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Virtue Ethics - Coggle Diagram
Virtue Ethics
Eudaimonia
Seekers of honour: Aristotle saw politicians as seekers of honour. These people who try to find solutions to important problems and get a sense of honour from doing it.
Those who love contemplation: these are the philosophers and thinker.
Pleasure seekers: these are people who are driven who are driven by their basic desires and simply live from one pleasurable experience to the next
Aristotle believed that the lowest forms of happiness are found by the pleasure seekers. His view contemplation lovers were most likely to achieve eudaimonia because they were able to use their reason well.
This is a Greek word that means human flourishing, he argues that this is the aim that should govern our lives. Therefore a good person is one who has achieved eudaimonia well. The virtues are only achieved through practice and habit.
could only be achieved by living in harmony and co-operation with other people. It is impossible to live a solitary life and achieve eudaimonia. He saw the well-being of the group as more important than that of a single member.
The Intellectual Virtues
The 9 intellectual virtues identified by Aristotle are: Art or technical skill, Scientific knowledge, Prudence or practical wisdom, Intelligence or intuition, Wisdom, Resourcefulness or good deliberation, Understanding, Judgement and Cleverness
Aristotle recognised that not all people will attain to the virtues, but he did argue that a balance between the intellectual and moral virtues was essential.
Intellectual virtues are qualities of the mind which can be developed throughout our lives by the instruction we receive from others
Aristotle believed that the most important reason or motivation for wanting to live a moral life was to develop friendships. He states 'Nobody would choose to live without friends even if he had all the other good things'
Moral Virtues
People should learn from good role models and exercise the virtues until they became an automatic way of living and breathing.
It may be different to identify the Golden Mean or virtuous behavior in every circumstance. Taught the phronesis (practical wisdom) is needed to decide on the right course of action. As we develop phronesis we can start to move away from rule based moral systems and a more autonomous , virtue-centered approach.
Aristotle identified 12 moral virtues. Each has a corresponding vice of deficiency and vice of excess. the right way to 'be' is to follow the golden mean.
The Cardinal Virtues
The virtues outlined by Arisotle were accepted and developed in the centuries immediately after him. St Ambrose added the theological virtues of love, faith, hope and charity
In the 13th century Aquinas, whose Natural Law theory was deeply influenced by Aristotle emphasized the Cardinal Virtues which had been orginally taught by Plato. They represent the human qualities that reason suggests are required to live a moral life and achieve eudaimonia.
Prudence- being careful in how we think or behave 2. Temperance- doing things in moderation and having self-control
3.Fortitude- the ability to have courage in the midst of pain 4.Justice- being fair to all people.
Origins and Development
Plato- did not think it necessary to judge particular actions particular actions. It centers around the achievement of man's highest good which involves the right cultivation of his soul and the harmonious well-being of his life (eudaimonia). Believed that happiness could be attained through the pursuit of virtue: temperance, courage, prudence and justice.
Aristotle- became synonymous with Virtue Ethics because of how he developed the initial teachings of Plato. Was taught by Plato and eventually founded his own school of Philosophy in Athens called the Lyceum. His most famous work is Nichomachaen Ethics, his moral theory was deeply influenced bu his belief that everything has a purpose or 'telos' he believed that the only way to consider how a thing can be good is to understand it's purpose.