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Summary Notes on Virtue Ethics
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In depth notes on the definition and application of Virtue Ethics
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Lecture 1: Virtue EthicsMonday, 26 February 2024 13:27
• Aristotle coined Virtue ethics
• Virtue Ethics: An ethical framework that emphasizes the development of virtues, or good
character traits, as the key to living a morally good life
• It relies on teleological reasoning - reasoning from the purpose (telos) of a thing
Nicomachean Ethics
• Nicomachean ethics - laid out his virtue ethical theory
• Named after his son
• Ethics: The science of the moral good for human life
• Morally or ethically? - Question of character
• All human functions contributes to eudaimonia
• Eudaimonia - Happiness or flourishing, which is a highest good that all things aim for
• To discover eudaimonia , we must identify the function of a human being
• Human function is a rational activity- Trees and animals cannot do
• Our good is therefore rational activity performed well= Virtue
Virtues
• Virtue - Something that helps us to perform a rational activity well
• Arete in Greek (excellence)
• Virtues: Character dispositions or personality traits which are purposive and settled in
determining the right way to behave or act for the sake of it
• Virtues are traits of character manifested in habitual action that is considered good for a
person to have
• Opposite of Virtue is Vices
• Vices- Traits of character manifested in habitual action that is considered bad for a person to
have
• Moral Virtues: Character traits that involve finding the right balance in one's actions and
behaviour, such as courage, temperance and justice
• Virtues lie in the middle of 2 extremes of vices of deficiency and excess
• This midpoint is known as the Golden Mean which is the desirable middle between 2 extremes
of deficiency and excess
• Virtue is a Golden Mean between these extremes of vices and can shift according to the
person and the situation
• Not the same for everyone
• They differ from person to person, lead different lives, personalities and social roles
• Even with our differences Aristotle believes that there are some virtues that will need to be
cultivated by all persons at all times
Key Virtues
• Courage and Temperance
• Generosity and Magnificence
• Magnanimity and Humility
• Virtue Continuum
• Golden Mean is where virtuous behaviour exists
• Moral behaviour is the virtuous behaviour between 2 extremes of deficiency and excess
acquired by habit or practice
Eudaimonia
○ Eudaimonia is achieved through virtuous actions and moral character
○ Achieving a moral character is based on the practice of ,living virtuously ; it's not
ingrained but learnable
○ Living eudaimonuously is not a matter of being born a good person but of consistently
using reason well to decide the appropriate course of action within different contexts in
which you find yourself
○ Eudaimonia can only be attained by cultivating virtues and aligning ones actions with
moral excellence
Week 2 Virtue Ethics Page 1
, moral excellence
○ Eudaimonia is not a fleeting emotion but is something that we seek as a goal that is an
end in itself
○ It’s a lifelong pursuit that requires individuals to constantly strive for personal growth
and moral development
○ Moral Exemplar: A person who has achieved eudaimonia and who automatically makes
virtuous choices through habituation or practise of the exercise of virtue
○ This automatic disposition is referred to as HEXIS
○ Hexis: An active condition, a state in which something must actively hold itself
○ It is teleological ethical theory focused on purpose of things
○ Non-prescriptive as an ethical theory
Benefits of virtue ethics
• It leaves room for actions dependant on the nuances of the situation - Kant
• It is not beholden to a single all-deciding external variable - Utilitarianism
Advantages
• Moral Motivation
• Doubts about the ideal impartiality
Disadvantages
• Neglects the question of prescribing what we should do
• Doesn’t tell us exactly what we should do
Week 2 Virtue Ethics Page 2
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