1. Ethics—The Basics by John Mizzoni
CHAPTER TWO:
VIRTUE ETHICS

2. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Road rage—What causes it?
Differences between feelings/emotions and behavior/actions.
Virtue Ethics (sometimes called Character Ethics) relates our feelings to our behavior…

3. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Virtue ethics is an ethical tradition that focuses on:
How emotions relate to actions
How human beings are able to control their emotions
How human beings are able to gain happiness for themselves

4. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Before Socrates, the earliest known Greek moral philosopher, there was virtue ethics.

5. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Important Pre-Socratics—Pythagoras, Democritus, Heraclitus, Anaxagoras
Important Sophists—Protagoras, Thrasymachus, Callicles, Hippias
The 3 most well-known Greek philosophers agreed that answers to questions about ethics depend on answers to questions about human nature:
Socrates—founder of ethical studies
Plato—author of many ethical dialogues
Aristotle—author of Nicomachean Ethics
Vernon Bourke, History of Ethics I, credits the following:
1.Pythagoras, with the idea of a human soul, metempsychosis, and the concept of moral behavior as a mean between two extremes, excess and defect. Aristotle credited Pythagoras with helping inspire The Golden Mean. A later Pythagorean, Archytas of Tarentum, posited the principle of “right reasoning” as the key to good behavior. Respect for the life of reason (logos) is evident in early Pythagorean teachings.
2.Heraclitus suggested there is a rational patter (logos) in the process of change.
3. Democritus posited eudaemonia as the condition of man’s well-being (On Cheerfulness)
4. Anaxagoras proposed the concept of Mind or Intelligence (nous)
5. Protagoras taught that man is the measure of all things (Ethical Subjectivism?).
6. Thrasymachus taught might is right: “Just or right means nothing but what is to the interest of the stronger party.”
7. Callicles taught that laws were made by weak men in order to control and restrain the few who are strong.
8.Hippias emphasized the conventional and artificial character of moral law and advocated self-satisfaction as the ethical ideal.

6. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Virtue ethics has continued from the ancient world to our own:
School and Community Programs
The Boy Scout Law
Character Counts!
The Virtues Project
Church-sponsored Programs
School of Virtue (Kids for Jesus)
Employment Programs
The Josephson Institute
Popular Culture
Adventures from the Book of Virtues

7. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Virtue ethics addresses all four of the ethical problems we are considering. However:
WHAT IS A VIRTUE?
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF VIRTUES?

8. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Examples of Virtues include:
Tolerance
Generosity
Integrity
Honesty
Kindness
Courage/Fortitude
Wisdom
Cleverness
Courtesy
Loyalty
Prudence
Justice
Temperance
Responsibility
Respectfulness
Continency/Self-control
Chastity
Compassion/Caring

9. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
A virtue is a trait of character of a person that is good for that person to have. (Aristotle, 337 BCE)
A moral virtue is a mean between two extremes. (Aristotle, 337 BCE)
This is Aristotle’s Principle of The Golden Mean

10. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
The Principle of The Golden Mean A moral virtue is a mean between two extreme vices— (the vice of excess and the vice of deficiency).

11. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
For example, courage is the mean between cowardice (deficiency) and rashness (excess).

12. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Aristotle was not alone in this idea:
In ancient China, Confucius called one of his important teachings “The Doctrine of the Mean”
In ancient India, the Buddha called his philosophy of life “The Middle Way”

13. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Moral excellence—a moral virtue—consists in a mean state.
“By virtue I mean virtue of character… it is concerned with feelings and actions….” (Aristotle, 337 BCE)
“Virtue, then, is a mean, in so far as it aims at what is intermediate.” (Aristotle, 337 BCE)

14. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
According to Aristotle, two things are important in achieving happiness (eudaemonia) in our lives:
how we handle our feelings
the rational judgment we use in developing our virtues

15. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
In Aristotle’s thinking, every human being has a rational soul:
The rational soul (reason) can help us to control our feelings.
If feelings are well-controlled, virtues develop; if they are not well-controlled, vices develop.

16. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
For example, temperance is a mean that focuses on our desires:
If we let our desires control us, we are intemperate
If we deny our desires entirely, we repress our humanity
Controlling our desires to the correct degree leads to excellence
QUESTIONS?

17. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
The Golden Mean is Not Mathematical
It is like hitting the bulls-eye in archery
The Golden Mean is Not Precise
It is a mean that is relative to us, perhaps even to each of us
Like hitting the sweet spot on a baseball bat
For Aristotle, ethics is not a precise science, it is about living the good life.
WHAT IS THE “GOOD LIFE”?

18. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
The “Good Life” is a life that leads to eudaemonia:
happiness
flourishing
excellence
well-being
self-realization (Abraham Maslow)

19. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
“Human Nature” for Aristotle:
Humans are rational animals
Humans are unique animals because of their reason
Humans are social/political animals
Humans flourish in groups
Humans have social origins
Humans succeed in social pursuits

20. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
A “moral virtue”, for Aristotle, is a trait of character:
A trait that is not “natural” to us
A trait that develops through habit
A habit is a repeated action
“Practice makes perfect”
Potential → Repeated actions → Habit formation → Character

21. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Thus, Aristotle’s model of human nature is a developmental model:
Humans are born with rational minds (potential)
Human develop awareness of self
Humans develop awareness of choice
There is a time in our lives to “train” ourselves (input phase)
There is a time in our lives when our character flows easily in action (output phase)
Potential → Repeated actions → Habit formation → Character

22. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Old Testament Scripture supports this developmental model:
“Train up a child in the way he should go[input], and when he is old he will not depart from it[output]” (Proverbs 22:5).
Potential → Repeated actions → Habit formation → Character

23. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
In Aristotle’s development model, the idea of a role model is very important:
One of the natural ways we learn is by copying others
Some role models of virtuous lives:
Jesus (WWJD = What Would Jesus Do?)
Saints (Francis of Assisi, Maria Goretti, Dominic Savio)
Others (Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.)

24. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Virtues are good for the individual who practices them
Virtues are good for those who have social contact with the virtuous person
Many of the virtues have to do with our dealings with others

25. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
There are two kinds of virtues:
Intellectual virtues can be taught.
Moral virtues can only be learned through habitual practice.

26. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Example of an intellectual virtue:
Knowledge
Examples of moral virtues:
Prudence
Justice
Fortitude
Temperance

27. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
The Instruction of Ptahhotep, written 4000 years ago, long before Aristotle, recommends the following virtues to everyone:
Self-control, moderation, kindness, generosity, justice, truthfulness, and discretion

28. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
In New Testament Scripture, Paul’s letters support virtue ethics:
Practice virtues (e.g. Galatians 5:22):
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Don’t practice vices (e.g. Galatians 5:19):
Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing
Follow an exemplary model of character (Galatians 2:20):
“…it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

29. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Universalist virtue ethics:
Admits that different cultures emphasize different virtues
BUT states that some virtues are universally important

30. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Relativist virtue ethics:
Admits that different cultures emphasize different virtues
AND states there are NO universally important virtues

31. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
To interpret different inventories of virtues from different cultures and times (cultural relativism) as proof of ethical relativism is to commit the fallacy of hasty generalization.
Ethical relativism is an exaggeration of cultural relativism.

32. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
What, then, is the nature of man?
According to Aristotle, we are essentially rational in nature.
Mizzoni adds that we are also emotional, social, and political in nature, and Aristotle notes this.
WHAT ABOUT SPIRITUAL?

33. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
What is the good life, according to Aristotle?
Everything in nature has a purpose
The purpose of man is to exercise his reason in a life of virtue, or moderation, to achieve happiness

34. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Some scholars view Aristotle’s model as leading to a life of contemplation rather than to a life of action.
Other scholars view this model of human development as leading to a life of action (courage and justice), with a retirement to contemplation.

35. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Ethics and Literature
The virtues and vices that are important in developing a literary character are an essential part of the plot.
CAN YOU THINK OF ANY VIRTUOUS LITERARY CHARACTERS…? …ANY VICIOUS ONES?

36. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Advantages of Virtue Ethics
It provides a reasonable account of moral motivation
It is flexible
It focuses on the whole person
It fits well with common sense
It accounts for the fact that partiality, not impartiality, is a part of life

37. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Disadvantages of Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics is anthropocentric
Virtue ethics is individually focused
Virtue ethics is incomplete
Why is one trait better than another?
How do we resolve moral conflict?
What about people with disabilities?

38. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Conclusion: Origins of Virtue Ethics
Ethical standards come from a combination of human nature and society. (Societal standards that contradict human nature would not lead to human happiness.)
Ethical standards do not come from God or religion

39. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Conclusion: Relativism v. Universalism
Cultural relativism may be true, because we observe ethical diversity among cultures, but ethical relativism could not be true, because some virtues are important in any culture.
Aristotle, then, is a ethical universalist who accepts cultural relativism

40. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Conclusion: Human Nature
Aristotle argues for a universal human nature, observing that all human beings are striving after happiness.
Aristotle observes that human beings are rational animals (who can control their actions and feelings, and choose what habits they will develop), and social/political animals.

41. Ethics—The Basics VIRTUE ETHICS
Conclusion: What Makes Something Right or Wrong?
Virtue ethics answers such questions as:
How one should live a life?
What is a life lived well?
What kind of person I should become in terms of virtues and universal human nature?
A trait is virtuous if it is a product of our developed natural potential and if it contributes to our happiness, well-being, and flourishing DOES ALL THIS INFORMATION HELP YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT THING TO DO?