 Virtue Ethics

Meaning and Origin

The word virtue comes from the Latin root vir, for man. At first, virtue meant manliness or valor,
being parallel to the old expression “man of character”, but over time it settled into the sense of moral
excellence. Virtue can also mean excellence in general while it can be construed also as the quality of
being morally good. Virtue ethics is classified as a teleological ethical principle. Teleological or teleology
comes from the key greek word, telos, meaning an end or purpose proper to one’s nature. In other words,
attaining virtue is the telos or purpose proper to human nature, e.g. virtue is knowledge in Socrates, and
virtue of character and intellectual virtue in Aristotle.
Socrates, as represented in Plato's early dialogues, held that virtue is a sort of knowledge (the
knowledge of good and evil) that is required to reach the ultimate good, or eudaimonia, which is what all
human desires and actions aim to achieve. Discussion of what were known as the Four Cardinal Virtues
(prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance) can be found in Plato's "Republic". He also claimed that the
rational part of the soul or mind must govern the spirited, emotional and appetitive parts in order to lead
all desires and actions to eudaimonia, the principal constituent of which is virtue.

The concept reached its highest elevation in Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" in the 4th Century
B.C.E.. Aristotle held that eudaimonia is constituted, not by honor, wealth or power, but by rational
activity in accordance with virtue over a complete life, what might be described today as productive self-
actualization. This rational activity, he judged, should manifest as honesty, pride, friendliness, wittiness,
rationality in judgment; mutually beneficial friendships and scientific knowledge.

The Greek idea of the virtues was later incorporated into Scholastic Christian moral theology,
particularly by St. Thomas Aquinas in his "Summa Theologiae" of 1274 and his "Commentaries on the
Nicomachean Ethics". The Christian virtues were also based in large part on the Seven Virtues from
Aurelius Clemens Prudentius's epic poem (410 A.D.): chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness,
patience and humility. Practice of these virtues was alleged to protect one against temptation from the
Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride).

The term "virtue ethics" is a relatively recent one, essentially coined during the 20th Century
revival of the theory, and it originally defined itself by calling for a change from the then dominant
normative theories of Deontology (e.g. Immanuel Kant with Categorical Imperatives) and
Consequentialism (e.g. Jeremy Bentham on Utilitarianism).

To illustrate the difference among three key moral philosophies mentioned above, ethicists Mark
White and Robert Arp refer to the film The Dark Knight where Batman has the opportunity to kill the
Joker. Utilitarians, White and Arp suggest, would endorse killing the Joker. By taking this one life,
Batman could save multitudes. Deontologists, on the other hand, would reject killing the Joker simply
because it’s wrong to kill. But a virtue ethicist “would highlight the character of the person who kills the
Joker. Does Batman want to be the kind of person who takes his enemies’ lives?” No, in fact, he doesn’t.

So, virtue ethics helps us understand what it means to be a virtuous human being. And, it gives us
a guide for living life without giving us specific rules for resolving ethical dilemmas.

Character Building For A Good Life

 Imagine a person who always knows what to say, can diffuse a tense situation, deliver tough
news gracefully, confident without being arrogant, courageous but not reckless, generous but never
prodigal. This is the type of person everybody wants to be around with and to be like, someone who
seems to have mastered the art of being a person. This sounds like an impossible feat but Aristotle
believed that while rare, these people do exist. They are all what we should aspire to be: virtuous!

Virtue theory does not spend a lot of time telling you what to do, there is no categorical
imperative or principles utility, and no set of rules to follow in order to be a good person, instead it’s all
about an individual’s character. Aristotle and other virtue theorists argued that if we can just focus on
being good people, the right actions naturally follow, and effortlessly; become a good person and you will
do good things.

The theory reflects the ancient assumption that humans do have a fixed nature or essence and that
the way we flourish is by adhering to that nature. Aristotle describe this in terms of what he called proper
functioning; everything has a function and a thing is good to the extent that it fulfills its function and it is
bad if it does not. This is easy to see in the things around us like a chair whose function is to be sat upon
for comfort and convenience; a flower is expected to grow and reproduce and if it does not fulfill its
function then it is a bad flower. The same is true for humans, while we are also animals, all the stuff that
indicate proper functioning for an animal holds true for us as well- we need to grow, be healthy and
fertile. We are also a rational animal, and social animal, so our
function also involves using reason and getting along with our own species. Proper functioning is not all
about God’s plan but that nature built into us that desire to be virtuous.

