Aristotle not complete Flashcards
What is the principle of justice
To do what is just, to act justly and to wish for justice. How each person receives their ‘due’. We must treat others equally
What is the definition of justice as a virtue
The disposition to do what is just. To act justly and to wish for justice. To be courageous, temperate, good-tempered etc and to not be vicious etc.
What two meanings does Aristotle attach to justice
- Anything legal is just and anything illegal is unjust
- Fairness (to be unjust is to seek or gin mre than one’s fair share of something good or avoid one’s fair share of something bad
What are the four forms of injustice
- unjust distribution
- an act which results in injustice
- to act unjustly voluntarily
- To do an unjust act by choice is unjust and to have deliberated it (this is the worst form of an unjust act)
What is the objection in virtue ethics on guidance on how to act and the objection
Objection: Can it provide helpful guidance on how to act? If I have practical wisdom, it seems that I simply know what to do but if I don’t have practical wisdom, what then? Practical wisdom requires virtue and good character but not everyone can reach that. Knowledge of the good is not within everyone’s reach. No teacher or book can make you virtuous.
Aristotle’s Response: Knowledge of the good can come in varying degrees, and we can improve or destroy our ability to know what is good by the kind of character we are. You need to ask a series of questions such as “would this be a kind action”.
What is the objection to virtue ethics about the conflict between virtues
Can we show justice and mercy or do we have to choose? Could loyalty to a friend ever require you to be dishonest?
One advantage that Aristotle’s theory has over Kant’s is that Aristotle explicitly rejects the claim that morality involves absolute or universal rules. It is all a matter of context and judgement. This makes it easier to resolve potential conflicts.
Response: Aristotle denies conflict between virtues ever take place. If you have practical wisdom you will understand what each virtue actually requires you to do in that particular situation with such understanding you should be able to find a path that satsfies the demands of each virtue that is relevant to the situation
The possibility of circularity
It doesn’t clarify what a virtuous person is. It says a virtuous person is someone who is disposed to do virtuous acts. Virtuous acts are done by virtuous people.
Response: In reply, first, it is true that the criterion for an act being virtuous is that it is an act that a virtuous person would do. But we have a good idea of what a virtuous person is without being able to name particular individuals as virtuous or not. When considering ‘what the virtuous person would do’, we need not have any specific virtuous person in mind. So to judge whether an act is virtuous, we don’t need to first judge that person a is virtuous and then figure out what a would do
What renders our actions involuntary
Force and ignorance
How does force relate to voluntary and involuntary actions
You can be forced to do something so you do it involuntarily with coercion causing pain and regret. Praise and blame attaches what is volunatry
How does ignorance relate to voluntary and involuntary actions
Relates to the particular circumstances of the action, you could move your foot voluntarily but by ignorance accidentally step on someone else’s foot involuntarily.
What is a voluntary action
An action that you bring about, in the knowledge of what you are doing
What is and isn’t a choice
Everything we choose to do is voluntary, but not everything voluntary is chosen. A choice relates to voluntary action, where this is done on the basis of deliberation. A choice isn’t a desire, wish or opinion
What is deliberation
We deliberate about things that can change (practical reasoning) It’s a kind of reasoned thought about what we can change by our efforts and where we need to act differently on different occasions
‘The fact that bad people are ignorant of what is good does not mean that bad people act involuntarily’ - Outline Aristotle’s 4 arguments for this position
- Choice relates to the means, actions that take what is in our power to do, it is also in our power to not do so we can choose to do either good or bad action therefore bad people act voluntarily.
- We encourage people not to do bad actions yet we don’t encourage people not to do things that are out of their power. That would be pointless, so bad actions are done voluntarily.
- Bad people become bad as a result of their choices. Therefore, they are responsible for becoming bad, and thus becoming ignorant of what is good.
- If we reject this argument and claim that the bad person is not responsible for what they think is good, then we must apply the claim generally - no one is responsible for what seems good or bad to them.
What is practical reasoning (phronesis) (intellectual virtue)
It’s focused on what we can change and it’s about making good choices towards people. Reasoning and deliberation so weighing up options and deciding
