Virtue Ethics: The goal of life is well-being (happiness) and the means to attain it is by acquiring a virtuous character.

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 self-reflective 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.

Practical Wisdom or Prudence With Aristotle, we distinguish the kind of wisdom necessary for ethical action from wisdom in the sciences. The wisdom necessary for action is “practical wisdom” (phronêsis) or good moral judgment. Aquinas calls this “prudence” (prudentia). Judgment applies to a range of different situations, which is why it requires experience to acquire. Good judgment enables a person to make the right sort of decision in the right kind of circumstances at the right time.

Intellectual and Moral Virtues Aristotle and Aquinas 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.

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.

Character continued: Dispositions or character traits are to be understood broadly, so that a virtuous person is virtuous in many different situations. For example, an honest person not only tells the truth, but doesn’t cheat, respects contracts, obeys the laws, and doesn’t misrepresent him/herself. And the honest person does this because he or she prefers to be honest, not because he/she wants to avoid some bad consequence. For this reason, it is unwise to attribute a virtue to someone on the basis of one or a few actions.

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.

Character and the Will Aquinas emphasizes the importance of will in his account of the moral virtues. For Aquinas, even if a person has the right characteristics and is inclined by nature to do the right thing, that person still has a choice either to follow commands of reason or not. The individual, human will is right when it conforms to divine will. Divine will is the ultimate lawgiver: God ordained right and wrong, good and bad, when God created the world. So, failure to conform to God’s will is to violate the natural law.

Virtue and happiness For Greeks (and all subsequent virtue theories), the goal of action is the ultimate human good: happiness (eudaimonia). Human happiness is to be understood as the highest achievement of what it means to be human, of the human essence. It is a kind of flourishing, health, or well-being of the soul or mind. While happiness seems to be subjective, the idea of human flourishing implies an objective notion of happiness. (Think of it on analogy with health.) Virtue makes a person good, or excellent, and so it is the means by which we acquire happiness.

Supernatural Grace and Beatific Vision Aquinas recognizes Aristotle’s idea that virtue leads to happiness, but he sees this as an imperfect, natural, or human form of happiness. Complete and perfect happiness is not to be found in this life, for Aquinas. It is the beatific vision: complete intellectual union with the divine (seeing God in God’s essence). This sort of blessed happiness is impossible as long as our intellect is embodied and operates through the senses (since God’s true essence is not perceivable by the senses.) Additionally, human beings are unable to obtain this perfection without the grace of God. So, this ultimate end or purpose of humanity is supernatural, it requires divine intervention.

Review: Virtue ethics is the theory that moral goods involve acquiring a virtuous character. Virtues are either moral or intellectual. Moral virtues involve acquiring a character through practice, by engraining habits or dispositions to act well. Making good choices, practicing good habits, and acting well all involve good moral judgment (the application of reason to changing, practical situations). Good moral judgment, good actions, and a good character ultimately make a person happy. They lead to the well-being of the soul.