What does it mean to be virtuous? To claim that having virtue just means doing the right thing, at
the right time, in the right way, in the right amount and to the right person is vague. For Aristotle, there is
no need to be specific, because if you are virtuous, you know just what to do. You know how to handle
yourself and how to get along with others; you have a good judgement and you know what and when it is
right. Aristotle understood virtue as a set of robust character traits that once developed, will lead to
predictably good behavior. Virtue is the midpoint between two extremes, which are called vices; it is the
right amount, the sweet spot between the extreme of excess and the extreme of deficiency, and this spot is
known as the Golden Mean; it is also referred to by some scholars as the Theory of Moderation, or
Theory of the Middle. To demonstrate the theory let’s take a look at some particular virtues starting with
courage.

What is courage? Take a closer look at this situation: while on your way home you see a person
being mugged, what is the courageous action for you to take? Your immediate reaction might be the in
line with the acclaimed idea that “a courageous person would run over there and stop the mugging
because courage means putting yourself in a harm’s way for a good cause”. A virtuous person in the
Aristotelian sense would first take a stock of the situation, size up the mugger and have a good reason to
believe that you could safely intervene, and that is probably the courageous choice. So if you assessed the
situation and you recognized that intervention is like to mean that
both you and the victim are in danger, the courageous thing to do is not to intervene and call for help
instead. According to Aristotle, courage is the midpoint between the extremes of cowardice and
recklessness – cowardice is the deficiency of courage while recklessness is an excess of courage, and both
are bad. Aristotle said that “you definitely can have too much of a good thing”, so being courageous
doesn’t mean rushing headlong into danger, but rather “a courageous person will assess the situation, they
will know their own abilities, and they will take the right action in the particular situation”. Furthermore,
part of having courage is being able to recognize when, rather than stepping in immediately, you need to
find authority who can handle the situation that is too big for you to tackle alone. Basically, courage is
finding the right way to act. Aristotle thought all virtues work like this: the right action is always a
midpoint between two extremes so there is no “all or
nothing” in this theory including honesty. Accordingly, honesty is the midpoint between the
extremes of brutal honesty and failing to say things that need to be said – it is knowing what needs to be
put out there and what you should keep quiet about. It also means knowing how to deliver hard truths
gracefully, how to break bad news gently, or to offer criticism in a way that it is constructive, rather that
soul-crushing.

To determine the midpoint of every action can become tedious, not to mention the fact that the
midpoint could vary from person to person as well as from one situation to the other. How then can we
possibly learn to be virtuous? According to Aristotle, virtue is a skill, a way of living, and it is something
that can only really be learned through experience. Virtue is a kind of knowledge he called practical
wisdom, or phronesis. It is something that one can learn practically in the streets or while performing
those multiple concerns or chores in life like cooking, attending classes or even reading a book. A
character is developed through habituation - if you do a virtuous thing over and over again, eventually it
will become part of your character. Furthermore, learning to do the right thing comes by way of finding
those who are, in a way, already virtuous and emulating them. These
people who already possess virtues are called moral exemplars, and according to this theory, we are built
with the ability to recognize them and with the desire to emulate them, so you learn virtue by watching it
and then doing it. In the beginning it would be hard or you may feel phony because you are just copying
someone who is better than you of being a good person. But over time these actions will become an
ingrained part of your character and eventually it becomes that robust trait that Aristotle is talking about.
It will just manifest every time you need it, that’s when know you have virtue and before you realize it,
becomes effortless.

Why do we need to build our character, apply practical wisdom and emulate moral exemplars?
What motivates us to become the ‘good person’ that we can be? Virtue theory evokes that we should
become virtuous because if we are then we can attain the pinnacle of humanity. It allows us to attain what
is known as eudaimonia, a Greek word which would mean “a life well lived” or “a good life”, while it can
also mean “human flourishing”. A life of eudaimonia is a life of striving. It’s a life of pushing oneself to
the limit and finding success. A eudaimonistic life is full of the happiness that comes from achieving
something really difficult, rather than just having it handed to you. But choosing to live a eudaimonistic
life means that you are never done improving, constantly setting
goals and working to develop new ways to achieve them. Choosing to live life in this way also means
you’ll face disappointments and failures. Eudaimonia does not mean a life of cupcakes and rainbows, it
does mean rather the good feeling of sinking into your bed after an absolutely exhausting day in school or
office – it is the satisfaction of knowing that you accomplished a lot and then you pushed yourself to be
the very best person that you could be.

