Aristotle's virtue ethics Flashcards
How does virtue ethics base the morality of an action?
By looking at the person who committed the act, rather than the action itself.
What are the criteria for the supreme good?
Must be an end Must be the final end Must be self-sufficient Must be related to human beings =eudaimonia/a good life
What is the function argument?
In order to achieve eudaimon we must follow our ergon so that it is an arete.
The ergon of a can opener is to open cans
The arete of a can opener is to open cans well
This is how to be a good can opener
The ergon of people cannot be to flourish because plants share this, the thing that sets humans apart from everything else is sentience or the ability to make rational decisions
The ergon of a human is to make decisions
The arete of a human is to make rational decisions using practical wisdom
This is how to be a good person
Explain the role of education and habituation in developing a moral character
Ethica arete is a moral virtue/excellence of character, this is a person who, because they react accordingly, demonstrates a number of traits; courage, honesty, patience, etc.
We are born with dispositions to do these things but excellence of character has to be developed by practice like learning an instrument until it becomes a habit.
Explain the docrine of the mean?
Self control is important, we must act as an intermediate between two extremes, not in deficit and not in excess. For example;
Deficiency = cowardice
Mean = courage
Excess = rashness
What is a voluntary action?
People should be praised/blamed for voluntary actions because they did it out of their own free will. We can base the virtues/moral character of someone on this.
E.g. jumping into the ocean to save a drowning person
What is an involuntary action?
Things that we do accidentally against our wishes do not reveal our intentions and we should not be blamed for them. Technically can be judged on it but only if you were to do things differently or want to do it if you did have the choice.
E.g. losing your surfboard and coincidentally saving a drowning person with it
What is a mixed action?
An action that was intended but out of your control and you were forced to do it.
Although you could not do anything else you are blamed and judged
E.g. Wanting to save a drowning person but being stopped
Can Aristotle’s virtue ethics deal with clashing or competing virtues?
No clear course of action can be recommended by the theory, although through practical wisdom we can choose which option would be the best.
Can virtue ethics give sufficiently clear guidance on how to act?
Although he does offer the doctrine of the mean, sometimes the mean can be an excess or deficit response depending on the situation.
However, practical wisdom can offer decision making.
Virtues can also offer prescriptions such as the virtue of truthfulness entailing the virtue rule of ‘do what is honest’
Why is circularity an issue for virtue ethics?
- We should act virtuously
- What is a virtuous act?
- An act done by a virtuous person
- What is a virtuous person?
- Someone who chooses virtuous acts (RETURN TO 2)
What would a virtue ethicist say about crime and punishment?
Punishment should be mean an proportional to crime - death for murder
Murder and theft is not acceptable at all, even if the stealing is for a good cause you are still being dishonest and are causing others to suffer
What would a virtue ethicist say about war?
As a soldier you should have a duty of care even for prisoners of war and a responsibility for adhering to treating them humanely
If your aim is to flourish after the war then you need to consider the habits you are developing - e.g. PTSD and treating others humanely
A peaceful society can flourish - justifying war
Must have a wise and balanced leader, cannot be full of vices like hitler
What would a virtue ethicist say about simulated killing?
Our practical wisdom tells us intuitively that there something that isn’t right about playing games that mimic the murder of children, even if it isn’t real
Could contribute to habituation which can effect our behaviour in the future
It’s an opportunity cost, doing this instead of productive character building things
What would a virtue ethicist say about the treatment of animals?
There is a natural hierarchy of living things, things lower on the hierarchy serve the needs of us.
However, treating animals cruelly can lead to the development of cruel character towards humans, as we are failing to exhibit compassion
