SSP4 SEMI-FINAL 01 An honest cannot be person identified simply as one

who, for instance, practices honest dealing and does not

FRAMEWORKS AND PRINCIPLES
cheat. If such actions are done merely because the
Virtue Ethics: Aristotle agent thinks that honesty is the best policy, or because
they fear being caught out, rather than through
Virtue Ethics- The Theory recognizing to do otherwise would be dishonest as the
Virtue theory is the view that the foundation of relevant reason, they are not the actions of an honest
morality is in the development of good character traits, person. A person who is honest cannot be identified
or virtues, not good acts. simply as one who tells the truth because it is the truth,
for one can have the virtue of honesty without being
A person is good, then, if he has virtues and lacks vices tactless or indiscreet.
Typical virtues include courage, temperance, justice, With respect to honest and dishonest actions, an
prudence, fortitude, liberality, and truthfulness. honest person's reasons and choices reflect his views
Some virtue theorists mention as many as 100 virtuous about honesty, truth, and deception, but of course, such
character traits which contribute to making someone a views manifest themselves with respect to other actions
good person. and to emotional reactions as well. If one values
honesty, he chooses, if possible, to work with honest
Note that in the West, virtue ethics founding fathers people, to have honest friends, to bring up his children
are Plato and Aristotle, and in the East, it can be traced to be honest.
back to Confucius and Mencius.

Virtue ethics as a theory persisted as the dominant

approach in Western moral philosophy until at least Practical Wisdom
the Age of Enlightenment, suffered a momentary Practical Wisdom. Another aspect in which one can
eclipse during the 19th century, but re-emerged in the easily fall short of full virtue is through the lack of
Anglo-American philosophy in the late 1950s. phronesis, which is moral or practical wisdom.

Practical wisdom is concerned with human things and

Three Concepts of Virtue Ethics with those that about which it is possible to deliberate.
He who [has practical wisdom] is skilled in aiming, in
These are: accord with calculation, at what is best for a human
being in things attainable through action.
1. Arete (excellence or virtue)
e.g., virtue of charity For Aristotle, being virtuous meant avoiding these
2. Phronesis (practical or moral wisdom) and extremes, by following the path between two vices:
3. Eudaimonia (usually understood to mean that of not applying a virtue enough, and that of
happiness or flourishing) applying it too much. He called this finding the ‘’mean’’
of a virtue. For example, courage is the mean between
Virtue
cowardliness and recklessness.
A virtue is an excellent trait of character. It is a
Four Forms of Virtue Ethics
disposition, well embedded in its possessor. To possess
a virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain 1. Eudaimonist Virtue Ethics. The distinctive feature of
complex mindset. this virtue ethics is that they define virtues in terms of
their relationship to eudaimonia. A virtue is a trait that
A significant aspect of this mindset is the wholehearted
Contributes to or is a constituent of eudaimonia and we
acceptance of a distinctive range of considerations as
ought to develop virtues, precisely because they
reasons for action. Take for an example, the concept of
contribute to eudaimonia.
an honest person.
2. Agent-based and Exemplarist Virtue Ethics. Agent While contemplating on the origin of laws, Aquinas
based virtue ethicists argue that rather than deriving asserts that every law is lately derived from what he
the normativity of virtue from the value of calls the eternal law. By "eternal law," Aquinas refers to
eudaimonia, other forms of normativity, including God's providential design that all created things would
eudaimonia, are traced back to and ultimately explained attain their proper end. We are endowed with the
in terms of the motivational and dispositional qualities "light of natural reason" since man participates in the
of moral agents. divine plan, proving us with both a desire for and an
ability to discern what is good. He further explains that
"it is this participation in the eternal law by the
3. Target-centered Virtue Ethics. The starting point for rational creature called the natural law". On this view,
the eudaimonist virtue ethicists is a flourishing human natural law is but an extension of the eternal law.
life; for agent- based virtue ethicist is an exemplary
agent's motivations, thee target-centered view as
developed by Christine Swanton, a philosopher at the Cardinal Virtues
University of Auckland and author of Virtue Ethics: A
1. Commanding action (prudence);
Pluralistic View (2003), begins with our existing
conceptions of the virtues. 2. Giving to those what is due (justice);
A more permissive target-centered account would not 3. Curbing the passions (temperance); and
identify 'right with "best, but would allow an action to
count as right provided "it is good enough even if not 4. Strengthening the passions against fear
the (or a) best action" (courage).

