Eudaimonism

Question 1

Eudaimonistic theories are…

Answer 1

goal-oriented or teleological approaches to ethics that focus their study on how to cultivate virtues to achieve the end of a well-lived life
- “happiness” “human flourishing “well-lived life”

Question 2

Include traits such as…

Answer 2

• Honestly
• Kindness
• Temperance
• Loyalty
• Courage
• Tolerance
• Forgiveness

Question 3

Vices to be avoided

Answer 3

• Greed
• Arrogance
• Self-centeredness
• Impatience
• Untrustworthiness
• Envy
• Disloyalty
• Vanity

Question 4

The Doctrine of the Golden Mean

Answer 4

Develop a disposition that is the mean between two extremes

Question 5

Several Upshots of the Eudaimonistic Approach to Ethics

Answer 5

First
- the most important ethical assessment of capitalism as an economic system is to examine whether or not the system corrodes people’s character and undermines the experience of a well-lived life
Second
- a proponent of this view emphasizes the training and circumstances that do or do not lead people to develop good characters, such as the quality of education, the values practiced at home, or the long-term effects of the work environment
Third
- professional ethics is sometimes conceived as a set of “do’s or don’ts” for determining how to act in a situation
Fourth
- life can feel like a pinball machine that loses larger perspective
- People think through decisions ultimately from the vantage point of pursuing a well-lived life. This is to take a long view for making sense of difficult choices at the moment