2. Introduction
Decisions concerning right and wrong
actions permeate in our everyday life. Ethics
is concerned on all levels of life: (a) acting
properly as individuals, (b) creating
responsible groups, organizations
institutions, and governments, and (c)
making our society as a whole more ethical.
3. The Field of Ethics:
1. Meta Ethics – which deals with the
nature of the right or good, as well as
the nature and justification of ethical
claims;
2. Normative Ethics – which deals with the
standards and principles used to
determine whether something is right
or good;
3. Applied Ethics – which deals with the
actual application of ethical principles
to a particular stuations.
4. Ethical Theories:
1. Agent-centered Theories – which are
more concerned with the overall ethical
status of the individuals, or agents, and
are less concerned to identify the
morality of particular actions;
2. Consequentialist Theories – which are
primarily concerned with the ethical
consequences of particular actions;
3. Non-consequentialist Theories – which
tend to be broadly concerned with the
intentions of the person making ethical
decisions about particular actions.
5. Virtue Ethics
One of the main strands of virtue ethics is
“eudaimonism” which is its classical formulation. It
holds that the proper goal of human life is
eudaimonia, which can be variously translated as
“happiness,” “well-being,” or the “good life”, and that
the goal can be achieved by a lifetime of practicing
the virtues in one’s everyday activities, subject to
exercise of “phronesis” or practical wisdom to resolve
any conflicts or dilemmas which might arise.
7. Aristotle Virtues Ethics
Aristotle categorized the virtues as moral virtues
including prudence, justice, fortitude and
temperance and intellectual virtues including
“sophia” or theoretical wisdom, and “phronesis”
or practical wisdom. Each moral virtues was a
golden mean, or desirable middle ground,
between undesirable extremes.
9. Aristotle’s
Virtues
Ethics: Telos
(Ends)
Having said that all actions
aim toward an end, he now
wants to distinguish
between two major kinds of
ends, which can be called
instrumental ends which are
acts that are done as means
for other ends, and intrinsic
ends which are acts that are
done for own sake.
10. These two kinds of ends are illustrated simply, for example,
in activities connected with a basketball game. Here, there is
a series of special kinds of acts. There is the sewer who sews
the basketball uniforms for a team. The basketball uniforms
are the by-products of the sewer. When done, the sewer
has already served his purpose or end. However, the
basketball uniforms are just means being used by the
players to play the game. The main goal of the basketball
team is not to have the best uniform but the best
performance in the game in order to bring home the crown.
Hence, the act of sewing made by the sewer is only an
instrumental end while the basketball skills performed by
the basketball team during the games are the intrinsic ends.
11. Aristotle’s Virtues
Ethics: Telos
(Ends)
Aristotle contends that
when we discover what
people aim at – we will
then arrive at the action
for its own sake, and for
which all other activity is
only a means, and this
must be the Good of
Humanity.
12. Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics:
Function of the Human Being
Aristotle distinguishes in
the De anima three main
kinds of souls:
a. the vegetative –
common to plants
b. the sensitive-
locomotive - common
to animals
c. the rational – only
proper to human
beings.
13. Aristotle’s
Virtues Ethics:
Function of
the Human
Being
A. So what then is the function of human
beings? Aristotle analyses human nature in
order to discover its unique activity, saying,
for of all that our human end is not mere life
because that plainly is shared even by
vegetables.
B. Aristotle says that there is something peculiar
to human beings. It is not even because man
has sensation because it is something that
man shares with animals.
C. What remains then is an active life of the
element that has a rational principle. He
contends that if the function of the people is
an activity of the soul, then it implies a
rational principle. In short, the human good
turns out to be activity of the soul in
accordance with virtue. And that man is
special because of his rationality.
14. Aristotle’s
Virtues Ethics:
Function of
the Human
Being
As such, the soul refers to the total
person. Aristotle argues that the soul has
two parts:
A. The irrational part is composed of two
subparts: the vegetative component
which gives us the capacity to take in
nutrition and to sustain our biological
lives and the appetitive or sensitive
component which gives us the
capacity to experience desires, which
in turn prompt us to move around to
fulfil those desires.
