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Virtue Ethics (Key Words (Arete: Excellence, Philos: friendliness, Vice of…
Virtue Ethics
Key Words
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- Vice of excess/deficiency: Having too much or too little of a virtue
- Phronesis: Practical Wisdom
- Golden Mean: Middle ground
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Intro
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The morality of an action is not found in the action, but in the person performing it, 'the agent'
It shouldn't be about whether a choice is right but rather if the person himself is morally good or bad.
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Modern Virtue Ethicists
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Alisadair MacIntyre
- He took an aretaic approach
- MacIntyre claimed that it is not good enough for philosophers to spend their time debating the meaning of language in a way that makes it removed from people in society. e.g. a mother whos child has been murdered isn't going to care what the word 'bad' means.
- MacIntyre argued that living a virtuous life depended upon getting into the habit of being moral and striving for good and being virtuous.
- He claimed that underneath the virtues, there must be the good will of the person and an act is not virtuous if it isn't intended.
MacIntyre argued for internal and external goods. An internal good is specific to the activity itself i.e. giving money to charity results in helping others. An external good, is a good not specific to the act i.e. when giving to charity, you may inspire others to do the same
- 3 most important virtues are courage, justice and honesty
Criticisms
The Golden mean doesn't work for every virtue; some don't have one they are just inherently good i.e promise-keeping.
Richard Louden argued virtue ethics is of little practical help when applied to situations. E.g. if a woman discovers her baby will be born with disabilities, VE will tell her what to do, but how is she to know what that is?