Virtue Ethics
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
1
Introduction
Common feature of the two theories we have seen:
Morality = abstract and general rules
Virtue Ethics: There is no absolute rule nor general recipe:
we face particular situations for which we need to make
the right particular decisions.
- Ethics must be based on concrete experience
- Ethics is like the art of construction, not the science of
geometry:
Any decision is objective, but flexible and context-dependent
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
2
Aristotle
The philosopher (4th century BCE)
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
The lyceum
Research in all domains
Empiricist
The importance of ethics
Nichomachean Ethics
First separated, systematic treatment
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
3
Outline
The good life: the life of a virtuous man
Virtues: what are they?
Virtues: how to acquire them?
Conclusion on Virtue Ethics
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
4
Outline
The good life: the life of a virtuous man
Virtues: what are they?
Virtues: how to acquire them?
Conclusion on Virtue Ethics
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
5
The Good life: The Life of a Virtuous Man
Who needs Ethics?
- Experiences
- The need for a sound and concrete plan to lead a good life
How to do Ethics?
- No general recipe
- Follow role models
Virtue Ethics:
Virtue Ethics is the view that what is right to do is to do
whatever a man of virtue would do
What is it to be a man of virtue?
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
6
The Good life: The Life of a Virtuous Man
Practical Wisdom
Practical Wisdom:
The man of virtue lives according to reason
Argument: Living according to reason is the only way to
flourish as a human being
Life shared with plants
Sentience and mobility shared with animals
Reason: humans only
Practical Wisdom:
The man of virtue is committed to action
Note: the hermit in the mountain is not a man of virtue
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
7
The Good life: The Life of a Virtuous Man
Practical Wisdom
“Just as at the Olympic Games it is not the best-looking or
the strongest men present that are crowned with
wreaths, but the competitors (because it is from them
that the winners come), so it is those who act that
rightly win the honors and rewards in life”
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
8
The Good life: The Life of a Virtuous Man
Virtue and Pleasure
The man of virtue enjoys being virtuous:
Thinks?
Acts?
Feels?
Vicious
Wrong way
Wrong way
Wrong way
Incontinent
Right way
Wrong way
Wrong way
Continent
Right way
Right way
Wrong way
Virtuous
Right way
Right way
Right way
 Feelings and emotions taken into account
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
9
The Good life: The Life of a Virtuous Man
Morality and Pleasure
“Indeed, we may go further and assert that anyone who
does not delight in fine actions is not even a good
man; for nobody would say that a man is just unless
he enjoys acting justly, nor liberal unless he enjoys
liberal actions, and similarly in all the other cases. If
this is so, then virtuous actions must be pleasurable in
themselves.”
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
10
The Good life: The Life of a Virtuous Man
Conclusion
Ethics: A sound and concrete plan for a good life
Virtue Ethics: what is right is to do whatever the man
of virtue would do
The life of the man of virtue:
- The man of virtue lives according to reason
- The man of virtue is committed to action
- The man of virtue enjoys being virtuous
 Virtue Ethics: a fully human life
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
11
Outline
The good life: the life of a virtuous man
Virtues: what are they?
Virtues: how to acquire them?
Conclusion on Virtue Ethics
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
12
Virtues: What are they?
A List of Virtues
A virtue for each sphere of “grounding experience” which
together define the fully human life
Grounding Experience
Virtue
Important Damages
Courage
Body
Moderation
Limited Resources
Justice
Personal Property
Generosity
Self-appreciation
Greatness of Soul
Mild damages
Mildness of temper
Speech
Truthfulness
Social association
Grace, Friendliness
Others’ fortune
Proper Judgment
Conduct
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Practical wisdom
Montana
13
Virtues: What are they?
The Appropriate Emotional Response
Virtues:
Virtues are tendencies to display the emotional response
which is appropriate to the situation at hand.
Example: Courage
- Grounding experience: important damages – death
- Emotion: Fear – an important part of our lives
- Courage: the appropriate amount of fear
 What is the appropriate response?
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
14
Virtues: What are they?
The Doctrine of the Mean
Virtues as a mean between two excesses
Grounding
Experience
Deficiency
Virtue
Excess
Important Damages
Cowardice
Courage
Rashness
Personal Property
Stinginess
Generosity
Wastefulness
Body
Intemperance
Moderation
Ascetism
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
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Virtues: What are they?
Disclaimers
No General Rule:
What counts as the appropriate response depends on the
particular circumstances – but is still objective!
Strong emotions are not always bad:
The appropriate emotional response can be strong – but is
still a mean!
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
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Virtues: What are they?
Conclusion
Virtues:
- One virtue for each sphere of grounding
experiences
- Virtues are tendencies to display the emotional
response which is appropriate to the situation at
hand.
- The right kind of emotional response is a mean
between two excesses
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
17
Outline
The good life: the life of a virtuous man
Virtues: what are they?
Virtues: how to acquire them?
Conclusion on Virtue Ethics
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
18
Virtues : How are they acquired?
Human Nature
Human’s nature: good or bad?
- Men are not naturally good
- Men are not naturally bad
 The true nature of men is to be malleable – i.e to have a
capacity for change
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
19
Virtues : How are they acquired?
Habituation
Virtues and Vices are acquired by habituation:
- We learn how to be virtuous in practicing virtue
- Virtues become second natures
- Analogy: learning a language or how to play an
instrument
- Example: Food
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
20
Virtues : How are they acquired?
Human nature and habituation
“In a word then, like activities produce like dispositions.
Hence we must give our activities a certain quality,
because it is their characteristics that determine the
resulting dispositions. So it is a matter of no little
importance what sorts of habits we form from the
earliest age – it makes a vast difference, or rather all
the difference in the world...”
 It goes both ways !
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
21
Virtues : How are they acquired?
Human nature and habituation
How do we acquire virtues?
- Human nature is to be malleable
- Virtues – and vices! – are acquired by habituation
 We become virtuous in acting like virtuous people
 We ARE truly virtuous when the virtue has become
a second nature
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
22
Outline
The good life: the life of a virtuous man
Virtues: what are they?
Virtues: how to acquire them?
Conclusion on Virtue Ethics
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
23
Virtue Ethics
Method: No general rule – flexibility without giving up
on objectivity
Ethics: a sound and concrete plan to lead a good life
Virtue Ethics: what is right is to do whatever the man
of virtue would do
The life of the man of virtue: The man of virtue lives
according to reason, is committed to action, and
enjoys being virtuous
Virtues are tendencies to display the emotional
response which is appropriate to the situation at
hand -- a mean between two excesses – and are
acquired by habituation
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
24
Virtue Ethics
What to take from it?
Advantages:
- A fuller notion of humanity – including emotions and
feelings
- A more concrete and practical take on morality –
dependence on context
Problems:
- Incompleteness? does not give answers – compare with
utilitarianism
- No absolute rule – compare with duty theory
Soazig Le Bihan -- University of
Montana
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