Virtue Ethics Flashcards
(5 cards)
What is Virtue Ethics?
Virtue ethics is interested in how to become a better person.
For this reason, it is character based ethics.
It’s a HOLISTIC approach as it encompasses aspects of life rather than being concerned with specific actions.
Aristotle is associated.
What does Aristotle say in his book?
IN his book, Nicoachean Ethics, Aristotle explains everything has a purpose (telos) and everything has a function (Ergon).
The purpose of human life is Eudaimonia. (happiness or fulfilment).
What is the golden mean?
To achieve eudinomia, people need to seek the middle point been two extremes of behaviour.
What does VE believe in theft and lying?
- Lying would be seen to contridict the virtue of truthfulness and it could also go against the virtue of courage
For Aristotle, justice is a central virtue. Theft violates distributive and rectificatory justice
Aristotle considers truthfulness a virtue
What are disadvantages to VE?
Robert Louden argued that sometimes if youre facing a very complex moral dilema, the virtues might conflict with eachother. In example, courage would conflict with assisted suicide. It could be a couragous thing to allow that to be done under the law.
In addition, it can be argued that the fact that eudimonia is a negative focous because it isn’t that virtuous. If the reason you are being virtuuous is so you can be happy instead of just trying to do good, it is selfish.