Summary
Virtue ethics is the quest to understand and live a life of moral character. This character-based approach
to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice: honing our strengths while working on our
weaknesses. By practicing being honest, brave, just, generous, and so on, a person develops an honorable
and moral character. According to Aristotle, by honing virtuous habits, people will likely make the right
choice when faced with ethical challenges.
(*** Lecture of Mr. Raul Leandro Villanueva)

 Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics is regarded with the theories of Self-Realization. Theories of self- realization represent
the moral reflections of the ancient people more than two millennia years ago. The common denominator
of these theories is the idea that the moral good of the individual consists in the development of one’s
potentialities as perfectly as possible, and thus fulfilling and realizing one’s nature. This fulfillment is
achieved by actualizing man’s possibilities, considering all important elements of human nature and
including the inherent social character of the human person. Virtue ethics considers that moral life should
be concerned with cultivating a virtuous character rather than following rules of actions. In virtue ethics, a
moral person is someone who displays the character traits of honesty, courage, and integrity.

Virtue ethics was introduced by Socrates in his ‘know-thyself ‘principle which is a lifetime project
inculcating self-questioning, self-reflection and self-assessment. This process of self-knowing implies that
a person cannot cheat himself/herself since for Socrates, ‘an unexamined life is not worth living.’ In life,
one has to be wise by being prudent, temperate, courageous and just. Wisdom sums up everything that a
person does. Plato’s moral philosophy (429 – 347 B.C.) introduced the view that things that exist on this
earth are merely imperfect copies or reflections of the ideal world. Ideas are perfect, eternal, immutable
and universal. Things we perceive through our senses in space and time are but the temporary
manifestations of the ideal, which is one, indivisible, timeless and space-less. Thus, human dignity,
integrity and virtues continue to live even if the person already dies. In another sense, Platonic morality
implies that ‘you cannot put a good man down.’

Virtues are unseen and indefinable yet they are important, valuable and essential. So, we are to strive
to attain completeness of the Good, Beauty and Truth, and yet, we can never complete them absolutely.

Known as father of idealism, Plato grounded his ethical thought where morality consists
essentially in the constant imitation of the Good, the highest of all ideas. To be moral, a human person
ought to know the Good, to follow or do the Good, and ultimately to possess the Good. In his allegory of
the cave, the world is an imperfect copy of the ideal world; thus, ideas are eternal, immortal and perfect
and ignorance is the only evil (absence of good). For this reason, one must educate oneself through virtues
that are eternal, immutable or immeasurable – good, beauty and truth.

1. Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.)

Unlike his teacher Plato, Aristotle believes that the world that we perceive is the real world.
Human nature is as it actually is and not simply a copy or manifestation of the idea, e.g., man. Man is a
composite of body and soul, mind and matter, senses and intellect. Man is, therefore, a rational being.
While man has a nature in common with the other animals, he is, however, above all of them because of
his reason. As such, man strives towards an end or goal in view. This is the Good. But what is the Good
that man seeks? To Aristotle, it is happiness. But what is man’s true happiness? To answer this question,
we must understand what man’s true end is. What is the proper function or purpose of man?

If man is rational then the proper function of man is the act of reason. For Aristotle, the end or
function of man could only be the activity of reason brought to its fullest extent, namely, the moral
virtues viewed within the framework of a communal life of the “polis” and the “act of contemplation.”
Moral virtue is following the rule of moderation: taking the middle between two extremes, excess and
deficiency. Overeating as well as eating too little is bad; eating moderately is good. To drink much
alcohol results to hang-over while not drinking alcohol can result to making the body imbalanced. To
experience real happiness, one needs to drink moderately.

To Aristotle, the act of contemplation is the best and most perfect virtue. Contemplation is to
engage in the highest, most perfect type of reflection, whereby man can commune with the divine and
eternal truths. It is the fulfilment of the highest potential of man as a rational being. The twin ends of
moral virtues and act of contemplation enable man to attain happiness. Happiness or “eudaimonia” is the
result of virtuous living, the proper exercise of reason in all of man’s action and endeavors.
It is truly important for persons to live as humans, thus must practice virtues such as righteousness,
honesty, integrity, moderation, goodness, truth and sincerity. On the other hand, the possible
counterargument is that virtue ethics is not always the best to resolve ethical dilemmas. Issues are not
resolved by being good alone nor being righteous alone.