B. The rational part that is to use
rationality that makes sense of things
around the life of man
15. Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics:
Function of the Human Being
Human actions should imply that the rational element should
control and give guidance to the irrational part of the soul.
The good person is not the one who does a good deed here
or there, now and then. Instead, he/she is the person whose
whole life is good, for as it is not one fine day that makes a
spring so it is not one day or a short time that makes a
person happy. In other words, the good person knows what
is good and always does what is good and in a day to day
basis.
16. Aristotle’s
Virtues Ethics:
Virtue as Habit
Aristotle opens his discussion
of virtue in Book Il of the
Nicomachean Ethics with the
observation that, while virtue
primarily originates in
teaching, "moral virtue
comes as a result of habit.” In
other words, virtue is a
disposition rather than an
activity.
17. Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics:
Virtue as Habit
The casual connection between good habits
and virtues is made in two distinct ways. First,
virtues are states of character, rather than
passions or faculties, and states of character
are created only through "habituation”.
Second, virtue requires consistently good
choices and a choosing for its own sake.
Because good habits give rise to consistent
patterns of action and mold the passions to
feel pleasure and pain rightly, they are
instrumental in meeting these requirements
of virtue.
18. Aristotle’s Virtues
Ethics: Virtue as Habit
The formation of good habits is
essential in Aristotelian good
life at which virtues aim. As
Aristotle comments, "it makes
no small difference, then,
whether we form habits of one
kind or another from our very
youth; it makes a very great
difference, or rather all the
difference.
19. Aristotle’s
Virtues
Ethics: Virtue
as Habit
For Aristotle, moral habits need
not be self-created; they can just
as well originate in youth or
legislation as "from within” the
individual. The process by which
habits are created is not clearly
specified, although he likens that
process to learning skills, such like
playing the guitar, driving a car, or
cooking dishes, in that all of these
require actual practice at the
actions themselves.
20. Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics:
Virtue as Habit
The results of forming such good
habits are settled dispositions to act
virtuously, coupled with pleasure in
choosing virtuous actions, so that they
could come easily and naturally to the
individual. In fact, morality has
something to do with developing
habits: the habits of right thinking,
right choice and right behavior.
21. Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics:
Happiness as Virtue
Human action should aim at its proper
end. Everywhere in this world, people
aim at pleasure, wealth, fame, power,
and honor. These ends may have some
type of value. However, they are not the
main good for which people should aim.
To be the ultimate end, an act must be
selfsufficient and final, that is, it should
always be desirable in itself and is never
for the sake of something else. It must
also be attainable.
22. Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics:
Happiness as Virtue
For Aristotle, happiness is a
final end or goal that
encompasses the totality of
one's life. It is not something
that can be gained or lost in a
few hours, like pleasurable
sensations. It is more like the
ultimate value of your life as
lived up to this moment,
measuring how well you have
lived up to your full potential as
a human being.
23. Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics:
Happiness as Virtue
To put it simply, Aristotle is sure
that all people want to be happy.
The reason why people do these,
and those things is that they want
to be happy. Happiness is another
word or name for good because
happiness is the fulfillment of a
man's distinct functions. As
Aristotle says, happiness is a
working of the soul in the way of
excellence of virtue.
24. Aristotle’s
Virtues Ethics:
Happiness as
Virtue
So how does the soul attain happiness? The general rule
of morality is to act in accordance with right reason. This
means that the rational part of the soul should take
control of the irrational part. When looking at our
appetites, we discover that they are affected or influenced
by things outside of the self, such as objects or people.
Hence, Aristotle suggests that we should not be
overwhelmed by our appetites. We should always allow
our reason to guide us since it is what is ought to be.
27. What should be the disposition of man according to Aristotle?
28. Let’s look back!
Decisions concerning right and wrong
actions permeate in our everyday life. Ethics
is concerned on all levels of life: (a) acting
properly as individuals, (b) creating
responsible groups, organizations
institutions, and governments, and (c)
making our society as a whole more ethical.
