1. Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics
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2. The Ethics of Ethos (character)
Virtue Ethics
The Ethics of Ethos (character)
Peter Baron
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3. Aims of this presentation
To understand what is meant by virtue (arete)
To consider Aristotle’s goal, the supreme good of flourishing (eudaimonia)
To discover the importance of practical wisdom (phronesis) for the good life
To evaluate virtue ethics
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4. Action Habit of character Action
Ethical Theories
Teleological
Virtue
Deontological
Ends
Consequences
Calculation
Character
Habits
Living
Rules
Absolutes
Obedience
Action
Habit of character
Action
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5. We grow into the good life
“The soul must first be conditioned by good habits, as land must be cultivated by good seed”.
Nicomachean Ethics
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6. What Is Virtue? What exactly can we define as virtue?
In this next exercise you will need to pick 5 of the possible characteristics of a virtuous person
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7. Exercise 1: Pick 5 Friendship Justice Courage Temperance Loyalty
Fortitude (perseverance)
Honesty
Generosity
Humour
Ambition
Wealth
Humility
Faithfulness
Hope
Agape (unconditional love)
Anger
Obedience
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8. In the next few slides you will see some characters……..
What virtue or virtues would you associate with each?
What does the variety of virtues tell us about virtue ethics?
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12. Conclusion Virtue = skill or excellence
Rooney is a “virtuous” footballer
Jesus perfected virtue eg “perfect love casts out fear”, “greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 14:13)
So we distinguish between moral virtues and intellectual (or other virtues, like footballing skills), developed by training to produce excellence.
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13. There are two categories of virtue
Intellectual Virtues
Intellectual virtues are virtues of the mind.
Such as the ability to understand, reason and make sound judgement
Intellectual virtues may be taught, like logic and mathematics by teachers.
Moral Virtues
Not innate, rather they are acquired through repetition and practice, like learning a music instrument.
It is through the practice and the doing that one becomes a type of person.
Over a period of time virtues become second nature.
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14. Virtue summary Habit of Character (arete in Greek)
Involving both Feeling and Action
Seeks the mean between excess and deficiency
Promotes human flourishing (eudaimonia in Greek)
Intellectual and moral
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15. Two Examples On Virtue
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16. Rudolph Giulliani
“I think the most fundamental change occurred when I dealt with the prostate cancer (age 55). That was the first time that required me to say, “ I am going to die. Not necessarily of cancer, but I am gonna die.” So you realize you’d better do something with your life that makes you happy with yourself. I decided that politics was not my whole life.”
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17. Or which goals will fulfil us and make us flourish?
The lesson?
Mayor Giuliani (Mayor of New York on 9/11) discovered a need to rebalance his life after a serious illness. He was asking the virtue ethics question: what makes the good life?
Or which goals will fulfil us and make us flourish?
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18. 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.
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19. Exercise: 2 What is happiness?
In this next slide the author, James O’Toole wonders if Aristotle is wrong in arguing that we only find happiness by pursuing the virtues of the good character.
How would you define happiness…and what would your answer be to the following quote?
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20. An adventure in faraway climes
Weren’t those famous gurus the very people the world called successful? How on Earth was I to find happiness if I ended up being a nobody… and the impoverished one at that? Ergo, I concluded that Aristotle must be wrong. And everything I read in magazines and watched on the television argued against Aristotle’s conclusions. According to conventional wisdom, happiness is found, variously, by way of:
A new job
A new house
A new city
A new mate
An adventure in faraway climes
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21. Exercise 3: What is our end or telos?
How would Aristotle reply to the previous view that life was a pursuit of certain material and personal ends?
(Clue: he would talk about building habits of character in order to flourish).
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22. How To Achieve Eudaimonia
Aristotle defined Good as something that fulfils its ends purpose
The Telos of humanity is to be rational
The ergon (function) of practical reason (phronesis) is to identify virtue
“The good for human beings is an activity of the soul in accordance with arete”
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23. Aristotle: eudaimonia and the “complete life”
“We state the function of man to be a certain kind of life, and this to be an activity or actions of the soul implying a rational principle, and the function of a good man to be the good and noble performance of these, and any action is well performed when it is performed in accordance with the appropriate excellence: if this is the case, human good turns out to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue, and if there is more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete. But we must add 'in a complete life.' For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.” Nicomachean Ethics Book 1 part 6
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24. 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
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25. Golden Mean and eudaimonia
Golden Mean does not entail a denial of emotions.
