...“Virtue ethics is of little use when dealing with practical ethics.” Discuss. It is often argued that virtue ethics is of little use when dealing with practical ethics. Virtue ethics does not focus on actions being right or wrong, but on how to be a good person. Virtue ethics raises three questions “who am I?”, “Who I ought to become?” and “How do I get there?”. On the other hand Practical ethics describes situations where an action is needed. Firstly virtue ethics goes back to Plato and Aristotle. Plato’s moral theory centres on the achievement of man’s highest good, which involves the right cultivation of his soul and the harmonious wellbeing of his life (Eudaimonia). Plato seemed to consider that certain virtues such as temperance, courage, prudence and justice (cardinal Virtues) are in balance a person’s actions will be good. It motivates people to want to be good. It shows the importance of education in showing that good actions are their own rewards. When these virtues are in balance a person’s actions will be good and therefore would disagree that virtue ethics is of little use. Aristotle’s ethical theory is known as virtue ethics because at the centre of his description of the good, which are the virtues which shape human character and ultimately human behaviour. However this good human life is one lived in harmony and co-operation with other people, since Aristotle saw people as not only rational beings but also as social beings. Aristotle saw two types of virtues...
Words: 1557 - Pages: 7
...supported and believed in their own arguments. They were similar in their approach to ethics; they both admire reason and rationality. The basic beliefs of Aristotle contrasted with the modern ideas of Immanuel Kant which offered a great match for an interesting view of human good and good will. However, after a thorough inspection of each philosopher's theories, I found that after initially leaning toward Aristotle’s theories I discovered that Kant's idea of good was found to be more captivating than Aristotle's, in that Kant's view addressed good in a complete sense through categorical obligations of man. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and was passionate about the virtue ethics, as were a lot of the early philosophers in Greece. He was a student of Plato and wrote on a variety of topics. “Aristotle set the tone of the virtue ethics approach with his observation that in exploring the moral dimension of experience, he said we are discussing no small matter, but how we ought to live. A sentiment that echoed Socrates’ commitment to moral action.” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 482). Aristotle believed virtue ethics was the cultivation of a virtuous person to be the goal of ethics. He believed that genuinely virtuous people would act in a moral way, as a reflection of their moral goodness. Aristotle’s main piece of work in this category is called The Nicomachean Ethics. In his book Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle asks his reader what they would consider to be good. Aristotle listed a...
Words: 1880 - Pages: 8
...ARISTOTLE’S PRUDENCE IN UPHOLDING THE VANISHING FILIPINO VALUE; DELICADEZA A Termpaper Presented to Dr. Rodrigo Abenes,PH.D Rogationist Seminary College-Manila In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy Submitted by: Sem. Joseph Jeric C. Umangga ARISTOTLE’S PRUDENCE IN UPHOLDING THE VANISHING FILIPINO VALUE; DELICADEZA I. INTRODUCTION Ancestors during their times are known for being disciplined and decent citizens.[1]Ancient law makers had filled the Philippines through instituting laws, rules and regulations to provide the citizens a peaceful and orderly way of life. Through the obedience of the Filipinos, they had practiced to be always properly conducted every time in accordance with the place they dwell with. Later on, Filipinos have found the conclusion which is to include the value called Delicadeza as one of the Filipino values. II. DELICADEZA AS A VALUE Delicadeza is a Spanish word coined from “Delicado” which means fragile, irreplaceable and precious.[2] In Spanish it can mean many things – ‘delicacy’, ‘kindness’, ‘tact.’ The word implies a care for what others think and the accordant behavior this requires from the person in act. When one does not exhibit delicadeza then one does not care what others think and will behave despite what has been deemed ‘improper. ’ Delicadeza, in this sense, can be seen to underline a sense of community...
Words: 2975 - Pages: 12
...developed Aristotle’s ‘Virtue Theory’. [30 marks] Aristotle’s ‘Virtue Theory’ is an ethical theory that emphasizes on an individual’s character as a key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves (deontology) or their consequences (consequentialism). Thus making ‘Virtue Ethics’ and deontic ethical theory. Both Elizabeth Anscombe and Alasdair MacIntyre believed that modern ethical studies have lost their ways. The philosophers felt that they were too concerned with normative rules and this doesn’t help to fill the moral vacuum of society. And that ‘Virtue Ethics’ was the only solution to the moral vacuum in society. According to Anscombe, the best way to fill this moral vacuum is to chart our moral virtues. Virtues help ordinary people be moral and must be based on good will; similarly to Aquinas’ internal vs external goods idea in Natural Law. Anscombe believed that society needed the return of Virtue Ethics because she was critical of deontological ethics as she felt they had become outdated. She was also critical of teleological ethics as she believes the end doesn’t justify the means, which we can understand from when she says, “The concepts of obligation, and duty – moral ‘ought’, ought to be jettisoned.” In 1981, MacIntyre wrote a book titled ‘After Virtue’ in which he traces he history of ‘Virtue Ethics’ and attempts to establish a system of the ethical theory appropriate for the modern age. He developed Virtue Ethics by putting...
