Notes in GE 5 – Ethics

Part III
FRAMEWORKS AND PRINCIPLES
BEHIND OUR MORAL DISPOSITIONS

Lesson 2
VIRTUE ETHICS

Virtue Ethics is said to have started with the great philosophers Socrates, Plato
and Aristotle. In the medieval era, the Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas
Aquinas revived, enhanced and “Christianized” Greek Virtue Ethics.

VIRTUE ETHICS
Virtue Ethics is a moral philosophy that teaches that an action is right if it is an
action that a virtuous person would person in the same situation. A virtuous person is
someone who acts virtuously and people act virtuously of they possess and live the
virtues. A virtue is a moral character that an individual needs to live well.
Virtue Ethics emphasizes on developing good habits of character and avoiding
bad character traits or vices.
Virtue ethicists, such as Aristotle, hold that people live their lives trying to
develop their faculties to the fullest extent. Developing one’s moral capacity to the
fullest is pursuing ethical excellence, which is displayed by the virtues.
Basically, the virtues are the freely chosen character traits that people praise in
others. People praise them because:
- They are difficult to develop;
- They are corrective of natural deficiencies; and
- They are beneficial both to self and society.
A moral person is someone who develops the virtues and unfailingly displays
them over time. The ancient Greeks list four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage,
moderation and justice. The Christian teaching, on the other hand, recommends faith,
hope and love.

SOCRATES’ MORAL PHILOSOPHY

In Gorgias, Socrates indicates that pleasure and pain fail to provide an objective
standard for determining moral from immoral since they do not exist apart from one
another, while good and evil do.
In Euthyphro, Socrates points that what is good has a certain independence from
the whims of the gods’ determination of the rightness of our actions and mores.
Socrates therefore believed in the existence of objective ethical standards.

PLATO’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Central to Plato’s philosophy is his Theory of Forms – the objectively existing
immaterial entities that are the proper object of knowledge. Everything in the material
world is what it is by virtue of its resemblance to, or participation in, this universal
Form or Idea.
There is also a form even for moral predicates, such as justice and happiness. The
highest of all forms is the form of the Good. For Plato, those who comprehend the Good
will always do good actions. Bad actions are performed out of not knowing the Good.
Virtue therefore is regarded as knowledge and can be taught. Knowledge of the
Good is considered as the source of guidance in moral decision making that to know the
good is to do the good.

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Notes in GE 5 – Ethics
ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS
At least two of Aristotle’s works specifically concern morality: the Eudemian
Ethics and the Nicomachean Ethics. The Nicomachean Ethics has been regarded as the
Ethics of Aristotle since the beginning of the Christian era.
Three general descriptions, which are interrelated, can be used to depict
Aristotle’s ethics.
Aristotle’s ethical system may be termed as “self-realizationism”. When
someone acts in line with his nature or end (“telos”) and thus realizes his full potential,
he does moral and will be happy.
Aristotle’s view is eudaimonistic. It focuses on happiness (eudaimonia), or the
good for man, and how to obtain it.
Aristotle’s moral philosophy is aretaic or virtue-based. Virtue ethics is interested
basically in what we should be – the character or the sort of person we should struggle
to become.

Aristotle’s “Telos”
‘Telos’ is an end or purpose. Aristotle believes that the essence or essential nature
of beings, including humans, lay not at their cause (or beginning) but at their end
(‘telos’).
Aristotle argues that rational beings can discover the ‘essences’ of things and that
a being’s essence is its potential fulfillment or ‘telos’. The essence or ‘telos’ of ‘human
being’ is rationality and, thus, a life of contemplation (Philosophy) is the best kind of life
for true human flourishing.
Aristotle believes in the excellence of philosophical contemplation and virtuous
actions stemming from virtuous persons.

Happiness and Virtues

Aristotle believes that the ultimate human goal is self-realization. This entails
achieving one’s natural purpose by functioning or living consistently with human
nature. Accomplishing it, in turn, produces happiness.
Aristotle identifies three natures of man:
- The vegetable or physical
- The animal or emotional
- The rational or mental
Rational development is thus deemed the most important, as it is uniquely human.
Accordingly, living in accordance with reason is viewed as vital in self-realization or
developing one’s potential.
Ethics, for Aristotle, is the inquiry into the human good. This human good is
eudaimonia or happiness.
Aristotle also considers happiness as the summum bonum – the greatest good of
all human life. He adds that it is the only intrinsic good, that is, the good that is
pursued for its own sake.
Aristotle believes that there is an essential connection between living happily
and living virtuously.
Aristotle’s happiness is not much of a subjective feeling of well-being, but human
well-being itself, being the human good.

Virtue as Habit
Aristotle’s idea of happiness should also be understood in the sense of human
flourishing. This flourishing is attained by the habitual practice of moral and
intellectual excellences, or virtues.
The function of human being consists in activities which manifest the best states
of his rational aspect, the virtues.
An action counts as virtuous, according to Aristotle, when a person holds oneself
in a stable equilibrium of the soul, in order to select the action knowingly and for its
own sake.

