Virtue Theory- Issues

Question 1

Guidance

Answer 1

DOTM doesn’t because it doesn’t help us understand quantities of how often we should feel something and how much we should feel even though it provides a criteria of “right time, person etc”

Practical wisdom doesn’t because if you do not have p.w then you do not know what the right action a virtuous person would do is.

Question 2

Conflicting virtues

Answer 2

Can we should justice and mercy or do we need to choose

You need practical wisdom to know what the virtues require you to do in particular situations. If you think that justice means being merciless then you have misunderstood what justice means. Thus, meaning that the virtues are conflicting.

Question 3

Possibility of circularity involved in defining virtuous acts and virtuous people in terms of each other

Answer 3

Act is virtuous if a virtuous agent would do it

A virtuous agent is whether acts virtuously

But a virtuous person is not defined as someone who is disposed to do virtuous actions