it will eventually become habituous.
- virtue cannot be learnt through reading about it, but must be acted on
- virtue cannot be self-taught but you must have a teacher or role model.
what is a criticism of aristotle’s skill analogy?
Annas argues that there are limits to the skill analogy - when we develop a skill, we are striving to achieve some particular end but when we are developing a virtue we cannot give up on the end because the END OF VIRTUE IS THE FINAL END
- to flourish
what is the doctrine of the mean?
also called the golden mean, it provides more detail about what virtues traits actually are.
- the doctrine of the mean says that virtues are the immediate or average between two extremes
cowardly–> COURAGE –> recklessness
deficiency –> mean –> excess
what does the doctrine of the mean suggest?
it suggests that in any situation we should act in a way that avoids the extremes and instead displays a moderate amount
what is a criticism of the doctrine of the mean?
some may suggest that aristotle is suggesting that all the time we can only display a moderate amount of feeling and should avoid all excess.
- the doctrine of the mean may also only be accessible to intellectuals as finding the mean may be difficult and understanding it will vary for situation and people
the mean could be both objective and subjective, making it harder to calculate
who does aristotle say should be blamed for actions?
aristotle asserts that people should be held accountable for VOLUNTARY acts but not for acts done contrary to intention (involuntary)
- what we intended to do reveals our dispositions and desires whereas things we accidentally did do not.
what example can be used to illustrate voluntary and involuntary actions?
if we were surfboarding in rough weather and noticed the duchess of Cambridge drowning and we deliberately swam to save her - voluntary action
but if we saved her through falling off our surfboard, which she then held onto - involuntary action
what makes an action voluntary/ intended?
Aristotle believes an action cannot be intended when it’s cause lies outside us or we are acting in ignorance
- an action is intended when its origin lies in us and there is a connection between our internal decision processes and the action itself.
what are the two types of involuntary action?
- those done under compulsion or external force
- those done in ignorance
what are actions done under compulsion?
these are acts which are partly contrary to our intentions and partly intended.
e.g. throwing your cargo overboard in a storm
in the long-term sense you did not intend to lose the cargo as you did not set out with that intention but in the short-term you did.
- you had a choice even if it FELT like you didn’t
these acts are mixed as they are both INTENDED (short-term) and CONTRARY TO INTENTION (long-term)
what are actions done under external force?
a voyager is kidnapped and taken somewhere - the voyager had no impact on the outcome or consequence and thus can take no RESPONSIBILITY
does aristotle think that mixed acts should have blame?
yes - because there was a choice in the end even if it felt like there wasn’t - we could have let the ship sink but we CHOSE not to.
where there is agency and the origins of the act lay within you THERE IS RESPONSIBILITY
what are non-voluntary actions?
a branch of involuntary - they are acts done in ignorance.
- we are not omnipotent and thus cannot know the details of every situation before we make a decision (more every day than utilitarianism)
if someone intends to marry their fiancée who is 20 years older than them, but ends up marrying their mother because that is her - can they be held responsible for their action.
does aristotle think we are responsible for our non-voluntary acts?
it depends on whether the act was actually one that was CONTRARY TO OUR INTENTION
why is reason critical to virtue ethics?
- it is the defining characteristic of humans (our ergon) and thus is necessary to achieve eudaimonia
- reason is necessary to the true development of virtues - developing generosity virtue is not about acting generously but acting as a GENEROUS person would act thus you must know what you are doing
- reason underpins the doctrine of the mean
what does Aristotle think about pleasure in the hedonistic sense?
aristotle rules out indulging in physical pleasures but he also rules that we should not avoid all bodily pleasures
- some sensual pleasures e.g. art, should be encouraged and other pleasures such as food or sex are necessary as long as indulgence is avoided.
can virtue ethics give clear guidance on how to act?
the doctrine of the mean suggests that every situation is different and there is no single rule and thus it is a vague theory.
- aristotle there is a looseness about moral decision making because experience tells us that we will always find exceptions
aristotle says that we apply practical wisdom
Kant gives the categorical imperative and utilitarianism has the felicific calculus but virtue ethics has not criteria
what is a response to no clear guidance?
aristotle could reply that virtue ethics was not intended to provide a set of rules
- instead we must develop practical wisdom so that we can act virtuously in all situations.
just because it doesn’t provide a specific course of action does not mean it provides NO GUIDANCE
what is the circularity objection?
aristotle defines virtuous acts and virtuous people in terms of each other
- a virtuous act is something virtuous person would do and a virtuous person does virtuous acts
this means nothing meaningful is being said
what is the response to the circularity objection?
aristotle says that virtuous people are more than just virtuous acts but are also about eudaimonia and arete and practical wisdom.
- thus circularity is not a thing because a virtuous person is not defined by actions but by eudaimonia.
what is the objection that must a trait contribute to eudaimonia in order to be a virtue?
a virtue is a disposition which means we aim and are able to act in the right way, at the right time and virtue is essential to achieving eudaimonia.
but is it possible to identify traits that we might consider virtues but which do not contribute to eudaimonia or is it part of the definition of a virtue that it must contribute to eudaimonia.
what would the aristotelian response to the objection that must a trait contribute to eudaimonia in order to be a virtue?
not all character traits are positive traits e.g. cowardice
for aristotle these traits certainly do not contribute to eudaimonia but he recognises that on occasion these deficient or excessive responses may be the right response.
what is the PPC for the objection that must a trait contribute to eudaimonia in order to be a virtue?
p1) a virtue is a disposition to act towards the right person to the right extent at the right time for the right reason in the right way
p2) in a certain unique circumstances, acts such as stealing, lying and cheating may be right
p3) if these unique circumstances are repeated over a number of years then a disposition may be developed for stealing and lying and still be right - that is virtuous
p4) traits like stealing, lying and cheating do not contribute to eudaimonia
c) there exist traits which are virtues yet these do not contribute to eudaimonia
