Virtue Ethics
We evaluate the morality of people’s character as well as their actions. Does
one’s moral character exhibit virtue or vice? This view takes the virtues such as
honesty, courage, temperance, integrity, compassion, self-control or
benevolence, or the vices such as dishonesty, ruthlessness, greed, lack of
integrity, cowardliness, as the basic starting point for ethical reasoning.
Although we start from the person instead of the action, the results are often
very similar.
The Nature of Virtue
According to “virtue ethics”, there are certain ideals, such as excellence or
dedication to the common good, toward which we should strive and which allow
the full development of our humanity. These ideals are discovered through
thoughtful reflection on what we as human beings have the potential to become.
“Virtues” are attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and
to act in ways that develop this potential. They enable us to pursue the ideals
we have adopted. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, l
fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues.
How does a person develop virtues? Virtues are developed through learning
and through practice. As the ancient philosopher Aristotle suggested, a person
can improve his or her character by practicing self-discipline, while a good
character can be corrupted by repeated self-indulgence. Just as the ability to
run a marathon develops through much training and practice, so too does our
capacity to be fair, to be courageous, or to be compassionate.
Take honesty, for example. A person possesses this virtue when they are
disposed to habitually tell the truth and does so because he believes is it
right, feels good when he tells the truth and uncomfortable when he lies,
and always wants to tell the truth out of respect for the truth and its
importance in human communication. One is not honest if one lies often,
or only tells the truth because people will like him better, or out of fear.
The Moral Virtues
What are the traits that make a person a good human being?
If we try to define what makes a “good human being” I’m sure we could agree
on a number of virtues such as honesty, justice, prudence, fidelity, etc. We
would probably only disagree on the relative importance of the different virtues.
There will be some cultural and social differences in the appropriate virtues one
should have, but we do share a good deal of agreement on the question of who
is the right sort of person in general because people in all societies face similar
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issues of living together. Tradition is a major factor in deciding which virtues we
value.
At the heart of the virtue approach to ethics is the idea of “community.” A
person’s character traits are not developed in isolation, but within and by the
communities to which he or she belongs, including family, church, school, and
other private and public associations. As people grow and mature, their
personalities are deeply affected by the values that their communities prize, by
the personality traits that their communities encourage, and by the role models
that their communities put forth for imitation through traditional stories, fiction,
movies, television, and so on. The virtue approach urges us to pay attention to
the contours of our communities and the habits of character they encourage
and instill.
Aristotle is the originator of this approach. He wanted to justify his theory of
virtues by investigating the human condition. For him, a moral virtue was a
habit that enables a human being to act in accordance with the specific purpose
of human beings – the ability to reason – to exercise reason in all their activities.
Moral virtues are habits that enable a person to live according to reason, which
allows us to know and choose the reasonable middle ground between going too
far and not going far enough in our actions, emotions, and desires.
Aristotle’s Ethics of Virtue
(Note: I don’t expect you to know all of Aristotle’s philosophy that is presented
here. You should know what virtues are, be able to give some examples, know
his principle of the golden mean, and know basically how he justified his
theory.)
Aristotle was the last of the great Greek philosophers. Two thousand years
passed without a greater philosopher. His authority was considered final, and
because of that prevented progress in science and philosophy.
Aristotle is not a “principle” theorist. In other words, he does not provide us with
a principle or rule by which we should make moral decisions (for example, like
“the greatest good for the greatest number,” or “how would you like everyone to
act the way you do.” He said we have to develop the “virtuous character” and
live a virtuous life. The life of virtue is itself rewarding for the virtuous, as well as
beneficial for the community. Note that Aristotle did not believe there was a
conflict between living in community and self-interest. Neither did he believe
there was a criteria of the “good” which could guide moral decisions..
Aristotle’s ethical theory based on his ideas about human nature, which is a part
of his theory of the universe.
An examination of human nature should reveal the distinctive quality of
human beings, and from this we should be able to conclude what it is to
be a good human being.
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The Universe is viewed as a hierarchy in which everything has a function. the
highest form of existence is the life of the rational being (humans) and the
function of the lower forms of life is to serve human beings. Therefore he
defended slavery, since he thought that barbarians are less rational than the
Greeks.
The Place of Man: Physics, Biology, and Psychology
Physics - nature make things out of simple bodies, namely air, fire, water and
earth. All things are analyzable down to these, but form novel substances when
combined.
