VIRTUE ETHICS
Happiness and Ultimate Purpose,
Virtue as Excellence, Moral Virtue and Mesotes
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be
able to:
1. Discuss the meaning and basic principles of virtue
ethics;
2. Distinguish virtuous acts from non-virtuous acts;
and
3. Apply Aristotle’s ethics in understanding the
Filipino character.
Virtue Ethics
• ethical framework that is concerned with
understanding the good as a matter of developing the
virtuous character of a person.
• focuses on the formation of one’s character brought
about by determining and doing virtuous acts.
- Nichomachean Ethics
Happiness and Ultimate Purpose
• Aristotle begins his discussion of ethics by showing
that every act that a person does is directed toward a
particular purpose, aim, or what the Greeks called
telos.
• A person will not do anything which is not beneficial
or not good.
• Particular purpose can also be utilized for a higher
goal – hierarchy of teloi (plural of telos)
Hierarchy of teloi
Self-sufficient
Highest telos
Higher telos
final
HAPPINESS
High telos
telos
But…
…one can only arrive at the ultimate purpose/good
(happines) by doing one’s function well.
How can we, as human beings, function well?
REASON
- Therefore, achieving the highest purpose (happiness) of a
human person concerns the ability to function according to
reason and to perform an activity well or excellently.
Good habit
- Virtue or Arete
Activity of Human Soul
EXCELLENCE
Irrational
Vegetative
Rational
Appetitive