MODULE 2 VIRTUE ETHICS

OVERVIEW
Do you remember the last part of Module 1? It discussed the source of authority
in ethics. It is said that a good source of authority in ethics is moral theories. So what
are we going to do in module 2 is to discuss one of the moral theories, Virtue Ethics.
This theory is a product of Aristotle's intuitive mind. We will start on the background on
how Aristotle arrived in conceptualizing Virtue Ethics. The module would also focus on
the important concepts in Virtue Ethics like telos, eudaimonia, arete, mesotes and
phronimos. We will characterize actions as virtuous acts or non-virtuous acts. Then
we will try to apply the concept of virtue ethics in a real-life setting. You will analyze a
case for you to experience how virtue ethics work.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. explain the important concepts and principles of virtue ethics;
2. differentiate virtuous acts from non-virtuous acts;
3. use the principles of virtue ethics in real-life situations.

Historical Background
Aristotle lived from 384-322 BC. He was a student of Plato in Academia in Athens.
Most of the time Aristotle was in an intellectual dispute with Plato. Due to these
disputes with Plato, he founded his school, the Lyceum. Aristotle made a good
account of himself. He was able to create different works in different fields. Some of
the notable works of Aristotle were Metaphysics, De Generatione et Corruptione
(biology), De Anima (psychology), Nicomachean Ethics, and the Organon (logic).
Some historians claimed that Aristotle was greatly influenced by his father who was a
physician. Aristotle was very observant of the surrounding like a physician who tries to
observe his patients. He had a son and named him Nichomachus. The book of
Aristotle in ethics was named after his son and it was called Nichomachean Ethics.

Nichomaen Ethics
Aristotle establishes his ideas in Ethics using the Platonic understanding of reality
and its concept of good as his springboard. He abandons the idea of Plato about
reality and good. Aristotle particularly contests the separation of matter and form. If
you are going to look at Plato's understanding of reality and its concept of good it is
quite ideal. He believes that everything outside the world of forms or ideas are not true.
Take this example: Juan is a good boy. Plato argues that Juan is not a good boy.
Because he is in a world of matter. Everything in the world of matter is not true
because they are subject to change. Plato would claim that Juan's goodness is just a
copy of the real goodness that is found in the world of forms or ideas. But Aristotle did
not agree with this. He contests that we will not be able to understand a thing without
having matter and form. We will not understand that Juan is a good boy if there is no
matter and form. We will not be able to know Juan is a good boy if we don't see the
body (matter) of Juan, his looks, and his built, and if we don't have the idea (form) of
what is a good boy. When we say that Juan is a good boy, it means that being good
does not exist independently of Juan. Our experience dictates when we say that Juan
is a good boy, we are referring to Juan in his totality as a composition of matter and
form, not as a separate entity.

TELOS
As we establish the ground of Aristotle's ethical framework, we now look at how it
works. Aristotle's ethical framework starts with observing what is there in nature.
Aristotle is keen on looking for what is common in nature. In his observation, he sees
that when you throw a stone upward it will go down. It will not suspend in the air. If you
throw it up ten thousand times, it will go down ten thousand times. Similar to a ball
place on a slope. If you put a ball on a slope, it has nothing to do but to roll downwards.
When a person performs actions, it is always directed towards something. It is
directed towards a purpose. A person can't perform actions without a purpose.
Aristotle sees that there in common in all of these. He concludes that everything in
this world including a person has "telos". The word telos means end, goal, or purpose.
When we go back to our example, a stone thrown upward will end downward, a ball
place in the top of the slope will end on the lower part of the slope and a person jumps
into action because of the goal or purpose.
We already know that a person acts towards a goal or purpose. We cannot deny
the fact that there is a purpose why we do something. Now a person will perform an
act when she sees the purpose as good. No person will do something if she sees the
purpose as bad. We eat because we know that it is good. It will give much-needed
sustenance to our bodies. You enroll in this course because you see good on it. You
believe that it will provide you a good future. So it means that the telos or the purpose
is always good. A person performs an act because she sees that the telos or the
purpose as good. But you may ask why are there some people who do bad acts. Let
us take the example of a drug dependent. She takes an illegal drug because she
believes that it will solve all her problems. Here you will find that the purpose is good,
to solve all her problems. The problem lies in the action she has taken. It is bad.
Taking illegal drugs is bad. We do not say that taking illegal drugs can become good
what we are showing is that the telos or purpose is good. It is what all of us seek to
achieve.
In our experience, we act because we seek to achieve a specific purpose. But we
cannot also deny that this purpose is used to attain a higher goal or purpose. Let's
have the example of a student. We all know that you are here to study so you can
earn a degree. You are moved to study because of the purpose of earning a degree.
But it does not end there. You want to earn a degree so you can find a job. Because
Filipinos believe that if you have a degree you can find a job easily. But it does not end
there. You want to find a job so that you can earn money. You want to earn money so
you can buy things you want. There seems to be a hierarchy of telos, goal, or
purpose.

