Virtue ethics

Question 1

Who is associated with Virtue Ethics?

Answer 1

Aristotle

Question 2

Who is Aristotle?

Answer 2

An Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath

Question 3

What is Virtue Ethics?

Answer 3

Virtue ethics is an approach that treats virtue and character as the primary subjects of ethics

Question 4

What does Virtue Ethics emphasise?

Answer 4

It “emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach that emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that emphasizes the consequences of actions (consequentialism).”
(Rosalind Hursthouse)

Question 5

How does Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics differ from other ethical theories?

Answer 5

Aristotle starts by answering a slightly different question to Kant and utilitarianism. Instead of answering “what should I do?” (action-centred) he addresses a question more like “what sort of person should I be?” (agent-centred).

Question 6

Instead of defining a good person as someone who does good actions, what would Aristotle do?

Answer 6

Aristotle would define good actions as those done by good people who embody virtuous character traits

Question 7

What is Eudaimonia?

Answer 7

Aristotle’s eudaimonia is the ultimate human good and flourishing achieved through virtuous living and the realisation of one’s full potential - it is a property of someone’s life taken as a whole.

Question 8

Expand on the idea that Eudaimonia is a property of someone’s life taken as a whole

Answer 8

It is not something you can have one day and then lose the next. Good people sometimes do bad things, but this doesn’t make them bad people. Likewise, people who have good lives (eudaimons) can sometimes have bad days.

Question 9

While fleshing out this concept of Eudaimonia, Aristotle uses the words arête and ergon. What do these terms roughly translate as?

Answer 9

• Ergon: function/characteristic activity of a thing
• Arête: property/virtue that enables a thing to achieve its ergon

Question 10

Explain how arête and ergon link to Eudaimonia?

Answer 10

(A knife’s ergon is to cut things. And a good knife has the arête of sharpness because this enables it to cut things well.)

Eudaimonia comes from living with moral excellence (arête) by being the best version of yourself, and fulfilling your inherent purpose or function (ergon) as a human - leading to a fulfilling and flourishing life.

Question 11

What is Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean?

Answer 11

Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean (also called the golden mean) says that virtues are the intermediate or average (the mean) between two extremes - the midpoint between excess and deficiency

Question 12

What is an example of Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean?

Answer 12

If you never stand up for yourself then you are cowardly (vice of deficiency). But if you go too far the other way and start fights with anyone for the slightest reason then you are reckless (vice of excess). The correct and virtuous way to act is somewhere in between these two extremes - courage.

Question 13

What is the skill analogy?

Answer 13

Acquiring virtues is somewhat analogous to acquiring skills such as learning to ride a bike or play the piano

Question 14

How is acquiring virtues is somewhat analogous to acquiring skills such as playing the piano?

Answer 14

Just like you’re not born knowing how to play the piano but can learn, people aren’t born virtuous, but they have the capacity to become virtuous. They can become virtuous by practicing good actions instead of just learning about them. It’s not enough to just read and learn about virtue - just like you don’t learn to play the piano by simply reading books and just studying the theory.

Question 15

What is phronesis?

Answer 15

Phronesis is Aristotle’s term for practical wisdom, the ability to make wise and virtuous decisions based on a nuanced understanding of specific situations

Question 16

Give an example of phronesis

Answer 16

Aristotle says what’s right depends on the situation, like telling a joke with friends might be good, but it’s not okay at a funeral; figuring out the right thing to do in each situation requires practical wisdom

Question 17

When does Aristotle say we shouldn’t praise or condemn actions?

Answer 17

Aristotle says we should only praise or condemn actions if they are done voluntarily. You can’t criticise someone for acting unvirtuously if their actions weren’t freely chosen.

Question 18

Compulsion (i.e. involuntary) meaning

Answer 18

Being forced to do something you don’t want to do – e.g. sailors throwing goods overboard to save the boat during a storm

Question 19

What is an example of compulsion in the Bible?

Answer 19

In the Bible, when Jonah tried to avoid delivering God’s message, a storm came, and the sailors, compelled to save the ship, threw Jonah overboard

Question 20

Ignorance (i.e. non-voluntary) meaning

Answer 20

Doing something you don’t want to do by accident – e.g. slipping on a banana skin and spilling a drink on someone

Question 21

Aristotle says a person is only morally responsible for their _________ actions

Answer 21

voluntary

Question 22

How does Aristotle’s virtue ethics face the critique of circularity?

Answer 22

Aristotle can be interpreted as defining virtuous acts and virtuous people in terms of each other:
- A virtuous act is something a virtuous person would do
- And a virtuous person is a person who does virtuous acts

These descriptions are circular and so say nothing meaningful about what a virtuous person or a virtuous act actually is.

Question 23

How does Aristotle’s virtue ethics face the critique of competing virtues?

Answer 23

We can imagine scenarios where applying two different virtues (e.g. justice and mercy) would suggest two different courses of action.

Question 24

How would Aristotle possibly reply to the critique of competing virtues?

Answer 24

Aristotle would reply that such conflicts between virtues are impossible. Aristotle would say that practical wisdom (phronesis) would mean knowing what each virtue tells you to do and in what amount.

You could sentence a person according to justice, but show appropriate mercy if there are extenuating circumstances.

Question 25

What is an example of practical wisdom/phronesis in the Bible?

Answer 25

John 8:1-11 = A woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus for judgment. Rather than endorsing strict justice, Jesus challenges the accusers to reflect on their own flaws and shows mercy by not condemning the woman, emphasising the importance of compassion alongside justice.

Question 26

How does Aristotle’s virtue ethics face the critique of no clear guidance?

Answer 26

Aristotle’s virtue theory suggests that virtues lie in finding a balance between extremes, but it lacks specific guidelines for practical decision-making. Unlike Kant’s categorical imperative or utilitarianism’s felicific calculus, Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean doesn’t offer clear criteria to judge the morality of an action. It doesn’t give actual quantities, only vague descriptions as “not too much” and “not too little”.This absence of concrete guidance makes virtue theory less practical when one is uncertain about the correct course of action.

Question 27

How would Aristotle possibly reply to the critique of no clear guidance?

Answer 27

Aristotle could reply that virtue theory was never intended to provide a set of rules for how to act. Life is complicated – that’s the whole reason why you need to develop practical wisdom in the first place, so you can act virtuously in the many complicated situations that arise.

Question 28

How does Aristotle’s virtue ethics face the critique of failing as an account of what morality is? Difference between eudaimonia and moral good.

Answer 28

According to Aristotle, living a good life (eudaimonia) involves various elements like honour, wealth, and happiness, extending beyond mere morality. However, we need to distinguish between a good life for an individual and a morally good life.

Take the example of a nurse who dedicates her life to saving others, despite not enjoying the work. She succumbs to stress and illness at age 30. While intuitively, we might view her life as morally good (she dedicated herself to helping others), it is evident that she did not attain eudaimonia.

This highlights a distinction between moral goodness and eudaimonia, challenging Aristotle’s virtue ethics as a comprehensive account of morality.

Question 29

How would Aristotle possibly reply to the critique of failing as an account of what morality is?

Answer 29

Aristotle would likely argue that achieving eudaimonia does involve some level of commitment to others. So, the kind of altruism demonstrated by the nurse in the example above would indeed be part of eudaimonia – it’s just not the only part. In other words, being morally good is necessary, but not sufficient, for eudaimonia.