Virtue ethics Flashcards
Cardinal Virtues
Temperance, Justice, courage, wisdom
A01
Virtue ethics is an ethical theory developed by Aristotle which suggests humans have a function or telos to be moral, which results in a state of flourishing called eudamonia.
-Good actions come from virtues-dispositions or character states-to be moral we need to choose to adopt and practise virtues habitually using reason until they become apart of our moral character and we do them naturally and ‘perfect them’ -this is our function and how we do ‘the good’
-We need to use reason to apply the appropriate virtue in the given situation-doctrine of the mean-virtues must be at a balance between deficit and excess
A02 Strength-Focuses on moral development
-Focuses on moral development of individuals rather than following blanket rules, ensures we become truly moral and always do what is right and virtuous-beneficial implications in practise C: the fact it focuses too much on individual moral development can be problematic
A02 Strength-Doesn’t rely on religion
-Applicable to a secular society as it can give us moral guidance but is not dependent on being religious/God-doesnt give blanket rules against certain actions so may be acceptable in a secular society-can be universalised and fits with secular, liberal values.
A02 Limitation-Morally Relative
-Doesnt put any limits or laws against behaviour, virtues can be interpreted differently thus a virtue based ethical theory is problematic as virtues can be interpreted in a way that can justify immoral actions-slavery, killing homosexuals-there are intrinsic rights and wrongs we need to account for-also means it would have negative implications in practise Kants theory may be stronger
A02 Limitation-Hard to use
The doctrine of the mean is hard to use as there is little specific guidance of how to make moral descisions, how to decide which virtue we should apply and how to do it in a balanced way may be unclear and difficult and may lead to us making wrong descisions-Kants theory better to use
