Transcript actions. Virtue ethics

VIRTUE ETHICS
Street, Dresden Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1908/1919)
ACTION AND VIRTUE

Action ethics focuses on the rightness and wrongness
of obligations, rules, and actions.
 Virtue ethics focuses on character traits of the
individual. Accordingly, it is concerned with the question
of what kind of person the individual should be.
 Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) said that the good person is
the virtuous person. Thus, for Aristotle, ethics is
concerned with the virtues or what is virtuous.
 For Aristotle, as for Socrates and Plato before him, the
question is what makes a person virtuous, or “What traits
of character make one a good person?”
REASON AND DIVINITY
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The virtuous life for the Greeks was inseparable
from reason.
But Rachels notes that Christianity changed
things.
Christianity changed things because it saw God as
the supreme law giver - divine command theory and the good person was the person who obeyed
God’s laws by obeying the commandments of the
Christian Bible.
In addition, St. Augustine distrusted reason, and
thought that “moral goodness depended on
subordinating oneself to the will of God.” And so
what was emphasized was the Divine Law.
After Augustine, the theological virtues of faith,
hope, charity, and obedience are emphasized.
THE MORAL LAW
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Rachels says that, after the Renaissance, the
Divine Law was replaced by the Moral Law.

The moral law was thought to come from human
reason rather than from divine commands.
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The moral law was thought of as being “a
system of rules specifying which actions are
right.”
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Moral agents are obligated to follow these rules
of correct actions.
FROM CHARACTER TO
ACTION
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Because man was thought to have a duty to
moral law, philosophers no longer asked about
which character traits made a person good or
virtuous.
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Instead, they asked “what is the right thing to
do?”
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This question shows a shift to action from
character as the concern of moral theory.
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It led philosophers to talk about rightness and
obligation.
ETHICS AFTER VIRTUE
ETHICS

Ethical egoism - the view that each person ought to act in
his or her own interests - do what is good for you.

Utilitarianism - we ought to do whatever will produce the
greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
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Kant’s deontological theory (duty ethics) - a person’s
duty is to follow rules that could be consistently willed for
everyone to follow in all circumstances. Here we get
universal rules such as ‘always tell the truth.’

Social contract theory - rational, self-interested people
agree to a moral system that will protect each person from
the interests of others so that we avoid the problems
inherent in Hobbes’s “state of nature.” By agreeing to the
contract everyone benefits.
THE RECRUDESCENCE OF VIRTUE
ETHICS

Rachels notes that a number of 20th century philosophers
thought that the notion of a moral law without a lawgiver
was nonsensical. This is because the notion of a law
seemed logically to require a lawgiver.
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Therefore they returned to virtue ethics.
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For instance, G. E. M. Anscombe thought that philosophers
should give up talk about obligation, duty, and rightness
and go back to Aristotle’s approach to ethics as based on
virtue.

Although virtue theorists disagree amongst themselves
about certain aspects of virtue theory, they agree that all
other moral theories are on the wrong track.
COMPONENTS OF VIRTUE
THEORY
Rachels says that a theory of virtue should:
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1. Tell us what virtue is.
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2. Tell us which character traits are virtues.
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3. Explain what these virtues consist in.
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4. Tell us why these character traits are good ones to
have.
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5. Tell us whether the virtues are the same for everyone,
everywhere, everywhen. Or do they differ from culture to
culture, from time to time, or even from person to person?
WHAT IS VIRTUE? I
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Aristotle said that “a virtue is a trait of
character that is manifested in habitual
actions.”
Thus the honest person habitually tells the
truth, and does so as a matter of principle.
Her truthfulness comes from her character,
which is “firm and unchangeable.”
The problem here is that a character trait
can be manifested in habitual actions that is
not a virtue but a vice, as when someone
typically lies instead of telling the truth.
WHAT IS VIRTUE? II

Perhaps the virtuous person is one we prefer and
the person of vice is one we avoid, as Edmund
Pincoffs has suggested.
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Then virtuous character traits are those had by
people whose company we would seek rather than
avoid.
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Rachels thus says that virtue can be defined as “a
trait of character, manifested in habitual action, that
is good for a person to have.” Thus the answer to
the first question ‘What is virtue?’ is virtue is a trait of
character, manifested in habitual action, that is good
for a person to have.
WHICH CHARACTER TRAITS ARE
VIRTUOUS?
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benevolence
fairness
reasonableness
civility
friendliness
compassion
generosity
control
conscientiousness honesty
cooperativeness industriousness
reliance
courage
justice
courteousness
loyalty
dependability
moderation
self-confidence
selfself-discipline
selftactfulness
thoughtfulness
tolerance
Colin McGinn lists kindness, [benevolence] honesty,
justice, and independence [self-confidence, self-control,
self-discipline, self-reliance] as the four main virtues.
WHAT DO THE VIRTUES CONSIST
IN?
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Rachels says that “each virtue [virtuous
character trait] has its own distinctive
features and raises its own distinctive
problems.” And it may be hard to say
exactly what a virtuous character trait
consists in.

