VIRTUE ETHICS

ARISTOTLE
(384-322 B.C.)
Virtue
• A State Of Character Or Habit
• Which Is The Result Of Dispositions
And Deliberations
• Prompting Us To Actions
• Within The Context Of The Human
Goods Which We Pursue In Our Lives
• Habitual Actions Based on Values
Virtue (Aristotle’s Definition)
• A State Of Character
• Concerned With Choice,
• Lying In A Mean
• (I.E., A Mean Relative To Us)
• This Being Determined By Rational
Principles,
• And By That Principle By Which The Man
Of Practical Wisdom Would Determine It
Rules And The “Mean”
• Avoidance Of Strict, Abstract Rules
• Emphasis On Individual, Concrete
Circumstances
• Hitting The Mean Between Extremes
(Excess And Deficiency)
– “Midpoint” in a Spectrum
• Some Actions Do Not Admit of a Mean
Considerations
• The Right Person
• The Right Object
• The Right Amount
• The Right Time
• The Right End
• The Right Way
Virtue History
• Character Or Habits Played Out Over
Time
• Tolerance
– Respect For Individual Virtue History
Practical Advice
• Difficult To Hit The Mean
– Avoid What Is More Contrary To The Mean
• One Of The Extremes Is More Erroneous
• Choice Of The Lesser Of Two Evils
– Avoid That To Which We Are Most Drawn
– Avoid The Most Pleasurable
Virtue Ethics
And The Principles
• One Can Move From “Quandry” Ethics Where
Questions Or Conflicts Are Resolved By Balancing
Principles Against Each Other To The “Deeper Level”
Of Promoting, Supporting, And Negotiating The
Practice Of Virtues In The Various Roles In An
Organization, Which Individuals Occupy.

• Virtue Ethics Moves, From The Use Of Abstract

Principles And Their Applications To Particular
Situations, Directly To An Examination Of The
Particular Circumstances, Actions, And Agents.