Terms in Aristotelian Ethics

Akrasia - Usually translated as “incontinence,” this term connotes a lack of self-control. A person
exhibiting akrasia knows what good behavior consists of but lacks the self-control not to give in to
physical pleasures. The concept of akrasia is significant to Aristotle, as he generally agrees with the
Socratic claim that no one willingly does evil and that all wrongdoing is a result of ignorance. If the
incontinent person acts wrongly in full knowledge of what is good, this poses a dilemma for Socratic
ethics, which Book VII of the Ethics attempts to answer.

Arete - Usually translated as “virtue,” this important term means something more akin to “excellence.”
For the Greeks, arete can be used to refer not only to a person’s moral or intellectual virtues, but to any
other kind of excellence, be it the fitness of an athlete or even the sharpness of a knife. Generally
speaking, a person, animal, or thing exhibits arete when it is performing its function properly. That the
Greeks use the term arete in their discussions of ethics implies a strong sense that humans have a function
just as knives do, and that we become good by fulfilling this function.

Doctrine of the Mean - Aristotle’s doctrine, stated most explicitly in Book II, that virtue is a mean
state between the vicious extremes of excess and deficiency. This doctrine is left necessarily vague, as
Aristotle thinks that this mean varies from person to person. Essentially, it consists of the observation that
it is always possible to have too much or too little of a good thing.

Energeia - This Greek word, which is the root of our word energy, is generally translated as
“activity.” However, it is not necessarily an activity in the sense that we might understand it. For instance,
Aristotle describes both happiness and contemplation as activities. In calling happiness an energeia,
Aristotle contrasts it with virtue, which he considers to be a hexis, or disposition. That is, the virtues
dispose us to behave in the correct manner. Actually behaving according to the virtues, however, is not
itself a virtue but rather the energeia of happiness.

Ethos - We can see that this term is the root of our word ethics. However, it is more accurately
translated as “character,” which gives us an important insight to understanding the Ethics. Aristotle is not
so much concerned with moralizing as he is with determining what constitutes an admirable character.

Eudaimonia - Normally translated as “happiness,” eudaimonia also carries connotations of success

and fulfillment. For the Greeks, happiness is not an inner, emotional state, but the activity, or energeia, of
a successful person. The Greeks did not share our sharp distinction between the public and the private, so
for them, happiness is a public matter that can be evaluated just as accurately by an observer as by the
person being observed.

Hexis - Translated as “disposition,” hexis is the term Aristotle uses to qualify the virtues. According to
Aristotle, virtue is not something one actively does. Rather, virtue is a disposition to behave in the right
way.

Phronesis - Often translated as “prudence,” this term is perhaps better, but more cumbersomely,
translated as “practical wisdom.” Phronesis is an important intellectual virtue that allows us to reason
properly about practical matters. Phronesis consists in no small part of an appropriate application of the
practical syllogism.

Psyche - The root of our word psychology, psyche is generally translated as “soul,” though it carries
none of the spiritual connotations of the Christian use of that word. Psyche is that unobservable property
that distinguishes living things from nonliving things. The human psyche consists of three major parts: the
nutritive part, which it shares with both plants and animals; the appetitive part, which it shares with only
animals; and the rational part, which is distinctively human.

Telos - This important term can be translated variously as “end,” “goal,” or “purpose” but specific for
the Greeks, telos is the purpose proper to ones nature. According to Aristotle, we have a telos as humans,
which it is our goal to fulfill. This telos is based on our uniquely human capacity for rational thought.
Aristotle’s view of humans having a telos based in our rationality leads directly to his conclusion in Book
X that contemplation is the highest human good.

Virtues and Vices

SPHERE OF ACTION OF FEELING EXCESS MEAN DEFICIENCY
Fear and Confidence Rashness Courage Cowardice
Pleasure and Pain Licentiousness Temperance Insensibility
Getting and Spending (minor) Prodigality Liberality Illiberality
Getting and Spending (major) Vulgarity Magnificence Pettiness
Honor and Dishonor (minor) Ambition Proper Ambition Unambitiousness
Honor and Dishonor (major) Vanity Magnanimity Pusillanimity
Anger Irascibility Patience Lack of Spirit
Self-expression Boastfulness Truthfulness Understatement
Conversation Buffoonery Wittiness Boorishness
Social Conduct Obsequiousness or Friendliness Cantankerousness
Flattery
Shame Shyness Modesty Shamelessness
Indignation Envy Righteous Malicious enjoyment
indignation

