Virtue ethics Flashcards

Question

Contemporary thinkers | Anscombe, Foot

Answer 1

Elizabeth Anscombe (1911-2001) - believed other theories didn't have the foundation to provide moral guidelines as they relied on ideas of reward and punsihment, either a divine law-giver or Consequence - Believed old systems couldnt provide a basis as guidelines fol morals - she required a return to ideals of eudaimonia (Aristotle) and to a morlaity based on the person (agent) not act/outcome. plus other theories are too focused on independent actions, not morality to unite communities Philip Foot (1920-) - attempts to update virtue ethics while maintaining its roots to Aristotle - believes virtues are a way for people to flourish by correcting tendencies we naturally have to vices - she'd say there's a human inclination to self interest, which ought to be corrected by becoming more compassionate/ benevolent - believed virtues don't guarantee happiness, just helps us move towards it - emphasised virtues are only virtuous as long as they are used in correct ways to bring good outcomes e.g, someone who needs courage to rob a bank isn't virtuous

Answer 2

Richard Taylor (1919-2003) - very outspoken against the influence that religion had upon morality - believed humans should aim for development/ eudaimonia but religious teachings undermine this and encourage the opposite idea - he says that Christianity emphasises equality and to an extent the status quo of a 'self-negating' equality, rather than encouraging people to strive to be greater/ better people Rosalind Hursthouse (1943-) - main contribution to the understanding of ethics is to address the criticism levelled at virtue ethics that it doesn't provide moral guidance in dilemmas - says it doesn't explain how we would/should act, instead how a virtuous person would think about a dilemma - strong believer in Aristotles approach to morality - says virtues assist our practical reasoning, enabling us to be better and respond to moral dilemmas in a virtuous way and therefore become virtuous

Answer 3

Michael Slote (1941-) - used the words 'admirable' and 'deplorable' as alternatives to 'good' and 'bad', which he thought required clarification - if something is either admirable or deplorable then we know by definition what the correct action to pursue is going to be be I.e to do the admirable and avoid the deplorable Feminism Aristotles teachings on virtues are aimed at masculine attributes e.g. Bravery, honour and comradeship rather than feminine virtues e.g, empathy and compassion

Answer 4

- appeals to both secular and religious morality. An atheist can aspire to be like Jesus without believing he is the son of God. To counter Taylor, the example of Jesus is an inspiration to people of different faiths or those of no religion FOR ATHEISTS AND THEISTS - principles of VE compatible with religious believes and found in religious writings as they focus on agents moral development not actions - doesn't have set rules like utilitarianism (gg4gn) = flexible - avoids inequalities that absolutist ethical systems cause and the dubious morality of actions that relativism justify - logical theory as it focus on practical reasoning and traits to help society - natural to want to better yourself - strive for society to be virtuous therefore the betterment of mankind - circular - you become a virtuous person which make you help others willingly and then they become virtuous and want to help others etc - relative/subjective nature of Phronesis allows for a personal approach to morality - thus isn't constrained by objective/ absolute laws like deontology is - gives life a purpose - golden mean makes theory practical - morality isn't based nor constrained by intelligence - character driven/ agent centred - making you better (Chinese room) - moral saints give guidance/ help in difficult situations

Answer 5

- Susan Wolf claims of everyone is virtuous then there won't be variety or excitement in the world, we need negative traits to admire positive ones - Robert Louden - you could potentially justify immoral acts in the name of personal development e.g, getting drunk to understand the feeling to avoid doing it the future - moral saints are virtuous but advice may not be right for me, e,g, Mother Teresa says abortion is wrong but if I cannot mentally cope with a child, it may be the wrong advice for me - loop holes = someone misunderstanding their purpose and incorrectly performs immoral acts e.g, stop a mugger by killing them - difficult to apply to moral problems as doesn't provide a method of what to do, except to be virtuous - at what point does a virtue become a vice? Is there a definitive cross over point or is it purely subjective? - life may not have a telos, if it does, how do we know its eudaimonia. Plus knowledge of virtue/telos isn't same as using it - it's difficult to apply the golden mean - either through natural time constrains of ethical decision making OR not knowing how to apply it correctly - virtues sometimes clash with each other, which ones no 1? - moral saints = no clear guidance (how do they help issue of abortion?) and swine you're around/ open to good people - issue of Aristotles masculine/feminine virtues