MODULE 2 VIRTUE ETHICS

OVERVIEW
Do you remember the last part of Module 1? It discussed the source of authority in
ethics. It is said that a good source of authority in ethics is moral theories. So what are we
going to do in module 2 is to discuss one of the moral theories, Virtue Ethics. This theory is a
product of Aristotle's intuitive mind. We will start on the background on how Aristotle arrived in
conceptualizing Virtue Ethics. The module would also focus on the important concepts in Virtue
Ethics like telos, eudaimonia, arete, mesotes and phronimos. We will characterize actions as
virtuous acts or non-virtuous acts. Then we will try to apply the concept of virtue ethics in a real-
life setting. You will analyze a case for you to experience how virtue ethics work.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. explain the important concepts and principles of virtue ethics;
2. differentiate virtuous acts from non-virtuous acts;
3. use the principles of virtue ethics in real-life situations.

Historical Background
Aristotle lived from 384-322 BC. He was a student of Plato in Academia in Athens. Most
of the time Aristotle was in an intellectual dispute with Plato. Due to these disputes with Plato,
he founded his school, the Lyceum. Aristotle made a good account of himself. He was able to
create different works in different fields. Some of the notable works of Aristotle were
Metaphysics, De Generatione et Corruptione (biology), De Anima (psychology), Nicomachean
Ethics, and the Organon (logic). Some historians claimed that Aristotle was greatly influenced
by his father who was a physician. Aristotle was very observant of the surrounding like a
physician who tries to observe his patients. He had a son and named him Nichomachus. The
book of Aristotle in ethics was named after his son and it was called Nichomachean Ethics.

Nichomaen Ethics
Aristotle establishes his ideas in Ethics using the Platonic understanding of reality and its
concept of good as his springboard. He abandons the idea of Plato about reality and good.
Aristotle particularly contests the separation of matter and form. If you are going to look at
Plato's understanding of reality and its concept of good it is quite ideal. He believes that
everything outside the world of forms or ideas are not true. Take this example: Juan is a good
boy. Plato argues that Juan is not a good boy. Because he is in a world of matter. Everything in
the world of matter is not true because they are subject to change. Plato would claim that Juan's
goodness is just a copy of the real goodness that is found in the world of forms or ideas. But
Aristotle did not agree with this. He contests that we will not be able to understand a thing
without having matter and form. We will not understand that Juan is a good boy if there is no
matter and form. We will not be able to know Juan is a good boy if we don't see the body
(matter) of Juan, his looks, and his built, and if we don't have the idea (form) of what is a good
boy. When we say that Juan is a good boy, it means that being good does not exist
independently of Juan. Our experience dictates when we say that Juan is a good boy, we are
referring to Juan in his totality as a composition of matter and form, not as a separate entity.

TELOS
As we establish the ground of Aristotle's ethical framework, we now look at how it works.
Aristotle's ethical framework starts with observing what is there in nature. Aristotle is keen on
looking for what is common in nature. In his observation, he sees that when you throw a stone
upward it will go down. It will not suspend in the air. If you throw it up ten thousand times, it will
go down ten thousand times. Similar to a ball place on a slope. If you put a ball on a slope, it
has nothing to do but to roll downwards. When a person performs actions, it is always directed
towards something. It is directed towards a purpose. A person can't perform actions without a
purpose. Aristotle sees that there in common in all of these. He concludes that everything in this
world including a person has "telos". The word telos means end, goal, or purpose. When we go
back to our example, a stone thrown upward will end downward, a ball place in the top of the
slope will end on the lower part of the slope and a person jumps into action because of the goal
or purpose.
We already know that a person acts towards a goal or purpose. We cannot deny the fact
that there is a purpose why we do something. Now a person will perform an act when she sees
the purpose as good. No person will do something if she sees the purpose as bad. We eat
because we know that it is good. It will give much-needed sustenance to our bodies. You enroll
in this course because you see good on it. You believe that it will provide you a good future. So
it means that the telos or the purpose is always good. A person performs an act because she
sees that the telos or the purpose as good. But you may ask why are there some people who do
bad acts. Let us take the example of a drug dependent. She takes an illegal drug because she
believes that it will solve all her problems. Here you will find that the purpose is good, to solve all
her problems. The problem lies in the action she has taken. It is bad. Taking illegal drugs is bad.
We do not say that taking illegal drugs can become good what we are showing is that the telos
or purpose is good. It is what all of us seek to achieve.
In our experience, we act because we seek to achieve a specific purpose. But we cannot
also deny that this purpose is used to attain a higher goal or purpose. Let's have the example of
a student. We all know that you are here to study so you can earn a degree. You are moved to
study because of the purpose of earning a degree. But it does not end there. You want to earn a
degree so you can find a job. Because Filipinos believe that if you have a degree you can find a
job easily. But it does not end there. You want to find a job so that you can earn money. You
want to earn money so you can buy things you want. There seems to be a hierarchy of telos,
goal, or purpose.

