= Virtue ethics =

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= Virtue ethics =
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Introduction
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Virtue ethics (or aretaic ethics , from Greek ��ε�ή ('arete')) are
normative ethical theories which emphasize virtues of mind, character
and sense of honesty. Virtue ethicists discuss the nature and
definition of virtues and other related problems which focuses on the
consequences of action. These include how virtues are acquired, how
they are applied in various real life contexts, and whether they are
rooted in a universal human nature or in a plurality of cultures.

Key concepts
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The western tradition's key concepts derive from ancient Greek
philosophy. These theories include 'arete' (excellence or virtue),
'phronesis' (practical or moral wisdom), and 'eudaimonia'
(flourishing).

A virtue is generally agreed to be a character trait, such as a
habitual action or settled sentiment. Specifically, a virtue is a
positive trait that makes its possessor a good human being. A virtue
is thus to be distinguished from single actions or feelings. Rosalind
Hursthouse says: A virtue such as honesty or generosity is not just
a tendency to do what is honest or generous, nor is it to be helpfully
specified as a �desirable� or �morally valuable� character trait. It
is, indeed a character trait�that is, a disposition which is well
entrenched in its possessor, something that, as we say �goes all the
way down�, unlike a habit such as being a tea-drinker�but the
disposition in question, far from being a single track disposition to
do honest actions, or even honest actions for certain reasons, is
multi-track. It is concerned with many other actions as well, with
emotions and emotional reactions, choices, values, desires,
perceptions, attitudes, interests, expectations and sensibilities. To
possess a virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain
complex mindset. (Hence the extreme recklessness of attributing a
virtue on the basis of a single action.) Practical wisdom is an
acquired trait that enables its possessor to identify the thing to do
in any given situation.Pincoffs, Edmund (1971). Quandary ethics.
_Mind_ 80 (320):552-571.
Unlike theoretical wisdom, practical reason results in action or
decision. As John McDowell puts it, practical wisdom involves a
"perceptual sensitivity" to what a situation requires.

'Eudaimonia' (ε�δαιμονία) is a state variously translated from Greek
as 'well-being', 'happiness', 'blessedness', and in the context of
virtue ethics, 'human flourishing'. 'Eudaimonia' in this sense is not
a subjective, but an objective, state. It characterizes the well-lived
life. According to Aristotle, the most prominent exponent of
'eudaimonia' in the Western philosophical tradition, 'eudaimonia' is
the proper goal of human life. It consists of exercising the
characteristic human quality�reason�as the soul's most proper and
nourishing activity. In his 'Nicomachean Ethics', Aristotle, like
Plato before him, argued that the pursuit of 'eudaimonia' is an
"activity of the soul in accordance with perfect virtue", which
further could only properly be exercised in the characteristic human
community�the 'polis' or city-state.

Although 'eudaimonia' was first popularized by Aristotle, it now
belongs to the tradition of virtue theories generally. For the virtue
theorist, 'eudaimonia' describes that state achieved by the person who
lives the proper human life, an outcome that can be reached by
practicing the virtues. A virtue is a habit or quality that allows
the bearer to succeed at his, her, or its purpose. The virtue of a
knife, for example, is sharpness; among the virtues of a racehorse is
speed. Thus, to identify the virtues for human beings, one must have
an account of what the human purpose is.

History of virtue
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Like much of the Western tradition, virtue theory seems to have
originated in ancient Greek philosophy.

Virtue ethics began with Socrates, and was subsequently developed
further by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. Virtue ethics refers to a
collection of normative ethical philosophies that place an emphasis on
being rather than doing. Another way to say this is that in virtue
ethics, morality stems from the identity or character of the
individual, rather than being a reflection of the actions (or
consequences thereof) of the individual. Today, there is debate among
various adherents of virtue ethics concerning what specific virtues
are morally praiseworthy. However, most theorists agree that morality
comes as a result of intrinsic virtues. Intrinsic virtues are the
common link that unites the disparate normative philosophies into the
field known as virtue ethics. Plato and Aristotle's treatment of
virtues are not the same. Plato believes virtue is effectively an end
to be sought, for which a friend might be a useful means. Aristotle
states that the virtues function more as means to safeguard human
relations, particularly authentic friendship, without which one's
quest for happiness is frustrated.