Biology - All bodies are a combination of primary elements, but some have life
(self-nutrition and growth) and some do not. A body that is alive has its life from
the source of its actuality, namely, form. The soul is the form of an organized
body. Neither the body nor the soul can exist without the other, nor are they
identical.
"that is why we can wholly dismiss as unnecessary the question whether
the soul and body are one: it is as meaningless as to ask whether the
wax and the shape given to it by the stamp are one." The soul exists
when there is a particular kind of body, namely, "one having in itself the
power of setting itself in movement and arresting itself. Soul and body
are not two separate things but are rather the matter (body) and form
(soul) of a single unity. Neither could exist separately. Therefore the soul
does not exist after death.
Types of soul:
Vegetative - simply the act of living. The sensible and perishable.
Plants and animals.
Appetitive - both living and desiring. The sensible but not
perishable. The heavenly bodies, which do not change but
undergo motion.
Rational - living sensing, and thinking. Neither sensible nor
perishable. The soul in man and God.
Rational soul - has the power of scientific thought. Reason
is capable of distinguishing different kinds of things (power of
analysis) and the relationship of different kinds of things with
each other.
Also has the power of deliberation. The mind can discover
the truth in the nature of things and the guides for human
behavior.
All living beings have a potentiality and it is their nature to develop that potential
to the full. The potential of human beings is what makes us distinct from other
animals - rationality. When we develop our rationality, we are realizing our
potential and will live the most satisfying of lives.
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Aristotle agrees with Plato that the life of the intellect is the highest form
of life, but must also have material comfort and friendships. However,
while for Plato this is because it gives us true knowledge, for Aristotle it is
because we are developing our potentiality.
The Good
In contrast to Plato, the “Good” was not some abstract form of knowledge. It
was the aim of all our activities. To call something good is to say that it is under
certain conditions sought or aimed at. There are numerous activities and aims,
and hence numerous goods. It is whatever we value.
However, what is “good” is not simply any old state of affairs, it is linked
to what others would seek in general as good.
Happiness
Happiness is the final end (goal). We owe this to Aristotle. We can find it by
asking why we do the things we do:
"Why do we build a fire?" To keep warm.
"Why do we keep warm?" It is pleasant to be warm and unpleasant to be
cold.
The answer to any such series of questions always points to
"happiness", in the broadest sense to mean a fulfilling, satisfying life.
Happiness is not a single activity but the result of a great may activities.
Personal development or self-realization is the goal.
Happiness is that which is wanted for its own sake, and not for the sake of
anything else. For example, pleasure and success are not the good life, but are
necessary for it. They lead to overall happiness.
Happiness includes a large number of advantages and virtues, including wealth,
power, and community status as well as military courage, ability to drink wine
without getting too obnoxious, a sense of justice, good friends, and a good
sense of humor.
Happiness is therefore not just a sense of well-being as it is for us – happiness
is the good life as a whole, an integrated life with all the virtues and good
fortune and the philosophical wisdom to appreciate it. So happiness is not a
sometime phenomenon, it is a life-time phenomenon.
The word Aristotle used was “eudaimonia”, or “doing well” or “well-being”.
It is not as we think of happiness today, as “inner satisfaction and a sense
of well-being.” To the Greeks a person who kept a sense of well-being in
the midst of misfortune would be insane. The good life was a public, social,
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objective life of achievement and good fortune. – had little to do with inner
feelings.
Aristotle tended to think that the good life was a privilege of the very
powerful and very rich or very lucky
If the happy life is the life of virtuous action, what virtues should one cultivate?
Ones that aim at the well-being of the entire community. The ultimate
advantage of the individual would be identical to the well-being of the
community. He lists the common ones of his day:
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courage – especially in battle
temperance – enjoyment of pleasure as well as moderation
liberality – charity
magnificence – spending lavishly and entertaining well
pride
good temper – moderate, but important to get angry when
appropriate.
friendliness
truthfulness
wittiness – being too serious is not moral
shame – being sensitive to one’s honor and feeling appropriately
bad when it is besmirched. “Feeling guilty” is not worth talking
about.
justice – the sense of fair treatment of others.
HONOR – presupposed by all the other virtues. The fusion of the
individual and the community, since it is the community who
bestows honor.
The four pivotal virtues are courage, temperance, justice and prudence.
Prudence is the virtue that enables one to know what is reasonable in a given
situation.
