Virtue ethics

Question 1

WWhich two figures developed it?

Answer 1

VE was first found in Plato, but it was developed into a fully-fledged moral philosophy by his student, A

Question 2

How can it be seen as culturally relative?

Answer 2

The Ancient Greek culture, captured best in the works of Homer, emphasised many of the virtues that A listed in the Nicomachean Ethics

Question 3

What statelet did P and A belong to in Greece?

Answer 3

Ancient Greece was split into several statelets (Sparta, Athens etc.). S, P and A belonged to Athens, a statelet known for its promotion of democracy and philosophy

Question 4

How can it be considered individually relative?

Answer 4

Both A and P belonged to the Athenian upper class, and their descriptions of the virtuous individual are inevitably tied with their conception of the ideal gentlemen

Question 5

How does VE reflect the differences between P and A?

Answer 5

A rejected P’s theory of forms, which held that there was an abstract ideal of things like Good and Justice, to which specific virtues corresponded. Instead, he grounded the goodness of virtues in what he considered to be human nature. This reflects that fact that P was a rationalist while A was an empiricist

Question 6

Why is VE different in its focus compared to other ethical theories?

Answer 6

Other ethical theories are ‘action centred’, they focus on what constitutes a good or bad action. However, VE is ‘agent centred’ since its focus is on what makes a person good or virtuous. This makes sense when we consider that A thought that we should study ethics so that we can become better people, rather than ethics becoming an impractical and abstract field of study

Question 7

What was the Greek word for virtue?

Answer 7

Arete was the Greek word for virtue, a more accurate translation could be ‘excellence’, ‘good quality’ or ‘good disposition’

Question 8

What does the term virtue denote for A?

Answer 8

Denotes a striving towards fulfilling a certain intended purpose (final cause, prime mover we are all moving towards, eudaimonia).

Question 9

What does A think motivates a good action?

Answer 9

The motivation for a good person’s action must be to produce a good action and to therefore create eudaimonia

Question 10

How does Guthrie describe arete?

Answer 10

Guthrie describes arete as meaning ‘the quality of excellence toward which we strive in our daily conduct in society’

Question 11

Why is VE teleological but not consequentialist or deontological?

Answer 11

VE is teleological but not deontological or consequentialist. Teleological but not consequentialist because teleological is to do with people but consequentialism is to do with actions. Similar to how natural moral law is both deontological and teleological but not consequential

Question 12

What did A see goodness as?

Answer 12

A thought that ‘goodness’ consists in eudaimonia, in the same way that utilitarians see goodness as consisting in the maximisation of utility

Question 13

What does eudaimonia mean?

Answer 13

While there is no precise English translation for the term, it may be roughly taken as ‘good living’ or ‘flourishing’

Question 14

What did A think that all objects have?

Answer 14

A thought that every object had a function, something that it alone could do. For instance, the function of a knife is to cut things and the function of a net is to catch things. If everything has a particular function, what is the function of human beings? Do they have a special function for A?

Question 15

What did A think separated us from everything else and what did he think this means we should do?

Answer 15

A thought that what separates us from everything else on the planet is our rationality. Our ultimate good is therefore to exercise our rational capacities in the pursuit of eudaimonia

Question 16

What does Slote say about eudaimonia and why is this reflective of what A thought?

Answer 16

Slote describes how ‘eudaimonia is the idea that no trait of character can count as virtue unless it serves the interests and promotes the overall well-being of the virtuous individual. However, he stresses that it is ‘far from recommending that we would be selfishly or egoistically motivated.’ It is an individual state, but also involves social interaction – living in harmony and cooperation with others. A thought that living cooperatively with others was essential, since he saw humans as being social beings

Question 17

Why is the idea of the polis important for understanding eudaimonia?

Answer 17

The polis is important here, because we can’t achieve eudaimonia unless everyone if flourishing, because we are social beings

Question 18

Who promoted existentialism and what does it state?

Answer 18

Existentialism is the idea promoted by Jean-Paul Sartre that ‘existence precedes essence’

Question 19

How can existentialism be seen as a counter to VE?

Answer 19

This was intended as a direct rebuke to thinkers like A who assumed the opposite – that each thing had a particular purpose that was somehow fundamental to it

Question 20

Why does Sartre disagree with A’s ideas about purpose?