30. Thomas Aquinas’ Life
Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225
near Naples. His father was a Count of
Aquino who had hope that his son
would someday enjoy a high
ecclesiastical position. His philosophy
was immensely influenced by
Aristotle, but his way of thinking was
shaped in divisive ways through his
long and intimate association with his
teacher, Albert the Great.
31. Thomas Aquinas’ Life
Aquinas thought and wrote as a
Christian. He was primarily a
theologian. He relied heavily
upon the philosophy of Aristotle
in writing his theological works.
He brought together philosophy
and theology.
32. Natural Law
and Its Tenets
Morality is viewed by Aquinas
not as an arbitrary set of rules of
behavior. On the other hand,
the basis of moral obligation is
found in human nature itself.
Built in man's nature are various
inclinations such as the
preservation of life, the
propagation of species, and the
search for the truth. The basic
moral truth is simply to do good
and to avoid evil.
33. Natural Law
and Its Tenets
As a rational being, man is under a
basic natural obligation to protect
his life and health, and to survive
whatever it takes. Thus, suicide and
carelessness are viewed as wrong.
The natural inclination to propagate
species forms the basis of union of
wife and husband or of man and a
woman, and any other basis for this
relation would be wrong.
34. Natural
Law and
Its Tenets
To ensure an ordered society, human
laws are fashioned for the direction of
the community's behavior. All of these
activities of preserving life, propagating
the species, forming ordered society
under human laws, and pursuing the
quest for truth only pertain to man to his
natural level. Because human nature has
certain fixed features, the rules for
behavior that correspond to these
features are called the natural law.
35. Law for Thomas
Aquinas
Law as "an ordinance
of reason for the
common good, made
by him who has care
of the community,
and promulgated."
36. Natural Law
and Its Tenets
Laws for Aquinas must do primarily
with reason. Human reason is the
standard of our actions because it
belongs to reason to direct our
whole activity toward man's end.
Law consists of these rules and
measures of human acts and
therefore is based upon reason.
Aquinas consistently argues that
since God created all things,
human nature and natural law are
best understood as the product of
God's wisdom and reason.
37. Happiness as Virtue
Aquinas built upon
Aristotle's theory of
ethics. Like Aristotle,
he considered ethics as
the quest for and the
pursuit of happiness.
Moreover, following
Aristotle's lead,
Aquinas argues that
happiness is connected
closely with our end or
purpose. To achieve
happiness, we must
fulfill our purpose.
38. Happiness as Virtue
As a Christian, he views human
nature as having both its source and
ultimate end in God. Because of this,
human nature does not contain its
own standards of fulfillment. It is
enough for us to simply be human
and to exercise our natural functions
and abilities in order for us to achieve
perfect happiness.
39. Happiness as Virtue
The ingredients of our moral experience are provided by human
nature. For one thing, the fact that we have bodies inclines us to
certain kinds of acts. Our senses become the vehicle for
appetites and passions. Our senses also provide a certain level
of knowledge about sensible objects so that we are (1) attracted
to some objects, which we perceive as pleasurable and good,
and (2) repel some objects, which we perceive as harmful,
painful, or bad. This attraction and rejection are the essentials of
our capacity for love and pleasure and hate and fear.
40. Happiness as Virtue
The will, in collaboration with the power of reason,
consummates the human act. The will is the
agency that inclines a person toward the
achievement of good. Choices are made by our
will under the direction, control and guidance of
reason. For Aquinas, if we make the right choices,
then we achieve happiness.
41. Happiness as Virtue
To simply put, the will by itself
cannot always make the right
move. The intellect or reason
must be its guide. However,
reason is not the final source of
knowledge, for our supernatural
end requires God's grace. The
appropriate object of the intellect
is truth, and truth in its fullness is
God.
42. Happiness as Virtue
When the intellect directs the will, it helps the will to
choose good. The intellect knows that there is a
hierarchy of goods and that some goods are limited and
must not be mistaken for our most appropriate and
ultimate good. Wealth, pleasure, fame, or power are all
goods and are legitimate objects of the appetites, but
they cannot produce our deepest happiness because
they do not possess the character of the universal good
that our soul seeks. The perfect happiness is found not
in created things, but in God, who is the supreme good.
43.
44. What should be the disposition of man according to Thomas Aquinas?
