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Virtue Ethics - Coggle Diagram
Virtue Ethics
Arete and Ergon
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A knife's ergon is to cut things, while it's arete is sharpness as it enables it to cut things well
Aristotle argues that eudaimonia must consist of something unique to humans, and that our function (ergon) is reason.
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Problems
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Defining virtuous acts and virtuous people in terms of each other creates a circular argument, which means it doesn't really say anything meaningful
There are situations where our virtues can compete and where applying a different virtue would suggest a different course of action
There appears to be a difference between eudaimonia and moral good - in some situations we can say someone's life is morally good but they have not reached eudaimonia
DOTM shows that not all qualities have vices of deficiency and excess, such as justice
Eudaimonia
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A good life in the moral sense, and in the sense that it's desirable and enjoyable as a life you would want for yourself
A property of someone's whole life, meaning that someone who is eudaimon can still have a bad day or do a bad thing
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Doctrine of the Mean
Provides more detail about what virtuous character traits are, and what makes a person virtuous
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Virtues
Acquiring virtues is comparable to learning a skill, which is known as the skill analogy
Aristotle compares gaining a virtue to learning to play the piano, as you have to practice and habituate the skill to master it
Virtues are character traits, meaning that a person might not be virtuous in every situation
Phronesis
"Practical wisdom", meaning a general understanding of good, such that the person can think through and act according to what is good
The person with phronesis is able to understand what is good and why, allowing them to reach eudaimonia