Themes, Ideas & Arguments

Virtue and Happiness
The word happiness in the Ethics is a translation of the Greek term eudaimonia, which carries
connotations of success and fulfillment. For Aristotle, this happiness is our highest goal. However,
Aristotle does not say that we should aim at happiness, but rather that we do aim at happiness. His goal in
the Ethics is not to tell us that we ought to live happy, successful lives, but to tell us what this life consists
of. Most people think of happiness as physical pleasure or honor, but this is because they have an
imperfect view of the good life.
 The conception people have of happiness frequently does not line up with true happiness because people
are generally deficient in virtue. Virtue is a disposition to behave in the right manner, which is inculcated
from a young age. A person with the virtue of courage, for instance, will not only show confidence in the
face of fear, but will think of this courage as a good thing. Behaving courageously will make the virtuous
person happy and will be one part of living a generally good life. By contrast, a person who has been
poorly brought up and exhibits the vice of cowardice will find happiness in the avoidance of danger and
thus will have an imperfect view of the good life.
Moral Education
A question of high importance in any investigation of ethics is how we can teach people to be good.
Aristotle is quite clear that he does not think virtue can be taught in a classroom or by means of argument.
His Ethics, then, is not designed to make people good, but rather to explain what is good, why it is good,
and how we might set about building societies and institutions that might inculcate this goodness.
According to Aristotle, virtue is something learned through constant practice that begins at a young age.
We might understand his outlook better if we recognize the meaning of the word arete, which is rendered
as “virtue” in most English translations. This term more generally means “excellence,” so a good
horseman can exhibit arete in horsemanship without necessarily implying any sort of moral worth in the
horseman. It should be obvious to anyone that excellence in horsemanship cannot be learned simply by
reading about horsemanship and hearing reasoned arguments for how best to handle a horse. Becoming a
good horseman requires steady practice: one learns to handle a horse by spending a lot of time riding
horses.
For Aristotle, there is no essential distinction between the kind of excellence that marks a good horseman
and the kind of excellence that marks a good person generally. Both kinds of excellence require practice
first and theoretical study second, so the teaching of virtue can be only of secondary importance after the
actual practice of it.
The Doctrine of the Mean
One of the most famous aspects of the Ethics is Aristotle’s doctrine that virtue exists as a mean state
between the vicious extremes of excess and deficiency. For example, the virtuous mean of courage stands
between the vices of rashness and cowardice, which represent excess and deficiency respectively.
For Aristotle, this is not a precise formulation. Saying that courage is a mean between rashness and
cowardice does not mean that courage stands exactly in between these two extremes, nor does it mean
that courage is the same for all people. Aristotle repeatedly reminds us in the Ethics that there are no
general laws or exact formulations in the practical sciences. Rather, we need to approach matters case by
case, informed by inculcated virtue and a fair dose of practical wisdom.
Aristotle’s claim that virtue can be learned only through constant practice implies that there are no set
rules we can learn and then obey. Instead, virtue consists of learning through experience what is the mean
path, relative to ourselves, between the vices we may be liable to stumble into.
The Unity of the Virtues
For Aristotle, virtue is an all-or-nothing affair. We cannot pick and choose our virtues: we cannot decide
that we will be courageous and temperate but choose not to be magnificent. Nor can we call people
properly virtuous if they fail to exhibit all of the virtues.
Though Aristotle lists a number of virtues, he sees them all as coming from the same source. A virtuous
person is someone who is naturally disposed to exhibit all the virtues, and a naturally virtuous disposition
exhibits all the virtues equally.
Our word ethics descends from the Greek word ethos, which means more properly “character.”
Aristotle’s concern in the Ethics, then, is what constitutes a good character. All the virtues spring from a
unified character, so no good person can exhibit some virtues without exhibiting them all.
The Importance of Friendship
Aristotle devotes two of the ten books of the Ethics to discussing friendship in all its forms. This is hardly
a digression from the main line of argument. Happiness, according to Aristotle, is a public affair, not a
private one, so with whom we share this happiness is of great significance.
The city-states of ancient Greece were tightly knit communities. In the Politics, Aristotle argues that we
cannot fully realize our human nature outside the bounds of a Greek city-state. The bonds that tie citizens
together are so important that it would be unthinkable to suggest that true happiness can be found in the
life of a hermit.
The Life of Contemplation
In Book X, Aristotle ultimately concludes that contemplation is the highest human activity. This is largely
a consequence of his teleological view of nature, according to which the telos, or goal, of human life is
the exercise of our rational powers. In discussing the various intellectual virtues, Aristotle extols wisdom
as the highest, since it deals only with unchanging, universal truths and rests on a synthesis of scientific
investigation and the intuitive understanding of the first principles of nature. The activity of wisdom is
contemplation, so contemplation must be the highest activity of human life.