Rachels looks at the virtues of courage,
generosity, honesty, and loyalty to family
and friends. (We will look only at the first
and the rest you are responsible for reading
through and seeing what the problems are
with each.)
COURAGE I
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According to Aristotle, courage is a virtue
that is the mean between the excess of
foolhardiness and the excess of cowardice
- both of which are vices.
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What about someone who displays courage
in the advance of an unworthy cause. Is
his courage still virtuous?
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Is a Nazi soldier’s courage still a virtue
since he is fighting for an evil cause?
COURAGE II
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Peter Geach says no: “Courage in an
unworthy cause is no virtue; still less is
courage in an evil cause.”
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For Geach, the Nazi soldier who faces
danger cannot even be called courageous
since he is fighting for an evil cause.
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Rachels thinks that this is unjustified, even
if he understands Geach’s point - which is
not wanting to praise the action by calling it
courageous.
COURAGE III
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Rachels thinks that Geach’s view is wrong since, if
the Nazi is not cowardly or foolhardy in facing danger
then he must be courageous.
Rachels says maybe we should say that the Nazi is
courageous in facing danger and that his courage is
an admirable character trait.
But he is also to be deplored for following an evil
regime, or his willingness to follow an evil leader and
cause is a dishonorable character trait.
Then, although we can call him courageous, overall
we can say that his behavior is wicked since he is
fighting for an evil cause.
WHY ARE THE VIRTUES
IMPORTANT?
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Why is it good for a person to be honest, generous,
kind, loyal and so forth?
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Here Rachels notes that the answer can depend on
which virtue it is which we are talking about. Thus,
each virtue may be valuable for a different reason.
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For instance, courage is good because there are
dangers in life that we could not cope with if we
lacked courage. Generosity is good because
unfortunate people need help. Honesty is important
because human relationships depend on it. And
loyalty is “essential to friendship.”
ARISTOTLE AND VIRTUES
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Aristotle thought that the virtues are
important because the virtuous person will
fare better in life, and the virtuous person is
the happy person.
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For Aristotle, we need virtues in order to
live well, in order to conduct ourselves
properly.
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Despite all of their differences, we can say
that the virtues all have in common that
they are needed to live successfully.
ARE THE VIRTUES THE SAME FOR
EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, EVERYWHEN?
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Although we get our sense of value from the
society in which we were raised and live, and
societies differ, still it may be true that there will
be some virtues that will be needed by all
people, at all places, at all times.
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Aristotle thought that there will be some virtues
that will be needed by all people, at all places, at
all times.
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He thought that, in spite of our differences, all
people have a great deal in common.
MAJOR VIRTUES
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Societies may differ greatly from one another, but there will
be some basic needs that people in all societies will have.
And there will be some basic problems that people in all
cultures will face.
For instance:
a. Everyone needs courage.
b. There will be considerations of personal property in
every society, and as some people will be better off than
others, generosity will always be a virtue.
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c. Because people will communicate with one another
in any society, honesty will always be prized - civilization
depends in large part on telling the truth.
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d. Man is a social animal. As social we all need
friends, and as friends count on one another, loyalty is a
virtue.
MAJOR VIRTUES AND
FACTS ABOUT HUMANITY
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Rachels notes that the list could be extended, and
it is by Aristotle, but it is enough to note that the
major virtues - such as those just listed - are not
determined by social convention. Rather, they are
determined by basic facts about humanity - what it
means to be a human being.
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And as the major virtues are determined by basic
facts about humanity, they do not vary from culture
to culture but are true of everyone, everywhere,
everywhen. (This might be disputed by ethical
relativists, as we have seen.)
MORAL MOTIVATION I
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Proper moral motivation means that a person does
the right thing for the right motive.
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Rachels says that virtue ethics gives an account of
moral motivation that is both attractive and natural.
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As other theories don’t do this very well, this is an
advantage of virtue ethics.
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For instance, simply doing something out of a sense
of duty does not seem to be the right kind of motive,
as when one person visits another in the hospital out
of a sense of duty rather than out of a genuine
interest.
MORAL MOTIVATION II
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There is a clear difference between being