Words: 447 - Pages: 2
...developed Aristotle’s ‘Virtue Theory’. [30 marks] Aristotle’s ‘Virtue Theory’ is an ethical theory that emphasizes on an individual’s character as a key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves (deontology) or their consequences (consequentialism). Thus making ‘Virtue Ethics’ and deontic ethical theory. Both Elizabeth Anscombe and Alasdair MacIntyre believed that modern ethical studies have lost their ways. The philosophers felt that they were too concerned with normative rules and this doesn’t help to fill the moral vacuum of society. And that ‘Virtue Ethics’ was the only solution to the moral vacuum in society. According to Anscombe, the best way to fill this moral vacuum is to chart our moral virtues. Virtues help ordinary people be moral and must be based on good will; similarly to Aquinas’ internal vs external goods idea in Natural Law. Anscombe believed that society needed the return of Virtue Ethics because she was critical of deontological ethics as she felt they had become outdated. She was also critical of teleological ethics as she believes the end doesn’t justify the means, which we can understand from when she says, “The concepts of obligation, and duty – moral ‘ought’, ought to be jettisoned.” In 1981, MacIntyre wrote a book titled ‘After Virtue’ in which he traces he history of ‘Virtue Ethics’ and attempts to establish a system of the ethical theory appropriate for the modern age. He developed Virtue Ethics by putting...
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...of happiness as did Aristotle. Although they have different theories of happiness, they both agreed on the idea that all human actions aim to reach complete happiness. Happiness is something that can be defined differently by each individual. Every person would have a different idea on how we reach happiness. For Aristotle, complete happiness comes through fulfilling human function well and this can be provided by practicing virtuous acts. On the other hand, Epicurus supports the idea that presence of pleasure and lack of pain can conduct us to complete happiness. I shall argue that Epicurus and Aristotle have different ideas but they both aim towards a final good, which is happiness. As two different ethical theories, they both have weakness’ and strengths that this paper aims to show. Aristotle defines happiness as “something you seek for its own sake, whereas you seek all other goods ultimately for the sake of happiness” (Aristotle’s Ethics: The Theory of Happiness). This shows us that happiness is a final good that every individual aims to reach. Aristotle supports the idea that everybody must fulfill their function well enough to reach complete happiness and a fulfilled life is found in those who practice virtuous acts (Boyce). To understand exactly what Aristotle’s philosophy aims to show, we must first understand how he defines virtue. According to Aristotle, virtue is a moral state that makes a person perform his proper function well; for example, the function of the eye...
Words: 1501 - Pages: 7
...Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy is a book by Bryan W. Van Norden that presents an encompassing view of Confucianism in light of virtue ethics and of Mohism in light of consequentialism. Throughout the book, Van Norden makes excellent and understandable bridges to compare the philosophies of the East and the West. He takes the perspectives presented by Aristotle’s virtue ethics and other western philosophers and contrasts them with the conceptions that Confucianism offers towards leading a virtuous life and the process of the ethical cultivation of one's self, as well as drawing analogues between Mohism and consequentialism through obviously thorough archaeological and philosophical research into Chinese history....
Words: 1414 - Pages: 6
...I. THE THEORY OF THE IDEAS AND PLATO’S ONTOLOGY I. 1. The ontological dualism The theory of the Ideas is the base of Plato’s philosophy: the Ideas are not only the real objects ontologically speaking, but they are the authentically objects of knowledge epistemologically speaking. From the point of view of ethics and politics, they are the foundation of the right behaviour, and anthropologically speaking they are the base of Plato’s dualism and they even allow him demonstrate the immortality of the soul. Plato defends a clear ontological dualism in which there are two types of realities or worlds: the sensible world and the intelligible world or, as he calls it, the world of the Ideas. The Sensible World is the world of individual realities, and so is multiple and constantly changing, is the world of generation and destruction; is the realm of the sensible, material, temporal and space things. On the contrary, the Intelligible World is the world of the universal, eternal and invisible realities called Ideas (or "Forms"), which are immutable and do not change because they are not material, temporal or space. Ideas can be understood and known; they are the authentic reality. The Ideas or Forms are not just concepts or psychic events of our minds; they do exist as objective and independent beings out of our consciences. They are also the origin of sensible things, but although they are the authentic beings, Plato, unlike Parmenides of Elea, do not completely...