He used the Golden Mean as a principle for distinguishing what is truly virtuous
from false virtues. Similar to Buddha's middle path between self-indulgence and
self-renunciation. Courage is the middle path between fool-hardiness
(recklessness) and cowardice. Temperance in relation to food is either gluttony
at one extreme or austerity at the other. Justice is giving people exactly what
they deserve, and vice is giving either one less than they deserve. Friendliness
is the middle path between throwing yourself on people and surliness.
To apply this rule we of course need to know what is meant by excessive
and what is defective, which itself requires moral decisions. The virtue of
prudence helps us in this decision.
Rationality is essential to the good life. It includes the understanding and
contemplation of principles. These principles have authority (of reason and
society). Here he ends up similar to Plato – the good life is the life of
contemplation. .
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Justice:
Justice does not fundamentally involve equality and equal rights, but right
proportion, which sometimes involves equality.
Distinguishes between justice in the distribution of wealth or other goods
and justice in reparation (righting a wrong). Similar cases should be
treated alike, which led to later philosophers trying to identify what the
essential similarities of situations are.
Politics
The Politics of Aristotle (c. 335-322 B.C.) was written as part of a larger
work on nature and society when he was teaching at the Lyceum in
Athens. Analyzes society as if he were a doctor and prescribes remedies
for its ills. Political philosophy regarded as a branch of biology and ethics.
Admires balance and moderation and aims at a harmonious city under
the rule of law.
Thinks in terms of the city-state, as the natural form of civilized life and
the best in which men's capacities can be realized. Man is a "political
animal", distinguished from other animals by gift of speech and power of
moral judgment.
Man has to be controlled by law and justice.
The state, being the highest form of society, strives for the highest good survival, security and the enhancement of the quality of life. In the citystate, this can only be achieved by a small number, so Aristotle like Plato
believes in aristocracy.
The rule of law is better than even the best men. Rulers have to be
subject to the rule of law too. This survived the Middle Ages and became
the theoretical sanction of modern constitutional government.
Respect for custom justifies the obligation of members toward society,
even at the price of sacrificing individuals for the common good.
Analyzes different constitutions and prefers a "mixed" one, which reflects
the idea of justice and fair dealing, which gives every man his due in a
conservative social order in which citizens of the middle condition
preponderate. Attacks oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny. Dislikes
democracy for similar reasons as Plato. Dislikes tyranny the most arbitrary power of a single individual who is above the law.
People require education to make them good citizens - self-confident and
style.
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St. Thomas Aquinas – agreed with Aristotle on reason being important, and
also that the four pivotal virtues are courage, temperance, justice and prudence.
However, also believed that human purpose was not only to exercise reason,
but to achieve union with God in the next life.
He added the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity. He also modified some
of Aristotle’s virtues, for example, by adding humility as a virtue and believing
that pride is a vice. The opposite of Aristotle.
Virtues, Actions and Institutions
So how does a virtue approach help us decide what to do in any given
situation? This is one of the major criticisms of the virtue approach.
“An action is morally right if in carrying out the action the agent exercises,
exhibits, or develops a morally virtuous character, and it is morally wrong
to the extent that by carrying out the action the agent exercises exhibits, or
develops a morally vicious character.”
e.g. the morality of abortion or adultery may be evaluated by attending to the
kind of character evidenced by people who engage in such actions. If the
decision to engage in such actions tends to develop a person’s character by
making them more responsible, caring, principled, honest, open, and selfsacrificing, then such actions are morally right. If an action tends to make
people more self-centered, irresponsible, dishonest, careless, and selfish, they
are morally wrong.
Abortion could be considered as morally right or wrong. The theory of virtues
does not give us a way of deciding. It says that we should consider the issue
honestly, fairly, in a just way, etc., and use our reason to come to a decision.
Actions are also evaluated according to the character they seem to come from.
If cruel actions are shown by a person seems to us to be morally vicious, we
condemn them.
Institutions
Institutions can also be judged according to virtues. Some economic institutions
seem to make people greedy, large bureaucratic organizations make people
less responsible, and welfare makes people lazy.
Institutions are an integral part of our development. We should ask what kinds
of people do our institutions foster.
Note that character and conduct are one. They are not separate. Our conduct
does not arise from our character, it is our character. Likewise we tend to
separate motives from deeds. Morals are not subjective and individualistic.
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