Aristotles Virtue Ethics

SPRING 2013
 The Broad Brushstrokes
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Virtue ethics is a non-consequentialist moral theory.

The focus of virtue ethics is on moral character.
Morally good character consistently demonstrates
presence of the virtues.
The right act is defined as:
The act that a virtuous person performs as a virtuous person
would perform it.
Next: the virtues themselves (from Aristotles
Eudemian Ethics, taken from
http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/wpollard/aristotlesethics.pdf ) .
 Aristotles Virtues
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Virtue Excess Deficiency

Courage Rashness Cowardice
Temperance Licentiousness Insensibility
Liberality Prodigality Illiberality
Magnificence Vulgarity Pettiness
Great-souledness Vanity Pusillanimity
Proper ambition Ambition Unambitiousness
Patience Irascibility Lack of spirit
Truthfulness Boastfulness Understatement
Wittiness Buffoonery Boorishness
Friendliness Flattery Surliness
Modesty Shyness Shamelessness
Righteous indignation Envy Malicious enjoyment
 Questions to Guide the Discussion
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Virtuous Character: What sort of thing is it?

Virtuous character is acquired through practice and

habit.
E.g., the virtue of generosity acquired by
consistently being generous when presented with
opportunities to be generous.
Lets see the argument for virtue being acquired
(vs. innate).
 Virtuous Character is Acquired
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1. Virtuous character is either innate or not innate

(i.e., acquired by practice/habit).
2. If virtuous character is innate, then character
cannot be changedwe are either virtuous or not
virtuous.
3. Character can be changed.
4. Virtuous character is not innate. (1,2,3)
5. Virtuous character is acquired by practice/habit.
(4)
 One Acquires the Virtues By Practice
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1. Virtuous character is acquired by habit/practice.

2. If virtuous character is acquired by habit/practice,

then one becomes just by habitually practicing just
acts. (Fill in any character virtue, here.)

3. One becomes just by habitually practicing just acts.

(1,2)
 What sort of state is virtue?
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Virtue is a state of well-being.

Being virtuous, for Aristotle, means that one functions

well as a human being.

Health, too, is a state of well-being.

Whatever preserves health will be optimal conditions for

preserving virtue.

So what preserves health? Moderation. The argument

up next.
 Health is Preserved by the Mean
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The Effects of Excess, Deficiency, and the Mean

1. If you eat and drink excessively, then you will ruin your health.
2. If you eat and drink not enough, then you will ruin your health.
3. Health is preserved by not eating and drinking excessively and not
eating and drinking too little. (1,2)
4. Health is preserved by eating and drinking just the right amount.
(3)
5. The right amount is a mean between the extremes of excess and
deficiency.
6. Health is preserved by eating and drinking within the mean of
excess and deficiency. (4,5)
7. Health is preserved by the mean between excess and deficiency. (6)
 Aristotles Doctrine of the Mean
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Moral Virtue as a Mean Between Extremes

1. Health is preserved by the mean between excess and

deficiency.
2. Health is a state of well being.
3. States of well being are preserved by the mean between excess
and deficiency. (1,2)
4. Moral virtue (or, morally virtuous character) is a state of well
being.
5. Moral virtue (morally virtuous character) is preserved by the
mean between excess and deficiency. (3,4)
 Virtue as a Mean Between Extremes
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Virtue is a state of character. For example,

bravery/courage.

If you stand up against nothing, you are a coward, if you

stand up against everything, you are rash.

Deficiency>>>>>Mean>>>>>Excess

The mean understood as an intermediate between excess

and deficiency.
 Virtue as a Mean is Relative
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Virtue understood as a mean between extremes is not an

arithmetic mean.

Where the mean lies is relative to two factors:

1. Circumstances
2. Temperament (individual-based)

Even though the mean is relative for each individual,

there is an objectively right answer with respect to where
the mean is located. (People can be morally criticized
since virtue turns out to be an objective notion.)
 Moral Virtue Requires More...
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Acquiring moral virtue requires more than just doing the

morally virtuous thing, but doing that thing in a morally
virtuous way (i.e., as the morally virtuous person would
perform the act).

For an act that is done according to the virtues, to be

done virtuously, a person must be in the right state:
1. She knows she is doing a virtuous action.
2. The virtuous action is done for the sake of itself.
3. The virtuous action is done from a firm and unchanging character.