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Notes in GE 5 – Ethics
Moral virtue, for Aristotle, is the only practical road to effective action. The
virtuous person, who has good character, sees truly, judges rightly, and acts morally.

Virtues and the Golden Mean

Virtues refer to an excellence of moral or intellectual character. Aristotle
distinguishes two kinds of virtue: virtues of intellect and moral virtues. Virtues of intellect
correspond to the fully rational part of the soul, the intellect. Moral virtues pertain to
the part of the rational soul which can ‘obey reason’. Moral virtue is an expression of
character, formed by habits reflecting repeated choices, hence is also called virtue of
character.
Acting in a reasonable manner is done when we choose to and indeed act in a
way that neither goes to excess nor defect. Excess and defect normally indicate a vice.
Moral virtue is the golden mean between the two less desirable extremes.
Happiness and its opposite play a role in the determination of the golden mean.
Aristotle mentions four basic moral virtues: courage, temperance, justice and
prudence.
Courage is the golden mean between cowardice (deficiency) and tactless
rashness (excess).
Temperance is the mean between gluttony (excess) and extreme frugality
(deficiency).
Justice is the virtue of giving others right what they deserve, neither more nor
less.
What helps us to know what is just or reasonable in various circumstances,
enabling us to keep away from excess and defect is prudence or wisdom.

Phronesis and Practice

In using the golden mean to become virtuous, we must recognize not only that
the mean is neither too much nor too little but also it is ‘relative to us’ as moral agents.
In learning to avoid excess and defect, we thus have to find out for ourselves what the
right amount is in our respective unique case and situation.
The phronesis, the intellectual virtue of practical wisdom, is that kind of moral
knowledge which guides us to what is appropriate in conjunction with moral virtue.
This phronesis or practical wisdom is a grasp of the appropriate way to respond
– to feel and act – in a particular situation. To be virtuous is to act in accordance with
the right prescription.
To be virtuous, one must perform the actions that habitually bring virtue. Moral
education this comprises imitation, internalization, and practice.
Aristotle’s complete picture of a morally virtuous man therefore is someone who
constantly and habitually acts according to moral virtue and practical wisdom, ideally
exhibiting a lifetime of rational living and avoidance of vice, thereby forming an ethical
character, achieving self-realization, and thus realizing happiness and human good.
Moral virtue is a state of character manifested in choice and action, resting in the
golden mean, resolved by the prescription that a wise person would determine.

AN EVALUATION OF THE GREEK PHILOSOPHERS’ ETHICAL THEORIES

Socrates and Plato advocate a positive view of man. All vice is the result of lack
of knowledge, and no person is willingly bad.
Punishing bad deeds has no place in Socrates’ and Plato’s theory, since bad
actions are not blameworthy. Perseverance is encouraged in their view as it is held that
knowing the Good demands an abstinent and intellectually painstaking way of life.
Being moral, virtuous and just is equated with being knowledgeable of the Good.
It inspires people to be moral as it teaches that morality is a recipe to real happiness.
Against Plato’s Form, the usual comment is that there could be no such thing,
and that even if there were, it would be of no help in an ethical inquiry into the good for
human beings. There are moral truths whose truth is independent of people’s thoughts
and perceptions or society’s beliefs and customs.
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Comparatively, Aristotle’s concept of virtue is more active than that of Plato’s.
Aristotle considers virtue as acquired by practice and lost by disuse.
Aristotle’s ethics therefore can be deemed better for it distinguishes ‘doing right’
from ‘knowing what is right’. It encourages constantly performing moral actions as it
considers morality as a life-time project.
By teaching to avoid both the excessive and the deficient, Aristotle’s moral view
is more ethically practical, particular and applicable. In a particular social setting, it
identifies the mean which should be adopted, and the extremes which should be
avoided.
Aristotle could also better explain accountability and responsibility. We are thus
held responsible for our actions. Mistakes are anticipated in Aristotle’s view and
acknowledged as learning opportunities.
On the negative side, Aristotle’s doctrine of practical wisdom in determining
what is good for someone in a particular instance opens the door to bias, prejudice and
subjectivism.
We can also question the applicability of the doctrine of moderation. In some
occasions, the right thing to do is the extreme thing. Likewise, some virtues obviously
should not be expressed in moderation. Besides, there is no universal agreement on
what is moderate.
Finally, Aristotle’s prescription on being moral, as it is ideal and theoretical, can
be regarded as complex and tough. Being virtuous for him denotes doing what is right,
to the right person, at the right moment, in the appropriate amount, in the correct
manner, for the right reason.

THOMAS AQUINAS’ ETHICS

Also called the Angelic Doctor and the Prince of Scholastics, Thomas Aquinas is
an Italian philosopher and theologian who ranks among the most important thinkers of
the medieval time period.
In Ethics, Aquinas depends so heavily on Aristotle. But like Augustine, Aquinas
declares that ultimate happiness is not attainable in this life, for happiness in the
present life remains imperfect. True happiness, then, is to be found only in the souls of
the blessed in heaven or in beatitude with God.

