Key quotes for an essay
“excellence is never an accident” (Aristotle)
“moral skill is chipped away by a reliance on rules” (Barry Schwartz)
“the good life is…when we reason well” (Aristotle)
“virtue is a mean with respect to two vices, excess and deficiency” (Aristotle)
Character based ethics
- focused on character development rather than rules
It is based on the belief that a person with moral virtues is more likely to behave ethically than someone who purely follows the rules - therefore is personal-based rather than action based, focused on developing ‘moral excellence’
Martha Nussbaum (contemporary scholar)
“character is infused completely by the correct reason for action”
“Because he aims to describe the cultivation of a whole person and a way of life, rather than simply to prescribe a list of duties, he has ample scope for discussing emotional self-shaping”
Aristotle
- ancient Greek philosopher
- founding father on western philosophy
- more influential and important philosophers in human history
Eudaimonia
- Aristotle’s starting point is the teleological claim that every action is aimed at attaining some good end, this is the “final cause”
- final and ultimate end to which human action is geared is eudaimonia
- achieved through the “pursuit of virtue, excellence, and the best within us”
- it is not attained through pleasure or wealth, it is the result of fulfilling a greater human purpose
Aristotle believed that our human ability to reason and the cultivation of virtues play an important role in achieving eudaimonia. He believed that ‘we are what we repeatedly do…excellence is a habit’
Reason and the Hierarchy of souls
“The good like is not the kind in which we eat, reproduce, sense, move, remember or imagine well, but that in which we reason well” (Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics)
- Aristotle believed that our ability to reason sets humans apart from animals and plants
- Aristotle saw human beings as unique in their possession of a rational soul
- uniqueness of the human soul lies in its capacity for rational thoughts
- reasoning well is therefore how humans attain goodness and achieve eudaimonia
How do we become virtuous?
Repetition: helps us form habits. Aristotle believed ‘we are what we repeatedly do…excellence is a habit’
Imitation: involves observing and emulating role models. We should emulate Phronimos, who are experts in practical wisdom
Education: provides us with knowledge and helps us to develop our use of reason
Experience: we practice and apply virtues over the course of our lives
5 primary intellectual virtues
Technical skills- (techne)
Scientific knowledge (episteme)
Practical wisdom (phronesis)
Intelligence (nous)
Theoretical wisdom (sophia)
4 primary moral virtues
Prudence (wisdom)
Justice (fairness)
Temperance (self-restraint)
Fortitude (courage)
Aristotle’s 4 cardinal moral virtues
Prudence (wisdom)
Justice (fairness)
Temperance (self-restraint)
Fortitude (courage, bravery)
Aristotle believed that developing and exercising these virtues makes a person good and leads to human flourishing
Golden Mean
“Virtue, therefore is a characteristic marked by choice”
Virtue is located in the golden mean: midpoint between two extremes
Excess: have too much of something
Deficiency: lack something
- being virtuous is therefore to act and feel in the middle ground
Applying Virtue ethics to moral issues
Virtue ethics is focused on good character not specific rules: ‘One swallow does not make a summer’ - task of a lifetime
Animal issues: hierarchy of souls- human life is valuables we use reason
Eudaimonia: do what leads to eudaimonia. Does this action contribute to human flourishing and fulfilment? ‘Eudaimonia is activity in accordance with excellence’ (arete)
All issues e.g Cardinal virtues: justice, prudence, temperance, fortitude. Moral virtues and intellectual virtues (eg episteme)
Martha Nussbaum
“character is infused completely”
“he aims to describe the cultivation of a whole person and a way of life”
- emotional intelligence/mental health/personal wellbeing are all buzz words that life coaches preach
These are evident in Aristotles writing/Virtue ethics suited to moral world as we value the holistic approach to ethics that is concerned not by prescribing rules, but by personal development
- attractive to a modern audience/empowers them as an individual
Barry Schwartz
“moral skill is chipped away by an overeliance on rules”
- likes that Aristotle didn’t give people a list of rules to follow, but he is interested in your personal development in the cultivation of moral excellence
- people are not born wise they become wise through experience this takes time “one swallow does not take a summer” idea of a journey
- can’t rely on following rules, needs to be practical wisdom involved
“rules and procedures spare us from thinking”
- there needs to be a revival of wisdom otherwise we will become robots of following rules for punishment/praise
- reason in our own minds!!
- education doesn’t give people skills, it follows scripts: this leads to mediocrity, we do need rules but we need to realise too many rules prevents improvisation
e.g The Hospital Janitor: does not just follow job description, exercises practical wisdom. This comes with experience over time doing the job, working with real people
- person is dying with family next to them/meant to clean room like it says on the job description but has practical wisdom so does not
Strengths of Virtue ethics
Anscombe: valuable in the modern world as it does not depend on God. If people don’t want to accept God as the source of morality, we must return to the earlier way of thinking about goodness. There should be a revival in Aristotle’s virtue ethics which predates Christianity. Virtue ethics provides an approach to morality that does not depend on belief in god. Further, it highly values reason and is consistent with the belief that we learn through experience
It is holistic and human centred: Nussbaum says Aristotle’s aims to describe the cultivation of the whole person, rather than just prescribing a list of duties. It values human life and promotes human flourishing. It prioritises people and emphasises the importance of investing in their moral development. It recognises that people are not perfect, and that they continue to develop throughout life
Criticism: the fact that it is human centred is problematic because of the implication of animals and the environment, justify harming animals
Gives people autonomy: Barry Schwartz warns that ‘moral skill is chipped away by an over reliance on rules’. Virtue ethics ensures that people develop moral skill by developing phronesis (practical wisdom). This empowers the individual and gives them autonomy to make moral decisions and judgements
Weakness of Virtue ethics
Cultural relativism of the virtues: the virtues that Aristotle promoted may not still be seen as important 2000+ years later. Furthermore, different cultures/people around the world prioritise different virtues and promote different values. Aristotle’s virtue ethics, developed in the context of Ancient Athens may be seen as outdated
Society needs clear rules to follow: virtue ethics is flawed because human beings need clear rules to follow for everyday life. it gives too much responsibility to the individual, which could undermine social order and also be exploited. Ethics should provide clear rules/principles for people to follow in everyday situations
Criticism: if the education is right/good models we do not have this problem, wrong virtues promoted
Too anthropocentric: virtue ethics prioritises and promotes the achievement of eudaimonia. The hierarchy of souls values human life above that of animals/plants. This prioritisation of human beings could be criticised as it could justify harm to animals- and even the planet- if advantageous to human beings. Link to issues of non-human life and death
Criticism: golden mean, everything that does cause harm can be seen as an excess