Discussion of what were known as the Four Cardinal Virtues - wisdom,
justice, fortitude, and temperance - can be found in Plato's
'Republic'. The virtues also figure prominently in Aristotle's moral
theory (see below). Virtue theory was inserted into the study of
history by moralistic historians such as Livy, Plutarch, and Tacitus.
The Greek idea of the virtues was passed on in Roman philosophy
through Cicero and later incorporated into Christian moral theology by
St. Ambrose of Milan. During the scholastic period, the most
comprehensive consideration of the virtues from a theological
perspective was provided by St. Thomas Aquinas in his 'Summa
Theologiae' and his 'Commentaries on the Nicomachean Ethics'.

Though the tradition receded into the background of European
philosophical thought in these centuries, the term "virtue" remained
current during this period, and in fact appears prominently in the
tradition of classical republicanism or classical liberalism. This
tradition was prominent in the intellectual life of 16th-century
Italy, as well as 17th- and 18th-century Britain and America; indeed
the term "virtue" appears frequently in the work of Niccolò
Machiavelli, David Hume, the republicans of the English Civil War
period, the 18th-century English Whigs, and the prominent figures
among the Scottish Enlightenment and the American Founding Fathers.

Contemporary "aretaic turn"
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Although some Enlightenment philosophers (e.g. Hume) continued to
emphasise the virtues, with the ascendancy of utilitarianism and
deontology, virtue theory moved to the margins of Western philosophy.
The contemporary revival of virtue theory is frequently traced to the
philosopher G. E. M. Anscombe's 1958 essay "Modern Moral Philosophy".
Following this:
* In the 1976 paper "The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories",
Michael Stocker summarises the main aretaic criticisms of
deontological and consequentialist ethics.
* Philippa Foot, who published a collection of essays in 1978 entitled
'Virtues and Vices.'
* Alasdair MacIntyre has made an effort to reconstruct a virtue-based
theory in dialogue with the problems of modern and postmodern thought;
his works include 'After Virtue' and 'Three Rival Versions of Moral
Enquiry'.
* Paul Ricoeur has accorded an important place to Aristotelian
teleological ethics in his hermeneutical phenomenology of the subject,
most notably in his book 'Oneself as Another'.
* Theologian Stanley Hauerwas has also found the language of virtue
quite helpful in his own project.
* Rosalind Hursthouse has published 'On Virtue Ethics'.
* Roger Crisp and Michael Slote have edited a collection of important
essays titled 'Virtue Ethics'.
* Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen have employed virtue theory in
theorising the capability approach to international development.
* Julia Annas wrote 'The Morality of Happiness' (1993).
* Lawrence C. Becker identified current virtue theory with Stoicism
(or Modern Stoicism) in 'A New Stoicism.' (1998).

The aretaic turn in moral philosophy is paralleled by analogous
developments in other philosophical disciplines. One of these is
epistemology, where a distinctive virtue epistemology has been
developed by Linda Zagzebski and others. In political theory, there
has been discussion of "virtue politics", and in legal theory, there
is a small but growing body of literature on virtue jurisprudence. The
aretaic turn also exists in American constitutional theory, where
proponents argue for an emphasis on virtue and vice of constitutional
adjudicators.

Aretaic approaches to morality, epistemology, and jurisprudence have
been the subject of intense debates. One criticism that is frequently
made focuses on the problem of guidance; opponents, such as Robert
Louden in his article "Some Vices of Virtue Ethics", question whether
the idea of a virtuous moral actor, believer, or judge can provide the
guidance necessary for action, belief formation, or the decision of
legal disputes.

Lists of virtues
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There are several different lists of particular virtues. Socrates
argued that virtue is knowledge, which suggests that there is really
only one virtue. The Stoics concurred, claiming the four cardinal
virtues were only aspects of true virtue. John McDowell is a recent
defender of this conception. He argues that virtue is a "perceptual
capacity" to identify how one ought to act, and that all particular
virtues are merely "specialized sensitivities" to a range of reasons
for acting.