The Natural Law

Central in Aquinas’ ethics is his typology of laws. By the term ‘law’, he means an
ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by someone who has care of
the community. Aquinas’ laws should also be understood in terms of “rules and
measures” for people’s conduct and as “rational patterns or forms”.
The eternal law refers to the rational plan of God by which all creation is
ordered. To this eternal law, everything in the universe is subject.
The natural law is that aspect of the eternal law which is accessible to human
reason. This is the moral law, the law or order to which people are subject by their
nature ordering them to do good and avoid evil.
The human law refers to the positive laws. Because the natural law is too broad
to provide particular guidance, the human law’s precise, positive rules of behavior are
supposed to spell out what the natural law prescribes.
The divine law serves to complement the other types of law. It is a law of
revelation, disclosed through sacred text or Scriptures and the Church which is also
directed toward man’s eternal end.
Obviously, the type of law that is primarily significant in Ethics is the natural
law. Part of this natural law is our inherent natural tendency to pursue the behavior
and goals appropriate to us.
According to Aquinas, this natural law is knowable by natural reason. By virtue
of a faculty of moral insight or conscience that Thomas called synderesis, we also have
natural inclinations to some specific goods. Aquinas enumerates three sets of these
inclinations:
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Notes in GE 5 – Ethics
- To survive;
- To reproduce and educate offspring;
- To know the truth about God and live peacefully in society
Grasping the prescriptions of the natural law and using our practical reason are
necessary in determining which means will direct us to our ultimate end. The closer our
action approaches our end, the more moral it is; the further it departs, the more
immoral.

Features of Human Actions

Aquinas evaluates human actions on the basis not only of their conformity to the
natural law but also of their specific features.
The species of an action refers to its kind. It is also called the object of the action.
Human deeds may be good, bad or indifferent. Aquinas holds that for an action to be
moral, it must be good or at least not bad in species.
The accidents simply refer to the circumstances surrounding the action. In
ethically evaluating an action, the context in which the action takes place is also
considered because an act might be flawed through its circumstances.
The end stands for the agent’s intention. An act might be unjust through its
intention. An intention, no matter how good it may be, cannot redeem a bad act.
Aquinas ethical theory states that for an action to be moral, the kind it belongs to
must not be bad, the circumstances must be appropriate, and the intention must be
virtuous.

Happiness, Moral Virtues and Theological Virtues

Aquinas thinks that happiness is not equated with pleasure, material
possessions, honor, or any sensual good, but consists in activities in accordance with
virtue. A person needs a moral character cultivated through the habits of choice to
realize real happiness.
Aquinas defines virtue as “a good habit bearing on activity” or a good faculty-
habit. Habits are firm dispositions or “hard to eradicate” qualities that dispose us to act
in a particular manner.
The autonomous will of a person plays a major role in acquired virtues as they
involve consistent deliberate effort to do an act time and again and despite obstructions.
The infused virtues are independent of this process as they are directly instilled by God
in our faculties.
There are two kinds of infused virtues: moral and theological. Moral virtues
have as their object not God Himself, but activities that are less virtuous and inferior to
the final end. To this kind belong the four basic virtues: prudence, fortitude, temperance
and justice.
Theological virtues provide us with true knowledge and desire of God and of
His will. The virtues of faith, hope and love serve to attune us to our final end, which is
God himself. Faith makes us recognize and believe in the true God. Hope makes us
wish to be with God. Love makes us desire and adore God. We ought to exercise these
virtues according to what God demands of us and according to our capacity as
individuals.
Aquinas also treats the theological virtues in terms of the vices and sins which
respectively conflict with them. The virtue of faith has as its counterpart the sins of
unbelief, heresy and apostasy. The virtue of hope has as its counterpart the sins of
despair and presumption. The virtue of charity and love has as its counterpart the sins
of hatred, envy, discord and sedition.

AN ANALYSIS OF THOMISTIC ETHICS

One of Aquinas’ accomplishments in Ethics is being able to mention, as much as
possible, all of the things that matter in ethical evaluation of actions. What matters in
morality is not only what one actually does but also his intentions in doing the act.

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Notes in GE 5 – Ethics
Being relatively complex but generally sensible, Thomistic ethics does not fall
into just one near contemporary category of moral theory. By not giving emphasis on
the result of actions in his so-called features of actions, we can say that he is more of a
deontologist. His basic tenet that actions must be directed to what is good somehow
relates his theory to utilitarianism and consequentialism in general. By advocating the
roles played by virtues in morality, Aquinas is a virtue ethicist. Aquinas’ doctrine of
natural law categorically discards wholesale particularism.
Because of his notion of the natural law, we can say that Aquinas is definitely
against some contemporary moral philosophies.
Thomistic ethics is comparatively applicable.
Unsurprisingly, we can find many similarities between Aquinas’ moral
philosophy and that of Augustine. Aquinas is more inclined to view earthly happiness
as also desirable, but insofar as those present goods are directed toward and
subordinated to the realization of everlasting ones in heaven.

Main Reference:
ETHICS: Principles of Ethical Behavior in Modern Society
by Jens Micah De Guzman et al.
Virtue Ethics, pages 93 – 111

Prepared by:
MICHAEL ANGELO F. EMPIZO
Saint Louis College, City of San Fernando, La Union
Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension
May 24, 2020

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