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VIRTUE ETHICS THE ETHICS OF ETHOS Ethical Theories Teleological Virtue Deontological Ends Ethos Rules Consequences Habits Absolutes Calculation Living Simplicity Action Disposition Action WHY SHOULD I BE MORAL? BECAUSE OF MY CHARACTER! ARETOLOGY • Arete - Excellence, Strength, Virtue • Aretaic Ethics - Strength-Centred Ethics • Emphasizes Virtues (Strengths) and Vices (Weaknesses) of Character • Not “What Should I Do?” (both Deontology and Teleology) but • “What Kind of Person Should I Be?” ORIGINS OF VIRTUE ETHICS: • The theory of virtue ethics originates in Ancient Greece, though some connections can be drawn as far back as Ancient China. • In Greek, virtue (arête) means ‘excellence’. • Socrates once claimed: “it’s the greatest good for a man to discuss virtue all day … on the grounds that the unexamined life is not worth living” (The Apology). SOCRATES/PLATO’S THEORY OF VIRTUE • • • • • Virtue is supposed to be a kind of knowledge; It is identified with wisdom (sophia); Wisdom is both necessary and sufficient for virtue; Knowledge about virtue is somehow analogous to mathematical knowledge; Both kinds of knowledge are the result of a selfreflective process called ‘recollection’. A PROBLEM OF KNOWLEDGE: • • • • Since virtue concerns action, it is possible to act well without knowing how to act well; As long as someone has the right belief about which actions are good, he or she will act virtuously; But belief without knowledge is unstable and fleeting; This is why it is necessary to have, not just true belief, but knowledge, which is justified true belief. ARISTOTLE • Some people believe that nature makes people good, others believe that it is habit, and still others say that it is teaching. Experience shows that logical arguments and teaching are not effective in most cases. The soul of the students must have been conditioned by good habits just as land must be cultivated to nurture seed. For a person whose life is guided by emotion will not listen to a rational argument, nor will he understand it. ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS • 384-322 B.C. • The Nicomachean Ethics • Two Kinds of Persons • Continent: • • Do what is right, but not necessarily because they want to Temperate: • Do what is right because they want to; the more holistic person PERSON CENTRED • The “ethics of dilemma” approach to morality forgets an essential part of ethics – THE PERSON’S CHARACTER and how personal moral growth is encouraged We are not concerned to know what goodness is but how to become good people, since otherwise our enquiry would be useless. Aristotle The ethical condition is not the condition of having a certain right theory; rather the ethical condition is having a certain character. Alasdair Macintyre VIRTUE AND CHARACTER • To be virtuous is to have a virtuous character. • Character is an engrained habit or disposition to act in certain ways. • Virtuous action must come from a virtuous character (as opposed to some external force). • The virtuous person wants to act virtuously and does so for that reason. VIRTUE AND CHARACTER • To be virtuous is to have a virtuous character. • Character is an engrained habit or disposition to act in certain ways. • Virtuous action must come from a virtuous character (as opposed to some external force). • The virtuous person wants to act virtuously and does so for that reason. THE GOAL OF HUMAN EXISTENCE • Eudaimonia • Flourishing, Happiness • A Lifelong Pursuit, accomplished • • Rationally, through theoretical wisdom and contemplation Functionally, through practical wisdom and politics EUDAIMONIA Eudaimonia, or 'happiness', is the supreme goal of human life. Aristotle believed that everything has a purpose - the good for a knife is to cut, and a good knife is one that cuts well. In the same way, Eudaimonia is the 'good' for a person. Aristotle draws a distinction between superior and subordinate aims. Why do I study ethics? Maybe to get a qualification. I get the qualification to get a good job, and I want a good job because... These are subordinate aims. At some point you stop and say 'because that would make me happy' - and this becomes the superior aim. 'Eudaimonia' is the end goal or purpose behind everything we do as people, and is desired for its own sake. THE GOAL OF HUMAN EXISTENCE & EUDAIMONIA • Aimed at the “perfect happiness” which is the perfect activity • An excellence in any activity in accordance with the nature of that activity • Thus, “Human happiness is the activity of the soul in accordance with perfect virtue (excellence)”. (I.8; Pojman, 394). INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL VIRTUES • Aristotle distinguish between intellectual and moral virtues: – Intellectual virtues can be taught formally. They involve knowledge and understanding of causes and ends (the why and how). • – Examples: theoretical wisdom, scientific knowledge, insight or understanding, technical skill or art, and practical wisdom. Moral virtues can only be acquired through practice and experience. They involve acquiring habits of character and have to do with the appropriate management of emotions. • Examples: temperance or moderation, justice, courage or fortitude, generosity, friendliness, wittiness, truthfulness, etc. HABIT: HOW TO ACQUIRE VIRTUE • • • • With respect to the moral virtues, Aristotle thinks we “learn by doing”. Virtue requires discipline and practice. Repeated virtuous actions help to engrain the character traits or dispositions that make a person virtuous. Making virtuous decisions requires good moral judgment (reason), so there is an essential, rational component as well. AN