Answer 20

For Sartre, there are no grand plans or imbued functions – particularly for human beings. In fact, ‘man is thrown into the world’. Life in quite meaningless and it is for the individual alone to bring purpose to it

Question 21

How is VE different from other ethical theories in terms of rules?

Answer 21

VE is unique among ethical theories since it does not try and offer hard and fast rules of morality, rather pointing out virtues that will make us more ethical beings. It is a matter of debate whether this lack of clear guidelines is a strength or a weakness

Question 22

What do moral agents have to do to discover what is a virtue?

Answer 22

To work out what can be considered a virtue, A said moral agents need to find the mean or balance between two vices, with vices being the excess or deficiency of a virtue

Question 23

Give a quote from A where he talks about the idea of the golden mean?

Answer 23

‘Virtue is a mean because vices respectively fall short of or exceed what is right in both passions and actions, while virtue finds and chooses that which is intermediate’

Question 24

What do individuals need to use to discover the virtues?

Answer 24

To work this out, agents need to use phronesis (practical wisdom). This is an individual process of working out what virtue is suited to each situation. There can therefore be no rules or maxims about how to act (similar idea to SE). Individuals use their autonomy and intellect to work it out and then put it into practise

Question 25

Why can it be said that A favours the idea of intrinsic goods over instrumental goods?

Answer 25

A says that human beings are able to work out for themselves what is good, which is different to what will produce good in a particular situation, but what will produce the good life in general. Here we can see A making a distinction between intrinsic and instrumental goods

Question 26

Give a quote from A where he states his preference for the idea of intrinsic goods over instrumental goods

Answer 26

‘Now it is thought to be the mark of a man of practical wisdom to be able to deliberate well about what is good and expedient (practical) for himself, not just in some particular respect e.g. not about what sort of things will conduce to health or strength, but about what sort of things will conduce to the good life in general’

Question 27

What two types of virtues did A distinguish between?

Answer 27

Intellectual and moral

Question 28

Explain the idea of intellectual virtues and give an example

Answer 28

Developed by training yourself and being educated. For example, learning an instrument takes time commitment and sometimes sheer willpower. Not everyone can develop this – only the gentlemen philosophers. Contemporary applications see ‘gentlemen philsophers’ as being those people who have the resources available to do this. This links to the earlier quote about how everyone can develop the virtues, but not everyone will. An example could be wittiness

Question 29

Explain the idea of moral virtues and give an example

Answer 29

Developed by practise and habit. For example, being compassionate for the less fortunate helps develop the moral virtue of compassion. Everyone can develop this. An example could be courage

Question 30

What did A think was the only morally correct way to live?

Answer 30

A thought that the only morally correct way to live was to develop a virtuous character

Question 31

How many people did A think could develop the virtuous character?

Answer 31

He thought that theoretically anyone could develop a virtuous character but in practise few would

Question 32

How many virtues does A describe?

Answer 32

A describes 11 virtues, each with a vice of excess and a vice of deficiency

Question 33

What did A compare the development of virtues to?

Answer 33

A compared developing virtues to learning to play an instrument, it takes repeated practise to hone and cultivate the virtues over time

Question 34

How is VE different to utlitarianism?

Answer 34

No rules in VE, such as the principle of utility

Question 35

List all 11 virtues

Answer 35

• Courage
• Temperance
• Generosity
• Magnificence
• Magnanimity (being a good sort)
• Pride
• Patience
• Truthfulness
• Wittiness
• Friendliness
• Modesty
• Righteous indignation

Question 36

Give the vices for courage

Answer 36

Vice of excess – rashness

Vice of deficiency – cowardice

Question 37

Give the vices for temperance

Answer 37

Vice of excess - licentiousness/self indulgence

Vice of deficiency - insensibility (being unable to enjoy anything)

Question 38

Give the vices for generosity

Answer 38

Vice of excess - prodigality (reckless spending)

Vice of deficiency - miserliness

Question 39

Give the vices for magnificence

Answer 39

Vice of excess – vulgarity

Vice of deficiency – pedantry

Question 40

Give the vices for magnanamity

Answer 40

Vice of excess – vanity

Vice of deficiency – spinelessness

Question 41

Give the vices for pride

Answer 41

Vice of excess – arrogance

Vice of deficiency – unambitiousness (a lack of self-respect)

