religious studies virtue ethics A2

what type of theory is it?

what type of theory is it?

-McCay states VE doesnt follow a 'deontological or teleological approach to moral approach'

-doesnt judge actions on being right or wrong, nor the consequence

-its concerned with the qualities or virtues that we must develop in order to become a better person

-It is a normative theory is often described as autotelic (From the greek 'auto'- 'self' and 'telos'- 'goal')

Classical VE

-Aristotle (384-322 BC)

-blueprint for the development of VE

-Educated by Plato in Athens academy

-founded his own academy called the Lyceum and wrote 'Nicomachean Ethics'

-we have a purpose to be 'good' and this is the 'greater good'

-Called this the 'eudaimonia' (human flourishing)

Arisotle- what he believed

-develop virtues through controlling feelings through habit and practise

-we will reach eudaimonia

-'automatic way of living' and requires little effort

-Thompson 'necessary' to live alongside other harmoniously

-divided them into 2 selections- moral and intellectual virtues

moral virtues

-McCay 'qualities of character we must develop in order to become good people'

-Vardy and Grosch avoiding 'excess or deficiency' and hitting the 'mean'

examples of moral virtue

virtue- courage

excess- rashness

deficiency- cowardice

virtue- truthfulness

excess- boostfulness

deficiency- understatement

moral virtues basis

it will lead to social harmony

the golden mean

central

-'always aim for the middle' (aristotle)

-However, how do we define it? How do we know we have found it?

-this suggests it is a relativist approach

intellectual virtues

-McCay developed over a lifetime of instruction that we 'recieve from others'

-some examples of intellectual virtues include techne, which is art/ technical skill like creativity. This allows us to be resourceful, in the sense of the ability to be creative

development of VE

-St Ambrose added the theological virtues of love, faith, hope and charity.

-aquinas added the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice

-considered them the opposite of the deadly sins-pride, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, anger and sloth

-aquinas believed as a virtuous person would not allow such vices to influence the,

-These can be seen in NML- 'real goods'

Modern approaches to VE

The enlightment period

-17th century- people no longer accepted complete control

-Vardy and Grosch people could not be moral without 'necessary qualities of mind and character'

-focus put towards 'morality of our actions' (McCay) such as Kantian ethics and 'consequences of our actions' such as Utilitarianism

-Locke idea of virtues became secondary to moral rules and laws

Elizabeth Anscombe

-revival of ve in the 20th century

-contemporary

-'the best life for a human being (eudamonia) consists in the exercise of virtues'

-In 'Modern Moral Philosophy' she questioned both deontological and teleological ethics stating VE would provide a 'firmer foundation'

-'action' replaced aristotle's focus on 'the individual' (agent) and that 'behaviour has been seperated from people'

-Kantian ethics 'absurd'

-Utilit ethics 'superficial'

-blamed christianity for aristotle's concept of 'virtue' being dismissed, stating that the concepts of being 'bound, permitted and excused' became 'embedded in our language and thought'

-'good persons do good deeds, but good deeds do not necessarily make good persons'

Rosalind Hursthouse

-contemporary

-describes this as a 'skeletal virtue theory'

1. an action is RIGHT if it is what a virtuous person (or agent) would do in the circumstances

2. a virtuous person will act according to the virtues as set out by aristotle

3.a virtue is a quality or characteristic that a human being must have in order to flourish or to do well

Philippa foot

-contemporary

-produced 'virtues and vices'

-the 'systematic account' set out by aristotle's virtues, are necessary for moral society

-moral virtue needed to be 'nurtured an developed through habit'

-McCay states 'a good action is one which was carried out in accordance to the virtues, as opposed to the virtues'

-believed that society would 'flourish' from VE as virtues are 'beneficial characteristics'

-Used the example of Russia under 'Stalanist terorr' to highlight what can happen when 'charity and justice' are lacking

-Virtues were a moral restraint because as humans we need 'a curb'

Alasdair Maclyntyre

-contemporary

-this approach as a 'crucial component'

-modern ethics theories put 'too much stress on reason and too little emphasis on people'

-deontological and teleological approaches create a 'moral vacuum'- a society where true morality was absent

-Proposed three archetypal characters that are present in our siociety

1.the bureaucratic manager- most efficient manner and puts profits before principals. This is 'morally neutral'

2.the rich aesthete- sincere appreciation for beauty and arts. pursue the more exciting pleasures in life such as media attention. This reflects our 'celebrity-obsessed culture'.

3. the therapist-who keeps everything in society in place and charges the bureauctratic manager and the rich aesthete vast amounts of money, so they remain fit to continue their pursuits

Stanley Hauerwas

-contemporary

-Christian approach- developing virtues based on values promoted by Jesus (McCay)

-'character is more fundamental than acts, rules or principles'

-'in worship we are busy looking in the right direction'- worshiping through habit will lead to developing a moral character

-Advocates a totally pacifist approach- believes in 'radical commitment to non-violence'- god refused to use violence to ensure the sucess of a cause, so must we

-some people need to withdraw from positions of power and influence and withdraw from society to live a life dedicated to imitating christ

Rosalind Hursthouse- abortion

-Believes in 'v-rules' which 'prescribe virtuous actions and prohibit the... of the corresponding vice'

-a virtuous person would..

1. would not take abortion lightly

2. realise that motherhood and childbearing are intrinsicially worthwhile

-however, abortion may be in keeping with a virtuous character if:

1.the woman had several children and believes that another child would affect her ability to be a good mother

2.too old

3.discovers pregnancy may kill them

believes 'the fact that a human life has been cut short... means some evil has probably been brought about'

Martha Nussbaum- FGM

-condemn FGM as the virtues required for human flourishing include bodily health, integrity and control

-alternative to 'principlist' ethical theories like Kantian and Utilit ethics

Evaluation- proponents (supporters)

-McCay 'primary focus on people and the quality of their lives'

-Bowie 'what it means to be human'

-not looking at rules, rather at the character

-primary focus on people and quality of their lives

-Louden- an individual will act from a 'direct desire' without believing that they are 'morally ought' to do something

-McCay 'naturally act' free from obligation

-make the world a better place and allow them to achieve eudaimonia

-universal approach- Foot Atheist, Anscombe and Maclntyre christians

-Bowie 'an alternative model that reaches beyond religious ethics'

evaluation- Opponents (against)

-no clear answers to modern moral issus such as euthanasia, contraception and captial punishment that NML or utilit state

-Louden- no set of rules that prevent us from acts like murder, stealing and adultary- this could be seen as an antinomianism (dangerous)

-sees beneficial elements in ve but needs supplemented with rules to protect the moral community

-Bernstein 'Maclntyre has placed too much faith in the wisdom of the 'ancients' (Aristotle|) and rejected too quickly the inquiries of the moderns (Kant/ Bentham)

evaluation- The middle ground fallacy (mistake)

-Definition of middle ground- a logical fallacy in which someone asserts that a compromise between two opposing positions must be the truth

-faulty reasoning

-type of thinking is erroneous

-no valid reasons to believe its truthfulness

-erroneous for two reasons

1.it presumes that a situation can only be understood under two false extremes

2.the truth is a matter of making the two false extremes work together

-'the best of both worlds' or a 'false compromise'

HE for A01

Aristotle- human flourishing- a study showed that around 40% adults are considered to be flourishing

Moral virtues- courage- can be applied to police officers and firefighters that risk their life on a daily basis. In 2023, there were 89 on-duty firefighter fatalities in the U.S.

intellectual virtues-

key words

-agent