ANALOGY: • • • • • One of the easiest ways to think of how to acquire moral character is by comparing it to skills like the ability to play a sport or a musical instrument. A person who practices hard and trains her body acquires the skills to be able to do that skill well. The skilled athlete or musician is also the one who is better able to practice, reinforcing her skill. The skilled athlete or musician actually physically changes his or her body through repetitious actions. In the same way, the virtuous person finds it easier to act virtuously; she actually changes her physical and emotional characteristics. MORAL VIRTUES The good life involves developing a good character. Moral virtues are cultivated by habit. To become a generous person, I must get into the habit of being generous. Put another way, it is not enough to be told that I should be patient. To become patient, I need to practice patience. It is very difficult to translate some of Aristotle's moral virtues. 'Liberality' and 'Magnificence' (popular in many translations) both seem to mean generosity. The following list is an attempted translation: courage, temperance, big-heartedness, generosity, high-mindedness, right ambition, patience, truthfulness, wittiness, friendliness, modesty, righteous indignation INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES Intellectual virtues are qualities of mind developed through instruction. They are: practical skill, knowledge, common sense, intuition, wisdom; resourcefulness, understanding, judgement, cleverness CARDINAL VIRTUES The cardinal virtues are temperance, courage, wisdom and justice. These virtues work together, and it would not be enough to have one of these alone. Temperance and courage are moral virtues - we get into the habit of acting bravely. We learn self-control by practicing restraint. Developing right judgement requires training - we are educated in the skill of weighing up a situation. In out courts, judges don't just learn on the job, they require years of training before they earn the title 'Justice'. Wisdom sits above all of the other virtues, the culmination of years of learning. THE GOLDEN MEAN Cowardice ? Deficiency Recklessness Excess Mean One must find the right balance between Cowardice and Recklessness… Courage NICHOMACHEAN ETHICS, 3.7 What is terrible is not the same for all men; but we say there are things terrible even beyond human strength. These, then, are terrible to every one- at least to every sensible man; but the terrible things that are not beyond human strength differ in magnitude and degree, and so too do the things that inspire confidence. Now the brave man is as dauntless as man may be. Therefore, while he will fear even the things that are not beyond human strength, he will face them as he ought and as the rule directs, for honour's sake; for this is the end of virtue. But it is possible to fear these more, or less, and again to fear things that are not terrible as if they were. 8/14/15 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman EN, 2 Of the faults that are committed one consists in fearing what one should not, another in fearing as we should not, another in fearing when we should not, and so on; and so too with respect to the things that inspire confidence. The man, then, who faces and who fears the right things and from the right motive, in the right way and from the right time, and who feels confidence under the corresponding conditions, is brave; for the brave man feels and acts according to the merits of the case and in whatever way the rule directs. 8/14/15 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman EN, 3 Now the end of every activity is conformity to the corresponding state of character. This is true, therefore, of the brave man as well as of others. But courage is noble. Therefore the end also is noble; for each thing is defined by its end. Therefore it is for a noble end that the brave man endures and acts as courage directs. Of those who go to excess he who exceeds in fearlessness has no name (we have said previously that many states of character have no names), but he would be a sort of madman or insensible person if he feared nothing, neither earthquakes nor the waves, as they say the Celts do not; while the man who exceeds in confidence about what really is terrible is rash. The rash man, however, is also thought to be boastful and only a pretender to courage; at all events, as the brave man is with regard to what is terrible, so the rash man wishes to appear; and so he imitates him in situations where he can. 8/14/15 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman EN, 4 Hence also most of them are a mixture of rashness and cowardice; for, while in these situations they display confidence, they do not hold their ground against what is really terrible. The man who exceeds in fear is a coward; for he fears both what he ought not and as he ought not, and all the similar characterizations attach to him. He is lacking also in confidence; but he is more conspicuous for his excess of fear in painful situations. The coward, then, is a despairing sort of person; for he fears everything. 8/14/15 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman EN, 5 The brave man, on the other hand, has the opposite disposition; for confidence is the mark of a hopeful disposition. The coward, the rash man, and the brave man, then, are concerned with the same objects but are differently disposed towards them; for the first two exceed and fall short, while the third holds the middle, which is the right, position; and rash men are precipitate, and wish for dangers beforehand but draw back when they are in them, while brave men are keen in the moment of action, but quiet beforehand. 