Key Concepts Flashcards
What is virtue theory?
Concerned with the idea of the human character and asks how you can be a better person by developing good character
Difference between theological, deontological and virtue theory
Teleological theories decide the rightness and wrongness of actions by looking at their consequences. Deontological theories are concerned with the motive of the action. Virtue theory is concerned with how people can become moral,rather than simply what is moral/immoral
Who developed the virtue theory?
Aristotle
What’s Aristotle work?
Nichomachean ethics
What did Aristotle argue in his work?
Whenever we do something,we do it to gain an end and that the ultimate end of all ends is the chief good
What is eudaimonia?
Human flourishing, goal of life that everyone should pursue. It is not a means to an end but an end in itself and it is achieved through a life of virtuous action
What’s the golden mean?
The midway point between the vices of excess and deficiency
How do we know we are acting virtuously?
By how we spontaneously respond to situations. By seeing the virtues we do virtuous things
What did Aristotle believe?
Every action is directed towards an aim
What are superior and subordinate aims?
A subordinate aim is to wake up in the morning and a superior aim is earning a living
Why everything is subordinate?
Because they all lead to the supreme good which is happiness
Why Aristotle acknowledged that the virtues of one city may differ from one another?
There’s no platonic good. Good was found within this world. Different cities have many ideas of the ends which they aim, and the virtues that would take them towards those aims. Therefore Aristotelian virtues are relativist- they may change in relation to different types of community
What’s supreme happiness?
The end to which virtue theory looks, an end which is both an individual person’s development and the whole community
What’s the goal of virtue ethics?
Create the good life, to be happy and fulfilled through cultivating virtues
Give a quote from Aristole
Happiness,then, is something final and self sufficient, and is the end of an action
What are the two kinds of virtues?
Moral and intellectual
Give 4 examples of moral and 4 intellectual virtues
Moral: courage,temperance,liberality,generosity
Intellectual:
Intelligence, practical reason, theoretical reason, common sense
What are the most important virtues?
Wisdom and justice
Explain how a moral virtue is different from an intellectual virtue
The medial virtues are acquired through habit and developed through practice. Intellectual virtues are developed by education
How do we know that the virtues are developed according to Aristotle?
With at first sketch that gradually develops into a picture
Give 4 examples of vices of excess
Rashness, vulgarity,over ambition and shyness
Give 4 examples of the golden mean
Courage, generosity, proper ambition, modesty
Give 4 examples of vices of deficiency
Cowardice, pettiness, lack of ambition, shamelessness
What’s re the cardinal virtues? And where are the found?
Prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. In Christian writings. They are related to each other and need each other
What is a good illustration of the cardinal virtues?
‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’ I might show treat courage in sacrificing myself, but in doing so I may go about things the wrong way
Who is Elisabeth Anscombe?
She wrote Modern Moral Philosophy. She initiated the modern revival of virtue theory. She challenged both deontological and teleological theories be chase both were preoccupied with a law conception of ethics which seemed to take no account of the emotions
What did Anscombe propose instead?
We should think about the idea of virtue and human flourishing, referring back to Plato and Aristotle
Who is Alasdair McIntyre?
Modern morality has suffered a catastrophe and lost sights of its roots because modern philosophers have thrown the baby out with the bath water.
Give a quote of McIntyre?
We have lost our comprehension of morality
What did McIntyre propose instead?
Historical approach to ethics that reflects an awareness of how ethics had developed which then tells us about what it now is- looking back to Ancient Greeks- Achilles and Odysseus show a vision of morality
What do the Greek heroes show?
Describe man in terms of his actions and his identity is defined by what he does. To judge a man is to judge his actions. Eg. Heroic society, courage is a measure of the quality of an individual and is essential to sustain a household and community
What did McIntyre rejected? What is that?
Quandary ethics: discussions about ethics based upon unrealistic dilemmas
How McIntyre argued about this should moral questions be explored?
In terms of how we should make the most of our human lives rather than simply whether we are following rules
What are the 3 Keenan’s questions?
Who am I? Who am I ought to become? How do I get there?
What did McIntyre saw Aristotle’s theory?
The virtues such as truthfulness, courage and justice were essential virtues to maintain not only a good, moral character but also the integrity of a community
Give an example of people behaving in a virtuous manner
Good parenting is knowing how to help children to grow according to their own strengths and weaknesses
What did McIntyre developed through Aristotle’s virtues?
The concept of internal and external goods and the idea of human beings as practical reasoners to create a narrative for a good life
How does McIntyre see a moral society?
One in which people recognise commonly agreed virtues and aspire to meet them. Moral issues should be taught about in terms of the community practising the virtues, rather than in terms of following particular rules or seeking about certain consequences
Where did McIntyre take the idea of a moral society?
Christian community, a community developing and learning to follow in Jesus’ footsteps
What are internal goods?
Actions that were obvious and direct. Eg. Giving money to the poor
What are external goods?
Those that were produced out of the moral act. Eg. Inspiring others to behave morally
What are the 3 archetypal characters according to McIntyre?
Bureaucratic, manager, rich aesthete and therapist. They had come to dominate the this of modern society. They use people, money or materialism as ways of manipulating others for their own self interest
For McIntyre, what’s the ideal character?
The philosopher
Analogy that illustrates eudaimonia
Talking with others and being creative are uniquely human activities- but no one decides “I’m going to talk to someone or be creative in order to produce happiness for myself”. However being able to talk to others and be creative are necessary for life to have happiness. Therefore, being virtuous is necessary for eudaimonia
Give a quote from the Nichomachean Ethics
The Good of man is the active exercise of his soul’s faculties in conformity with excellence or virtue…Moreover, to be happy takes a complete lifetime; for one swallow does not make spring”
Who’s Philippa Foot?
Philosopher. Wrote Virtue and Vices. She thinks that philosophers have neglected the subject of virtues and vices and is specially critical of meta ethical moral philosophers. Although areatic ethics does not guarantee happiness, it is often a part of achieving it. Ethics is about improving the world for others, both for individuals and for communities.
What did Philippa Foot compared virtue ethics to?
To navigation away and through obstacles, a but like charting a course at sea
Give a quote from Philippa Foot
‘Virtue is not, like a skill or an art, a mere capacity; it must actually engage the will”
State two differences between Foot and Aristotle
- According to Foot, anyone can achieve wisdom as it does not rely on social status, political power or intellectual power because it is both a moral and intellectual virtue.
- Foot developed Aristotle’s idea of the sophron (who naturally lives in the mean without effort) by distinguishing between the moral hero (one who does good but whose intentions may not be pure) and the moral Saint (one who does good and whose intentions are pure)
What did Foot also note?
In some moral situations being virtuous may be more demanding than in other situations. Eg. If I have an opportunity to steal and I am tempted to do so, this could shed light on a weakness in my lack of virtue, the more virtuous person being one who would not be tempted. On the other hand, if I am impoverished with a starving family I may be sorely tempted to steal of the opportunity arises. In this case resisting the temptation says much about the strength of my virtue than the first ex because, in this situation, the need for the food is very much greater-the temptation much more powerful. These show how virtue theory looks far beyond the external outcomes or consequences of moral situations, and into the heart of the acting human being
What did she argue about virtues?
They are beneficial characteristics and things that a human being needs to have. They are excellences of the will. It is someone’s moral intentions that they are judged. So virtues are both about our intentions and our wish to act. It is possible to be tempted and for our virtues to become deficient or excessive. Virtues are a corrective against these temptations. We should have the virtue of hope because we are tempted by despair.
Application to an ethical issue
The use of wealth
The use of wealth
The two significant virtues for dealing with the the use of wealth are liberality and magnificence. The development and adoption of such virtues by people’s and governments around the world would have massive implications for world poverty and suffering
What are factors in dealing with wealth and addressing poverty in the modern world according to virtue ethics?
- governments and individuals have to be generous but their actions must not be tainted with the vices of meanness or wastefulness
- this is seen as a balancing act between extremes of vices- eg. Famous response of Christian Aid to world poverty can be found in the quote ‘give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life’
- the ideal is to balance needs through the highest virtue of wisdom by considering the point at which human aid shifts from allowing dependence (short term emergency aid) to independence (long term aid strategies to help people survive in the future)
- at the heart of this example is Aristotle’s principle to use money freely but wisely
- to allow total dependence would be wasteful of resources; to ignore poverty would be mean
- to encourage independence as well as providing immediate short term aid is the action of a virtuous person or government
Strengths of virtue ethics as an ethical system
- the virtues are self-focused but are in fact other regarding. Although virtue ethics begin with the self it then moves on to develop a character that responds best to others and hence builds an ideal community
- there is a social context for virtue ethics and in this way it is a very practical system. It focuses on the way we behave and not simply what we believe should be the case
- the virtuous person is an exemplar and therefore it has clear guiding principles. It also acknowledges the fact that such exemplars(philosophers) can serve as good role models. Eg. Martin Luther king
- Virtue theory encompasses all aspects of life rather than particular actions. It sees every moment as the possibility for acquiring or developing a virtue. It is more proactive than dilemma-based ethics which responds to a difficult moral situation
- it is an alternative ethical model that fits Christian ethics as it focuses on the kind of person we should be, and what it means to be Christ-like.
- Rather than simply looking for rules, it looks at the fundamental issue of what it means to be human
Weakeness of virtue ethics as an ethical system
- it’s self centred. Eg. The idea of well being can be understood as self interest or at the very least, has the potential for this
- as a system, it can be argued to be arbitrary, imprecise and vague because it lacks a focus on real behaviour in relation to real life situations. More guidance is required
- as a system, it can be contradictory. If there are differences in expressing a virtue then which is the right one to choose? It is very subjective
- It is difficult to decide who is virtuous,as external acts that appear virtuous on the outside may have doubtful inner motives which cannot be perceived, and vice versa.
Give a quote from Julia Annas
She thinks that ancient values may have something of value in them, but she also offers a warning:” there is another attitude, equally harmful,of romantic nostalgia: “the feeling that…ethics would be a kinder place if we could forget about hard cases and talk about the good life instead. Like nostalgia, this is misplaced”
Who may be in danger of that misplaced nostalgia?
MacIntyre. An old idea is not necessarily a good idea
What did Robert Louden argue against?
Virtue theory does not provide answers to specific moral dilemmas such as euthanasia,nor does it provide a list of intolerable acts such as murder which we might want to condemn outright.
What does Philippa Foot note?
Weakness. In matters of justice and charity, it may be that I must sacrifice my own interests for those of others. For instance I may have to make an unpopular call for justice for an individual who is disliked by many. I may have to give up luxuries so that the basics needs of others can be met.
Is virtue ethics really different from deontological and teleological systems? Same
- in virtue ethics, there is some idea of duty and doing the right thing and it is this aspect that makes it similar to deontological approaches such as natural law. It relies on the concept of duty, our responsibility for acting in a certain way, and the idea that there are moral norms or absolutes.
- are the virtues really moral absolutes? If so, are they similar to deontology?
- due to the fact that virtue ethics sees every moral dilemma as contextual as it is concerned with an idea of an end for human beings(the virtuous person) and an end for the human family or society (the virtues of the community), it is therefore very similar to teleological theories such as utilitarianism and, situations ethics
Is virtue ethics really different from deontological and teleological systems? Different
- virtue theory is clearly person centred, which makes it very different from a focus on rules, a consideration of the outcome or even the use of an ultimate guiding principle.
- rather than thinking of morality in terms of processes and consequences, systems and principles, it is focused on the character of the human being and has been very important in education.
- other theories might judge actions or choices, but they do not offer suggestions about how people may become better at being good
- the virtues found within virtue ethics are clearly different to any kind of rules or principles found in deontological or teleological theories.
Virtue ethics and a view of human nature
Virtue theory requires some sense of an idea about what human beings should be like, what they should be becoming, and from that idea the virtues are drawn.
- is it really a possibility for anyone to achieve the highest virtues of character?
- is virtuous action really driven by self-interest? For example, am I being virtuous because the reward is being virtuous or because being virtuous brings a reward? Do i want another person to be first so that in being last I will inevitably be first in terms of virtue? The questions are unanswerable.
- if the virtues are real, do human beings really want to develop such virtues? Eg, if everyone insisted that the other should enter the door before them, no one would ever get through
- are your virtues the same as my virtues? Eg. MacIntyre views and different lifestyles and personalities. Modern society is diverse and frangmented. Macintyre’s envision meant of character development might be unrealistic
Give a quote from Philippa Foot that talks about virtue ethics and a view of human nature
The theory of human nature lying behind the traditional list of virtues and vices pits too much emphasis on sensual impulses and does not sufficiently take account of less straightforward inclinations such as the desire to be put upon and dissatisfied
How compatible is virtue ethics with a religious approach to ethics? Compatible
- closely associated with religious traditions and a consideration of religious links might look to different religions. Eg. Aristotle’s idea of virtue ethics was embraced within Christian thinkers such as Aquinas and has gone on to remain prominent in current Christian moral thinking.
- Christianity is concerned with human development,not simply moral acts.
- V.E. promotes the responsibility of the individual to better themselves, which is another feature of religious teaching.
- Also found in the East Asian religious traditions. In Buddhism compassion is the consummate Buddhist virtue. It shows both empathy with the suffering of others and a motivation to remove the suffering of others. The virtue of loving kindness is a concern for the well being of others. Buddhism is concerned with the nature of the person and their intentions as much as their acts
- important part of religious moral development
How compatible is virtue ethics with a religious approach to ethics? Incompatible
- the problem with having no rules to follow is that it could encourage on anything goes society, which is certainly not consistent with religion.
- the liberal and relative aspect to virtue thuds means that it will not appeal to more conservative, traditional religious followers.
- there are other ethical systems that are more attractive and compatible for the religious believer, such as utilitarianism and situation ethics