;Aristotle's list

Aristotle identifies approximately eighteen virtues that enable a
person to perform their human function well. He distinguished virtues
pertaining to emotion and desire from those pertaining to the mind.
The first he calls "moral" virtues, and the second intellectual
virtues (though both are "moral" in the modern sense of the word).
Each moral virtue was a mean (see golden mean) between two
corresponding vices, one of excess and one of deficiency. Each
intellectual virtue is a mental skill or habit by which the mind
arrives at truth, affirming what is or denying what is not. In the
'Nicomachean Ethics' he discusses about 11 moral virtues:

;Moral Virtues

1. Courage in the face of fear

2. Temperance in the face of pleasure and pain

3. Liberality with wealth and possessions

4. Magnificence with great wealth and possessions

5. Magnanimity with great honors

6. Proper ambition with normal honors

7. Truthfulness with self-expression

8. Wittiness in conversation

9. Friendliness in social conduct

10. Modesty in the face of shame or shamelessness

11. Righteous indignation in the face of injury
! width="24%" bgcolor="#E8EAFF" |**SPHERE OF ACTION OR FEELING**
! width="24%" bgcolor="#E8EAFF" |**EXCESS**
! width="24%" bgcolor="#E8EAFF" |**MEAN**
! width="24%" bgcolor="#E8EAFF" |**DEFICIENCY**
align="center" |Fear and Confidence align="center" |Rashness
align="center" |Courage align="center" |Cowardice
align="center" |Pleasure and Pain align="center"
|Licentiousness/Self-indulgence align="center" |Temperance
align="center" |Insensibility
align="center" |Getting and Spending(minor) align="center"
|Prodigality align="center" |Liberality align="center"
|Illiberality/Meanness
align="center" |Getting and Spending(major) align="center"
|Vulgarity/Tastelessness align="center" |Magnificence align="center"
|Pettiness/Stinginess
align="center" |Honour and Dishonour(major) align="center" |Vanity
align="center" |Magnanimity align="center" |Pusillanimity
align="center" |Honour and Dishonour(minor) align="center"
|Ambition/empty vanity align="center" |Proper ambition/pride
align="center" |Unambitiousness/undue humility
align="center" |Anger align="center" |Irascibility align="center"
|Patience/Good temper align="center" |Lack of spirit/unirascibility
align="center" |Self-expression align="center" |Boastfulness
align="center" |Truthfulness align="center" |Understatement/mock
modesty
align="center" |Conversation align="center" |Buffoonery
align="center" |Wittiness align="center" |Boorishness
align="center" |Social Conduct align="center" |Obsequiousness
align="center" |Friendliness align="center" |Cantankerousness
align="center" |Shame align="center" |Shyness align="center" |Modesty
align="center" |Shamelessness
align="center" |Indignation align="center" |Envy align="center"
|Righteous indignation align="center" |Malicious
enjoyment/Spitefulness

;Intellectual virtues
# Nous (intelligence), which apprehends fundamental truths (such as
definitions, self-evident principles)
# Episteme (science), which is skill with inferential reasoning (such
as proofs, syllogisms, demonstrations)
# Sophia (theoretical wisdom), which combines fundamental truths with
valid, necessary inferences to reason well about unchanging truths.
Aristotle also mentions several other traits:
* Gnome (good sense) -- passing judgment, "sympathetic understanding"
* Synesis (understanding) -- comprehending what others say, does not
issue commands
* Phronesis (practical wisdom) -- knowledge of what to do, knowledge
of changing truths, issues commands
* Techne (art, craftsmanship)

Aristotle's list is not the only list, however. As Alasdair MacIntyre
observed in 'After Virtue', thinkers as diverse as: Homer; the
authors of the New Testament; Thomas Aquinas; and Benjamin Franklin;
have all proposed lists.

Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) is a book by Christopher
Peterson and Martin Seligman (2004) listing virtues in a modern,
empirical, and rigorously scientific manner.