8/14/15 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman EN, 6 As we have said, then, courage is a mean with respect to things that inspire confidence or fear, in the circumstances that have been stated; and it chooses or endures things because it is noble to do so, or because it is base not to do so. But to die to escape from poverty or love or anything painful is not the mark of a brave man, but rather of a coward; for it is softness to fly from what is troublesome, and such a man endures death not because it is noble but to fly from evil. 8/14/15 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman THE MOST IMPORTANT VIRTUE Phronesis/Prudence in Virtue Ethics it is this with which the person addresses the situation before analysing what would be the virtuous thing to do! ALASDAIR MACINTYRE • After Virtue 1981 – Modern ethical debate is “INTERMINABLE” – Goes on and on and on – Has no “TERMINUS” – Focus on ethical language etc. removes moral philosophy from people’s lives. – We are in… – Modern Dark Ages – Modern Moral Vacuum – Words such as good, moral, no longer have any meaning • Aristotle’s Virtues need to be reasserted in modern society e.g. Education, Politics etc. • All that we have today are PRACTICAL ‘virtues’ geared entirely to success & pleasure • “Morality is simply the expression of personal preference in a culture which has abandoned the virtues and rejected the sense of community.” It follows from this that different societies have different values. For MacIntyre, virtues change over time. This can be seen by looking at different societies, and MacIntyre explains the reasons why virtues change. The Homeric virtues included physical strength, courage, cunning and friendship. In small tribal communities that could be attacked at any time, cunning, strength, even ruthlessness may be virtuous. As villages developed into large cities, these virtues changed. The Athenian virtues included Justice and Temperance, and physical strength was no longer so important. Whereas cunning used to be prized, more value would now be put on Wisdom, the sort of understanding of human behaviour that could navigate through complex conflicts that might arise with so many people living together. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL GOODS MacIntyre calls the virtues or qualities of character 'internal goods'. He says we also place value on 'external goods'. Aristotle would have agreed here. The idea that we could be 'penniless but happy' did not come from Aristotle. He would have said that having good food, a decent place to live and clothes to wear is all part of the eudaimon life. Put another way, Aristotle would ask if the house, clothes and food would make a poor person happier. If they would, they must be part of eudaimonia, as eudaimonia is as good as it gets. Physical well-being, food, clothing, housing etc. are called 'external goods'. MacIntyre also talks of 'practices'. He says that certain activities, such as painting, the opera etc., are good in and of themselves and not merely because of the pleasure (i.e. other goods) that they lead to. To summarise MacIntyre in one sentence (which is exactly the sort of thing he hates), he says that we value different qualities of character, practices and physical things, and that by understanding historical and social context, we can understand ethical issues that arise. • • • • • • VE can be a little Difficult to grasp at first So if at first you Don’t succeed Try and remember that VE has 10 As! TRY TO REMEMBER 10 AS • • • • • • ACTION • AGENT • ARISTOTLE • ARETE AQUINAS ANTI ANSCOMBE ALISDAIR “AFTER VIRTUE” • A LA MODE REVISION HELP: REMEMBER THE 10 AS OF VE 1. ACTION – the Deontological and Teleological approach to ethics is based on action, on how you answer the question: “What is it right or obligatory to do?” 2. AGENT – the VE approach is to begin by focussing on the person as whole, on what makes a good person, on how a person can become better, on the agent who performs the actions. REVISION HELP: REMEMBER THE 10 AS OF VE 3. ARISTOTLE – VE has its roots in the writings of Aristotle. 4. ARETE – In his Ethics Aristotle described how what was needed to be a good human being was to develop excellence – arete. Virtues are examples of human excellence. Hence VE is sometimes called Aretaic Ethics. REVISION HELP: REMEMBER THE 10 AS OF VE 5. AQUINAS – In the 13th century, Aquinas confirmed the importance of VE by making it Christian. 6. ANTI- – From the time of the Enlightenment onwards, an anti-VE approach developed as morality was thought of in terms of emotion (Hume and later Ayer), universal moral law (Kant), greatest happiness for the greatest number (Bentham and Mill). REVISION HELP: REMEMBER THE 10 AS OF VE 7. ANSCOMBE – In 1958 Elizabeth Anscombe urged a return to Aristotle arguing that “good” when applied to an action is nonsense – it must be applied to the agent. 8. ALISDAIR – Anscombe’s writing was followed by Alisdair MacIntyre who condemned the whole approach to ethics since the enlightenment. REVISION HELP: REMEMBER THE 10 AS OF VE 9. AFTER VIRTUE – MacIntyre’s theory was published in the book ‘After Virtue’ 1981. He argued that a rediscovery of Virtues is essential to counter the modern moral “dark ages” which society has entered. 10. A LA MODE – following MacIntyre’s work it would be true to say that VE has become increasingly popular and influential. It is the ethical theory a la mode. WHAT IT IS NOT! VE is not Action centred Therefore VE is not • • • • • Deontological Teleological It is an approach to Ethics which needs a different perspective