Week 4/5 - Plato and Aristotle on Morality Flashcards

1
Q

Plato’s Ethics:

Realism: Goodness and badness are mind-independent properties of character traits (virtues/vices)

Objectivism: Moral claims are either true or false.

Non-Naturalism: Goodness and badness are not explained empirically.

Epistemology: Reason can discover non-natural moral facts.

Psychology: Reason could govern one’s emotions and appetites.

Metaphysics: A just person is a person whose emotions and appetites are governed by his/her Reason.

Psychology: Only a just person is truly happy (as opposed to pleased).

It follows that:

a. One always has a reason to act morally (even if one could get away with immorality). Reason can tell us right from wrong and that it is good for us to do the right thing.
b. Immorality is ignorance.

A

Aristotle:

Reason does not necessarily govern our emotions or appetites. A weak will might succumb to temptation (akrasia).
So,
Knowledge of what is good/bad does not guarantee moral behaviour.
Rather:
Good behaviour depends on good character

Moral wisdom is practical (how to act or which ends to have) rather than theoretical (Plato):

– A theory (or a rule) does not seem to settle any moral dilemma.
– Moral judgement is like aesthetic judgement, depending on sensitivity and experience rather than on theoretical knowledge.
– Moral statements are true/false not by virtue of tracking mind-independent facts, but rather by virtue of what virtuous persons would agree on.
– Thus, values are not non-physical, unchanging, eternal, objects. Rather, they are constructed by Reason itself.

Stealing (e.g.) is bad because it flouts one’s true nature. A thief does not flourish.

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