TEXT 3: VIRTUE ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE

Virtue:

 Admirable trait that benefits oneself and others

 Hinduism (four cardinal virtues): truth, purity, self-control and affection
 Christianity: faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, prudence and
temperance

Vice

 Trait or disposition that harms oneself and others.

 Stand in our way of achieving happiness

Aristotle, divide virtues in:

 Intellectual
 Moral

Wisdom is the most important virtue (it’s intellectual and moral)

Eudaemonia: Condition of the soul, it’s the good that human seek by nature
and that arises from the fulfillment of our function as humans.

Good will: performing morally good actions, that way our natural disposition
and energies developed into virtues

Aristotle think/said:

 Virtue is essential to achieve a good life

 Emotions and actions should be subject to the control or reason

Aristotle and Confucius

 Doctrine of the mean: virtues entail moderation or seeking the middle path
 Balance and moderation is considered a virtue
 Most virtues entail finding the mean between excess and deficiency

Western Philosophy: Reason >> Virtue

 Different virtues are applied to woman, men and children.

 Different culture set different amount of important in each virtue and which
one lead you to a good life.

 A virtue that impede our growth as humans are junk virtues

 A culture that promote junk virtues as true virtues is destructive to the
development of moral character
Moral Integrity and the Unity of Virtue

 We speak of a good person as being virtuous in a general sense, because virtue

is a unifying concept.
 Virtuous people have a well-developed moral character

Virtue and Moral Education

 Cultivating a virtuous character

 It’s easier for people to be virtuous if their early childhood education
reinforced virtuous behavior