Thomas Aquinas identified four essential virtues which

4. Platonic Virtue Ethics. This fourth form of a virtue are indicative of human goodness.
ethics takes its inspiration from Plato. The Socrates of
Plato's dialogues devotes a great deal to time to asking
his fellow Athenians to expound the nature of virtues Prudence
like piety, wisdom, courage, and justice Prudence "is the quality of being wise in practical
affairs, as by providing something for the future."

Natural Law A man is prudent, if he knows how to manage well his

money or resources; it is related with being cautious or
But what is the natural law? discreet with regards to practical matters. Taking the
For Aquinas, a law is " rule or measure of human acts, same sense in ethics, in order for us to act well, we
whereby a person is induced to act or is restrained from need to make good judgments about how we should
acting". He describes a law as a "dictate of practical behave.
reason emanating from a ruler". From a common For Thomas Aquinas, prudence is not simply an act of
understanding, then, a law is a precept that serves as a the mind for it illuminates for us the course of action
guide to and measure of human action. deemed most appropriate for achieving our
Thus, whether an action is good will depend on whether antecedently established telos (an ultimate object or
it conforms to or abides by the relevant law. For aim). It does this through three acts:
Aquinas, the basis of a human action to be good or bad 1.Counsel, whereby we inquire about the available
depends on whether it conforms to reason. Hence, means of achieving the end;
reason is the standard by which we evaluate human
acts. Thus, Aquinas thinks that there is an essential 2. Judgment, whereby we determine the proper means
connection between law and reason for the laws that for achieving the end; and finally
govern human action are expressive of reason itself. 3. Command, whereby we apply that judgment.
Temperance Whatever is good (or harmful) for oneself will also be
good (or harmful) for the community of which one is a
Temperance has a two-fold meaning:
part. For this reason, we should expect the good
1.In a general sense, the term denotes a kind of community to enact laws that will govern its members
moderation common to every moral virtue. in ways that are beneficial to everyone. Hence, the
focus of legal justice is the welfare of the community.
2. In its more restricted sense, temperance concerns
the moderation of physical pleasures, especially those
associated with eatin9, drinking, and sex.
Summary for Aquinas

In summary, Thomas Aquinas teaches that justice is

Courage principally about our relations to others, and so he
thinks that all the virtues that are directed to another
Courage takes many forms: person may by reason of this common aspect be
a. Courage to do what is right annexed to justice." The virtues Aquinas has in mind
b. The courage of facing ones personal fear, here are not simply those that regulate our
c. The courage to embrace unpopular decision, relationships with other human beings, but with God.
d. The courage to endure physical or mental pain Thus, he insists that religion is a virtue that falls under
for the sake of one's improvement, justice, since it involves offering God his due honor. The
e. The courage tell the truth, same can be said for piety and observance, since they
f. The courage to push forward through seek to render to God service and deference,
frustration, respectively.
g. The courage to change,
h. The courage to act,
i. The courage to trust the courage to love, and
j. The courage to commit.

Justice

The virtue of justice governs our relationships with

others. Specifically, it denotes a sustained or constant
willingness to extend to each person what he or she
deserves. For our class discussion, we will mention only
two sets of distinctions:

1. Legal (or general) and particular justice, and

What do you think
2. Commutative and distributive justice.

For Thomas Aquinas, the purpose of legal justice is to

govern our actions according to the common good.
With this understanding, justice is a general virtue
which concerns not individual benefits but community
welfare. Aquinas sees an individual person as a
member of a community who stands to that
community as a part of a whole.