The introduction of CSV suggests that these six virtues are considered
good by the vast majority of cultures and throughout history. These
traits lead to increased happiness when practiced. CSV identifies 6
classes of virtue (i.e., "core virtues"). These virtues are made up of
28 measurable "character strengths". CSV is intended to provide a
theoretical framework to assist in developing practical applications
for positive psychology.

Criticisms
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Some philosophers criticise virtue ethics as culturally relative.
Since different people, cultures and societies often have different
opinions on what constitutes a virtue, perhaps there is no one
objectively right list.

For example, regarding what are the most important virtues, Aristotle
proposed the following nine: wisdom; prudence; justice; fortitude;
courage; liberality; magnificence; magnanimity; temperance. In
contrast, one modern-era philosopher proposed as the four cardinal
virtues: ambition/humility; love; courage; and honesty.

As another example, regarding virtues once supposedly applicable to
women, many would have once considered a virtuous woman to be quiet,
servile, and industrious. This conception of female virtue no longer
holds true in many modern societies. Proponents of virtue theory
sometimes respond to this objection by arguing that a central feature
of a virtue is its 'universal applicability'. In other words, any
character trait defined as a virtue must reasonably be universally
regarded as a virtue for all sentient beings. According to this view,
it is inconsistent to claim for example servility as a female virtue,
while at the same time not proposing it as a male one.

Other proponents of virtue theory, notably Alasdair MacIntyre, respond
to this objection by arguing that any account of the virtues must
indeed be generated out of the community in which those virtues are to
be practiced: the very word 'ethics' implies "ethos". That is to say
that the virtues are, and necessarily must be, grounded in a
particular time and place. What counts as virtue in 4th-century Athens
would be a ludicrous guide to proper behavior in 21st-century Toronto,
and vice versa. To take this view does not necessarily commit one to
the argument that accounts of the virtues must therefore be static:
moral activity�that is, attempts to contemplate and practice the
virtues�can provide the cultural resources that allow people to
change, albeit slowly, the ethos of their own societies. MacIntyre
appears to take this position in his seminal work on virtue ethics,
'After Virtue'. One might cite (though MacIntyre does not) the rapid
emergence of abolitionist thought in the slave-holding societies of
the 18th-century Atlantic world as an example of this sort of change:
over a relatively short period of time, perhaps 1760 to 1800, in
Britain, France, and British America, slave-holding, previously
thought to be morally neutral or even virtuous, rapidly became seen as
vicious among wide swathes of society. While the emergence of
abolitionist thought derived from many sources, the work of David
Brion Davis, among others, has established that one source was the
rapid, internal evolution of moral theory among certain sectors of
these societies, notably the Quakers.

Another objection to virtue theory is that the school does not focus
on what 'sorts of actions' are morally permitted and which ones are
not, but rather on what sort of qualities someone ought to foster in
order to become a good person. In other words, while some virtue
theorists may not condemn, for example, murder as an inherently
immoral or impermissible sort of action, they may argue that someone
who commits a murder is severely lacking in several important virtues,
such as compassion and fairness. Still, antagonists of the theory
often object that this particular feature of the theory makes virtue
ethics useless as a universal norm of acceptable conduct suitable as a
base for legislation. Some virtue theorists concede this point, but
respond by opposing the very notion of legitimate legislative
authority instead, effectively advocating some form of anarchism as
the political ideal. Others argue that laws should be made by virtuous
legislators. Still others argue that it is possible to base a judicial
system on the moral notion of virtues rather than rules.

Some virtue theorists might respond to this overall objection with the
notion of a "bad act" also being an act characteristic of vice. That
is to say that those acts that do not aim at virtue, or stray from
virtue, would constitute our conception of "bad behavior". Although
not all virtue ethicists agree to this notion, this is one way the
virtue ethicist can re-introduce the concept of the "morally
impermissible". One could raise objection with Foot that she is
committing an argument from ignorance by postulating that what is not
virtuous is unvirtuous. In other words, just because an action or
person 'lacks of evidence' for virtue does not, all else constant,
imply that said action or person is unvirtuous.

