ARISTOTLE’S

VIRTUE ETHICS
Mrs. Mary Rose Cagande
Mr. Jose Norman Bajar
 Would you rather lead an
enviable or an admirable life?

Why?
What is the difference?
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Which life is best for the bearer?
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 To live the “right” kind
of life…
How ought I to act?
(question of action)
What kind of person ought I to be?
(question of character)
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 There are two ways of approaching
the question of what it means to be
moral or ethical:
1. Ethics of Doing = Action-based
Ethics = Ethics of Conduct. Asks the
question: What should I do?
2. Ethics of Being = Virtue-based Ethics
= Aretaic Ethics. Asks the question:
What should I become??
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 Virtue Ethics in General
• De-emphasizes
– intentions
– consequences
– rules
• Emphasizes the person who
is acting
• Inquires whether the
person is expressing good
character
The question is…
NOT:
What should I do?
But rather:
What sort of person
should I be?
How do I build good
character?
 Origins of Virtue Ethics
• The theory of virtue ethics originates in
Ancient Greece, though some connections can
be drawn as far back as Ancient China.
• In Greek, virtue (arête) means ‘excellence’.
• Socrates once claimed: “it’s the greatest good
for a man to discuss virtue all day … on the
grounds that the unexamined life is not worth
living” (The Apology).
 Aristotle is the most detailed and
comprehensive proponent of Virtue
Ethics among the Ancient Greek
philosophers
 He was NOT primarily interested in
particular actions, but rather in
identifying the type of person who
would act properly.
But WHO IS ARISTOTLE?
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 Aristotle 384-322 BC

• Student of Plato at the Academy

• Teacher of Alexander the Great
• Zoologist, Biologist (chemist, mathematician, political
scientist, literary figure, geographer, geologist, etc.)
• Founded the Lyceum
Influenced :
• Author- Significant writings: • Aquinas,
• Bentham,
- Logic - Politics - Science
• Mill,
- Metaphysics - Ethics - Art • Kant
Everything in the world has an end,
a purpose, a telos:
 The purpose or telos of an acorn to become a
oak tree.
 The purpose or telos of an egg is become a
chicken.
 The purpose or telos of architecture is to
produce buildings.
 The purpose or telos of medicine is to promote
health. 11
The TELOS for Man= Eudaimonia
 complete, sufficient
 a fulfilling human life
 human ergon = think
on/lead a good life
 = a teleological ethics
 Defn = “rational activity
with virtue”
– focused on the goal =
how to make my life
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good/fulfilling?
 EUDAIMONIA : Reason and Virtue
Aristotle argues that the highest end of humans
consists in “activity of the rational part of the
soul in accordance with perfect virtue.”
“…what sets humanity off from other species,
giving us the potential to live a better life, is our
capacity to guide ourselves by using reason. If
we use reason well, we live well as human
beings.” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
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 VIRTUE
Definitions:
1. Acting with excellence
2. An activity of the rational part of the soul
3. Reason excellently applied
4. The means between the extremes
A virtue is any characteristic that enables us to
perform or achieve our purpose, our telos
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VIRTUE
Two kinds of virtues:
1. Practical/Moral – “the
result of habit or custom”
2. Intellectual – which “owes
its birth and growth
mainly to instruction and
so requires time and
experience.” 15
Living virtuously is the one and only pathway to
genuine happiness, and happiness is the highest
good, because:
1. Happiness is desired by all.
2. Happiness is self-sufficient: once we have it,
we lack nothing of importance.
3. Happiness is final: we desire it only for itself,
and not as a stepping stone or means to
achieving something else.
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 What is character?
• The Sum of All Our Traits
(virtues & vices)
• Virtues are Character traits
which…
• Enable us to act well
habitually Moral Character is the
first essential in a man.
• Require the right kind of ~George Washington

inner attitude & motivation

How do we acquire virtue?
• Practical wisdom
– Comes from observing
human affairs carefully
– Comes from remembering
how our actions & the
actions of others have
played out
 How do we acquire virtue?
• The more we develop a
virtuous character &
acquire practical wisdom
– The greater chance we will
act well in life
• Good actions from from
good character
• Good character is essential
to human happiness
Virtue &Habit
• For Aristotle,
virtue is something that is practiced and
thereby learned—it is habit (hexis).
• Cultivating virtues is compared to
practicing archery or marksmanship
• Hitting the “bull’s eye” takes time, practice,
and patience
 Virtue &Habit
• Demonstrating the
appropriate behavior at the
“right” time, “right” place, to the “right”
degree
• This has clear implications for moral
education, for Aristotle obviously thinks that
you can teach people to be virtuous
• Role models become very important
 Virtue As the Golden Mean
• Aristotle says virtue involves finding the proper
balance between two extremes.
– Excess: having too much of something.
– Deficiency: having too little of something.
• Not mediocrity, but harmony and balance.
• The Mean varies from person to person
• There are many ways of behaving & thus many
ways to be happy
 Examples
Emotion: fear
• Vice-deficiency = rashness
• Vice-excess=cowardice
• Virtue-mean=courage

Action: giving money

• Vice-deficiency=stinginess
• Vice-excess=prodigality
• Virtue-mean=generosity
 DEFICIENCY VIRTUE EXCESS

Cowardice (too Courage Rashness (too

little confidence) much confidence

Insensibility (too Temperance Self‐indulgence

little pleasure) (too much
pleasure)
Stinginess (too Generosity Wastefulness (too
little giving) much giving)

Shamelessness Modesty Bashfulness (too

(too little shame) 24
much shame)

Surliness Friendliness Flattery

 Is Aristotle’s doctrine of means the same as,
“everything in moderation?” Can one be too
virtuous?
 NO!
 It is impossible to be too just – we can’t be
too lawful or fair
 It is impossible to be too courageous; as
courage is just the right balance between
rashness and cowardice – courage is hitting
the mark just right
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 Virtue and Self-Control
Aristotle draws an interesting contrast between:
– Weakness of will (akrasia) occurs when
individuals cannot keep their desires under
control.

– Continent people, who have unruly desires but

manage to control them.

– Temperate people, whose desires are naturally—

or through habit, second-nature—directed toward
that which is good for them.
The Greek’s 4 Cardinal Virtues
Courage and Temperance
2 that regulate emotion: Prudence:
Justice: knowledge of one’s good or purpose (telos)
giving each their fair due knowledge of precise ethics
Thank You!

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