1.
Make a list of people who you
consider to be ‘good people’ in
some sense and then try to identify
what characteristics or virtues they
exhibit which make them good.
 To
understand what virtue ethics is,
Key question
What is a virtue?
“what would the hero do in this
situation?”
Or, if contemplating an
action
“would the hero do this or avoid it?
“Excellence is an art won by
training and habituation. We do
not act rightly because we have
virtue or excellence, but we
rather have those because we
have acted rightly. We are what
we repeatedly do. Excellence,
then, is not an act but a habit.”
Aristotle
 It
concentrates on the idea of the human
character and asks how you can be a better
person.
 Ethikos
– concerned with the ethical
character of an individual rather than the
individual actions.
 It
is concerned with the personality of the
person. Their moral character.
According to this view Jesus is the ideal
and followers ought to be more
Jesus-like.
Virtue Ethics is very often
used in professional ethics :
(How would an ideal doctor/lawyer
behave?)

We should be less concerned with action and
consequences and much more concerned with the
character of the moral agent.

The question “what is it right or obligatory to do?” is
not the only question.

“How should we be?” Matters too because it is only by
becoming better people that we will do the right
thing.

While other ethical theories concentrate simply on the
process of moral decision making, virtue theory is
concerned about the process of how to become a
moral person.

Once you have become a moral person – you will do
the right thing.

The roots of virtue theory
are in Greek philosophy,
especially Aristotle

modern important
contributors to virtue
theory are:
Elizabeth Anscombe
 Alasdair Macintyre
 Phillipa foot


We will discuss each in turn
focusing specifically on
Aristotle and MacIntyre's
adjustments.
“to understand a
theory you need
to know its
context.”
Alisdair Macintyre
 Ancient
Greek philosophy is
dominated by two philosophers.
These men are called the fathers
of philosophy.
 Both
were crucial in the
development of western and
middle eastern thought for the
last two thousand years. Their
reach includes, mathematics,
philosophy, ethics, politics,
aesthics and many more.
Plato points to
the sky –
highlighting his
concern with the
metaphysical
realm that can
only be
discovered
through
philosophical
investigation.
Metaphysical – the realm
beyond the physical. The TRUE
reality.
Aristotle points
to the ground –
highlighting his
concern with
the physical
realm that can
be discovered
through
science.
 Aristotle’s
science shaped his ethics.
 “Good”
he said can also be defined
in terms of either;
 outcome
or
 motive
where the reasons for the
action define its being good or
otherwise)
Outcome
Motive
Right action/
person
 For
Aristotle something is
“Good” if it fulfils its purpose.
A good knife is one which is
sharp and which cuts well.
 Achieving
the final purpose for a thing is
‘GOOD’ for that thing.
 Achieving
the final purpose for a human is
good for that human.
A
human life that is geared towards
achieving the final purpose is a good life.
A
person who strives to achieve this
goodness is a moral person.
 Aristotle
called the final
purpose for a human
Eudaimonia.
 This
is the greatest good
for a human.
 To
achieve the best life
you should aim your life
towards this.
All human life for
Aristotle is
purposeful. We aim
our life towards
things. Some of these
things are not good
for us. Eudaimonia as
the ultimate good
should be the aim for
us all.
 Eudaimonia
roughly translated is happiness,
however the concept is much more than
that.
A
better translation is ‘human flourishing’ –
the state a human must be in to fully flourish
as an individual.
 The
person who has achieved eudaimonia
will act completely morally, by choice, and
will also want to act morally.
 They
will choose the right actions but also
want those same actions.
 Eudamonia
is a state of action rather
than inaction.
 It
cannot be dipped into – you must
work hard in order to achieve it.
A
person in eudamonia is fully
content in their life and acts morally
all the time because they want to act
morally.
It also involves reason. This is because reason is unique to
humans and eudaimonia is the greatest human achievement.
You must BE A THINKER in order to be eudaimon
 This
concept of
eudaimonia is the final
cause for humanity.
 This
is because it is the
most fulfilling position to
be in as a human as
should be the final goal
of all action.
 If
this concept
can actually be
achieved is a
difficult
measure.
 It
is unsure
whether this is
an ideal or an
achievable goal.
 The
greatest good for a person is for
them to exist in the social and
political realm. Humans are social
animals and as such need to interact
with other humans.
 You
have to be involved in social
activities to be moral. You also have
to interested in the good of the
community. True happiness lies in
the interactions you have with
others.
 This
description of human nature is of
particular importance for virtue ethics.
 The
concept of eudamonia and the end
goal of humanity forms virtue ethics in to
a life study.
 The
virtuous life is an ongoing project that
you must work at all times. Its affect on
the individual is complete and your life
must be governed by it.
 The
goal is to achieve eudamonia.
 Eudamonia
is pursued for its own merits
rather than as an means to an end.
 “Eudamonia
is an end in itself.”

We achieve eudamonia through practise and
education. We are like Archers aiming for a target
of goodness.

