Virtue Ethics I.Virtue Ethics was first developed by Aristotle in his work Nichomachean Ethics Aristotle did not attempt to create a theoretical basis for the good such as would later be done by Kant and the Utilitarians. Aristotle sought to determine what constituted the good life by observing the character of those generally considered to be leading good and bad lives. Thus the key difference between Utilitarianism/Kant and Virtue ethics demonstrated with an example: Suppose you are trying to teach a child that stealing is wrong. Kant: Stealing is wrong because it violates our duty to respect the property rights of others Utilitarian: Stealing is wrong because it does not result in the greatest good for the greatest number Virtue ethics: Stealing is wrong because it corrupts our character. II. Happiness and its achievement **Aristotle concluded that the good life for man centered on one characteristic - Happiness. **The Greek word for this concept is Eudaemonia and it is perhaps better translated as well being or flourishing. Aristotle makes it clear that Happiness is not feeling happy or pleasure. But what exactly is Happiness? Defining this concept is one of the foremost goals of the Nichmachean ethics - **The definition he arrives at is Happiness is an activity of the soul in accord with perfect virtue. **This implies that happiness is not something static, but rather a dynamic, an activity. **Thus for Aristotle, happiness is not a destination that one arrives at, but rather a constant activity. **This is an important concept for his ethical system, as it does not focus on discreet acts but on the overall character one creates. **Thus happiness is something that accompanies certain activities - a way of doing things. It is a way of engaging in the various activities of life such as eating, working and so fourth.
**So Aristotle s answer to the core ethical question What is the good life? is the good life is a life of happiness and thus people ought to behave so as to achieve happiness. But what does this mean? III. Excellence (Arete) Aristotle maintains that all things have a function. A thing is good, and happiness is achieved, when it excels at its function. For example, an eye is good if it sees well, if a violinist is good, then she plays the violin well: We might achieve this by ascertaining the specific function of man. In the case of flute players, sculptors and craftsmen - indeed all who have some function or activity - good and excellent reside in their function. Now the same will be true of man, if he has a peculiar function to himself. Do builders and cobblers have functions and activities, but man not, by nature being idle? Or, just as the eye, hand, foot and every part of the body has a function, similarly, is one to attribute a function to man over and above these? In that case, what will it be? (NE 1.7) Aristotle argues that man has a function: The function of man is activity of soul in accordance with reason, or at least not without reason. Thus doing what is is characteristic for humans to do, living in accord with reason, and doing it in the most excellent way, constitutes the good for humans, and for Aristotle, achievement of this good is synonymous with happiness. It should be noted that happiness is not possible without excellence (arete)- so pursuit of excellence becomes the key to happiness. IV. Virtue How then, does one achieve excellence? One does so by rationally cultivating excellences, which Aristotle refers to as virtues. **But what exactly is a virtue? To posses a virtue is to have a disposition or habit that keeps impulse and emotion from leading one s actions astray - A virtue thus is a disposition or a habit toward excellence. **Thus a person who
possesses the virtue of bravery has a disposition to act in a courageous manner - such courageousness occurs not as a result of some fierce internal struggle (an SFA, for example) but rather occurs naturally because his character has been conditioned to act bravely **Keep in mind, these virtues or excellences are not innate - they must be learned and practiced until they become habit. (some actions lead to virtue, others detract from it). V. The role of reason **The good life is one of happiness and happiness is achieved through cultivating excellence or virtue But how is this achieved? **The key is Aristotle s doctrine of the mean. Aristotle maintains that characteristics that lead to happiness are the mean between two vices. **The virtuous person is one who rationally discovers the mean between vices given our circumstances. **For example take courageousness. Aristotle would argue that courage is the mean between cowardice(a state which feels fear too strongly) and rashness(a state that feels fear not sufficiently). Only the courageous person has the kind of character that allows him to feel fear to the right degree at the right time. **Keep in mind that this mean will not be the same for everyone. Consider the virtue of courage. If I (Mr. Haydock) am walking in a dark alley and suddenly feel a pointed object in my back and hear the words your money or your life, what would be the appropriate thing for me to do? Given my lack of martial training, attempting to spin around and disarm the attacker would be rash - and likely result in disaster. On the other hand, were Chuck Norris were to face the same situation, if he simply handed over his wallet we would consider him (given his extensive training, expertise and prowess)a coward **Thus the mean is relative to us in our particular situation. **But this relativism is based on external circumstances - not the judgement of the individual. The individual, using reason, judges what is right in a particular circumstance - but this judgement does not determine what is right or wrong - the objective circumstances do. Thus the more excellent we are at applying reason - the more likely our actions will be right. **In this way, Aristotle argued that being happy was like being well fed. Obviously this means not to gorge or to starve. But it also means that,
depending upon who you are, where you live, what kind of work you do the answer will vary. For Aristotle, there are many good lives - the good life is dependent upon circumstance. In a way, Aristotle s idea is based on a non-relative principle (the mean), but the application of that principle is relative to circumstances **Thus, finding the mean is a function of experience, not simply rationality. **Thus for Aristotle the good life is a life of happiness, and happiness is achieved when people act moderately - when they strive for the mean between two extremes. **Aristotle s virtues can be described as a propensity to think,desire, feel and act in an integrated manner. Aristotle argues that the ethical ideal is not one does not do the right thing to maximize his pleasure (egoism/ utilitarianism), nor the person who does the right thing out of duty (Kant), but rather the person who cultivates a character in which want and ought become one in the same - Where desire is to do what is right. VI. Strengths of Virtue Ethics By concentrating on moral character rather than abstract rules, virtue ethics stresses the importance of nurture and education in making ethical people. Ethics thus becomes a practical concern and not one rooted in theory (its thus more accessible) Thus virtue ethics provides us with a practical moral frame work that squares with common sense. Virtue ethics takes proper account of what motivates people to act in a moral fashion Three sisters call there mom on her birthday. The First is a utilitarian and she calls because it maximizes general welfare. The Second is a Kantian and she call because it is her duty. In both cases the action seems callous and cold. The third sister is a practitioner of virtue ethics, and she calls because doing something thoughtful for her mother makes her happy. Which daughter would you want? Virtue ethics allows us to give weight to special relationships within our ethical deliberations. Kant and the utilitarians requires us to be strictly impartial, but in many cases, such impartiality seems forced or even cruel. Virtue ethics allows us to take into consideration to moral obligations that arise from specific situations
VII. Weaknesses Virtue ethics, with its focus on character creation, does not offer us answers to complex moral issues such as is abortion right or wrong, or when is it acceptable to kill? Virtue ethics recommends that we do what a completely virtuous person would do, but how do we identify the completely virtuous person? There are two possible answers to this question. 1)If society accepts the person as a role model 2) develop some sort of objective criteria for determining what is completely virtuous. The first seems to slide into relativism, the second is likely impossible (and to an extent violates Aristotle's idea that virtue is based on circumstance) Another question is, how does a virtuous person decide what to do in specific circumstances. The most obvious response is that the virtuous person must appeal to general moral rules. But then this means virtue ethics cannot stand on its own - perhaps it might be a component of an ethical theory but not a complete theory in and of itself