Virtue Ethics Flashcards
Eudaimonia
Human flourishing, “living well and faring well” in society.
Ergon
Proper function; the characteristic activity that something was made to do e.g. a knife’s ergon is to cut.
Telos
End goal or purpose, a human’s telos is to strive for Eudaimonia.
Arete
A quality of excellence which helps something fulfil its ergon aka a virtue.
Virtues
Character traits or states of a person that enable them to achieve some good purpose, especially living a morally good life. Aristotle argues that virtues are traits in accordance with reason, and distinguishes between moral virtues and intellectual virtues.
Vice
A trait that is morally bad, dispositions to feel or choose not in the mean, but either too much or too little.
Intellectual Virtues
Intellectual virtues are qualities of mind developed through instruction e.g. prudence or justice.
Moral Virtues
Virtues cultivated by habit and practice e.g. courage generosity.
The Ergon Argument
Aristotle’s function argument which seeks to logically prove that a human’s ergon is to use their rationality.
The Doctrine of the Mean
The theory that a virtue requires us to feel, choose and act in an “intermediate” way, between deficiency and excess.
Phronesis
Practical wisdom - developing the intellectual virtue of practical reason, involves knowledge of what is good or bad in general and what is good in a particular situation, and the ability to deliberate well and act on that deliberation.
Voluntary
According to Aristotle, we act voluntarily when we act as we choose. We know what we are doing, and we bring it about ourselves.
Involuntary
According to Aristotle, an act is involuntary if it is either forced or done from ignorance that is not culpable (blame-worthy) (especially if it is regretted once the ignorance is removed).
Non-voluntary
According to Aristotle, an action is non-voluntary if it is done from ignorance and if the ignorance is lifted, the agent does not regret the action.
