Ethics

Foundations of Moral Valuation

Chapter V:
Virtue Ethics
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Good Quick Work wont be
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Good Cheap Work Won’t be
Quick
Quick cheap work Won’t be
GOod
 Table of Contents
Chapter V: Virtue Ethics
• Happiness and Ultimate Purpose
• Virtue as Excellence
• Moral Virtue and Mesotes
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be
able to:
• Discuss the meaning and basic principles of
virtue ethics;
• Distinguish virtuous acts from non-virtuous
acts; and
• Apply Aristotle’s ethics in understanding the
Filipino character.
INTRODUCTION
An online news account narrates key officials from both the legislative and executive
branches of the government voicing out their concern on the possible ill effects of too
much violence seen by children on television. The news estimates that by the time children
reach 18 years old, they will have watched around 18,000 simulated murder scenes. This
prompted then Department of Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro to launch the
implementing guidelines of the Children’s Television Act of 1997 in order to regulate
television shows and promote more child-friendly programs. Ultimately, for Bro. Luistro, to
regulate television programs would help in the development of children’s values.

There have been numerous studies on the effects of television violence

on children. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, for
instance, enumerated the harmful effects of television violence such as
being insensitive to the possible ill consequences brought about by watching
violent shows.
 The study also suggests that children exposed to television violence
begin to “imitate what they observe” and consider violence as “a way to
solve problems.”
Mature individuals are aware that it is vital for children to go through
the process of building their personality, identity, or character. How does
the continuous exposure to violence on television affect the character
that children develop? Is it possible that constant watching of violence on
television results in aggression among children? What is the role of the
child’s environment in his/her capacity to develop into a good individual?
These questions are real concerns that society needs to address. Perhaps,
it is best to look closely at how good moral character is developed among
individuals. What elements are involved in order to achieve this? One
theory that can possibly provide a comprehensive understanding of how
an individual can develop moral character is virtue ethics.
HAPPINESS AND ULTIMATE PURPOSE
• Aristotle begins his discussion of ethics by showing that every act that a
person does is directed toward a particular purpose, aim, or what the
Greeks called telos.
• Every pursuit of a person hopes to achieve a good.
• One must understand that an individual does actions and pursuits in life
and correspondingly each of these activities has different aims. Aristotle is
aware that one does an act not only to achieve a particular purpose but
also believes such purpose can be utilized for a higher goal or activity,
which then can be used to achieve an even higher purpose and so on. In
other words, the different goods that one pursues form a hierarchy of teloi
(plural form of telos).
• It is important for Aristotle that one becomes clear of the hierarchy of
goals that the different acts produce in order for a person to distinguish
which actions are higher than the other.
• So what is the highest goal for Aristotle? What goal is both final and self-
sufficient? According to Aristotle, older individuals would agree that the
highest purpose and the ultimate good of man is happiness or for the
Greeks, eudaimonia.
• What defines a person therefore is her function or activity of reason. Any
human being can perform the activity of reason; thus, being human is
achievable. However, a good human being strives hard in doing an activity
in an excellent way. Therefore, the task of being human becomes more
difficult because doing such activity well takes more effort on the part of
the person.
VIRTUE AS EXCELLENCE
• Achieving the highest purpose of a human person concerns
the ability to function according to reason and to perform an
activity well or excellently. This excellent way of doing things
is called virtue or arete by the Greeks.
• For Aristotle, the human soul is divided into two parts: the
irrational element and the rational faculty. The irrational
element of man consists of the vegetative and appetitive
aspects.
• In contrast, the rational faculty of man exercises excellence in
him. One can rightly or wrongly apply the use of reason in this
part. This faculty is further divided into two aspects: moral,
which concerns the act of doing; and intellectual, which
concerns the act of knowing.
• Although the condition of being excellent can be attained by a
person through the intellectual aspect of the soul, this situation
does not make him/her into a morally good individual.
However, Aristotle suggests that although the rational functions
of a person (moral and intellectual) are distinct from each other,
it is necessary for humans to attain the intellectual virtue of
practical wisdom in order to accomplish a morally virtuous act.
• In carrying out a morally virtuous life, one needs the intellectual
guide of practical wisdom in steering the self toward the right
choices and actions. The Filipino term pag-uugali precisely
reflects the meaning of moral character. One can have
mabuting pag-uugali (good character) or masamang pag-uugali
(bad character).
MORAL VIRTUE AND MESOTES
• As stated by Aristotle, developing a practical wisdom involves
learning from experiences. Knowledge is not inherent to a person.
• When practical wisdom guides the conduct of making morally right
choices and actions, what does it identify as the proper and right
thing to do? As maintained by Aristotle, it is the middle,
intermediate, or mesotes for the Greeks that is aimed at by a morally
virtuous person. Determining the middle becomes the proper tool by
which one can arrive at the proper way of doing things.
• Based on Aristotle, a morally virtuous person is concerned with
achieving his/her appropriate action in a manner that is neither
excessive nor deficient. In other words, virtue is the middle or the
intermediary point in between extremes. One has to function in a
state that his/her personality manifests the right amount of feelings,
passions, and ability for a particular act.
• A morally virtuous person targets the mesotes. For Aristotle, the task of
targeting the mean is always difficult because every situation is different
from one another. Thus, the mesotes is constantly moving depending on
the circumstance where s/he is in. The mean is not the same for all
individuals.
• Aristotle also provides examples of particular virtues and the
corresponding excesses and deficiencies of these:
DISCUSSION POINTS
1. What is moral virtue? What is intellectual
virtue?
2. What is the difference between moral and
intellectual virtue? Explain.
3. How is a person’s character formed according
to Aristotle?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS ON
1. Identify some Filipino traits and categorize
each as virtue (middle) or vices (excess or
deficiency). Place them in a table.
2. Who do you think possesses a moral
character in your community? Explain your
answer.
LESSON SUMMARY
• Aristotle’s virtue ethics starts with recognizing that happiness is the ultimate
purpose or telos of a person. As the ultimate purpose, happiness is deemed as
the final and self-sufficient end of a person. It is by realizing the highest goal of
a person that s/he achieves happiness that is also considered as the greatest
good. Attaining happiness is arrived at when s/he performs his/her function,
which is to act in accordance to reason in an outstanding manner. It is in doing
his/her function well that virtue, excellence, or arete is realized.
• To carry out the task of performing his/her function well, the person has to
understand the structure of the soul where his/her reason will operate.
Aristotle shows that human soul is divided into the irrational and rational
faculties.
• Aristotle sees the development of one’s character as the constant interaction
between the faculties of the rational part of the soul. Practical wisdom is
deemed as a necessary ingredient in guiding the moral faculty in doing the
appropriate action. Practical wisdom identifies the right action and the moral
faculty aptly executes it.
• What practical wisdom identifies as the right action according
to Aristotle is the mesotes or the middle measure of an action,
feeling, or passion. The middle is always in between an action,
feeling, or passion that is deficient or excessive. Nothing is
lacking or is too much from an act that is morally good. For
Aristotle, virtue is the good in between vices.
• To sum up, moral virtue, according to Aristotle, is a “state of
character” which habitually acts according to the middle
measure that practical wisdom identifies as the moral choice
that should be acted upon, given the concrete situation that
presents to the person. The goal of virtue ethics is to promote
the maturity of the character of the person. Building a good
character is a task and responsibility of every person.