Like any good archer you first need instruction.

Then you need practise.

Our instruction comes from education and our
parents.

We practice virtuous characteristics of life.

Aristotle believed that by practising virtuous
personality traits, such as; Charity, Justice, we
would eventually become like those
characteristics.
1.
Eudamonia is the end goal for humanity.
2.
The final cause.
3.
It is a state of happiness that involves action
4.
You must also be part of a community and
active in that community.
5.
You achieve eudamonia by practising
virtuous personality characteristics
6.
You learn virtuous personality traits through
education.
 Virtue
ethics can be seen as the ethics of
the average.
 It
decides which is the correct moral
virtue by deciding the middle point
between two extremes.
 For
Aristotle there were 12 moral virtues
that are qualities of character such as;
courage, liberality, temperance and
modesty.

He identified 12 moral virtues which are the
middle point between two moral vices.

The vices are in EXCESS or DEFICIENCY of the
virtue.

EXCESS------------VIRTUE-------------DEFICIENCY

So courage is one of the virtues.

DEFICIENCY If I do not have enough I am
coward

VICE – if I am excessively courageous then I may
become rash.
A
soldier in Iraq sees his mate fall in
battle. He could:
ACTION
EXCESS/DEFICIENCY
1.
Leave him
1.
Go chasing after him without
any regard for his own safety
1.
Organise a plan using other
members of his team to rescue
the fallen soldier.
VICE/VIRTUE
Which act rests on which end of the scale?
What is another example?
 This
theory of middle point is called the
doctrine of the mean.
 Because
virtue ethics is concerned with
personal moral journey it gives the
individual the freedom to act and to make
the choice.
 The
only person responsible for the moral
choice is the individual.
VICE OF DEFICIENCY
COWARDICE
VIRTUOUS MEAN
COURAGE
VICE OF EXCESS
RASHNESS
INSENSIBILITY
TEMPERANCE
ILLIBERALITY
LIBERALITY
PRODIGALITY
MUNIFICENCE/GIVING
VULGARLITY
PETTINESS
HUMBLE-MINDEDNESS
WANT OF AMBITION
SPIRITLESSNESS
SURLINESS
INTEMPERANCE
HIGH-MINDEDNESS
VAINGLORINESS
RIGHT AMBITION
OVER-AMBITION
GOOD TEMPER
FRIENDLINESS/CIVILITY
IRASCIBILITY
OBSEQUIOUSNESS
IRONICAL DEPRECATION
SINCERITY
BOASTFULNESS
BOORISHNESS
WITTINESS
BUFFOONERY
SHAMELESSNESS
MODESTY
BASHFULNESS
JUST RESENTMENT
SPITEFULNESS
CALLOUSNESS
1.
Who do virtues benefit? Explain your answer.
2.
Consider the school curriculum you are familiar
with.
a.
Which subjects cultivate excellences of the body
and which cultivate excellences of the will?
b.
What virtues does your school refer to in its
publicity (prospectus, website, etc) and how do
these correspond to the curriculum?
c.
Should schools have more virtue learning?
d.
What might a virtue school look like?
COURAGE
MODESTY
RIGHT
AMBITION
SINCERITY
CHARITY
 Virtue
theory does not seek justification
for its morality from an absolute source.
 It
does not need a God to justify why to
be moral.
 Rather
it gets its backing from humans
and is therefore, a humanistic theory.
 this
means that it has a lot of attraction
for non-religious people.
 Anybody
can follow this theory.
 It
has great potential in British society
where there is a moral vacuum caused by
the decline in religion and rise in
postmodernism.
 The
more people that become virtuous
the better our society will become.
 It
can also give direction and guidance to
those that are lost, adrift in empty space.

As well as being humanist it also allows for a
religious understanding of the theory.

As you can choose for your virtuous example a
religious person or you can be educated in
religious virtues.

Because it focuses on the type of person you
should be a person could aim to be more
“Christ-like”

As well as that many of the modern concepts
of virtue have come from Christian writers and
commentators over the years.

examples
 The
important acronym for a Christian,
WWJD becomes important here.
 What
A
would Jesus do?
Christian can therefore stay a Christian
but also be interested in virtue and seek to
maximise the virtues that Christianity
cherish.
 What
is virtue ethics?
 What is the virtuous mean? Sometimes called
the Golden Mean.
A virtue is an admirable quality seen to
produce success or benefit in a given
community.
 So, in virtue ethics virtues are admirable
qualities that lead to moral excellence!
 Modern day Virtue Ethics proponents include
Elizabeth Anscombe and Alasdair MacIntyre
 A philosophy first developed by ancient
Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322BCE),
who asked:
 What does it mean to live a good life?

Aristotle’s aim was for everyone to lead what he
called the ‘good life’ and achieve happiness
(eudaimonia).
 People are not just naturally ‘happy’ – you must
work for it.
 This good life could only be achieved by following
the virtues.
 If you follow the virtues then you are living
according to the Golden Mean (a balance
between extremes of behaviour)
 Today, different societies might have different
virtues that would lead to happiness (or more
modern ways of expressing the same things
Aristotle did!)

