Virtue Ethics Notes

Virtue Ethics

  • Virtue ethics emphasizes character and virtue in living one's life.
  • Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas are key proponents.

Aristotle: Telos, Virtue as Habit, Happiness as Virtue

  • Aristotle (384-322 B.C.): Greek philosopher with contributions to Logic, Biology, Aesthetics, and Ethics.
  • Telos: Greek for "end" or purpose; every action aims at some good.
  • Virtues are acquired by habituation; good acts habitually put into action develop character.
  • Two kinds of virtues:
    • Moral virtues: acting in moderation (the "golden mean" between excess and deficiency).
    • Intellectual virtues.
  • Happiness (eudaimonia) is the supreme good or summum bonum and our telos.

St. Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law

  • St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274): Italian philosopher and theologian.
  • Natural Law: Based on the Bible and Aristotle; a moral code within nature created by God.
  • Basic moral law: "Good is to be done and pursued… and evil to be avoided."
  • Four types of law:
    • Eternal Law: God's rational plan for all creation.
    • Natural Law: Aspect of eternal law accessible to human reason.
    • Human Law: Positive natural laws including civil and criminal laws; unjust laws are not binding.
    • Divine Law: Law of revelation through sacred texts.
  • Agrees with Aristotle that happiness or eudaimonia is our natural telos.
    • Primary precepts: Ensure self-preservation (reproduction, education, peaceful living, worshipping God).
    • Secondary precepts: Ways to put primary precepts into practice.

Happiness as Constitutive of Moral and Cardinal Virtues

  • Happiness is not pleasure, material possessions or honor, but activities in accordance with virtue.

  • Habits (virtues) are acquired or infused.

  • Moral/Cardinal virtues:

    • Prudence: Understanding the best means in moral problems at the right time; acting without carelessness.
    • Justice: Giving or rendering what is due to another.
    • Fortitude: Courage and bravery in facing danger.
    • Temperance: Proper control and restraint; moderation.

  • Happiness involves the totality of human being (body and soul) united with God.

  • Theological virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love).

    • Faith: Voluntary assent to truths about God revealed through divine revelation.
    • Hope: Trust in God's promises and salvation.
    • Charity (Love): Loving God and neighbor; greatest of the theological virtues.