EUDAIMONIA
In the hierarchy of telos, goal, or purpose there must be the highest purpose, this must
be ultimate. It is the ultimate good of a human being. Now let us see what is the ultimate
purpose of a person. When we say ultimate it means that it is last and final. Nothing follows.
According to Aristotle, to consider the telos to be ultimate it must fit the criteria. The first criterion
says that it must be final. It means that it is the final end or purpose and it is not used to attain
any other higher ends. Unlike the examples in the earlier discussion, we can see that the end is
used to attain another end. Studying to earn a degree and earning a degree to find a job. So
these goals cannot be considered as ultimate telos because they are not final. The second
criterion of the ultimate telos is that it must be self-sufficient. Meaning that when we attain it
nothing else will be sought. It will completely satisfy our desires to attain something once we
attain the ultimate telos. The last criterion of the ultimate telos is that it must be attainable. It is
non-sense if the ultimate telos of a person is not attainable. It is absurd to say that the ultimate
telos of a person cannot be attained.
So what is the ultimate telos of a person? According to Aristotle the ultimate telos of a
person is "eudaimonia". It means happiness. But mind you the happiness that Aristotle is telling
is not an emotion. Like the happiness that we experience when we receive gifts during our
birthdays. This kind of happiness is on the level of feelings. Aristotle is not referring to this kind
of happiness because it is temporary. He argues this happiness is permanent and it is what
everybody desires to attain. Eudaimonia being the ultimate telos makes every person desires it.

ERGON
We already established that the ultimate telos is eudaimonia or happiness, but how can
we attain it. According to Aristotle, we can achieve eudaimonia by fulfilling a person's "ergon".
The word ergon means function. So, it only means that we can attain the ultimate telos by
fulfilling our function. But what is the function of a person? A function is what distinguishes or
characterizes the thing from other beings. Example: key, it is used to lock or unlock doors,
cabinet, etc. This makes the key unique from other things. Again, what is the function of the
person? What distinguishes a person from other beings? What sets a person apart from other
beings? The function of a person is the ability to reason. This ability distinguishes a person from
other beings. There is no other being that can reason. To be a person is to act in accordance
with reason. Aristotle argues that we can attain eudaimonia by performing our ergon which is
the ability to reason but it is not enough by just performing it. He would say that we should
perform our function well. We must perform it in a good or excellent way.

ARETE
In Greek, performing in a good or excellent way is "Arete". The word arete is equated to
the word virtue. The word virtue is associated with the words good, excellent, and noble. Now,
how do we attain virtue? According to Aristotle, virtue cannot be accomplished in a single act.
Virtue is accomplished through repetitive actions. It is acquired through habits. But remember
that habit is not always good. That is why Aristotle distinguishes what habit we need to have.
Habit is essential to the formation of one's character. So to be able to have a good character,
we need to habitually do the good, thus we will acquire virtue. But acquiring virtue is not that
easy. The test is on how to act out the right feelings and passions. It is how we can control our
feelings and passions because they are neither good nor bad. According to Aristotle, virtue is
the excellent management of one's feelings and passions. Let us take an example. We all know
that anger is an example of feelings and passions. It is neither good nor bad. To be a virtuous
person, we must have excellent management of anger. We can get angry for the right reason,
time, manner, and to the right person. Which is something difficult to attain. The difficulty lies in
finding the mesotes (mean) according to Aristotle. "Hence it is hard work to be virtuous since in
each case it is hard work to find what is the mean (mesotes)...So also getting angry, or giving
and spending money, is easy and anyone can do it, but doing it to the right person, in the right
amount at the right time, for the right end, and in the right way is no longer easy, nor can
everyone do it. Hence, well is rare, praiseworthy, and fine. " (Nichomachean Ethics Bk. II,
1109a24) To become a virtuous person, we need to find the mesotes. Aristotle believes that
when a person is already habituated on finding the mesotes she will be called "phronimos". This
phronimos is a virtuous person who does not have to control oneself because one's resolution
has been habituated to always do the right act, self-possessed.

VIRTUE
"Virtue, then, is a state of character concerned with a choice, lying in a mean, i.e., the
mean relative to us, this being determined by a rational principle, by that principle by which the
man of practical wisdom would determine it". (Nichomachean Ethics Bk. II, 1106b36-1107a2) It
simply means that virtue is the mean between two vices. It is the mean between excess and
deficiency. Vices are either excess or deficiency. Let's have an example. Let us see what is the
mean (mesotes) of fear and confidence. The mean is courage, the excess is rashness and the
deficiency is cowardice. The mean (mesotes) is always exact or as the maximum act, not an
excess nor a deficiency. It is not good if the person is "sobrang bait, sobrang tapang at medyo
palakaibigan" because this is not exact. You must also be careful on genaralizing that all actions
have mesotes. Many actions do not have mesotes and they are considered as wrong actions.
Examples would be stealing, committing adultery and killing. Can you find their mesotes? None,
there is no such thing as stealing the right amount of money. No matter what a person steals,
whether it is in a small amount or a big amount they are both stealings.

References:
Aristotle (350 BCE). Nicomachean Ethics (W.D. Ross, Trans.)
Bulaong, O. et. al. (2018). Ethics: foundation of moral valuation. Manila: Rex Bookstore.
Thiroux, J. (2012). Ethics: theory and practice.(11th ed.). Engelewood Cliffs:
Prentice Hall