Aristotle Virtue Ethics

Balloguing, Maridel M.
GEC 6
Aristotle Virtue Ethics

The first systematic study of ethics in Western

Civilization
Offers principles of conduct that would guide
humans in attaining the good life.
Can be gleamed from his seminal work titled
Nichomachean Ethics
 Plato
- The moral evaluations of
daily life presuppose a good
life. Which is dependent of
experience, personality, and
circumstances.
GOOD LIFE
Aristotle
- Moral Principles are
immanent in our daily
activities and can be
discovered only through a
careful study of them.
*Aristotle begins his ethical
inquiry with an empirical study
of what it is that people
fundamentally desire.
Nichomachaean Ethics

Raised the question concerning the

conditions of attainment
Aristotle’s virtue ethics is ultimately tied to
a full understanding of the nature of
happiness as humanity’s ultimate goal as
well as the concept of virtue.
2 Major Principles
- Edudaimonia
- Virtue

*Focus of Discussion
- How Aristotle a concept of Eudaimonia that
appeals to a conception of human nature.
- The way in which Aristotle develops an
account virtue that can show the idea that the life
of virtue is a life of Eudaimonia.
Eudaimonia And Virtue

•Virtue - as the major source of happiness.

•Moral Virtue - is vital to the “rational soul of
man”
•Happiness = Eudaimonia
- the ultimate end of human life
Happiness or The Ultimate End
Actions = which precede this end
are the most valuable and cannot be superseded by
any actions driven by ordinary kinds of ends.
Actions = which result in: Honor, Wealth, Power
is definitely part of man’s inclinationto seek HAPPINESS (
as “pleasure”) but unfortunately, this could not be the end
which offers true happiness.

Eudaimonia = PLEASURE is also good

* Only virtous acts can lead to true happiness
Virtue - a behavior showing high moral standards
or the general quality of goodness in a person
- the Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2nd edition
defines virtue as the opposite of vice.

*Vice should not be literally understood within the

specific context of social vices: Drug Addiction,
Gambling, and Excessive cigarette smoking.
Vices - are the two extremes of of the
spectrum: Excess and Defeciency.
Virtues = Serve as the essential elements of
man’s moral behavior
- The central of concept in Aristotle’s virtue
ethics is that: Virtue or “THE MEAN” = IS THE
KEY TO HAPPINESS

“Virtues are the mean or the middle ground

between the excess at the one and the
deficiency at the other”
 •The Habit of Contemplation
- is a matter of constantly acquiring knowledge
and using ones mind in the right way that leads to
the habitual exercise of virtue.

•The Habit of Education of Thought

•The State of Character

- which shapes Moral Virtue
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
- is built around the premise that human shoulf
aim to achieve excellent character.

Ethical Individuals - as having virtous character

An Excellent Character - is the precondition for

attaining HAPPINESS or EUDAIMONIA is the
ultimate goal of Aristotle’s virtue Ethics.
By Focusing on HAPPINESS or EUDOMONIA
- the shape of life as a whole becomes central to
his ethical theory
- the key question in Aristotle’s virtue ethics is:
What sort of life human beings should live?

*Practical Virtues
- are the characteristics that humans need to
develop to attain happiness
- must be displayed in action for humans to truly
attain happiness.