Subsumed in deontology and utilitarianism
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Martha Nussbaum has suggested that while virtue ethics is often
considered to be anti-Enlightenment, "suspicious of theory and
respectful of the wisdom embodied in local practices", it is actually
neither fundamentally distinct from, nor does it qualify as a rival
approach to deontology and utilitarianism. She argues that
philosophers from these two Enlightenment traditions often include
theories of virtue. She pointed out that Kant's "Doctrine of Virtue"
(in 'The Metaphysics of Morals') "covers most of the same topics as do
classical Greek theories", "that he offers a general account of
virtue, in terms of the strength of the will in overcoming wayward and
selfish inclinations; that he offers detailed analyses of standard
virtues such as courage and self-control, and of vices, such as
avarice, mendacity, servility, and pride; that, although in general he
portrays inclination as inimical to virtue, he also recognizes that
sympathetic inclinations offer crucial support to virtue, and urges
their deliberate cultivation."

Nussbaum also points to considerations of virtue by utilitarians such
as Henry Sidgwick ('The Methods of Ethics'), Jeremy Bentham ('The
Principles of Morals and Legislation'), and John Stuart Mill, who
writes of moral development as part of an argument for the moral
equality of women ('The Subjection of Women'). She argues that
contemporary virtue ethicists such as Alasdair MacIntyre, Bernard
Williams, Philippa Foot, and John McDowell have few points of
agreement, and that the common core of their work does not represent a
break from Kant.

Utopianism and pluralism
==========================
[https://usm.maine.edu/phi/robert-louden Robert B. Louden] criticises
virtue ethics on the basis that it promotes a form of unsustainable
utopianism. Trying to come to a single set of virtues is immensely
difficult in contemporary societies as, according to Louden, they
contain "more ethnic, religious, and class groups than did the moral
community which Aristotle theorized about" with each of these groups
having "not only its own interests but its own set of virtues as
well". Louden notes in passing that MacIntyre, a supporter of
virtue-based ethics, has grappled with this in 'After Virtue' but that
ethics cannot dispense with building rules around acts and rely only
on discussing the moral character of persons.

Virtue ethics as a category
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Virtue ethics can be contrasted to deontological ethics and
consequentialist ethics by an examination of the other two (the three
being together the most predominant contemporary normative ethical
theories).

Deontological ethics, sometimes referred to as duty ethics, places the
emphasis on adhering to ethical principles or duties. How these
duties are defined, however, is often a point of contention and debate
in deontological ethics. One of the predominant rule schemes utilized
by deontologists is the Divine Command Theory. Deontology also depends
upon meta-ethical realism, in that it postulates the existence of
moral absolutes that make an action moral, regardless of
circumstances. For more information on deontological ethics refer to
the work of Immanuel Kant.

The next predominant school of thought in normative ethics is
consequentialism. While deontology places the emphasis on doing one's
duty, which is established by some kind of moral imperative (in other
words, the emphasis is on obedience to some higher moral absolute),
consequentialism bases the morality of an action upon the consequences
of the outcome. Instead of saying that one has a moral duty to
abstain from murder, a consequentialist would say that we should
abstain from murder because it causes undesirable effects. The main
contention here is what outcomes should/can be identified as
objectively desirable. The Greatest Happiness Principle of John
Stuart Mill is one of the most commonly adopted criteria. Mill
asserts that our determinant of the desirability of an action is the
net amount of happiness it brings, the number of people it brings it
to, and the duration of the happiness. He also tries to delineate
classes of happiness, some being preferable to others, but there is a
great deal of difficulty in classifying such concepts.

Virtue ethics differs from both deontology and consequentialism as it
focuses on being over doing. A virtue ethicist identifies virtues,
desirable characteristics, that the moral or virtuous person embodies.
Possessing these virtues is what makes one moral, and one's actions
are a mere reflection of one's inner morality. To the virtue
philosopher, action cannot be used as a demarcation of morality,
because a virtue encompasses more than just a simple selection of
action. Instead, it is about a way of being that would cause the
person exhibiting the virtue to make a certain "virtuous" choice
consistently in each situation. There is a great deal of disagreement
within virtue ethics over what are virtues and what are not. There
are also difficulties in identifying what is the "virtuous" action to
take in all circumstances, and how to define a virtue.

