Aristotle's Virtue Ethics Flashcards
What does Eudaimonia mean?
The good life for human beings
What is the good life (eudaimonia)?
A life full of actions chosen according to reason
What are virtues?
Virtues are character traits that enable us to act according to reason
What is the virtue?
The middle point between the vice of excess and the vice of deficiency
What are virtues developed through?
Habit and training
What word does Aristotle use for the good life for a human being and what does it translate to?
Eudaimonia and it translates to ‘human flourishing’
Does Aristotle say eudaimonia is an end or a mean?
He says it’s a final end
WHy does Aristotle say eudaimonia is a final end?
We don’t try to achieve eudaimonia as a means to achieve some goal but instead it is something that is valuable for its own sake
WHat does Ergon mean?
Function / characteristic activity of a thing
What does Arete mean?
Property / virtue that enables a thing to achieve its ergon
How would an Ergon and an Arete apply to a knife?
A knife’s ergon is to cut things. And a good knife has the arete of sharpness because this enables it to cut things well
What does Aristotle say is the ergon of a human?
To use reason
Why does Aristotle say reason is the ergon for a human?
Reason is what makes us unique from trees, plants, knives, animals and everything else in the world
What does the Doctrine of Mean say?
The doctrine of mean says that virtues are intermediate or average (the mean) between two extremes
How does Aristotle apply the idea of playing the piano (gaining a skill) to acquiring virtues?
Nobody is born knowing how to play the piano, but we are born with the capacity to know how to play the piano. Likewise, nobody is born virtuous, but they have the capacity to become virtuous
