Lesson 5 Virtue Ethics 1

VIRTUE ETHICS CHAPTER 5
INTRODUCTION
Bro. Armin Luistro:

Children’s Television Act of
1997 – to regulate
television shows and
promote child-friendly
programs.
 Children may tend to
imitate what they observe
VIRTUE ETHICS
 Virtue ethics: one theory that

can possibly provide a
comprehensive understanding
of how an individual can
develop moral character.
 It is the ethical framework
that is concerned with
understanding the good as a
matter of developing the
virtuous character of a person.
 It focuses on the formation of
one’s character brought about
by determining and doing
virtuous acts.
VIRTUE ETHICS
Aristotle’s
Nicomachean Ethics:
first comprehensive and
programmatic study
 Aristotle’s discourse of ethics
departs from the Platonic
understanding of reality and
conception of the good
 Both of them affirm
rationality as the highest
faculty of a person
VIRTUE ETHICS
 Plato  Aristotle
 Real is outside the realm  Real is found within our
of any human sensory everyday encounter with
experience but can objects in the world
somehow be grasped  What makes nature
 Truth and good is in the intelligible is its
forms and ideas of character of having both
transcendent form and matter
 Truth and good cannot
exist apart from the
object and are not
independent of our
experience
VIRTUE ETHICS
 Aristotle:
 The particular act of goodness that one does in the world is
more important than any conception of the good that is
outside and beyond the realm of experience.
 Aristotle’s ethical theory  engaging the good in our day-to-
day living
HAPPINESS AND ULTIMATE PURPOSE
ARISTOTLE:
 Every act that person does is directed toward a particular
purpose, aim, or what the Greeks called TELOS
 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.
 The different goods that one pursues FORM A HIERARCHY of
TELOI
ARISTOTLE:
 Highest purpose = Ultimate good of human being
 Highest good’s criteria
1. Final end
2. Self-sufficient or satisfaction
Pero ito nga lang ba talaga??

ARISTOTLE:
 Older individuals can only be adequately answer the highest
good
 They would agree that the highest purpose and the ultimate
good of man is HAPPINESS or the EUDAIMONIA
ARISTOTLE:
 How does a person arrive at her
highest good?
1. Investigate how he/she functions
which enables him/her to reach her
ultimate purpose
2. Distinguish one’s activity from
other beings
For Aristotle, what defines human

beings is her function or activity of
REASON
-Being human is achievable,

but a good human being
strives hard in doing things
in an excellent way. And this
task takes more effort and it
becomes difficult for humans
VIRTUE AS EXCELLENCE
 Virtue or ARETE =
excellent way of doing
things
 It is something that one
strives for IN TIME
 Aristotle says that
excellence is an activity
of the HUMAN SOUL and
therefore, one needs to
understand the very
structure of a person’s
soul which must be
directed by her rational
activity in an excellent
way
Irrational element of human soul:

1. Vegetative: physical activities
and growth of a person
2. Appetitive: desiring faculty
Rational element of human soul:

1. Moral: act of doing
2. Intellectual: act of knowing, can
only be attained through
TEACHING
Rational element of human soul:
Intellectual Excellence can be

achieved in two ways:
1. Philosophic: fundamental
principles and truths that govern
universe
2. Practical: right conduct in
carrying out a particular act
Aristotle suggests that its is

necessary for human beings
to attain the intellectual
virtue of practical wisdom in
order to accomplish a
morally virtuous act.
Moral virtue can be attained

by means of HABIT.
Habit  Character
MORAL VIRTUE AND MESOTES
 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?
The answer is MESOTES =

middle/intermediate
*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 her appropriate
action in a manner that is
NEITHER EXCESSIVE NOR
DEFICIENT
 It is not the same for all. It is
just an arithmetical proportion
 Thus…….
MORAL VIRTUE is a state of character concerned with choice,

lying in a mean, that is, the mean relative to us , this being
determined by a rational principle, and by that principle by
which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.”
Excess Middle Deficiency

Impulsiveness Self-Control Indecisiveness
Recklessness Courage Cowardice
Prodigality Liberality Meaness
LAWRENCE KOHLBERG’S MORAL
DEVELOPMENT THEORY
 1 s t level: Pre-conventional
a. Obedience and punishment orientation
b. Self-interest orientation (reward)
 2 n d level: Conventional
a. Social norms and “The good boy/girl attitude
b. Authority and social-order (law and order morality)
 3 r d level: Post-conventional
a. Social Contract
b. Universal ethical principles (Principled conscience)

Lesson 5 Virtue Ethics 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 5 Virtue Ethics 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 5 Virtue Ethics 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

VIRTUE ETHICS CHAPTER 5

Bro. Armin Luistro:

 Virtue ethics: one theory that

Pero ito nga lang ba talaga??

For Aristotle, what defines human

-Being human is achievable,

Irrational element of human soul:

Rational element of human soul:

Rational element of human soul:

Intellectual Excellence can be

Aristotle suggests that its is

Moral virtue can be attained

 When practical wisdom guides

The answer is MESOTES =

*Determining the middle

 Based on Aristotle, a morally

MORAL VIRTUE is a state of character concerned with choice,

Excess Middle Deficiency

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.