Consequentialist and deontological theories often still employ the
term 'virtue', but in a restricted sense, namely as a tendency or
disposition to adhere to the system's principles or rules. These very
different senses of what constitutes virtue, hidden behind the same
word, are a potential source of confusion. This disagreement over the
meaning of virtue points to a larger conflict between virtue theory
and its philosophical rivals. A system of virtue theory is only
intelligible if it is teleological: that is, if it includes an account
of the purpose ('telos') of human life, or in popular language, the
meaning of life. Obviously, strong claims about the purpose of human
life, or of what the good life for human beings is, will be highly
controversial. Virtue theory's necessary commitment to a teleological
account of human life thus puts the tradition in sharp tension with
other dominant approaches to normative ethics, which, because they
focus on actions, do not bear this burden.

Virtue ethics mainly deals with the honesty and morality of a person.
It states that practicing good habits such as honesty, generosity
makes a moral and virtuous person. It guides a person without specific
rules for resolving the ethical complexity.

Virtue and politics
=====================
Virtue theory emphasises Aristotle's belief in the polis as the acme
of political organisation, and the role of the virtues in enabling
human beings to flourish in that environment. Classical republicanism
in contrast emphasises Tacitus' concern that power and luxury can
corrupt individuals and destroy liberty, as Tacitus perceived in the
transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; virtue for
classical republicans is a shield against this sort of corruption and
a means to preserve the good life one has, rather than a means by
which to achieve the good life one does not yet have. Another way to
put the distinction between the two traditions is that virtue ethics
relies on Aristotle's fundamental distinction between the
human-being-as-he-is from the human-being-as-he-should-be, while
classical republicanism relies on the Tacitean distinction of the
human-being-as-he-is from the
human-being-as-he-is-at-risk-of-becoming.

Applied virtue ethics
=======================
Virtue ethics has a number of contemporary applications.

;Social and political philosophy
Within the field of social ethics, Deirdre McCloskey argues that
virtue ethics can provide a basis for a balanced approach to
understanding capitalism and capitalist societies.

;Education
Within the field of philosophy of education, James Page argues that
virtue ethics can provide a rationale and foundation for peace
education.

; Health care and medical ethics

Thomas Alured Faunce has argued that whistleblowing in the healthcare
setting would be more respected within clinical governance pathways if
it had a firmer academic foundation in virtue ethics. He called for
whistleblowing to be expressly supported in the UNESCO Universal
Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Barry Schwartz argues that
"practical wisdom" is an antidote to much of the inefficient and
inhumane bureaucracy of modern health care systems.

;Technology and the virtues

In her book 'Technology and the Virtues', Shannon Vallor proposed a
series of 'technomoral' virtues that people need to cultivate in order
to flourish in our socio-technological world: Honesty (Respecting
Truth), Self-control (Becoming the Author of Our Desires), Humility
(Knowing What We Do Not Know), Justice (Upholding Rightness), Courage
(Intelligent Fear and Hope), Empathy (Compassionate Concern for
Others), Care (Loving Service to Others), Civility (Making Common
Cause), Flexibility (Skillful Adaptation to Change), Perspective
(Holding on to the Moral Whole), and Magnanimity (Moral Leadership and
Nobility of Spirit).

See also
======================================================================
* Aretaic turn
* Arete
* Aristotelian ethics
* Applied ethics
* Buddhist Ethics (discipline)
* Confucianism
* Cardinal virtues
* Cynicism
* Environmental virtue ethics
* Eudaimonism
* Modern Stoicism
* Moral character
* Phronesis
* Rule according to higher law
* Seven virtues
* Stoicism
* The Kural
* Virtue
* Virtue epistemology
* Virtue jurisprudence

Further reading
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*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1399830 Virtue: Confucius and
Aristotle] by Jiyuan Yu

External links
======================================================================
*
*
*
* [http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/virtue_ethics/ Virtue
Ethics - summary, criticisms and how to apply the theory]
* [http://lsolum.blogspot.com/archives/2003_11_01_lsolum_archive.html
Legal theory lexicon: Virtue ethics] by Larry Solum.
* [https://www.VirtueScience.com The Virtue Ethics Research Hub]

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=========
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