Question 42

Give the vices for patience

Answer 42

Vice of excess – irascibility (short tempered)

Vice of deficiency – lack of spirit

Question 43

Give the vices for truthfulness

Answer 43

Vice of excess – boastfulness

Vice of deficiency – bashfulness (false modesty)

Question 44

Give the vices for wittiness

Answer 44

Vice of excess – buffoonery

Vice of deficiency – humourlessness

Question 45

Give the vices for friendliness

Answer 45

Vice of excess – obsequiousness (a door mat)

Vice of deficiency – moodiness

Question 46

Give the vices for modesty

Answer 46

Vice of excess – shyness

Vice of deficiency – shamelessness

Question 48

Why did enlightenment thinkers criticise VE?

Answer 48

By the 17th and 18 centuries it was seen as being too imprecise and was criticised for not applying itself to the absolutes of right and wrong (people preferred Kantian and utilitarian ethics)

Question 49

Why did the 1950s and 60s see a resurgence in popularity for VE?

Answer 49

1950-60s society saw a declining amount of religious morality because less people went to church. Ideas therefore swung away from rules and towards values and qualities for the good life

Question 50

How was VE revived in the 20th century?

Answer 50

The 20th saw a revival of VE with numerous scholars developing their own VE theories, with varying degrees of similarity to A’s theory

Question 51

What was this revival in response to?

Answer 51

They responding to the prominence of deontological and consequentialist ethics and the fact that they see the need for a new kind of ethics that moves away from these traditions (agent centred rather than action centred

Question 52

Why did Elizabeth Anscombe support VE?

Answer 52

Thought that other theories did not provide a foundation for moral guidelines as they rely on the idea of punishment or reward. In other words, ethics is heteronous when it should be autonomous. This links to the fact that VE is agent centred whereas other ethics are action centred. You can therefore use Anscombe to criticise all other ethics

Need to return to agent centred morality and the ideas of eudaimonia and the social aspects of morality that unite communities that is disregarded when we focus on heteronomous actions

Question 53

Why did Phillipa Foot reject the non cognitivist emotivist theories popular amongst her Oxford colleagues?

Answer 53

rejected the non-cognitivism that was then fashionable among some of her Oxford colleagues (emotivism) after the atrocities of the Holocaust became clear following WWII

Question 54

Why did she disagree with them?

Answer 54

She contended that the ethical concepts that the non-cognitivists usually attack (concepts such as ‘good’ and ‘bad’) were too narrow, and that their arguments were less successful when it came to weightier moral virtues which A had written about

Question 55

How did she think humans could achieve good?

Answer 55

Foot eventually settled on the view that humans are naturally constituted to be good, but can only be so when they employ phronesis, which she saw as a kind of rational deliberation about what needs to be done in a given situatio

Question 56

What was the overall impact of her works on VE?

Answer 56

The exact arguments for her position are complex and tied to the academic quarrels of the day, but her work helped rehabilitate VE, positioning it as a ‘third way’ between consequentialism and deontology

Question 57

What did she attempt to do to VE?

Answer 57

Update it

Question 58

What purposes did she see the virtues as serving?

Answer 58

Claimed that virtues were a way for people to flourish by correcting tendencies towards the vices

Question 59

Why did she see the virtues as being necessary for humans?

Answer 59

Says that there is a human tendency to be selfish and this needs to be corrected by being compassionate and benevolent

Question 60

What purpose does she see the idea of eudaimonia serving?

Answer 60

Virtues do not guarantee eudaimonia, but they do help in moving towards achieving it. Eudaimonia might be impossible to practically reach, but we should try our best

Question 61

How did she attempt to update the virtues?

Answer 61

Virtues are only virtuous when used in the correct way to bring about a good outcome

Question 62

What are the two main flaws in her attempts to update the virtues?

Answer 62

This begs the question of how we can determine what is a good outcome and what is the correct way. Fallen into the trap of making it action centred and consequential, taken away what is fundamental to VE

Question 63

What does the term polis mean?

