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virtue ethics

• eudaimonia, which can be translated as “human flourishing”, is concerned with the good life for a human being. Aristotle argues that, instead of focusing on what makes an act moral, one should instead consider a moral act as what a virtuous person would do. A virtuous person is someone who displays virtues, where the virtue is defined as the arete or an ergon. An ergon is defined as the function of something; for example, the ergon (function) or a knife would be to cut. The arete (virtue) of a good knife which performs its ergon well would be sharpness. Therefore, arete is the virtue of which assists the subject in performing its ergon well. A virtuous person would have virtues which would ultimately fulfil a human’s ergon, which Aristotle believes to be reasoning, a function which is unique to human beings. A virtuous person would therefore have virtues which will assist them to reason well, and thus what a virtuous person does must therefore be the moral act as a consequent of well-reasoning. However, virtue ethics then faces the problem of circularity in defining what a moral act is. If a moral act is defined by what a virtuous does, and virtues are what defines a virtuous person, then the definition of virtue is self-reliant.

Infallibilism

• We cannot know of what is false. Therefore, if I know that P, I cannot be mistaken about P. Therefore, the justification of P must guarantee the truth, hence, if I am justified in believing that P, I cannot possibly be mistaken that P.

  • 1. we cannot know what is false

  • therefore, if I know that P, I cannot be mistaken that P

  • therefore, if I know that P, I am justified in believing that P

  • Therefore, if I am justified in belieiving that P, then I cannot possibly be mistaken that P