Department of Social Science

2019-2020
GEN2003 Ethics
Lecture 4
Virtue Ethics
 Question on Virtue Ethics
 Why should we talk about Virtue Ethics today?
1) Crisis of Morality in Modern Society
- Nihilism
→ the Absence of the Absolute Moral Values
- Capitalism
→ Reducing Human Beings and Everything to Commodities
2) The Study of Ethics and its Problem
- Moral Legalism (ref. Deontology)
→ Reducing Morality to Moral Rules: Do and Don’t !
e.g. Deontological Ethics (Kantian Ethics)
- Moral Consequentialism
→ Focusing Morality on Consequences instead of Purposes
e.g. Utilitarian Ethics
 The Rise of Virtue Ethics in the 20th Century
 How to attain Happiness or Good life?
 The Revival of Virtue Ethics
 the criticism of Utilitarianism and Deontology in the 60s of the
20th century
 Virtue Ethics: it is not so much what you have done as what
kind of person you are
 Utilitarianism and Deontology put too much emphasis on
Interests (Instrumental Reason) and Rules (Logical Reason)
 Neglect other values, in particular that of human nature/
character
 Their aims are not able to reflect the complexity of moral life
 Problem of Deonology: Rules cannot motivate people to do the
correspondent act easily
 Why Virtue Ethics is important?
 Virtue Ethics concerns not about what right act should we
act but about what sort of person we want to become, not
like Kantian Ethics on moral motive nor Utilitarianism on
the consequence of interest.

Utilitarian Deontological Virtue

Ethics Ethics Ethics

Consequence Motive Person

 3 Different Questions on
Moral Decision and Moral Action
 Utilitarianism:
 Which outcome produces the most useful or maximum
amount of utility?

 Deontology:
 What act should a rational man do?

 Virtue Ethics:
 What sort of person should I be?
 3 Types of Normative Ethics

Utilitarianism Deontology Virtue Ethics

Basic Concepts Utility / Happiness Duty Virtue (arete)
Moral Decisions Consequence Motive Person
Evaluations Maximization of Categorical Virtuous
Utility / Happiness Imperative Characters
Questions Which outcome What act should a What sort of
produces the rational man do? person should I
maximum amount be?
of utility?

Good Happiness Rightness Happiness

(Theory of Value)
 Basic Ideas of Virtue Ethics
 1) the concepts of arete (excellence of any
kind), i.e. the concepts of virtues, such as
courage, generosity, prudence, etc. define right
and wrong action;

 2) virtuous character traits explain why an

action is right or wrong
 What is Virtue?
 Western Tradition
 Cardinal Virtues in Ancient Greek Philosophy and
Christian Theology:
 Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Courage
 Seven Virtues and Seven Sins in Christian Tradition:
 Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience,
Kindness, Humility
 Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride
 Chinese Tradition
 Mencius 孟子 - Four Cardinal Virtues 四善端:
 Benevolence 仁, Righteousness 義, propriety 禮, wisdom 智
 Meaning of Virtue
 The function of knife is to cut, and the
“virtuous” or “good” knife is one which cuts well.
The function or nature of a doctor is to help
patient to be healthy. A virtuous or good
doctor is one who performs his function well.
The function of man is to reason, and the
virtuous man is one who thinks well.
 Virtuous act is the act of the essential part of
a thing that performs excellently.
 Virtuous “knife” = sharp knife
 Virtuous doctor = good at helping patient to
be healthy
 Virtuous man = reason excellently
 Then is virtue a feeling or capacity?
Functionalist Account of Virtue
 Presupposition:
 If a man (human being) has a function, then the
good or virtuous man must be the being that
realize the function well.