Answer 63

Polis is an Ancient Greek term that literally translate as city, but it can be taken more broadly to mean the community or government. It is the term from which our modern word ‘politics’ derives

Question 64

Why did A see living in a harmonious community as being in line with human nature?

Answer 64

A famously declared that ‘man is by nature a political animal’. It is for this reason that he was concerned not only with the question of how we might best individually, but also how we might best live collectively

Question 65

Give a quote from A where he talks about how following the virtues is the best way of living for individuals and societies

Answer 65

‘The best life, both for individuals and states, is the life of virtue’

Question 66

Give a quote from A where he talks about how the needs of the community are more important than the needs of any one individual

Answer 66

‘For even if the end is the same for a single man and for a state, that of the state seems at all events something greater and more complete whether to attain or preserve; though it is worthwhile to attain the end merely for one man, it finer and more God-like to attain it for a nation or for city-states. These, then, are the ends at which our enquiry aims, since it is political science, in one sense of that term’

Question 67

What is A saying in this quote?

Answer 67

Here, A reveals himself to be fundamentally at odds with modern conceptions about the role the state should have in our lives. So long as our actions do not harm anyone else, we are free to pursue whatever course of action we see fit (the harm principle), first explicitly outlined by Mill in ‘On Liberty’. However, for A, the polis, which means all the people who make up a community/state, should collectively aim to live virtuously

Question 68

What would Alisdair MacIntyre think about this idea?

Answer 68

While his political ideas might sound strange now, there are those who argue that his ideas might be preferable to the liberal, individualistic society we have today. Chief among them is the contemporary Scottish philosopher MacIntyre, whose 1981 work ‘After Virtue’ bemoans the lack of any sense of moral value in the contemporary world

Question 69

Why does he think it is so negative that we have no common moral principles in the modern world?

Answer 69

He argues that when we talk of things like ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ today, we are using words whose original meaning and context has been long forgotten. These words may have made sense in a Christian or Ancient Greek society, but in a liberal society like are own they have no force, because we no longer have any shared moral principles. Ethical and political debates rage on but they will never reach a conclusion because each side refuses to accept the others’ basic assumptions

Question 70

Why does he think that this is bad for how politics works?

Answer 70

In the absence of any meaningful notion of common good, M contends that our world leaders rule strictly according to their own, often ruthless, self-interest…

Question 71

Give a quote from M that explains this

Answer 71

‘Politically the societies of advanced Western modernity are oligarchies disguised as liberal democracies. The large majority of those who inhabit them are excluded from membership of the elites that determine the range of alternatives between which voters are permitted to choose. And the most fundamental issues are excluded from the range of alternatives’

Question 72

What does M therefore advocate for a return to?

Answer 72

It is for this reason that M advocates a return to communities. Not dissimilar to the Athenian democracy of A’s day, where members have a set of shared values and work towards not just the individual, but collective goodness. Ethical and political disputes can be solved in an environment like this because everyone has an understanding of what the good life is, and, just as importantly, is able to meaningfully to contribute to the debate

Question 73

What is the irony of M advocating for a return for the type of community that A wrote about?

Answer 73

However, even in the system of Athenian democracy, only the elites could vote and meaningfully contribute to debate, which is exactly what M laments the contemporary political system for

Question 74

Why does M take issue with contemporary conceptions of ethics?

Answer 74

Ethical theories only result in ethical disagreements

Most people’s attitudes today are based on emotivism and therefore meaningless

Morality should be seen in terms of human purpose

Question 75

What did he think the virtues depended upon?

Answer 75

Human function and so human virtue depends on the community, as E is a societal concept

The shared practise of a community is what helps us cultivate the virtues

Question 76

How is his conception of virtues more flexible?

Answer 76

Said that virtues evolve over time

Question 77

Give a quote that explains this more flexible interpretation

Answer 77

‘Any virtues which sustain the households and communities in which men and women seek for good together’

Question 78

Explain this quote

Answer 78

This means that you can have any virtues you want as long as they help create a harmonious society

Question 79

What was Richard Taylor’s problem with the influence of religion on morality?

Answer 79

Outspoken about religious influence on morality

Thought we should aspire to E, but that religion opposes the idea

Religion doesn’t encourage followers to be better people. For example, ‘blesses are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth’ begs the question of why we should strive for excellence we we can just sit patiently and wait

Question 80

Give an example of a historical Christian who would oppose these ideas

Answer 80

People like Iraneaus would say that religion does help you become better

Question 81

What criticism of VE did Rosalind Hursthouse try to counter?

