Ethics

exam revision

Virtue ethics

Based on inner character rather than external action

four key life skills (virtues)

Socrates and Pluto: Courage, moderation, justice and wisdom

what is the good life according to virtue ethics?

One where the person has developed life skills

3 ways to develop virtues

1 - nature

2 = reason

3 = habit

Aristotles belief

virtues are a skill for acting well

Aristotle on the good life

virtues are necessary but not sufficient to lead a good life, humans need some external goods.

human connection to plants

plants (vegetative capacity) = respiration and photosynthesis . if this isnt fulfilled we will die

human connection to animals

Food survival and intercourse

how are humans different from plants and animals?

We require reflection and we have conscious thoughts , bringing reason into our lives.

The Stoics model on virtue

virtues are sufficient enough; external goods aren’t necessary to the good life

Hedonism

The idea that pleasure is the best thing and the goal of life

Callicles

suggested the best life is one where the most powerful people stay in positions of dominance by satisfying their desires without restraint.

How does Socrates criticise Callicle?

Socrates believes the wise person doesn’t need more for their own benefit.

The leaky jar

The itch

The leaky jar

Someone who lived as Callicles’ advises would constantly have new desires. So they would live a life where they were frenetically trying to get what they wanted and would never be satisfied. That doesn't sound like a good life.

The itch

Imagine someone who got a lot of pleasure from scratching an itch. If they constantly scratched at it, they would continue to fulfill their pleasurable desires, but they wouldn't live a very good life. So the good life cannot just be a pleasurable life.

What is pleasure according to Socrates then?

Remedial. (a bandaid for an open wound)

Epicureans

Form of hedonism, however they believed Callicles view misunderstood the implications of hedonism

What did the epicureans believe

stable pleasure, absense of pain and anxiety is the true basis of happiness

short vs long term pleasure

what causes most short term pleasure doesn’t cause most pleasure in the long term (drinking alcohol, partying ect.)

Philiosophy for Epicureans and Stoics

Aimed at fulfilment

interested in virtues

Aims to avoid psychological suffering

what is the cradle argument

the epicurus (Callicles) concept that all pleasure is by nature familiar to us

how does epicurus slightly differ to Callicle?

Believed different forms of pleasure are better than others.

Peace of mind (ataraxia)

a stable condition of wellbeing in the body and the sure hope of its continuance.

3 kinds of pleasures according to Epicureans

• Natural and necessary (food, drink, sleep) easy to acquire 

• Natural but unnecessary (sex, fine food, fine drink) harder to secure 

• Unnatural and unnecessary (luxury, fame, power) harder and more shameful to secure. 

The law of moses

‘Divine Command Theory’ aka, ‘volunteerism’

• An action is right because God prescribes it. Not that God prescribes an action because it is right.

The Gospels as Philosophical Source 

• Not a system or formula 

• Jesus criticises people's attempts to find a formula or a shortcut for understanding his teachings.

Key ethicals of the Beautitudes (Sermon on the mount)

Praises hardship and endurance in return for a pleasurable ascend to heaven

Paul, the Apostle: Romans 2-8: Righteousness and the Law 

No one can humanly attain righteousness before the Law of Moses because it states one must have no inclination to disobey the law (No murder, no adultery)

Paul, the Apostle: Romans 2-8: Righteousness and Faith

Because humans cannot achieve the law of moses, they must demonstrate their salvation through faith in Christ, whose moral perfection is revealed not in judging others but in forgiving them, making righteousness attainable through grace rather than legal merit.

Corinthians 13: Paul of Love (agape) (Charity) as the highest Good. 

• Love is the Good that gives eloquence, prophecy, wisdom and generosity their value as goods. 

St. Augustine of Hippo: Christian virtues: ignorance, sin and the will 

Christian scholasticism 

• Use the tools of greek philosophy to better understand and explain christian doctrine 

• The four cardinal values (Plato and Aristotle)

• Wisdom 

• Courage 

• Temperance/self restraint

• Justice/morality 

• Now regarded as the four human virtues 

• + 3 divine virtues “faith, hope and love” 

Augustines belief

argues that weakness of will is real because people can know what is right and freely choose not to do it, making sin a deliberate rejection of God's will rather than mere ignorance.

Aquinas on Virtue and Natural Law

teaches that human flourishing consists in freely loving God through faith, hope, and charity, while Natural Law allows all rational beings to use reason to discern and pursue the good that God has built into creation.

difference between ancient and modern ethics

ancient = focus how to live

modern = focus how to act

3 forms of modern ethics

Deontological

Utilitarianism

Modern virtue ethics

Deontological ethics

‘study of duty’

morally right act = conforms to the morally appropriate rule

two forms of deontological ethics

Kantianism (Immanuel Kant) : act according to the law a rational agent would prescribe

Intuitionism : act in line with our intuitive duties

Utilitarianism

the right action is the one that produces the most happiness

Modern virtue ethics

choose the action that a virtuous agent would choose or one that accords with rules developed from the virtues

kants categorical imperative

act according to maxims that could be universe laws.

Intuitionism

with reflection on clear moral convictions we can discern what our fundamental duties are

utilitarianism

• We are to act in the way that will produce the greatest overall amount of happiness in the world 

arguments against utilitarianism

• justice - Utilitarianism requires that we treat someone unfairly. Therefore, Utilitarianism cannot be right.

• Rights - In Utilitarianism, an individual’s rights may always be trampled upon if enough people benefit from the trampling.

• Disruption of personal relationships - We are told to treat everyone equally under Utilitarianism however, this is absurd when considering the concept of caring as deeply for a random stranger than one's own child. 

two forms of utilitarianism

1. Quantitative (simple) utilitarianism 

• All pleasures are equal (Jeremy Bentham)

• Argued there was no qualitative difference between forms of pleasure assuming they were as intense and lasted as long. 

2. Qualitative (perfectionist) utilitarianism 

• Some pleasures are more valuable than others (J.S Mill)

• Reading an informative book = higher pleasure than drinking a glass of wine. 

act vs rule utilitarianism

1. Act utilitarianism 

• Choose the act which will produce the greatest overall utility (Bentham) 

• Evaluate acts in terms of how much pleasure we think will be produced 

2. Rule utilitarianism 

• Follow the rule that has been shown to produce the greatest overall utility (Mill) 

• It can be too rigid: Following some rules may mean we can't  produce the greatest amount of happiness. 

care ethics