EUDAIMONIA
In the hierarchy of telos, goal, or purpose there must be the highest purpose, this
must be ultimate. It is the ultimate good of a human being. Now let us see what is the
ultimate purpose of a person. When we say ultimate it means that it is last and final.
Nothing follows. According to Aristotle, to consider the telos to be ultimate it must fit
the criteria. The first criterion says that it must be final. It means that it is the final end
or purpose and it is not used to attain any other higher ends. Unlike the examples in
the earlier discussion, we can see that the end is used to attain another end. Studying
to earn a degree and earning a degree to find a job. So these goals cannot be
considered as ultimate telos because they are not final. The second criterion of the
ultimate telos is that it must be self-sufficient. Meaning that when we attain it nothing
else will be sought. It will completely satisfy our desires to attain something once we
attain the ultimate telos. The last criterion of the ultimate telos is that it must be
attainable. It is non-sense if the ultimate telos of a person is not attainable. It is absurd
to say that the ultimate telos of a person cannot be attained.
So what is the ultimate telos of a person? According to Aristotle the ultimate telos
of a person is "eudaimonia". It means happiness. But mind you the happiness that
Aristotle is telling is not an emotion. Like the happiness that we experience when we
receive gifts during our birthdays. This kind of happiness is on the level of feelings.
Aristotle is not referring to this kind of happiness because it is temporary. He argues
this happiness is permanent and it is what everybody desires to attain. Eudaimonia
being the ultimate telos makes every person desires it.

ERGON
We already established that the ultimate telos is eudaimonia or happiness, but
how can we attain it. According to Aristotle, we can achieve eudaimonia by fulfilling a
person's "ergon". The word ergon means function. So, it only means that we can
attain the ultimate telos by fulfilling our function. But what is the function of a person?
A function is what distinguishes or characterizes the thing from other beings. Example:
key, it is used to lock or unlock doors, cabinet, etc. This makes the key unique from
other things. Again, what is the function of the person? What distinguishes a person
from other beings? What sets a person apart from other beings? The function of a
person is the ability to reason. This ability distinguishes a person from other beings.
There is no other being that can reason. To be a person is to act in accordance with
reason. Aristotle argues that we can attain eudaimonia by performing our ergon which
is the ability to reason but it is not enough by just performing it. He would say that we
should perform our function well. We must perform it in a good or excellent way.

ARETE
In Greek, performing in a good or excellent way is "Arete". The word arete is
equated to the word virtue. The word virtue is associated with the words good,
excellent, and noble. Now, how do we attain virtue? According to Aristotle, virtue
cannot be accomplished in a single act. Virtue is accomplished through repetitive
actions. It is acquired through habits. But remember that habit is not always good.
That is why Aristotle distinguishes what habit we need to have. Habit is essential to
the formation of one's character. So to be able to have a good character, we need to
habitually do the good, thus we will acquire virtue. But acquiring virtue is not that easy.
The test is on how to act out the right feelings and passions. It is how we can control
our feelings and passions because they are neither good nor bad. According to
Aristotle, virtue is the excellent management of one's feelings and passions. Let us
take an example. We all know that anger is an example of feelings and passions. It is
neither good nor bad. To be a virtuous person, we must have excellent management
of anger. We can get angry for the right reason, time, manner, and to the right person.
Which is something difficult to attain. The difficulty lies in finding the mesotes (mean)
according to Aristotle. "Hence it is hard work to be virtuous since in each case it is
hard work to find what is the mean (mesotes)...So also getting angry, or giving and
spending money, is easy and anyone can do it, but doing it to the right person, in the
right amount at the right time, for the right end, and in the right way is no longer easy,
nor can everyone do it. Hence, well is rare, praiseworthy, and fine. " (Nichomachean
Ethics Bk. II, 1109a24) To become a virtuous person, we need to find the mesotes.
Aristotle believes that when a person is already habituated on finding the mesotes she
will be called "phronimos". This phronimos is a virtuous person who does not have to
control oneself because one's resolution has been habituated to always do the right
act, self-possessed.

VIRTUE
"Virtue, then, is a state of character concerned with a choice, lying in a mean, i.e.,
the mean relative to us, this being determined by a rational principle, by that principle
by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it". (Nichomachean Ethics Bk.
II, 1106b36-1107a2) It simply means that virtue is the mean between two vices. It is
the mean between excess and deficiency. Vices are either excess or deficiency. Let's
have an example. Let us see what is the mean (mesotes) of fear and confidence. The
mean is courage, the excess is rashness and the deficiency is cowardice. The mean
(mesotes) is always exact or as the maximum act, not an excess nor a deficiency. It
is not good if the person is "sobrang bait, sobrang tapang at medyo palakaibigan"
because this is not exact. You must also be careful on genaralizing that all actions
have mesotes. Many actions do not have mesotes and they are considered as
wrong actions. Examples would be stealing, committing adultery and killing. Can you
find their mesotes? None, there is no such thing as stealing the right amount of money.
No matter what a person steals, whether it is in a small amount or a big amount they
are both stealings.
References:
Aristotle (350 BCE). Nicomachean Ethics (W.D. Ross, Trans.)
Bulaong, O. et. al. (2018). Ethics: foundation of moral valuation. Manila: Rex
Bookstore.
Thiroux, J. (2012). Ethics: theory and practice.(11th ed.). Engelewood Cliffs:
Prentice Hall