Answer 81

Counter-argued the criticism that VE does not provide guidance in ethical dilemmas

Question 82

How did she try and counter this view?

Answer 82

Claims that VE doesn’t explain how a person should act, but how a virtuous person would think about the moral dilemma

Virtues assist our practical reasoning, enabling us to become better people

Question 83

What is the main issue with her arguement?

Answer 83

Using our virtues will enable us to become virtuous people. This is an incredibly circular argument

Question 84

What is the overall impact of her arguement on VE?

Answer 84

Weak argument but she does defend the fact that VE is supposed to be agent rather than action centred

Question 85

What else can help us develop the virtues aside from using phronesis to find the golden mean?

Answer 85

As well as using the golden mean to learn how to live the virtuous life, another source of inspiration and information is the example virtuous people can provide

Question 86

What is the benefit of using virtuous role models as an example

Answer 86

Examples can be a useful and practical way of learning how to be virtuous, as it is often easier to understand something when you see it in real life

Can provide inspiration and guidance in situations where difficult decisions need to be made

Question 87

What should we make sure to remember when looking at virtuous role models?

Answer 87

This said, examples are not to be worshipped or idealised in any way, as nobody is perfect, and everyone has flaws

Question 88

What should we do once we have found a suitable virtuous role model?

Answer 88

We should aim to imitate their behaviour so that we can become virtuous like them

Question 89

Analyse the impact they have on ethical decision making

Answer 89

Not perfect but can challenge us to aspire to greater moral heights can become the best we possibly can be

Question 90

List some of the virtues displayed by Jesus in his ministry

Answer 90

Righteous indignation at the temple cleansing

Showed wisdom in dealing with adulterous women

Showed great compassion towards those others rejected

Treated his disciples with great patience

Question 91

What did St Paul say that draws a link between VE and Christianity?

Answer 91

St Paul says that when the holy spirit controls us we express the virtues

Question 92

Make the case that JC is a virtuous role model

Answer 92

JC encouraged his disciples to continue his work

He has inspired many to live a life of devotion, which is what A thought a virtuous role model should be

Displayed the virtues listed above in his ministry

Question 93

Why can the idea of virtuous role models be made more flexible?

Answer 93

You can adapt role models to the culture that you are in

Question 94

Why does looking at virtuous role models perhaps not translate to improving our own ethical decision making?

Answer 94

Role models are not necessarily templates that we can copy, since we need to be flexible and recognise that virtue takes many different forms depending on the situation. This makes it hard to know when and how we should follow their example; if they are just an inspiration, this may not provide much in the way of practical advice. People are often virtuous in contexts that are different to your own, so it might be difficult to translate virtue into ways that can be acted upon in our own lives

Question 95

How can the idea prove divisive?

Answer 95

People disagree about who is virtuous, so it might be hard to know who the right person to use an example is

Question 96

How can the idea prove controversial in some instances?

Answer 96

Even terrible people can sometimes display a certain virtue very well through their actions, but it would seem wrong to look at them as a virtuous role model

Question 97

Why are animals not included in the ethical sphere for A?

Answer 97

A thought that eudaimonia is restricted to humans. Rationality is a function unique to us, so living well for human beings is to live in accordance with reason. Living well will require to be virtuous, but the virtue only really applies to how we deal with other humans (being witty requires someone to hear your jokes). Animals are simply not in the picture

Question 98

What ethical question does this beg?

Answer 98

Does this mean that we can treat animals as we wish?

Question 99

How could a modern day virtue ethicist try and get around this issue?

Answer 99

A modern take on VE might say that the kind of character who starves or hurts animals is unlikely to be an example of a flourishing human being; outright cruelty to animals would suggest a character laden with vices

It is possible for a virtue ethicist to contrive an account of good living which involves a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle; perhaps not eating meat shows temperance or magnanimity

Other virtue ethicists have tried to ground the proper treatment of animals in terms of our relationship with them. Pet owners form strong bonds with their pets, so for them, being cruel to a pet is not really different to being cruel to a close family member

Question 100

Why would many still consider this resolution to be problematic?