Words: 11604 - Pages: 47
...Analyzing Virtue Theory’s Decision-Making Capability A doctor presented with a patient who insists on being euthanized to free himself from pain obviously creates an ethical dilemma. The doctor in the scenario has many factors to consider—honoring the wishes of his patient, respect for human life, compassion for a person’s suffering, and responsibility to his medical profession. Considering these things, the doctor is clearly left in a conundrum, with his virtues giving him no clear decision to make. In another situation, a German man hides a stranger being hunted by Nazis during the Holocaust era in his home. When approached, does he stay true to his virtue of honesty and give the wanted person up? Or does he lie to keep with his virtue of non-maleficence, protecting the person in hiding from physical harm or potentially death? Then, adding even more confusion to the mix, do his patriotism and loyalty to his country override all other factors and persuade him to release the innocent stranger? Any sort of ethical approach, be it utilitarianism, Kantianism, or virtue theory, leaves a remarkable gray area from which the doctor and German each must construct what he believes to be the most ethical decision. Of all the theories, though, Aristotle’s virtue theory presents the most conflicting decision-making process of them all. Virtue theory deals more with the character of what it is to be human, than the difference between right and wrong, and furthermore, aims to answer the...
Words: 1904 - Pages: 8
...Aristotle's Ethics Aristotle discusses what the greatest good could be. He begins by saying, “Every craft and every investigation, and likewise every action and decision, seems to be aimed at some good.” This means that Aristotle thinks that everyone’s actions in life are directed at something greater, something that they are striving for. I believe this to be a really strong point of the thesis because it seems in life that everything you do, you are aiming for something else. With every decision and action that a person makes, they try to gain a greater self-worth and prosperity. The true meaning that Aristotle hints upon is to achieve greatness and to be the best person that lies in your grasp. Aristotle believes that all good is subordinate to some point. For instance, the end, or good of a student would be the degree; with an inventor it would be the invention. This means that different people have different ideas about what the greatest good is. Today, the saying goes “money is the root of all evil”. This is true in some respects because money has destroyed countless friendships and lives. An example would be people who have had money their entire lives. Wealthy individuals probably think that money is not the greatest good because they are used to be able to have everything that they could want and will never be satisfied with anything because they will always want more. Some examples that Aristotle gives as to what he thinks people to see as the greatest good, or...
Words: 1133 - Pages: 5
...BUSINESS ETHICS AND VIRTUE A review on On Robert C. Solomon’s many ways of being ethical SUBMITTED BY: NAME: STEVE AGONO OBADO COURSE: MsIT BUSINESS ETHICS AND VIRTUE A review on On Robert C. Solomon’s many ways of being ethical SUBMITTED BY: NAME: STEVE AGONO OBADO COURSE: MsIT BUSINESS AND VIRTUE INTRODUCTION The author of this thesis seeks to examine unexplored solutions that could add value to the already existent ethical disclosure and because there is a lack of consensus regarding ethical issues in the workplace. He therefore specifically chose to study the virtue framework articulated by Philosopher Robert C. Solomon, precisely in the business context. He deals with the philosophical problem in a twofold approach. 1. One refers to virtue ethics and 2. Application in the specific branch of business ethics. His thesis will attempt to show the richness and value of such an approach to solve ethical dilemmas in business and in life. MAIN THRUST OF THE ARGUMENT The aim of the thesis is to show how an application of virtue reflects one of many ‘ethical styles’ (Solomon 1999). He goes through various interpretations of virtue ethics. 1. TAYLOR’S INTERPRETATION He thinks that by exclusively adopting the virtuous ethical standpoint one will have a definitive answer to every moral problem. The others believe that Taylor’s proposal is flawed in some aspects. 2. ARISTOTOLE’S ETHICAL THEORY IN CONNECTION TO BUSINESS ETHICS The author states...
Words: 1945 - Pages: 8
...Nicomachean Ethics By: Mikah Friesen In this paper, I will reconstruct Aristotle's arguments in Book 2, chapter 5 of his Nicomachean Ethics. In this chapter, Aristotle tries to determine what a virtue is and continues as follows. He assumes that virtue is something in the soul and that there are only three kinds of things in the soul. He then gives several lesser arguments intended to show that virtue is not equal with the first two of the three kinds of things in the soul. He then concludes that virtue is identical with the third kind of thing in the soul. I will argue that Aristotle's arguments in this chapter are, with only minor changes noted below, effective. Aristotle begins this chapter by saying that "we must inquire into what virtue is" (1105b19) and at its end states that virtue is a state (1106a12). So the summary of the whole theory is: Virtue is a state. In the first paragraph, Aristotle makes the resulting dispute that sets his approach for the rest of the chapter. (1) Things found in the soul are of only three types: emotions, capacities, and characteristics. (Evidence, 1105b19-20) (2) Virtue is a kind of thing found in the soul. (Implied or complete evidence) Therefore, (3) virtue is a passion, a capacity, or a state. (1105b20-21) Aristotle here only obviously declares (1) and (3) (and note that he gestures that (3) is an assumption that he draws ("since" . . . "must be", 1105b19 and 20)). But (2) is a clear idea to...
