Virtue Ethics

Question 1

Origins of Virtue Ethics

Answer 1

• began with Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
• the ancient Greeks recognised virtue as a central element of ethical thinking
• the emphasis that the theory puts on the whole person is typical of the ancient Greeks
• Aristotle was focused on purpose, not the outcome or the action itself

Question 2

Our Purpose according to Aristotle

Answer 2

• all things have a purpose according to Aristotle, a Telos
• our purpose is to become happy by becoming virtuous
• Aristotle focused not on what people do, but on what kind of a person they are. This takes practise, not just one action

Question 3

Eudaimonia

Answer 3

living a good happy life, literally translates to human flourishing

• intrinsic value - pursued for its own merits not as a means to an end but an end in itself, to try and be good is to be good
• beneficial for individuals and for society
• Eudaimonia must be deserved by
developing virtuous character traits and avoiding negative ones, thus they will be
completely moral - by choice

-we should not act in a particular way because they ought to or because they want to, but because they have identified it as the right way to act
-Humans are like archers aiming for a target (goodness)
-we achieve Eudaimonia through practice and education

Question 4

Virtues and Vices

Answer 4

Virtues: positive character traits which promote individual and collective well-being. They belong to a morally good person.

Vices: negative characteristics that do not promote individual well-being. They belong to a morally bad person.

a virtuous person who has truly grasped goodness is always good without having to think about it
there must be a continuous effort

Question 5

Alastair Macintyre

Answer 5

Points out that different virtues have been prized by different societies and at different points in history (cultural and temporal relativism). Virtue Ethics is therefore a morally relativist, non-cognitivist theory.
This does not rule out morality involving rationality or real evaluation; simply that it is not universal.
Moral statements are evaluative facts relative to culturally varying goals.

Virtue ethics should not be used by itself, but alongside a list of moral rules, although Aristotle would argue that virtue is the centre of morality and sufficient to provide moral guidance.

Question 6

St Ambrose’s Christian Virtues

Answer 6

St Ambrose (340-397) defined the following Greek virtues as the four cardinal virtues:
• courage
• justice
• temperance
• wisdom
-He took the following from St.Paul and these became known as the three theological virtues:
• faith
• hope
• love (charity from Greek ‘caritas’)

Question 7

The Golden Mean

Answer 7

Aristotle believed in the middle path between two extremes:
• deficiency is a vice
• the golden mean is a virtue
• excess is a vice

Question 8

Intellectual and Moral Virtues

Answer 8

Intellectual Virtue: formed through teaching and experience
Moral Virtue: formed through habit

Aristotle thought intelligence was not enough to be virtuous, he believed that man must also have practical morals or ‘moral virtues’:
• Courage: to put oneself at risk for a greater good
• Temperance: self restraint
• Liberality: open-mindedness/generosity
• Magnificence: good taste, achievement
• Greatness of soul: knowledge of self worth
• Good temper or gentleness: control of emotions
• Being agreeable in company: being reasonable and amiable
• Wittiness: good humour
• Modesty: humbleness, not boastful

Question 9

Aristotle’s sides to becoming fully human

Answer 9

-Acts one should avoid, things that diminish us
-Acts one should develop as habits, those things which make us more human/develop virtues

Question 10

How is Virtue Ethics different to Utilitarianism and Natural Moral Law?

Answer 10

it is not a guide to decision making but a description of a good life
other theories look at how we should act and this looks at how we should live our lives
it is interested in the whole person, not just their actions and the consequences of those actions
NML/Kant: I ought to do this, Aristotle: I act in this way because it is right

Question 11

according to virtue ethics, we are judged by…

Answer 11

our character: rather than specific actions
• an individual who has developed virtues is judged as good
• an individual who has developed vices is judged as bad
• most of us have a mixture of virtues and vices
• to develop virtues we need virtuous role models

Question 12

How do we become Virtuous

Answer 12

• by doing virtuous acts
• brave acts nurture bravery for example
• we get better with practice
• the virtuous life is a happy one and we enjoy acting virtuously
• it is a developmental process and requires moral education

Question 13

Advantages of Virtue Ethics

Answer 13

• suitable for religious and secular
• universal well being for whole community
• emphasis on pleasure and emotion- it is good that we enjoy acting virtuously
• moral education- being moral is a developmental process
• no decision procedure- moral decision making is too complicated to have a single criterion for decision
• does not set unrealistic goals