Answer 100

A defence of animal rights from utilitarian or deontological grounds would still find something amiss in this account, for they are being excluded from the ethical landscape, as the treatment of animals only matters because of what it shows about a person’s character for VE

Question 101

Analyse the impact that war has on the striving towards E

Answer 101

One might wonder whether war can contribute to eudaimonia. On the one hand, it allows the virtues of courage, rightful indignation and temperance to develop, yet on the other, it is more often than not an occasion for lots of vices

Question 102

What did A think about war?

Answer 102

A thought that ‘no one chooses to be at war, or provokes war, for the sake of being at war’, rather ‘we make war so that we might live in peace’. This is effectively a restatement of the principle of last resort

Question 103

How does VE compare to the just war theory in terms of how it would approach war?

Answer 103

As ever in VE, there are no hard and fast principles, simply the assurance that the virtuous decision is the one that is right for the context. To this extent, it is somewhat at odds with the maxim based just war theory, although the virtuous individual would be likely to follow rules such as proportionality and last resort

Question 104

List some of the advantages of VE

Answer 104

Unlike the teleological and deontological ethical theories, VE avoids the need for strict formulae or laws to work out what is morally right, as these approaches have been often seen as inflexible and rigid

Encourages people to be virtuous at all times and transform themselves to become a good person in general. This avoids the problem of other ethical theories being followed simply because people have been told to, or for heavenly reward, rather than out of a motive to be good

Provides practical ways to help develop virtues through the golden mean and examples of other virtuous people

Holistic theory that does not separate out moral dilemmas that require a formulaic response, but sees one’s whole life as morally relevant. Individuals can develop and practise virtues at any time. Many different aspects of life, including emotions, are integrated into the theory

It looks at what makes life worthwhile rather than just what is right or wrong in a particular context

Practical because it allows us to show preference to friends and family, which utilitarianism and Kant do not allow us to

Recognises human intellectual ability and autonomy to make decisions about which virtues, and in what way, should be shown in situations. It encourages moral agents to become good and allows individuals to develop an understanding of what is good, rather than simply acting in a way that they have been told is good

A’s virtues can be seen as consistent with Christianity because of the influence Greek thought had on Christianity

Based on what humans are actually like and the fact that we are imperfect

Appeals to both secular and religious morality. Atheist can aspire to be like JC without believing he was the SoG. JC is an inspiration to people of different faiths or no faiths. JC embodies lots of the virtues, like righteous indignation at the temple cleansing. Patient with doubting Thomas, sinners and unbelievers. The principles are also compatable with religious belief. They can compliment moral guidelines in religious texts, as the virtues are agent rather than action centred, so they won’t contradict action sent religious guidelines. Taylor counters this by saying that JC encourages weakness and mediocrity, as virtues are about finding a mean where as JC arguably commits the vice of deficiency

VE doesn’t have a set of rules. Focuses on becoming a better person and providing a way for humans to develop into what they ought to be. Avoids the inequalities that absolutist ethical sytems cause and the dubious morality of actions that relativism can justify

Logical as it focuses on phronesis and traits that help society prosper

Question 105

Weaknesses

Answer 105

Can struggle to provide clear guidance on poignant moral issues today, like abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research. It is hard to see how applying virtues or practical wisdom can provide insight on such complex issues

Secular theory and so not fitting in with Christian views, especially their view that humanity is fallen and unable to achieve the perfect state that A suggests

Virtues can be good externally be unvirtuous in motive – although Slote responds to this problem by emphasising the importance of good motive

There is no room for rights and obligations, particularly the ideas of human rights that have become important today

The golden mean has been abandoned in more recent theory because if its inability to incorporate human rights, as well as virtues that are considered to have an excess – such as truthfulness – as many think that you cannot be too honest. The golden mean also has problems in helping us to identify easily the deficit and excess of certain virtues

Owen Flanagan has commented on the difficulties of having examples of virtuous people. He argues that there is not just one type of moral or virtuous person. He argues that ‘the possibilities for moral excellence are as unlimited as both the individual is complex and as human experience is original’. He uses the example of many different kinds of saint in Christianity to demonstrate this. He suggests that instead of trying to copy moral examples, individuals should develop virtue in their own unique way