It is not enough to simply try and do ‘good stuff’
 If you do not understand why something is a
virtue, you will not be able to practice it
properly.
 Due to this, reason was also important to
Aristotle – you need to think through each
situation, and understand how you should act in
it (according to virtues)
 It is not easy to follow virtues – it requires
understanding and effort.
 If people genuinely want to be good they can
achieve it, through dedication and effort.
 This separates a virtuous man from a
non-virtuous man.




􀅋Involves all aspects of
human life
􀅋Compatible with
Christian ethics
􀅋Concentrates on what is
means to be a good
person





Virtue theory still depends
on moral absolutes and is no
more than a ‘disposition to
obey moral rules’
􀅋Does not give answers to
specific moral dilemmas e.g.
abortion
􀅋Over criticism of the
modern world and too
much faith in the ‘ancients’
􀅋Aristotle’s given moral and
intellectual virtues are
culture bound. He is racist,
sexist and ageist by today's
standards
 Virtue
ethics before the 20th century had
died out.
 however
it was noticed that there was a
distinct gap in the moral mindset that
normative ethics was not fulfilling.
A
fresh approach was needed.
 Elizabeth
Anscombe initiated
the modern revival of virtue
theory.
 She
was critical of moral
theories which allowed any
moral act of any kind if it
brought about some good end.
 She
argued that
consequentialist thinking has
come to dominate much of
modern philosophy.
 Anscombe
proposed a different
way of studying ethics.
 We
should think about the idea
of a virtue and human
flourishing, referring back to
Plato and Aristotle.

In 1981, Alasdair Macintyre (left)
wrote a book called ‘After Virtue’ in
which he argued that we should give
serious consideration to Aristotle’s
theory.

In his book, he traced the history of
virtue ethics and tried to establish a
system of virtue ethics for the
modern age.

His basic complaint was that modern
ethics put too much emphasis on
reason and not enough stress on
people, their characters and the
contexts of their lives.

Macintyre noticed that as societies developed 2,500
years ago, so different virtues developed too.

In the age of Homer a poet who told the story of
(the Iliad and the Odyssey), the following virtues
were paramount;


Physical strength

Courage

Cunning

Friendship
These are known as the HOMERIC VIRTUES


Eventually, As cities (the polis) developed, life slowly
became more civilized.
Aristotle developed his theory of virtues for the city of
Athens and his virtues became known as the Athenian
Virtues. They were (briefly) as follows:







Courage
Friendship
Justice: retributive (getting what you deserve) and
distributive (making sure that the goods of society are
fairly distributed)
Temperance
Wisdom
The emphasis on strength and cunning, needed in time
of war, was gone.
Macintyre argued that the Athenian virtues of
Aristotle were the most complete.
 For
Macintyre, the problems with ethics
began during the Enlightenment, a period
of time during the 17th and 18th Centuries
when Science became more important for
discovering truth.
 It was thought that a single, rational
cause for morality could be discovered
and thinkers such as Hume and Kant
attempted to do this.

Macintyre realised that whilst the theorists in
universities were trying to work morality out,
society still needed virtuous people in everyday
life

people who run jumble sales to raise money for
the local hospital for example.

Macintyre argued that despite the theories of
people like Kant and Hume, the virtues have
lived on.

What’s more, society depends for its very
existence, upon people who exhibit the
virtues.
 Macintyre
argued that living a virtuous
life depended upon
1.
getting into the habit of being moral
2.
and of striving towards being virtuous
 He
argued that this can give life an
overall purpose and meaning.
 The
virtues for Macintyre, are any
human quality which helps us to achieve
the ‘goods’ in life.
HABIT
INTENTION
Courage: courage is very important as
it helps us to face up to challenges
that may come our way.
Wisdom: this is not
knowledge: it is the
ability to know how to
act in the right way in
particular situations.
Justice: this is a very important
virtue. Justice is fairness and it
is the art of giving someone what
they deserve or merit. To be
unjust is to be unfair.
Industriousness: hard work.
Patience
Hope: being
optimistic.
Temperance: this prevents us
from acting rashly; losing our
temper for example.
 Underneath
the virtues must be the
good will of the person.
 To
be virtuous, one must desire to do
virtuous things, rather than do them
involuntarily.
 An
act is not virtuous if it is not
intended.
Is this
similar to
Aristotle?

Macintyre suggests that the three most important
virtues are:



justice
courage
honesty

We can only achieve moral excellence through
practising these three.

They are core virtues that help to prevent
organisations and institutions from becoming morally
corrupt.

It is largely through institutions that traditions,
cultures and morality spread: if these institutions are
corrupt, then vices become widespread.
1.
Answer the questions a-e on page 37
2.
And design an instruction manual on
‘How to be a good person’