MONTINEZ, QUENY JOY B.

BSA 1-2
ETHICS
REFLECTION PAPER #6

The ancient philosophers relied on a few key concepts in their moral ideas. Virtue and the
virtues, happiness, and the soul are among them. Many items, both natural and man-
made, have their own distinct aretê or level of quality. The excellence of a horse and the
excellence of a knife are two different things. Plato promoted classical ethics, or the use
of reasoning techniques whenever faced with moral dilemmas, but Aristotle promoted
virtue ethics, or Nicomachean ethics.

According to Aristotle, in order to achieve ultimate happiness, a person must possess

both intellectual and moral characteristics. By reasoning and teachings, we develop
intellectual virtues or intelligence excellence, which are attributes that make one a great
thinker. Virtue, according to Aristotle, can be translated as excellence and is divided into
two categories: intellectual virtues and moral virtues. In a nutshell, intellectual virtue refers
to one's ability to comprehend, reason, and judge. Moral virtue, on the other hand, is the
desire to conduct in a morally correct manner. These virtues are also said to be learnt,
modified, and imprinted on the moral actor by repeated practice, by habit and continual
exercise, excellence of character can be attained. Virtues are character attributes that
become ingrained in the character of a moral agent over time. Only the positive habits
become virtues, while the negative habits become vices, which are just as difficult to break
or overcome as virtues. Moral virtue, on the other hand, is the desire to conduct in a
morally correct manner. These virtues are also said to be learnt, modified, and imprinted
on the moral actor by repeated practice. Being a mean—a medium ground to balance two
extreme traits—is the core of virtue, I've discovered.

Virtues are habits, which means that once they are learned, they become a part of a
person's personality. We grow to comprehend that virtue is beneficial in and of itself as
we undertake deeds that are objectively virtuous. It was also mentioned that not all
qualities are considered intermediate grounds of extremes, because some virtues cannot
have too much or too little of them. To summarize, Aristotle's virtue or Nicomachean
ethics is purely founded on the character of a moral agent, which will certainly differ from
one to another.