Virtue: The Key To The Good Life
According to Plato and Aristotle our goal in life is to achieve personal well-being and happiness
(eudaimonia). Aristotle says that we achieve this through functioning well as human beings. In order
to function well something needs to possess all the necessary qualities) or virtues that will enable it
to do so. For example, for a plant to function well it needs those plant-like qualities that enable it to
successfully grow, flower, reproduce etc. According to both Plato and Aristotle, a human being
functions well through developing and refining the virtues that enable us to flourish as human
beings. This focus on virtues has led to Plato and Aristotle’s moral theories being labelled as ‘virtue
ethics’.
Both Plato and Aristotle identify reason as the primary characteristic of the human soul, and so
reason takes a central place in their theories of what humans should be properly doing with their
lives. However, their concepts of the soul differ slightly. Plato has a ‘tripartite’ theory of the soul: it
is divided into three clear parts with reason the key to living a good life. On the other hand Aristotle
sees human psychology in more complex terms: there is a rational and non-rational side to our soul,
these sides are subdivided into many parts, each of which has a corresponding excellence of virtue,
and each of which is important and necessary for our proper functioning.
Within Plato’s tripartite division of the soul, the three elements (reason, spirit and desire) compete
and jostle with one another for control. Plato explains how virtue, or excellence, in a human
depends upon all the elements being in balance and each part of [him] performing its proper
function. For Plato this could happen if, and only if reason was in control of all aspects of the soul. So
spirit guided by reason carefully drives us to action; and desire when tempered by reason, motivates
us and enables us to live a healthy and satisfied life. So for Plato when reason is in control there are
three virtues corresponding to each of the three parts of the soul:
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Reason – wisdom
Spirit – courage
Desire – temperance (or self-control)
When all of these three virtues are in place, a fourth virtue emerges – justice. As such, for Plato
behaving morally, or justly, flows from developing our virtues by ensuring reason moderates our
desires and our spirit. Justice is the most important virtue because it readies us for action.
Aristotle agrees with Plato that in order to function well we need to be virtuous (and excel) in all
aspects of the soul. However, Aristotle believes that there are many virtues corresponding to the
different parts, not just three as Plato maintained. As for Plato, the crucial thing for Aristotle is that
the rational parts of the soul are in control, and this is the key to becoming virtuous. Aristotle
analyses in great detail the many aspects of our selves that need to be performing at the peak of
their capacity (excelled at) if we are to function well as human beings. These include:
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Excellences of character (controlling and shaping our desires and emotions)
Excellences of practical reasoning (having the skills to achieve those goals that are in our
best interest)
Excellences of theoretical reasoning (being good at philosophy, maths etc.)
Within each of these general virtues, or excellences, there are other virtues. For example, the skills
we need to excel at in reasoning about practical matters include:
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Deliberation – being able to plan a course of action
Understanding – being able to see the ‘Big Picture’ of any situation
Judgement – knowing what is the right thing to do in any situation
Cleverness – the ability to execute our plan and accomplish our goal
Aristotle also goes further than Plato in describing in detail what moral virtue (excellence of
character) is and how we might acquire it. It is a type of characteristic, a personality trait, which we
develop through practice, like learning to play the guitar. We are not born virtuous or excellent but
we become virtuous through developing good habits.
In the film the “Wizard of Oz” a young girl, Dorothy, encounters three creatures on her way to find
the Wizard. Each of these companions is missing some virtue essential for their happiness: the
Scarecrow lacks wisdom, the Tin Man lacks feelings and the Lion lacks Courage. They misunderstand
what these things are, and they believe that the Wizard of Oz, because of his powers, will be able to
give them these qualities. When they finally confront the Wizard he can’t do anything but give them
tokens of virtue (an examination certificate, a clockwork heart, a medal). This was partly because the
Wizard was a conman and partly because virtue isn’t something you can suddenly get; as Aristotle
says it is a habit that you develop. In the end, Dorothy’s companions became virtuous by acting in a
virtuous way: the Scarecrow had started to hatch plans, the Tin Man and started caring and the Lion
had begun to act bravely.
Aristotle argues that someone who is virtuous is someone who tends to avoid the extremes of overreacting or failing to react in a particular situation. This means that when confronted with a situation
we don’t bottle up our emotions or suppress our drive for action (this would be deficient), but nor
do we let our feelings come flooding out and completely over-react (this would be excessive).
Instead we have to judge how far we should let a particular emotion affect us in this particular
situation, and consider what would be the most appropriate response to this situation.
This description of the virtuous person is famously known as Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean.
‘Mean’ here refers to ‘middle’, but Aristotle is not saying we should take the ‘middle way’ in every
situation, or act moderately in every situation. Clearly there are some situations where a more (or
less) emotional response is required. But what Aristotle does believe is that if you look at the
behaviour of a virtuous person over their whole life they will tend to avoid over-reacting or underreacting (avoid excess or deficiency).
So, for Aristotle we become virtuous by becoming reflective, rational creatures and considering in
each situation ‘what is the appropriate thing to do here?’ This means drawing on both moral and
intellectual virtues. Deciding what is the right thing to do is a difficult judgement to make, but
Aristotle believes that through moral education we are able to develop the wisdom that we need to
make this judgement. Through hard experience, practice and by looking towards people we admire
as role models, we can develop and fine-tune our decision-making capacities. Admittedly it is
difficult to develop all these virtues, but Aristotle argues that it is only by doing so that we are able
to live a properly good life and flourish.