 Conclusion:
 A virtuous man is one that lives in accordance
with reason.
What is Virtue? Aristotle answers…
 It is neither a feeling nor a capacity
 It is a state of a thing which constitutes its
peculiar excellence and enables it to perform its
function well
 The excellence of a kind of thing
 In man virtue is the activity of reason and of
rationally ordered habits
 Aristotle: Introduction
Ancient Greek Philosopher (384–322 BC)
His writings on Ethics:
1. Nicomachean Ethics
2. Eudemian Ethics
3. Magna Moralia
4. Politics

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Two Types of Virtues
1) Moral Virtues (virtues of character)
- developed by moral training / habits (ethos)
2) Intellectual Virtues (virtues of mind)
- developed by education or teaching

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 Three types of people
1. People who love pleasure (living for
themselves);
2. People who love honour (living for others);
3. People who love contemplation (living for
knowledge)
 Virtues and Teleology
-Aristotle wonders to ask:
- What is the Aim of Human Life?
- All things have “telos”: its own nature, aim
or end
- Human nature: Human being has telos!

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 Teleology
 Everything has an end or purpose or ‘good.’

Act End

Happiness
 Teleological Nature
 All things have “telos” (a design and purpose).
 We know the nature of things by their end.
 The nature of seed can be told by the fruit.
 Seed => Tree => Flower => Fruit

@ To “actualize” telos is to “flourish” the nature of a thing.

Human Flourishing
To “actualize” telos is to “flourish” Human Nature
 Human nature is good
 To actualize human nature is to flourish human good
 Becoming by doing
 Becoming a good person by doing good deeds
What is Flourishing of Humanity?
- Excellence
1) the good act to actualize the nature of a
thing in the excellent way
2) the function of human being is to think in a
rational way
3) the virtuous man is the one who thinks well
or actualizes reason well

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 Aristotle is concerned with act / action because
it is conducive to human good. Every act aims
at some goods and the ultimate end or good of
human life is happiness.

 Aristotle presupposes that there are natural

ethical tendencies implanted in human beings,
and that to follow them with a general attitude
of consistent harmony and proportion
constitutes an ethical life.
 Virtue and Happiness
What is Happiness according to Aristotle?
- “Eudaimonia” (happiness / flourishing / well-being)
- to flourish one’s life → the supreme good /happiness of life
 Happiness is the virtuous activity of soul in accordance with
reason for a whole or complete life.
 Happiness is a state of human being in which his/her good
nature is flourished.
 There is a harmony between our intellect – that tells us what is
the right course of action, and our desire – which is trained by
repetition and harmoniously follows by habit.
 Virtue involves action and state of being(character).

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 Characteristics of
Virtue Ethics
 Takes account of differences between people.

 This is a theory about our characters, but we

are clearly not all the same.

 To claim that we should all try to become the

same sort of person would be wrong.
 How do we form our virtuous character?

 Humans begin with a capacity for goodness,

which has to be developed by practice.

 Aristotle says we start by doing acts that are

objectively virtuous, without a knowledge that
the acts are good and without actively or
rationally choosing them ourselves.

 As we practice these acts, we come to realize

that the virtue is good in itself.
 Doing → Becoming → Being
 Aristotle:
- We “become” certain kind of “being” by “doing”
- “By practicing virtue we learn it, just as the
builder learns to build...We become just by
doing just acts, temperate by temperate acts.”

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 Practice of Virtues
- How do we cultivate our moral virtues?
- Practice of Virtues: Moral Training

virtuous act virtuous character

- Aim of Practice
→ one can realize that the virtue is good in itself and
constitutes the character of one’s self / identity in the
community
→ one can undergo self-transformation by repeating the
habitual act and internalize virtues in one’s life
- What are these virtues we acquire from the practice?
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Example: Honesty (telling the truth)

Parent told the child to do so until it becomes a habit

for the child.

Later, the child recognizes that telling the truth is a

virtue and the child continuous to do so because he or
she knows that it is virtuous.

Telling the truth becomes a natural attitude for this

child, who no longer thinks of the reason for doing so.
 This habitual act creates a good
disposition in the child.
 The act of telling the truth flows from the
good disposition once it has been created.

telling the truth

Good Honesty
 Doctrine of the Mean

Definition: “Virtue” (aretē) according to Aristotle is the Mean

“Virtue, then, is 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.”
“Now it is a mean between two vices, that which
depends on excess and that which depends on defect; and again
it is a mean because the vices respectively fall short of or
exceed what is right in both passions and actions, while virtue
both finds and chooses that which is intermediate.”
~ Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics (II, 6, 1106b36 – 1107a2)

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 Doctrine of the Mean

- Virtue as Mean
→ a middle state or an intermediate condition
between two extremes of vices, either excess or
defect

 “By virtue I mean virtue of character; for this pursues

the mean because it is concerned with feelings and
actions, and these admit of excess, deficiency and an
intermediate condition…. We can have these feelings
at the right times, about right things, towards the
right people, for the right end, and in the right way.”

~ Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics (II, 6, 1106b18-24)

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 A state of character arises from the repetition of similar
activities.

 A virtuous man acts in a right way at the right time and

place to the right person.

 Virtue is a mean between two extremes, both of which

are vices, either excess or deficiency.

 Moral virtue is defined as being “a disposition to

choose by a rule…which a practically wise man would
determine” to be the mean between the two extremes
of excess or deficiency.
 Practical wisdom is the ability to see what is the
right thing to do in any circumstance.

 Therefore, a person must determine what a

“practically wise, virtuous man” would choose in
any circumstance calling for moral choice, and
then do the right thing.
 Virtue then is ……
i. a state that decides,
ii. consisting in a mean,
iii. the mean relative to us,
iv. which is defined by reference to reason
v. in this case, to the reason by reference to
which the intelligent person would define.
 Virtue is the Mean
the midway between excess and deficiency

 The right act varies in each situation and with respect to

each person. Allows flexibility rather than a rigid,
unbending rule.

 Not numerical – the ‘golden mean’ involves generosity at

the right time, not just right amount.

 It is a mean relative to us.

 E.g., some one would need ten pieces of bread for breakfast
but another would need only two. Both are satisfied with
their relative amount of bread.

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 Table of Virtues and Vices
Emotion / Action Vice: Excess Virtue: Mean Vice: Defect

Fear and Rashness Courage Cowardice

Confidence
Pleasure and Pain Intemperance Temperance Insensibility

Getting and Prodigality Liberality Illiberality

Spending
Getting and Vulgarity Magnificence Pettiness
Spending
Honour and Vanity Magnanimity Pusillanimity
Dishonour
Honour and Over-Ambition Proper Ambition Under-Ambition
Dishonour
Anger Irascibility Patience Spiritlessness
Self-Expression Boastfulness Truthfulness Understatement
Conversation Buffoonery Wittiness Boorishness
Social Conduct Obsequiousness Friendliness Cantankerousness
Shame Shyness Modesty Shamelessness
Indignation Envy Righteous Indignation Malicious Enjoyment

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 Evaluating Virtue Ethics
 Are there any universally valuable traits?

 Is the list of virtue changing over time?

 It seems that the list of virtue at Aristotle’s time is

different from that at our time. Our lists today might
more reflect aspects of our own times.
 It is difficult to identify the mean. The guideline
suggested by Aristotle is too vague. It becomes
impractical.
 Difficulties in defining what are virtues and what are not
 Begging the question 循環論證:
 If virtue is a good habit and a good character of
person, how can we know which habit is good
leading to virtue?
 Aristotle says that the wise virtuous person is the
model. His habit is a good habit. An act of a
virtuous person is a virtuous act.
 Who is the virtuous person? If the answer is that
the one who perform the virtuous act, then it is a
fallacy of begging the question.
 Moral Reasoning

 Utilitarianism: Bridge the gap

by maximizing happiness and
minimizing pain.

 Kantianism: Bridge the gap

by obeying categorical
imperatives.

 Virtue Ethics: Bridge the gap

by acting as a Good person.
 Does motive matter?

 Is it better to do the
right thing or to
want to do the right
thing for the right
reason?
- Virtue ethics focuses primarily on
moral character, and asks “what kind
of person should I be or become?”

- Virtues are traits/characters that help

individuals to achieve their goals and
are beneficial to the larger
community, e.g. courage,
temperance, compassion,
generosity, etc.

- People become virtuous through

moral education, and the learning is
characterised by ‘doing’.

- How to ‘apply’ virtue ethics in ethical

decision-making?