Rather what is at issue is how, and to what extent, reason permits the expression of emotions.
Aristotle developed Plato’s three part teaching of the soul (reason, emotions, appetites) by attributing virtues to each feature.
Reason = Phronesis
(Wisdom)
Emotions = Courage
Appetite = Temperance
(Self–control)
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26. Phronesis or practical wisdom
A virtue of our rational selves
It means judgement or prudence
It is applied to our irrational appetites and desires to make them “good”
Phronesis is vital to achieve eudaimonia (flourishing) or perfection of character over the whole of our lives
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27. Aristotle’s argument
Our emotions and desires are irrational and need to be controlled by reason.
In order to control them, we need to apply the moral virtue of practical wisdom.
We need to find the mid-point or mean between two vices.
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28. The Golden Mean – a balance point
courage
Cowardice
Recklessness
Deficiency
Excess
Mean
One must find the right balance between Cowardice and Recklessness… Courage
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29. Applying the mean To ourselves (see next slide)
To our family life (wider relationships)
To our communal life (eg politics).
Aristotle saw friendship as a key virtue to build the city state (the polis in Greek)
What other virtues do you think would cause the polis (politics) to flourish?
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30. Virtues and Spheres of Existence
Sphere of existence
Deficiency
Mean
Excess
Pride
Self-respect
Self-appreciation
Servility Undervaluing
Low self image
Arrogance
Egotism
vanity
Attitude to self
Right anger
Forgiveness
Empathy
Apathy
Doormat
Coldness
Revenge
Grudge
Resentment
Attitude Towards
Others
Indifference
Betrayal
Lies
Friendship
Loyalty
Honesty
Nosiness
Captiveness
Bluntness
Attitude Towards Our Common Life
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31. Phronesis builds character
“Virtue is concerned with emotions and actions, and here excess is an error and deficiency a fault, whereas the mean is commendable..determined as the prudent man (phronimos) would determine it”.
Nicomachean Ethics
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32. Aristotle's Concept Of Life And Death
Phronesis = practical wisdom
Moral – by training 1 3
Eudaimonia
Old Age
Sophia = skills mastered
Birth 4 2
Intellectual – by education
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33. In other words…..
We build character through experience of life (the blue line goes round in circles as we reflect on our choices)
We also learn by EMULATION (following our heroes) and EDUCATION (being taught).
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34. Exercise 3: virtues and vices
On a piece of paper draw three columns.
Write Aristotle’s list of virtues (next slide) in the middle column.
Look up what they mean and decide on a vice of deficiency and a vice of excess for each.
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35. Aristotle’s list of virtues
Courage Patience
Temperance Modesty
Honesty Magnificence
Anger Magnanimity
Wittiness Ambition
Generosity
Friendliness
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36. Key question: Would our list be the same?
Do any of Aristotle’s virtues surprise you?
What does this list suggest about the relative nature of Virtue Ethics?
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37. Three weaknesses of virtue ethics
Culturally captive
The virtues reflect middle class Greek values.
“Ethics appeals to the respectable middle-aged..and has been used to suppress the enthusiasm and ardour of the young”. Bertrand Russell
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38. Three weaknesses contd
Aristotle’s virtues cannot explain weakness of will.
Experiments like the Milgram experiment show that, under pressure, individuals behave in very unvirtuous ways (such as delivering deadly electric shocks).
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39. Three weaknesses contd.
Virtues cannot be separated from ends and consequences.
You can be a courageous Nazi, or a loyal Nazi, but if the end is evil then the virtue itself becomes evil.
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40. Three strengths
In stressing character and the end of the good life, virtue ethics goes behind the action and escapes the sterility of utilitarianism or Kantian ethics.
Character lies behind action and so virtues are key in determining good actions.
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41. Three strengths contd. Virtues have a social dimension.
The Greeks believed that it is impossible for the individual to flourish without the community. To the Greeks, friendship was a key virtue: they avoided the individualism inherent in (for example) utilitarianism.
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42. Three strengths contd.
Virtue ethics sees eudaimonia as the ultimate telos or end.
Eudaimonia means flourishing, and is a much richer idea than happiness or pleasure. It is something you grow into over your life as you exercise the skill of phronesis (practical wisdom).
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