Even bad people can possess virtues, so anyone could therefore be a role model (this is a problem with A’s VE)

Some people criticise A’s virtues as being too masculine. MacIntyre solves this by saying you can have your own virtues

Wolfe claims that everyone is virtuous then there will be no variety or excitement in the world. Need negative traits so that we can admire the positive ones. If all are virtuous, there could be a sense of apathy or boredom. SL to Irenean Theodicy

Some virtues can be used incorrectly to perform immoral actions. Certain people believe specific values are actually immoral. If you belived Iraq was unjust, can the actions of courageous soldiers fighting there be seen as developing a virtue by doing something immoral. The counter to this is that she is making VE action centred

Very difficult to apply to moral problems because it doesn’t provide a method for knowing what to do, except to be virtuous, Provides no answers, but encourages us to focus on phronesis and wisdom given to us by the virtues to know what we ought to be doing – vague. Doesn’t tell you what to do, but how to think

Teachings of the virtues focus on masculine rather than feminine virtues. M counters this by saying you could make you own virtues as long as they serve your community

At what point does a virtue become a vice. Is there a definitive point or is it subjective? A says it is not a fixed point and depends on the situation – vague. Subjective and lacks precision

Virtues clash, which is more important in each situation?

Some actions are so intolerable that they must be wrong

Grayling says that the focus on the middle way is middle aged, middlebrow and middle class

We could argue that A is making a circular argument…

How do we know what a virtuous person is?

Because they possess the virtues

How do we know what the virtues are?

Because they are those characteristics possessed by virtuous people

But this then brings back the question of how we can know what a virtuous person is

In other words, virtue is whatever virtue does; but virtue does whatever virtue is

This is clearly circular, how can we know that a person is virtuous if we don’t already know what the virtuous acts are. How can we know what the virtuous acts are if we don’t already know who the virtuous people are

Question 106

According to Nietzsche’s writings about morality, what will all forms of morality, including VE, inevitably be?

Answer 106

Culturally relative

Question 107

What would this suggest that VE amounts to?

Answer 107

One criticism of VE is that it is inevitably culturally relative. This theory suggests that VE just amounts to a prolonged description of those personal characteristics that the Ancient Greek nobility found admirable or distasteful

Likewise, the modern virtue ethics of Anscombe and MacIntyre lists those characteristics that mid-20th century British philosophers found admirable or distasteful

Question 108

Why is this so ironic for the modern resurgence of VE?

Answer 108

This is ironic when we consider that the 20th century philosophers that revived VE were attempting to rebel against relativism, which they felt was leading the world into a moral abyss

Question 109

Describe N’s theories about how all morality is relative?

Answer 109

This line of thought finds its most powerful expression in German writer and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who argued that one of the great mistakes of Western philosophy was to assume that morality could be discussed in a vacuum. For Nietzche, morality has a history. This is a story behind why one kind of person or action can be considered good, and another kind is considered bad

Question 110

In what work did he most clearly lay this out?

Answer 110

‘Genealogy of Morality’

Question 111

Describe the differences in morality within A and N’s culture

Answer 111

while ancient Greeks praised courage, strength and conquest, N’s society, heavily influenced by Christianity, praised meekness, self-denial and frugality

Question 112

What question does this beg?

Answer 112

If morality can differ so widely through time and place, why should we revere the claims to ethical truth made by one thinker at one time in one place?

Question 113

What did N say was happening to ethics at the time that he wrote?

Answer 113

He makes the conclusion that any objective morality is bound to fail. He considered himself to be living in an age where the entire façade of ethics was beginning to collapse, and that its replacement would be a world without values

Question 114

Counter N’s viewpoint

Answer 114

In defence of VE, and normative ethics more generally, ideas should be judged not on their origins but on their merit. To argue otherwise is to commit the genetic fallacy; this is an argumentative mistake where an idea is rejected out of hand because of who said it or where it originated. Just because A praised those characteristics he found personally admirable, it does not mean that they are not objectively good. The reasons why honesty and courage are valued from place to place might be different, but they are valued nonetheless

Question 115

Evaluate the impact N’s ideas have on ethics

Answer 115

N gives us reason to radically question received opinion, but we do not need to throw away ethics altogether