Words: 1123 - Pages: 5
...most influential Greek philosophers, discussed their differing views on virtue extensively throughout many of their works. Although they agree that virtue is a desirable characteristic that will lead to happiness, the ultimate good, there exists between the two philosophies salient differences. While Plato believes only philosophers are capable of true, inherent virtue, Aristotle believes all men can be virtuous with practice and dedication. GREAT. WAY TO GET TO THE POINT. BE SURE TO MENTION WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE ARGUING THAT VIRTUE IS INTRINSICALLY GOOD. HAVE IT SMACK ME IN THE FACE IT'S SO OBVIOIUS. (LIKE THAT TYPO). Plato’s Republic contains one of the greatest recorded discussions on the nature of justice. His definition of justice can be interpreted today as virtue, or the proper working of the soul. Plato argues in this work that virtue is inherently good only when it is manifest in the perfectly ordered soul of the philosopher. This philosopher is born just and inherently good, thereby making him the only individual capable of loving and seeking after virtue completely. …..... I'M GUESSING THIS ATTACHES TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH? AND I'M NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT “BORN JUST”. REMEMBER, IT ISN'T “INBORN” BUT IT IS NATURAL. YOU AREN'T BORN THAT WAY. YOU TEND TOWARDS IT, THOUGH. Only through virtue, or justice as he calls it, can a man receive happiness, and this hints at the inherent goodness of virtue. A man’s soul will only be truly content when he is doing what he is good...
Words: 1667 - Pages: 7
...Aristotle a successor of Plato when Plato died. However, this never distracted Aristotle from taking a different path in his career. In fact, Aristotle contrasted with Plato in many areas. He also criticized him because he argued in different manner (Newport, 1998). On the other hand, Aristotle had various components in his system. This paper evaluates the key components of Aristotle’s system and the various contrasts of his philosophical works in relation to that of Plato. The paper starts by evaluating the key components of Aristotle’s system before it evaluates the contrasts between their worldviews. Key components The first key component of Aristotle’s system is metaphysics. This component explains Aristotle’s philosophical views and the history of philosophy. Based on this component, Aristotle showed the relationship between the form and nature of history. He also became the first person who identified the technological language because of this component (Masih, 1999). With the help of this component, Aristotle also established both practical and theoretical reasoning. The second component of the Aristotle’s system is logic. This is among the influential components of Aristotle because it influences decision making in many areas. According to Aristotle, logic was an important component in his study because it was instrumental in the acquisition of knowledge. This component dealt with definitions, inductions, fallacies, divisions and inferences. Aristotle regarded both induction...
Words: 922 - Pages: 4
...ARISTOTLE'S POLIS: NATURE, HAPPINESS, AND FREEDOh1 Ideologists of all stripes seem to have difficulty dealing with t h e foundations of what is loosely called the ""Western tradition," t h a t is, the body of knowledge that has come down to us from Athens a n d Jerusalem. Of course, these days Jerusalem is simply ignored. T h e classical tradition, however, must be dealt with. Yet it is frequently so transfigured that what emerges is what the ideologist wishes u s t o see, rather than what is these. The most ambitious attempt at this sort of thing by a 'Yiberal" ideologist is Eric A. Havelock's T h e Liberal Temper in Greek Politics.' More recently and on a smaller scale, Fred Miller has, in the pages of this journal, interpreted one aspect of the classical tradition from the standpoint of "~ibertarianY' political theory, in his essay "The State and the Community in Aristotle's Polieics. "' This curious attempt to defend the "libertarianism9' of Lykophron and Mippodamus3 against Aristotle's '6ppaternalism9'is a daring, if ill-conceived, enterprise. In Miller's presentation, Aristotle seems t o emerge as a villain who misunderstand the enlightened political thought of the Greek "libertarians" and, we are to infer, derails subsequent political thought in the name of "'paternalism." Fundamental to Miller's reading of the Politics is the idea t h a t there is a distinction between ""cmmunity" and "'state" that Aristotle confuses in his use of golis. He argues that...
Words: 3924 - Pages: 16
