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Slide Notes
Virtue Ethics (or Virtue Theory)
Virtue ethics (or aretaic ethics from the Greek arete) emphasizes the role of one's character and the virtues that one's character embodies for determining or evaluating ethical behavior. Virtue ethics is one of the three major approaches to normative ethics, often contrasted to deontology which emphasizes duty to rules and consequentialism which derives rightness or wrongness from the outcome of the act itself.
A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: “Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation.
Virtue ethics (or aretaic ethics from the Greek arete) emphasizes the role of one's character and the virtues that one's character embodies for determining or evaluating ethical behavior. Virtue ethics is one of the three major approaches to normative ethics, often contrasted to deontology which emphasizes duty to rules and consequentialism which derives rightness or wrongness from the outcome of the act itself.
A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: “Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation.
VIRTUE-BASED THEORY
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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VIRTUE-BASED THEORY
Virtue Ethics (or Virtue Theory)
Virtue ethics (or aretaic ethics from the Greek arete) emphasizes the role of one's character and the virtues that one's character embodies for determining or evaluating ethical behavior. Virtue ethics is one of the three major approaches to normative ethics, often contrasted to deontology which emphasizes duty to rules and consequentialism which derives rightness or wrongness from the outcome of the act itself.
A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: “Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation.
Virtue ethics (or aretaic ethics from the Greek arete) emphasizes the role of one's character and the virtues that one's character embodies for determining or evaluating ethical behavior. Virtue ethics is one of the three major approaches to normative ethics, often contrasted to deontology which emphasizes duty to rules and consequentialism which derives rightness or wrongness from the outcome of the act itself.
A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: “Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation.
“Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation"
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Untitled Slide
The difference between these three approaches to morality tends to lie more in the way in which moral dilemmas are approached, rather than in the moral conclusions reached.
For example, a consequentialist may argue that lying is wrong because of the negative consequences produced by lying—though a consequentialist may allow that certain foreseeable consequences might make lying acceptable. A deontologist might argue that lying is always wrong, regardless of any potential "good" that might come from lying. A virtue ethicist, however, would focus less on lying in any particular instance and instead consider what a decision to tell a lie or not tell a lie said about one's character and moral behavior. As such, the morality of lying would be determined on a case-to-case basis, which would be based on factors such as personal benefit, group benefit, and intentions (as to whether they are benevolent or malevolent).
For example, a consequentialist may argue that lying is wrong because of the negative consequences produced by lying—though a consequentialist may allow that certain foreseeable consequences might make lying acceptable. A deontologist might argue that lying is always wrong, regardless of any potential "good" that might come from lying. A virtue ethicist, however, would focus less on lying in any particular instance and instead consider what a decision to tell a lie or not tell a lie said about one's character and moral behavior. As such, the morality of lying would be determined on a case-to-case basis, which would be based on factors such as personal benefit, group benefit, and intentions (as to whether they are benevolent or malevolent).
Eudaimonia
- Well-being
- Happiness
- Blessedness'
- Human Flourishing
Eudaimonia is a state variously translated from Greek as 'well-being', 'happiness', 'blessedness', and in the context of virtue ethics, 'human flourishing'. Eudaimonia in this sense is not a subjective, but an objective, state. It characterizes the well-lived life.
To understand its role in virtue ethics we look to Aristotle's function argument. Aristotle recognizes that actions are not pointless because they have an aim. Every action aims at some good. For example, the doctor's vaccination of the baby aims at the baby's health, the boxer Manny Paquiao trains religiously so that he can win, and so on. Furthermore, some things are done for their own sake and some things are done for the sake of other things. Aristotle claims that all the things that are ends in themselves also contribute to a wider end, an end that is the greatest good of all. That good is eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is happiness, contentment, and fulfillment; it's the name of the best kind of life, which is an end in itself and a means to live and fare well.
To understand its role in virtue ethics we look to Aristotle's function argument. Aristotle recognizes that actions are not pointless because they have an aim. Every action aims at some good. For example, the doctor's vaccination of the baby aims at the baby's health, the boxer Manny Paquiao trains religiously so that he can win, and so on. Furthermore, some things are done for their own sake and some things are done for the sake of other things. Aristotle claims that all the things that are ends in themselves also contribute to a wider end, an end that is the greatest good of all. That good is eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is happiness, contentment, and fulfillment; it's the name of the best kind of life, which is an end in itself and a means to live and fare well.
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Agent-Based Theories (Michael Slote)
- Benevolence
- Kindness
- Compassion
- Moral exemplars
Not all accounts of virtue ethics are eudaimonist. Michael Slote has developed an account of virtue based on our common-sense intuitions about which character traits are admirable. Slote makes a distinction between agent-focused and agent-based theories. Agent-focused theories understand the moral life in terms of what it is to be a virtuous individual, where the virtues are inner dispositions. Aristotelian theory is an example of an agent-focused theory. By contrast, agent-based theories are more radical in that their evaluation of actions is dependent on ethical judgments about the inner life of the agents who perform those actions. There are a variety of human traits that we find admirable, such as benevolence, kindness, compassion, etc. and we can identify these by looking at the people we admire, our moral exemplars.
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The Ethics of Care (Annette Baier)
- Justice and Autonomy
- Caring
- Patience
- Ability to nurture
- Self-sacrifice
The Ethics of Care is another influential version of virtue ethics. Developed mainly by feminist writers, such as Annette Baier, this account of virtue ethics is motivated by the thought that men think in masculine terms such as justice and autonomy, whereas woman think in feminine terms such as caring. These theorists call for a change in how we view morality and the virtues, shifting towards virtues exemplified by women, such as taking care of others, patience, the ability to nurture, self-sacrifice, etc. These virtues have been marginalized because society has not adequately valued the contributions of women. Writings in this area do not always explicitly make a connection with virtue ethics. There is much in their discussions, however, of specific virtues and their relation to social practices and moral education, etc., which is central to virtue ethics.
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Aristotle’s Advice on Achieving Virtue
- Virtues must be learned through practice.
- Be mindful of your natural tendencies.
- Generosity is closer to wastefulness than miserdom.
- Bravery is closer to rashness than cowardice.
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Good points of virtue ethics
*It centres ethics on the person and what it means to be human.
*It includes the whole of a person's life.
The modern philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre proposed three questions as being at the heart of moral thinking:
Who am I?
Who ought I to become?
How ought I to get there?
Who am I?
Who ought I to become?
How ought I to get there?
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Criticisms of Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
*It doesn't provide clear guidance on what to do in moral dilemmas although it does provide general guidance on how to be a good person.
*Presumably a totally virtuous person would know what to do and we could consider them a suitable role model to guide us
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*There is no general agreement on what the virtues are and it may be that any list of virtues will be relative to the culture in which it is being drawn up.
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