1. Virtue, The mean, and Practical
Wisdom
Lucas, Margie E.
Pagutlan, Lizalyn S.
philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
2. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Aims of this presentation
⢠To understand what is meant by virtue
(arete)
⢠To consider Aristotleâs goal, the
supreme good of flourishing
(eudaimonia)
⢠To know the relativeness of the mean
to the person facing a moral choices.
⢠To discover the importance of practical
wisdom (phronesis) for the good life
⢠To evaluate virtue ethics
6. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
In the next few slides you will see some
charactersâŚâŚ..
⢠What virtue or virtues would
you associate with each?
⢠What does the variety of
virtues tell us about virtue
ethics?
8. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Conclusion
⢠Virtue = skill or excellence
⢠Rooney is a âvirtuousâ footballer
⢠Jesus perfected virtue eg âperfect love casts
out fearâ, âgreater love has no man than this,
that he lay down his life for his friendsâ (John
14:13)
⢠So we distinguish between moral virtues and
intellectual (or other virtues, like footballing
skills), developed by training to produce
excellence.
⢠Different virtues apply in different cultures.
10. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
There are two categories of virtue
Intellectual Virtues
Intellectual virtues are
virtues of the mind.
Such as the ability to
understand, reason and
make sound judgement
Intellectual virtues may be
taught, like logic and
mathematics by teachers.
Moral Virtues
Not innate, rather they are
acquired through repetition
and practice, like learning a
music instrument.
It is through the practice
and the doing that one
becomes a type of person.
Over a period of time virtues
become second nature.
11. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Virtue summary
⢠Habit of Character
(arete in Greek)
⢠Involving both Feeling
and Action
⢠Seeks the mean between
excess and deficiency
⢠Promotes human
flourishing (eudaimonia
in Greek)
⢠Intellectual and moral
12. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Aristotle
⢠âSome people believe that
nature makes people good,
others believe that it is habit,
and still others say that it is
teaching. Experience shows
that logical arguments and
teaching are not effective in
most cases. The soul of the
students must have been
conditioned by good habits
just as land must be cultivated
to nurture seed. For a person
whose life is guided by
emotion will not listen to a
rational argument, nor will he
understand it.â
13. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
How To Achieve Eudaimonia
Aristotle defined Good as something that
fulfils its ends purpose
The Telos of humanity is to be rational
The ergon (function) of practical reason
(phronesis) is to identify virtue
âThe good for human beings is an activity of the
soul in accordance with areteâ
14. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Aristotle: eudaimonia and the âcomplete lifeâ
⢠âWe state the function of man to be a certain kind of
life, and this to be an activity or actions of the soul
implying a rational principle, and the function of a
good man to be the good and noble performance of
these, and any action is well performed when it is
performed in accordance with the appropriate
excellence: if this is the case, human good turns out
to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue, and if
there is more than one virtue, in accordance with the
best and most complete. But we must add 'in a
complete life.' For one swallow does not make a
summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a
short time, does not make a man blessed and
happy.â Nicomachean Ethics Book 1 part 6
15. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Person-centred
⢠The âethics of dilemmaâ approach to morality
forgets an essential part of ethics â THE
PERSONâS CHARACTER and how personal
moral growth is encouraged
We are not concerned to
know what goodness is but
how to become good
people, since otherwise our
enquiry would be useless.
Aristotle
The ethical condition is not
the condition of having a
certain right theory; rather
the ethical condition is
having a certain character.
Alasdair Macintyre
16. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Golden Mean and eudaimonia
⢠Golden Mean does not entail
a denial of emotions.
⢠Rather what is at issue is
how, and to what extent,
reason permits the
expression of emotions.
⢠Aristotle developed Platoâs
three part teaching of the
soul (reason, emotions,
appetites) by attributing
virtues to each feature.
Reason = Phronesis
(Wisdom)
Emotions = Courage
Appetite = Temperance
(Selfâcontrol)
17. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Phronesis or practical wisdom
⢠A virtue of our rational selves
⢠It means judgement or prudence
⢠It is applied to our irrational appetites
and desires to make them âgoodâ
⢠Phronesis is vital to achieve eudaimonia
(flourishing) or perfection of character
over the whole of our lives
18. Aristotle on phronesis
⢠Practical wisdom is âa true and reasoned
state of capacity to act with regard to
the things that are good or bad for
manâ (Nicomachean Ethics VI.5)
⢠It is not merely theoretical knowledge
of what is good or bad, but also the
capacity to act on such knowledge.
19. Features of practical wisdom
⢠a general conception of what is good or bad,
which Aristotle relates to the conditions for
human flourishing;
⢠the ability to perceive, in light of that general
conception, what is required in terms of
feeling, choice, and action in a particular
situation;
⢠the ability to deliberate well; and
⢠the ability to act on that deliberation.
