MORAL VIRTUE AND

MESOTES

Prepared by: Nuñez, Ma. Zenely

Tolentino, Jonie
• Aristotle virtue ethics starts with recognizing that happiness is
the ultimate purpose or telos of a person. As the ultimate purpose,
happiness is deemed as the final and self-sufficient end of a
person. It is by realizing the highest goal of a person that she
achieves happiness that is also considered as the greatest good.
Attaining happiness is arrived at when she performs her function,
which is to act in accordance to reason in an outstanding manner.
It is in doing her function well that virtue, excellence, or arete is
realized.
 RATIONAL FACULTY OF THE SOUL
• Excellence can be attained; this can be achieved through learning
• Intellectual aspect concerned with the act of knowing
• One learns well that is why she gains philosophical and practical
wisdom
PHILOSOPHICAL WISDOM PRACTICAL WISDOM

• Knowledge of the general • Knowledge of determining

principles that constitute the appropriate action in a
reality. given situation.

- One can learn from experience and therefore can gain sufficient
understanding on what to do
BRO. ARMIN LUISTRO

-With his practical wisdom and experience, has

observed the possible effect of television violence on
the young so he issued guidelines on television viewing
for children

-He says that good values instilled on children are

“sometimes removed from the consciousness of young
people” because of television violence.
 However, when practical wisdom guides the
conduct of making morally rights choices and
actions, what does it identify as the proper
and rights thing to do.

As maintained by Aristotle, it is the middle, intermediate, or

mesotes for the Greeks that is aimed at by a morally virtuous
person. Determining the middle becomes the proper tool by
which one can arrive at the proper way of doing things.
Aristotle: a morally virtuous person is concerned with
achieving her appropriate action in a manner that is neither
excessive nor deficient.

Virtue is the middle or the intermediary point in between

extremes.

A morally virtues person targets the mesotes. For Aristotle,

the task of targeting the meon is always difficult because
every situation is different from one another. Thus, the
mesotes is constantly moving depending on the circumstance
where she is in. The mean is not the same for all individuals.
As pointed out by Aristotle, the mean is simply into and
understanding a situation and assessing properly every
particular detail relevant to the determination of the mean.
Mesotes determines whether the act applied is not excessive or deficient.
Likewise, an individual cannot be good at doing something haphazardly
but reason demans a continuous habituation of a skill to perfect an act.

GOVERNMENT AND IT AGENCIES

- They are responsible for protecting and assisting the

young on their personal development should act in view of
the middle measures.

- 15% of television airtime for child-friendly shower, and

enforcing a television violence rating code that took into
account the “sensibilities of children.”
ARISTOTLE DISCUSSION- say what exactly the ultimately leads to defining what
exactly moral virtue

“ A state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean, the mean relative to us, this
being determined by a rational principle, and by that principle by which the man of practical
wisdom would determine it.”

MORAL VIRTUE

- firstly the condition arrived at by a person who has a character

indentified out of her habitual exercise of particular actions.

- The action done that normally manifest feelings and passions is chosen
because it is the middle.

- The rational faculty that serves as a guide for the proper indentification
of the middle is practical wisdom.
: Habits for Aristotle are products of the constant application of reason
in the person’s actions.

: Aristotle clarifies further that not all feelings, passions, and actions
have a middle point.

: Children are beginning to consider violence as “a way to solve

problems”

: Aristotle’s view is contray to this. As an act, violence, in itself, is bad.

A person cannot employ violence as if it were a virtue or a middle
measure in between vices of being “deficient” in violence or being
“excessive” of the same act.
Aristotle also provides example of particular virtues and the corresponding
excesses and deficiencies of these. This table shows some of the virtues and their
vices.
Excess Middle Deficiency

Impulsiveness Self-control Indecisiveness

Recklessness Courage Cowardice
Prodigality Liberality Meanness
Questions & answers
Invite questions from the audience
Resources
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