VIRTUE ETHICS- ‘good’ Flashcards
What type of theory is Aristotles
Teleological- everything in the universe is directed at some final goal or ‘good’
What is Aristotles argument of an ultimate good
P1) everything we do is aimed at some good
P2) each good is also done for the sake of a higher good
P3) this cannot go on forever
C) therefore the must be an ultimate good, which everything we do is aimed towards
What is the purpose of Aristotles ETHICS
Identify good for us as humans and how we can achieve it
What is the two criticisms of the idea of a final good
1) some actions may have no purpose(eg day dreaming) which undermines P1
2) may commit the fallacy of composition
What is the ultimate good/final end
Eudaimonia (‘flourishing’ or ‘happiness’)
What is the empirical approach to eudaimonia
Assessing popular opinion tells him that the final end is eudaimonia
What popular ideas of what eudaimonia is does Aristotle reject
Pleasure( would just make us animals)
Wealth( just a means to an end)
Honour( depends on other’s recognition )
Goodness( it’s compatible with a life of suffering)
What is the conceptual approach to eudaimonia
Analysing the concept of ultimate good.
Aristotle concludes that it must be:
A) an end but not an means to an end
B) the ‘most final’ of final ends, for the sake of which everything else is done
C) self-sufficient, nothing could be added to make it better
D) the most desirable of all things
What is Eudaimonia not
A means to an end
Something we are born with, or suddenly ‘get’
Completely within our control
Mere ‘happiness’( as it’s a short-term, subjective, pleasure- based experience)
What is eudaimonia
The final end, the Supreme good, for the sake of which everything else is done
Something we work hard to achieve - through actions that develop our character
Partly out of our control- affected by both good and bad luck( eg being born in war or being born in peacetime)
‘Flourishing’