20. Demanding
⢠Type of insight into the good and
relation to virtues is very complex
⢠Cannot be taught, but learned through
experience
⢠Only the good person knows what is
truly good
21. Objection
⢠Without virtue, we canât know what is
good â so not everyone knows what is
good
⢠True, but this knowledge comes in
degrees, and we can hold most people
responsible
â And people can improve their knowledge of
what is good by trying to become better
people
22. Insight
⢠Understanding human flourishing in
general
⢠Understanding what is required in a
particular situation in light of a general
understanding of what is good
â There are no rules
⢠Understanding how to act in this
situation
23. Insight
⢠There are no true generalizations about
good and bad
â Moral (practical) reasoning is a form of
intuitive reason, grasping what is required
in each case
⢠As with perception, argument may not
convince â you need to âseeâ
⢠What is not general cannot be taught
24. Insight
⢠Understanding what counts as a virtue
â Which character traits are necessary for a good
life
â Which emotional responses are good here and
now
⢠The virtuous person feels and chooses âat the
right times, with reference to the right
objects, towards the right people, with the
right motive, and in the right wayâ
25. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Aristotleâs argument
⢠Our emotions and desires are irrational
and need to be controlled by reason.
⢠In order to control them, we need to
apply the moral virtue of practical
wisdom.
⢠We need to find the mid-point or mean
between two vices.
27. The doctrine of the mean
⢠You can feel anger too much (common!) or
too little (rare)
â About too many people
â Too often
â Too angry
â = Short-tempered
⢠Being good-tempered doesnât mean only
getting moderately angry or only moderately
often, but as the situation requires.
29. The doctrine of the mean
⢠Virtues tend to lie between two
opposing vices, e.g. honesty:
â âToo muchâ = tactlessness
â âToo littleâ = deceitfulness
30. Objection
⢠The doctrine of the mean is no practical
help â how often or how angry should
we get?
â Aristotle says the mean is where the person
with practical wisdom judges it to be
⢠The âmeanâ is meaningless: âToo muchâ
and âtoo littleâ arenât actually quantities
on a single scale
31. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
The Golden Mean â a balance point
Mean
Deficiency Excess
Cowardice Recklessnesscourage
One must find the right balance between Cowardice and
Recklessness⌠Courage
32. Guidance
⢠The theory of practical wisdom and
virtue provides no guidance for life
⢠Reply: not true â we should think of
situations in terms of the virtues
⢠What if the virtues seem to conflict, e.g.
justice and mercy?
â This is where practical wisdom is needed
most â but did you think life wouldnât be
messy?
33. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Applying the mean
⢠To ourselves (see next slide)
⢠To our family life (wider relationships)
⢠To our communal life (eg politics).
Aristotle saw friendship as a key virtue
to build the city state (the polis in
Greek)
What other virtues do you think would
cause the polis (politics) to flourish?
35. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Phronesis builds character
⢠âVirtue is concerned with emotions and
actions, and here excess is an error and
deficiency a fault, whereas the mean is
commendable..determined as the
prudent man (phronimos) would
determine itâ.
Nicomachean Ethics
37. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
In other wordsâŚ..
⢠We build character through experience
of life (the blue line goes round in
circles as we reflect on our choices)
⢠We also learn by EMULATION (following
our heroes) and EDUCATION (being
taught).
38. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Exercise 3: virtues and vices
⢠On a piece of paper draw three
columns.
⢠Write Aristotleâs list of virtues (next
slide) in the middle column.
⢠Look up what they mean and decide on
a vice of deficiency and a vice of excess
for each.
39. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Aristotleâs list of virtues
⢠Courage
⢠Temperance = moderation eg in drinking
⢠Honesty
⢠Magnificence = choosing the best, in an appropriate
way eg for your income and status
⢠Ambition
⢠Anger = right anger on the right issue with
the right person eg injustice
⢠Magnanimity = large-mindedness, eg mercy to foes
⢠Wittiness
⢠Generosity
⢠Friendliness
⢠Modesty
⢠Patience
40. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Key question:
⢠Would our list be the same?
⢠Do any of Aristotleâs virtues surprise
you?
⢠What does this list suggest about the
relative nature of Virtue Ethics?
⢠Should courage really be a moral
virtue?
41. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Should courage be a moral virtue?
⢠A recent programme on Kamikaze
pilots suggest that courage
shouldnât be a moral virtue because
you can have evil courage (as a
suicide bomber).
⢠Similarly, temperance, modesty,
ambition and magnificence might be
termed ânon-moral virtuesâ.
⢠So how might we define a moral
virtue?
42. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Three weaknesses of virtue ethics
⢠Culturally captive
The virtues reflect middle class Greek
values.
âEthics appeals to the respectable middle-
aged..and has been used to suppress
the enthusiasm and ardour of the
youngâ. Bertrand Russell
43. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Three weaknesses contd
⢠Aristotleâs virtues cannot explain
weakness of will.
Experiments like the Milgram
experiment show that, under pressure,
individuals behave in very unvirtuous
ways (such as delivering deadly electric
shocks).
45. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Three strengths
⢠In stressing character and the end of
the good life, virtue ethics goes behind
the action and escapes the sterility of
utilitarianism or Kantian ethics.
Character lies behind action and so
virtues are key in determining good
actions.
46. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Three strengths contd.
⢠Virtues have a social dimension.
The Greeks believed that it is
impossible for the individual to flourish
without the community. To the Greeks,
friendship was a key virtue: they
avoided the individualism inherent in
(for example) utilitarianism.
47. philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk
Three strengths contd.
⢠Virtue ethics sees eudaimonia as the
ultimate telos or end.
Eudaimonia means flourishing, and is a
much richer idea than happiness or
pleasure. It is something you grow into
over your life as you exercise the skill of
phronesis (practical wisdom).