Virtue Ethics

Virtue Aristotle and Thomas Happiness Morally

Ethics Metosis Aquinas’ Virtuous
What is Natural Act
it? Law
What sort of person ought
I to be?
 This focuses on the character traits one is
supposed to have in order for that person to be
considered ethical
 An ethical person is a virtuous person
 The main goal here is the development of
character rather than following certain
classifications fo actions
 A systematic approach to virtue was first
developed by Aristotle
The Life of
Aristotle
 was born in Stagira,
Northern Greece
 learned basic anatomy
and dissection from his
father
 his parents died when
he was young
 After the death of his
parents, his education was
directed by Proxenus of
Atarneus
 At the age of 17, Aristotle was sent to Athens to study
at Plato’s Academy where he remained for nearly
twenty years as a student and as a teacher until
Plato’s death.
At the ACADEMY…
 Aristotle earned a reputation as the
mind and the reader of the school.
 PLATO: “The Academy consisted of
two parts: the body of his students and
the brain of Aristotle.”
 Aristotle disagreed with some of
Plato’s important philosophies, but he
built an altar for Plato at his teacher’s
death.
 Upon the death of Plato, Aristotle was
expecting to be the new master of the
Academy, but a native “athenian”,
Speussipus, was chosen
 Aristotle was invited by King Philip of Macedon to
train his 13 year old son, ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
 ALEXANDER – as a boy was wild and rude, but
ARISTOTLE was able to instill into the mind of
Alexander respect for knowledge and science.
 school founded by Aristotle
 the pattern of the Academy was
duplicated ( a closed community,
friendly, intent on learning, given to
much dialogue particularly while
strolling along the garden part.
 middle class
 He invented logic, that shaped the
thinking of an entire culture
•Randy Aust, Saint Ignatius College Prep, Chicago Il
• www.theschoolife.com
Aristotle wrote 200
works but only 31
survived.
His ethics influenced
Jewish, Christian and
Islamic theology

•Randy Aust, Saint Ignatius College Prep, Chicago Il

• www.theschoolife.com
The Philosophy
of Aristotle
Telos / End

HAPPINESS IS THE MEANING AND THE

PURPOSE OF LIFE, THE WHOLE AIM AND END
OF THE HUMAN EXISTENCE
-ARISTOTLE
 Comes from the
Greek word “TELOS”
which means END
or PURPOSE
 INTRINSIC END

INSTRUMENTAL END
The pencil maker

Done for its end

 Done for its own sake

Done as means for other ends

A person is considered to be
GOOD if he is functioning as
a human person
 You and I are
the same…

The end of the human person is not merely

to exist, because that will make him of no
difference from plants and the animals
EUDAIMONIA – the word
Aristotle used that is so
often translated as
“happiness”
Every human person is
naturally seeking towards
the attainment of happiness
If one wants to be in the
state of Eudaimonia, one
must be virtuous and one
must partner this with
wisdom
Virtue should be understood
as being a habit.
Something that had shaped
one’s character
The morally virtuous act…

METOSIS
JUST MIDDLE

Neither deficient or not excessive

MORAL VIRTUE -- rationally measured activity following the rule of
the JUST MIDDLE, motivated by RIGHT INTENTION and proceeding
from a permanent disposition acquired through HABITUAL ACTION

Magnificence
“such things depend on particular facts, and the
decision rests with perception” Aristotle

Not Just
Just
right! right!
right!
Whenever an action is
performed based on
CONTEMPLATION,
such action is said to
be coming from
PHRONESIS or
PRACTICAL WISDOM.
Thomas Aquinas
 Born : c. 1225, Roccasecca, in
Lazio, Italy
 Seventh son of Teodora and
Landolfo Count of Aquino
 At the age of 5 he was already
sent to a monastery
 He got attracted to the way of
life of the Dominican friars in a
nearby monastery and to
decided to enter their order.
 His brothers kidnapped him in
hopes of bringing him to quit.
 They held him at Roccasecca
for more than a year.
 His brothers sent into his room
one night a very beautiful
woman in order to tempt
Thomas
 But Thomas frightened the
woman away
 He managed to escape and
went to Paris
 In 1244 or 1245, in Cologne,
St. Thomas was placed
under Albert Magnus, the
most renowned professor of
the order.
 “Dumb Ox” – nickname
given to him because of his
humility and taciturnity
(untalkative)
 Albert believes however,
that one day, Thomas’
doctrine will resound
throughout the world.
 Albert’s prediction came
true when St. Thomas
became one of the greatest
and most influential
theologians of all time.
• Thomas Left a
huge literary
legacy.
• Its vastness was
considered to
be very
remarkable
because no
one would
even think that
it was all
composed
within a 20-
year span only.
Aquinas’ Natural Theology

 Reality is composed of the

“natural” and the “revealed”
 The natural will be within the sphere
of philosophy where one has to
observe first then make a
conclusion
 However another part of reality
cannot be known to man unless it is
revealed
 Philosophy and Theology played complementary roles
To the Begins with
conception faith in God
of God

Interprets
all things as
creatures of
Begins with object of
God
sense experience
The Nature of the Human Person Humans has Human person is also
both its to be considered good
because the Creator is
source and
Summum Bonum
ultimate end
in God

Man was created

imago dei

God is not only the final

end of Human beings,
but He is also the very
ground of our existence
Happiness as constitutive of
moral and cardinal virtues
• Happiness should not be connected with pleasure.
• Pleasure is not the goal of life nor is the acquisition
of wealth.
• Rejected fame and public success as leading to
EUDAIMONIA
 LIVING A FULL LIFE…
 If a person would be living with the society
 human beings are political (social)
creatures designed to live with others
 Happiness is…

Contemplating God and not in goods of the body