motivated by genuine concern and friendship
and being motivated by an abstract sense of
duty that lacks feeling.
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Wouldn’t we prefer the former and not the latter
if we were the one being visited?
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We tend to think that someone who acts only out
of a sense of duty rather than interest and
compassion is not a complete person, or is not
the right kind of person.
ACTIONS AND DUTIES VS.
VIRTUES
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We think of persons as being centers of feeling
rather than things that merely act according to
duties.
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Ethical theories that emphasize actions, such as
Kant’s deontological theory, do not, according to
virtue ethics, provide the right kind of moral theory.
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What should be emphasized is not duties and right
actions but “such personal qualities as friendship,
love, and loyalty.”
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People who are motivated by such virtuous qualities
have proper moral motivation.
FEMINISM
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According to Rachels, the third advantage for virtue ethics
concerns feminism.
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For some feminists, much of ethical theory has shown a
male bias.
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Feminist thinkers note that humans have traditionally
divided their social lives into public and private realms that
have their own concerns.
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Men have been in charge of public affairs and have
dominated politics and law. Women have been assigned
- by men - to take care of the private life of the home and
family.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE,
MEN AND WOMEN
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The public world is large, impersonal, and
unemotional, and often involves relationships
that are contractual and sometimes adversarial.
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The private world is smaller and more intimate,
involving fewer people with whom our relations
are more personal and emotional.
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For feminist thinkers, ethical theory that has
been written by males reflects the public realm in
which men typically operate.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AND
ETHICS
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Ethical theory written by men emphasize such
things as impersonal duty [Kant and
deontological theory]; contracts [Hobbes and
social contract theorists]; and the calculation of
costs and benefits [calculating the greatest good
or happiness for the greatest number as in
Bentham’s utilitarian theory].
 When interests compete, men try to use reason
to iron out the differences.
 Feminist thinkers note that the concern of the
private realm - or the traditional sphere of
women - is almost wholly neglected by male
ethicists.
FEMINISM AND VIRTUE ETHICS
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It is thought that virtue ethics can
address this imbalance between the
public and the private worlds, by
recognizing that certain virtues will be
required in public life and others will be
required in private life.
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This is why many feminist philosophers
advocate a return to virtue ethics.
MORAL CONFLICT I
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Rachels calls the view that virtue ethics is
complete in itself - and so not supplemented by
other ethical theory - radical virtue ethics.
 A problem for radical virtue ethics is how to
account for cases of moral conflict.
 For instance, how do you choose between doing
something that is kind but dishonest - such as
telling a friend a lie about himself in order not to
hurt his feelings - and doing another thing that is
unkind but honest - such as telling him the truth?
MORAL CONFLICT II
Both honesty and kindness are virtues, but
in a case where they conflict it is not clear
how in appealing to virtue theory alone we
could know what to do.
 You may just have to wonder which virtue
is more important.
 But that will not satisfy philosophy, and we
need some moral theory that would
resolve the issue.

VIRTUES AND REASONS I
Rachels also wonders if there is a virtue
that matches every morally good reason
for doing something.
 Radical virtue ethics thinks that “for any
good reason that may be given in favor
of doing an action, there is a
corresponding virtue that consists in the
disposition to accept and act on that
reason.”
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VIRTUES AND REASONS II
But Rachels says that this does not
seem to be true.
 Is there a virtue that corresponds to a
legislator’s deciding that the best way to
spend the taxpayers’ money is for the
greatest benefit for the greatest number
of people? Since this is utilitarianism, is
there a virtue that ought to be called
‘acting like a utilitarian?’
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HUMAN WELFARE
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Rachels suggests that we begin with the
notion of human welfare as the most
important value.
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Considering human welfare means that we
want a society in which everyone has the
opportunity to lead happy, healthy lives.
HUMAN WELFARE AND
ACTIONS AND CHARACTER
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To promote this state of health and happiness,
we would have to ask what sort of human actions
and social policies or laws would contribute to
this goal.
 And we would have to look at what qualities of
human character would also contribute to the
goal of creating and maintaining a state of
human welfare.
 If both human actions and human character were
elements of a larger theory, then one could
illuminate the other, and we would have a better

End