🐝Intro to Aristotle Unit 7 – Aristotle's Virtue Ethics and Mean Doctrine

Key Concepts

• Eudaimonia represents the highest human good, a state of flourishing and well-being achieved through virtuous living
• Virtues are character traits that enable individuals to live well and achieve eudaimonia (courage, temperance, justice)
• Vices are character traits that hinder eudaimonia and lead to an unfulfilled life (cowardice, intemperance, injustice)
• The Golden Mean refers to the desirable middle point between two extremes, a virtue that avoids excess and deficiency
• Moral responsibility implies that individuals are responsible for their actions and character development
• Voluntary actions are those that originate within the agent and are not performed under external compulsion or ignorance
  • Involuntary actions are performed under compulsion or ignorance and are not blameworthy
• Deliberation involves rationally considering different courses of action to determine the best choice in a given situation

Historical Context

• Aristotle lived from 384-322 BCE, during the Classical period of Ancient Greece
• He studied under Plato at the Academy in Athens for nearly 20 years
• Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, where he taught and wrote extensively on various subjects (ethics, politics, metaphysics)
• His ethical works, primarily the Nicomachean Ethics, laid the foundation for his virtue-based approach to morality
• Aristotle's ethics were influenced by the cultural values and practices of ancient Greek society
  • Emphasis on excellence (arete) and the cultivation of virtues
  • The importance of reason and moderation in human affairs
• His ethical thought departed from Plato's focus on abstract, eternal Forms and instead emphasized practical wisdom (phronesis)

Aristotle's Ethical Framework

• Teleological approach focuses on the ultimate purpose or goal (telos) of human life, which Aristotle identifies as eudaimonia
• Virtue ethics emphasizes the development of good character traits rather than adherence to moral rules or consequences of actions
• Aristotle distinguishes between intellectual virtues, acquired through teaching, and moral virtues, developed through habit and practice
• Eudaimonia is achieved through the exercise of virtues in accordance with reason
  • It is a state of flourishing, not a subjective feeling of happiness
• Virtues are a mean between two extremes, a deficiency and an excess (courage is the mean between cowardice and recklessness)
• Moral virtues are acquired through practice and habituation, becoming a stable part of one's character over time
• Practical wisdom (phronesis) is the intellectual virtue that enables individuals to discern the right course of action in particular circumstances

The Doctrine of the Mean

• The Doctrine of the Mean asserts that virtues lie at the midpoint between two vices, an excess and a deficiency
• Aristotle uses the analogy of an archer aiming at a target to illustrate the mean: virtue is like hitting the bullseye, while vices miss the mark
• The mean is not a precise mathematical average but varies depending on the individual and the situation
  • What constitutes the mean for one person may not be the same for another
• Finding the mean requires practical wisdom and an understanding of the particular circumstances
• Examples of virtues as means between extremes:
  • Courage is the mean between cowardice (deficiency) and recklessness (excess)
  • Temperance is the mean between insensibility (deficiency) and intemperance (excess)
• The mean is not always equidistant from the extremes; sometimes it may be closer to one extreme than the other
• Aiming for the mean is a continuous process of moral development and self-correction

Virtues and Vices

• Aristotle discusses several key virtues and their corresponding vices:
  • Courage: the mean between cowardice and recklessness
  • Temperance: the mean between insensibility and intemperance
  • Liberality: the mean between stinginess and prodigality
  • Magnificence: the mean between shabbiness and vulgarity
  • Magnanimity: the mean between pusillanimity and vanity
  • Proper ambition: the mean between unambitiousness and over-ambitiousness
  • Truthfulness: the mean between self-deprecation and boastfulness
• Each virtue is associated with a particular sphere of human experience (courage relates to fear and confidence, temperance to pleasure and pain)
• Virtues are not innate but developed through practice and habituation
  • Engaging in virtuous actions cultivates virtuous dispositions over time
• Vices corrupt character and lead individuals away from eudaimonia
• Some actions and emotions do not have a mean and are always wrong (malice, envy, adultery)

Practical Application

• Aristotle emphasizes the practical nature of ethics; virtues must be lived out in concrete situations
• Individuals must use practical wisdom to discern the appropriate course of action in particular circumstances
  • General principles must be adapted to specific contexts
• Moral education is crucial for developing virtuous character
  • Parents and society play a key role in habituating children to virtuous behavior
• Aristotle recognizes that external goods (wealth, friends, political power) are necessary for eudaimonia, but they are not sufficient
  • Virtues are more important than external goods for achieving eudaimonia
• Friendship is an important context for exercising virtues and contributing to eudaimonia
  • Friends provide opportunities for virtuous actions and moral support
• Political participation is another arena for exercising virtues and promoting the common good
  • Aristotle sees ethics and politics as closely interconnected

Criticisms and Debates

• Aristotle's doctrine of the mean has been criticized for being vague and difficult to apply in practice
  • Determining the mean in specific situations requires a high degree of moral judgment
• Some argue that Aristotle's virtues are culturally specific to ancient Greece and may not apply universally
  • Different societies may prioritize different virtues or interpret them differently
• Aristotle's view of women and slaves as inferior has been rightly criticized as prejudiced and mistaken
• The relationship between virtues and external goods is a point of contention
  • Some argue that virtues are intrinsically valuable regardless of external circumstances
• Aristotle's emphasis on habits and character development has been criticized for neglecting the role of reason and deliberation in moral decision-making
• The unity of the virtues thesis, which suggests that to have one virtue is to have them all, is controversial
  • It seems possible to possess some virtues without others

Legacy and Influence

• Aristotle's virtue ethics has had a profound impact on Western moral philosophy
  • It offers an alternative to rule-based and consequence-based approaches to ethics
• Medieval philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas synthesized Aristotelian virtue ethics with Christian theology
• Virtue ethics experienced a revival in the 20th century, with philosophers such as Alasdair MacIntyre and Rosalind Hursthouse building on Aristotle's ideas
• Aristotle's emphasis on character development and practical wisdom has influenced fields such as moral education and professional ethics
  • Virtue-based approaches are used in medical ethics, business ethics, and environmental ethics
• The Doctrine of the Mean has been applied in various domains, from aesthetics (the golden mean in art and architecture) to psychology (the concept of a healthy mean between extremes)
• Aristotle's teleological approach to ethics has been influential, even among those who reject his specific conception of eudaimonia
• The Nicomachean Ethics remains a classic text in moral philosophy, studied and debated by scholars and students alike