week 2: virtue ethics

Question 1

describe communitarianism

Answer 1

• who we are is shaped by our community (interdependence)
• porous selves (mingle/interact with others)

Question 2

describe individualism

Answer 2

• who we are is shaped by our mind
• our identity is individual (independent)
• buffered selves (gap/wall between individuals)

Question 3

describe virtue ethics

Answer 3

• socially-beneficial character trait/activity
• the actions you do shapes your character
• through the lens of social character
• not all about following the rules, also about character and judgement

Question 4

what are the systems of normative ethics?

Answer 4

organizes our understanding of normality

1. virtue ethics (character)
2. utilitarianism (consequences)
3. duty ethics (intentions)
4. care ethics (relationships)- body fundamentally important

Question 5

describe Aristotle’s definition of a human being

Answer 5

• we are a rational animal - we have our own rationale and have bodies
• we are a political animal - we are creatures that bodies community
• body is important to have and is good to have the world around us
• virtue vs vice

Question 6

describe Aristotle’s view of happiness

Answer 6

• Aristotle doesn’t think happiness is ultimately found in pleasure, honor, or money. These things aren’t bad, but they can’t make us happy on their own
• Aristotle thinks that happiness is contained in contemplative activity (e.g., doing things that are valuable for their own sake) and virtuous activity (e.g., being generous, courageous, etc.). But to be able to carry out those activities most effectively, we also need things such as money, health, and relationships, which Aristotle calls external goods.

Question 7

what does Aristotle say happiness consists of?

Answer 7

• contemplation of excellent things
  
  • spedning time doing things that are intrinsically valuable
• a life of virtuous activity
• possession of external goods
  
  • things that allow us to participate in contemplative and virtuous activity

Question 8

explain aristotle’s virtue

Answer 8

• the virtuous action consists in a mean between 2 extremes in any given situation
• virtue of practical wisdom = being able to identify the virtue
  
  • benefits the community and ourselves
• being able to have good judgement

Question 9

describe practical wisdom (phronesis)

Answer 9

• being able to identify the virtue
• benefits the community and ourselves
• knowing what is the appropriate mean to pursue in any given situation in order to achieve a goal
• moral excellence consists not in following rules but in having a good character and being able to exercise independent judgment
  
  • read situation carefully and use good judgement to know what to do
  • not always follow rules

Question 10

what are the needs for practical wisdom and virtue?

Answer 10

• in response to crises and problems, our response is often to devise ever more elaborate systems of rules and incentives
  
  • can’t just think about rules, have to think about character as well and how they used their judgment
• two problems with an exclusively rule-based approach to ethics
  
  • non-contextual application of rules demoralizing
  • love and work

Question 11

describe virtue and moral excellence

Answer 11

• for aristotle, virtue is a kind of excellence
  
  • good virtue becomes second nature
  • surround yourself w/good people
• get virtue through habit, education, and moral exemplarism
  
  • get good character traits and judgement is by practicing them
  • examples of people that we look up to
• confucianism: habitual practice yields moral transformation
  
  • observe rituisms - value of that is that it forms our habits
• virtue ethics is an ethics of becoming- formation of ren
  
  • comprehensive form of character/virtue

Question 12

describe core concepts in modern virtue ethics

Answer 12

• importance of contextual judgment
• renewed focus on human flourishing
• application of virtue to understanding various social practices