History of Ethics

1. History of Ethics Section 1 Aristotle on Eudaemonia & Virtue

2. Eudaemonia • Aristotle claims that ‘eudaemonia’ or human flourishing consists in an activity of the soul (psychological or mental activities) in accordance with excellence. • He argues this on the basis of the function of human beings.

3. Some Objections • Humans beings do not have a function. • Aristotle’s conclusion is too exclusive, through focusing on the development of distinctive human capacities.

4. But… • His conclusion can be upheld if we construe him as saying that human flourishing lies not in a single excellence but in the development of our essential capacities, or rather of most of them.

5. Reason & Virtue • His account of those excellences of character that we call ‘virtues’ well analyses these as dispositions to choose in accordance with reason (& dispositions which have been acquired through past choices). • This account also portrays each of the virtues (less plausibly) as a mean between two extremes.

6. The Doctrine of the Mean Table of virtues & vices, with the virtues portrayed as a mean between two extremes: (This table is included through the kind permission of the late Patricia Clark, who devised it.)

7. Criticisms • Aristotle’s list of virtues has been criticised as parochial & relative to his own society.

8. However… • Martha Nussbaum argues that Aristotle’s virtues are responses to problems of universal scope in the human life of all cultures.

9. Virtue ethics is acceptable when it appeals to his view that good character is central to the moral life (weaker version of virtue ethics). It’s less acceptable when it endorses his view that right action is simply what the virtuous person would do (stronger version). Virtue Ethics His account of virtues paves the way for modern theories of ‘virtue ethics’: