Download Virtue Theory

Information, Knowledge and
Wisdom
 Where is life lost in living
 Where is wisdom lost in knowledge
 Where is knowledge lost in information
-----T.S.Eliot
 Facts and information are gathered.
 Knowledge is understood to be some thing that can
be taught.
 Wisdom is something whose elements are
understanding, insight, good judgment, the
capacity to live well and guiding the conduct well.
VIRTUE THEORY
 Aristotle, an early Greek Thinker proposed
one of the most influential theories of
ethics
called Virtue Theory. According to this
theory “virtues” or “morally good habits”
develop only through training and
repetition.
 Just as individuals develop other kinds of
practical abilities through practice and
repetition, so also he argued humans acquire
their moral ability when they are taught and
habituated by their families and communities
to think feel, and behave in morally
appropriate ways.
 Why be moral? What a human being should
be. We all have reason to support good
practice since we all want our lives to go well
- our own lives - but this is not necessarily a
selfish want - typically, we see our own lives
as going well only if lives of our close friends
parents, children and other group members
go well.
 The moral virtues are just those traits of
character we need in order to have best
chance of making our lives go well.
 Virtues relate to fundamental universal
facts about human nature and conditions of
living tolerably, they are of critical
importance for all people everywhere.
 Courage, Temperance, Generosity, Self-control,
Honesty, Sociability, Modesty, and Fairness or
Justice are all virtues.
 He claims that much more attention must be paid
to people’s character .
 Our behavior reflects our being. We are what we
repeatedly do. Character is measured in the
routine challenges of work and private life– in
small choices we make between what we would
like to do and what we should do.
 The core of Aristotle’s account of moral
virtue is his doctrine of the mean.
According to this doctrine, moral virtues
are desire regulating character traits, which
are at a mean between more extreme
character traits (or vices). For example in
response to the natural emotion of fear, we
should develop the virtuous character trait
of courage.
 The virtue of courage, then, lies at the mean
between the excessive extreme of rashness, and the
deficient extreme of cowardice. Aristotle is quick
to point out that the virtuous mean is not a strict
mathematical mean between two extremes.
 For example, if eating 100 apples is too many, and
eating zero apples is too little, this does not imply
that we should eat 50 apples, which is the
mathematical mean. Instead, the mean is rationally
determined, based on the relative merits of the
situation.
 That is, “as a prudent man would determine it.”
He concludes that it is difficult to live the virtuous
life primarily because it is often difficult to find the
mean between the extremes. Action is the
response made to desire, and here, Aristotle insist
one can respond too much or too little. The correct
response lies between extremes. This is the
doctrine of mean.
 In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle went on to work
out the means, excess, and deficiencies for various
virtues.
 A rational assessment of each new situation and a
choice made on the light of new conception.
 What is needed in addition to intellectual
excellence is moral excellence.
 The following table summarizes Aristotle’s
discussion of some of these virtues:
Vice (Excess)
Virtue( Mean)
Vice (Deficit)
Type of feeling or action:
Fear: Too much fear ( i.e. cowardice) Right amount of
fear. ( i.e. courage)
Too little fear (i.e.
foolhardiness)
Confidence: Too much confidence (i.e. recklessness).
Right amount of confidence ( i.e. courage)
Too
little confidence ( i.e. cowardice)
Pleasure:
Too much pleasure (i.e. Licentiousness/
self- indulgence). Right amount of pleasure (i.e.
Generosity) Too little pleasure (i.e. Stinginess)
Large scale giving :(i.e. Vulgarity) right amount of giving
(i.e. magnificence) too little giving (i.e. Being cheap)
Claiming honor:
(i.e. Humility)
Too much (i.e. Vanity). Right amount
(i.e. Pride vice)
Anger: Toomuch (i.e.Short temperedness). Right amount
(i.e. Good temper) Too little anger (i.e.
incredibility”/apathy)
Retribution for wrongdoing: Injustice
Justice Injustice
Social Interaction: Obsequiousness Friendliness
Surliness
Giving amusement:
Boorishness
Buffoonery Wittiness
 Is there any conflict between living well and Being in
Business?
There is no inherent conflict between the two.
Aristotle says these two concepts are embedded in
community and the ultimate aim is to live a good life.
The main issues here is what is that living well
amounts to?
 Aristotelian approach to business is that a good
corporation is one that is not only profitable but also
provides a morally rewarding environment in which
good people can develop not only their skills but,
also their virtues