Unit- II

Ethics – on Virtues & Vices – Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in
Ancient Greece. Aristotle wrote two ethical treatises: the Nicomachean Ethics and
the Eudemian Ethics. Generally Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern a person's
behaviour or the conducting of an activity. In philosophy, ethics is the attempt to offer a
rational response to the question of how humans should best live. Aristotle follows Socrates
and Plato in taking the virtues to be central to a well-lived life.

Appetite-Regulating Habits

There are three main components in Aristotle’s discussion of virtues. All knowledge,
activity, and choice are directed toward some good called happiness. This happiness is unique
to our specific human construction and purpose. Aristotle analyses unique human psyche to
discover unique human purpose.
He offers this division of the human psyche:

Calculative (logic, math, science)

Rational <
Psyche Appetitive (emotions, desires)
Irrational<
Nutritive (nutrition, growth)
The highest aspect of the rational part is calculative in nature and is responsible for
the uniquely human ability to contemplate, reason logically, and formulate scientific
principles. At the other extreme is the nutritive faculty, the most primitive and irrational
element of our psyche, which is responsible for our physical nutrition and growth. This
element is present in all life forms, and not just in humans and other animals. Between the
two extremes is an additional faculty that is by nature irrational but is guided by reason. This
is the appetitive faculty, which is responsible for our emotions and desires. The appetitive
faculty is irrational since even lower animals experience desires. However, this faculty is
rationally guided in humans since we have the distinct ability to control these desires with the
help of reason. For example, animals have no capacity to control their anger while we do
when we follow our reason. The human ability to properly control these desires is called
“moral virtue” and is the focus of ethics.

Aristotle makes three general observations about the nature of moral virtues. First, he
argues that the ability to regulate our desires is not instinctive; rather, it is learned and is the
outcome of both teaching and practice. Second, he suggests that desire-regulating virtues are
character traits, or habitual dispositions, and should not be seen as either emotions or mental
faculties. Third, he notes that moral virtues are desire-regulating character traits that fall at
some mean between more extreme character traits. If we regulate our desires either too much
or too little, then we create problems. For example, in response to our natural emotion of fear
when facing danger, we should develop the virtuous character trait of courage. If we develop
an excessive character trait by curbing fear too much, then we are said to be rash, which is a
vice.
According to the doctrine of the mean, most moral virtues, fall at the mean between
two accompanying vices. He describes twelve virtues in particular that follow this model.
Each virtue and vice arises in reaction to some specific appetite or desire we have. His
analysis is summarized in this table:

Desire || Vice of Deficiency | Virtuous Mean | Vice of Excess

1. Fear of danger || Cowardice Courage Rashness

2. Pleasure || Insensibility Temperance Over-indulgence

3. Small giving || Stinginess Generosity Extravagance

4. Great giving || Pettiness Magnanimity Vulgarity

5. Honors || Timidity Self-confidence Conceit

6. Achievement || Under-ambition Proper ambition Over-ambition

7. Anger || Impassivity Good temper Ill temper

8. Truth || False modesty Truthfulness Boastfulness

 9. Amusement || Humorlessness Wittiness Buffoonery

10. Social life || Unfriendliness Friendliness Flattery

11. Fear of disgrace || Shamelessness Proper shame Excessive shame

12. Resent injustice || Malice Righteous indignation Envy

Courage: The midpoint between cowardice and recklessness. The courageous person is
aware of the danger but goes in any way.
Temperance: The virtue between overindulgence and insensitivity. Aristotle would view the
person who never drinks just as harshly as the one who drinks too much.
Liberality: The virtue of charity, this is the golden mean between miserliness and giving
more than you can afford.
Magnificence: The virtue of living extravagantly. It rests between stinginess and vulgarity.
Aristotle sees no reason to be ascetic but also warns against being flashy.

Magnanimity: The virtue relating to pride, it is the midpoint between not giving you enough
credit and having delusions of grandeur. Patience: This is the virtue that controls your
temper. The patient person must neither get too angry nor fail to get angry when they should.

Truthfulness: The virtue of honesty. Aristotle places it between the vices of habitual lying
and being tactless or boastful.

Wittiness: At the midpoint between buffoonery and boorishness, this is the virtue of a good
sense of humour.

Friendliness: Aristotle claims friendship is a vital part of a life well lived. This virtue lies
between not being friendly at all and being too friendly towards too many people.

Shame: The midpoint between being too shy and being shameless. The person who has the
right amount of shame will understand when they have committed a social or moral error but
won’t be too fearful not to risk them.

Justice: The virtue of dealing fairly with others. It lies between selfishness and selflessness.

Conclusion

Aristotle sees ethics as more of an art than a science and virtues as character traits and
tendencies to act in a particular way We have to learn what the right approach to a situation
is, as part of our moral development. We can gain them through practice and by copying
'moral exemplars' until we manage to internalize the virtue.