Question 14

Disadvantages of Virtue Ethics

Answer 14

• offers no solution to specific moral dilemmas or situations where virtues conflict
• not everyone has the equal opportunity to develop morally- do we judge them the same?
• many non-virtuous people live happy lives, many virtuous people are miserable
• cultural relativism: how do we know which virtues are good
• people might consider different people to be desirable role models
• golden mean isn’t easy to apply to all virtues
• selfish theory? more focused on our actions and development
• virtues have changed (masculinity and bravery)

Question 15

Intellectual Virtues

Answer 15

virtues of the mind such as the ability to understand, reason and make sound judgement
Moral Virtues: not innate, are acquired through repetition and practice. Virtues become second nature over time

Question 16

Elizabeth Anscombe

Answer 16

(1919-2001):
• Anscombe developed virtue ethics in the later 20th century
• she believed in developing virtues from which good actions would follow and called this ‘human flourishing’
• argues that ethical codes which put a stress on moral absolutes and laws are useless in a society that has effectively abandoned God

Question 17

Richard Taylor

Answer 17

• rejected a system of morality which was based on divine commands and discouraged people from achieving their potential
• e argued that the emphasis Christianity put on human equality does no encourage individuals to strive to be great but advocates humility, which is not enough

Question 18

Philippa Foot

Answer 18

• one of the founders of OXFAM
• argued that although the virtues cannot guarantee happiness, they can go some way to achieving it
• many people often argue that virtues may be used to a bad end, Foot stated this is wrong, seeing as a virtue is only virtuous when used to the right end
• he said that loyalty- a virtue- isn’t a virtue when used to a bad end- for example, loyalty to hitler

Question 19

Alistair Macintyre

Answer 19

• argued that in moral dilemmas, naturalistic theories of ethics are of little value as they are time consuming and overly complicated
• a virtue based approach to ethics is more realistic and applicable to people’s everyday situations

Question 20

Arete

Answer 20

means ‘excellence’

usually in reference to parts operating as they should

virtue is a state of character which brings about the excellence of something and make all acts by somebody excellent

Question 21

Different seekers of happiness according to Aristotle

Answer 21

Pleasure seekers: these are people who are driven by their basic desires and simply live from one pleasurable experience to the next: e.g. eating good food, sleeping, drinking and having sex.

Seekers of honour: Aristotle saw politicians as seekers of honour. These are people who try to find solutions to important problems and get a sense of honour from doing that.

Those who love contemplation: these are philosophers and thinkers.

Aristotle believed that the lowest forms of happiness are those found by the pleasure seekers. He wrote: ‘The utter servility of the masses comes out in their preference for a bovine [animalistic] existence.’

Question 22

Where might a virtue (golden mean) lie relative to defect and excess?

Answer 22

not necessarily evenly between defect and excess

recklessness is closer to courage than cowardice is

Question 23

Thick and Thin concepts

Answer 23

Thick: have an evaluative aspect to them: courage, rudeness

Thin: good and bad, easier to just call a description of emotions resulting from moral actions

Question 24

Robert Nozick

Answer 24

challenges the idea that, because we uniquely are able to reason, reasoning is our purpose

“If man turned out to be unique only in having a sense of humour, would it follow that he should concentrate his energies on inventing and telling jokes?”

Question 25

J.L. Mackie

Answer 25

“We learn the names of the pairs of contrary vices that contrast with each of the virtues, but very little about where or how to draw the dividing lines, where or how to fix the mean”

Question 26

Aristotle’s circular logic

Answer 26

To understand what is virtuous, we need to observe the actions of virtuous people. To know who is virtuous, we need to understand what virtues are. So on and so on.

Robert Louden:
“we do not seem to be able to know with any degree of certainty who really is virtuous and who vicious. This means that moral scepticism is a serious problem for a virtue-based ethical system”

Question 27

Virtue Ethics implications on Religion

Answer 27

Aquinas: humanity’s essence is to love, which is expressed in turn by virtue. Our aim is happiness, and this is extended in Christianity to reconciliation with God and entering heaven.

In Christianity, human flourishing is in the afterlife

Provides Christians with a greater moral scope beyond absolutist moral laws. A person could act according to the law without being virtuous (Pharisees).

Question 28

Implications on morality

Answer 28

Virtue ethics fell out of favour during the enlightenment but has received more attention recently due to issues with deontological and consequentialist approaches.

Shifted emphasis from act-centred morality to agent-centred morality, encouraging moral education in the importance of ‘thick’ evaluative concepts. This encourages moral growth which wouldn’t be possible within a legalistic morality.

Greater focus on a person’s intentions and better fits the narrative of how we actually develop.