VIRTUEVIRTUE And VICEAnd VICE

Virtues are thought to be closelyconnected with our moral characters.

They are the sorts of dispositions wehave towards our emotions and desires,such as, self-control in regard topleasures and passions, fear, and anger.

They also concern proper social relations,that is, questions of fairness, honesty,and respect.

Traditionally, there are thoughtto be 4 cardinal/ key virtues:

Temperanceself-control of pleasures.

Courageself-abnegation and control of fear.

Fairness or justicegiving others what istheir due.

Prudence or wisdomgood moral decisionmaking.

It can be shown that in some respects,the three cardinal character virtuesform a certain dependence.

Temperance teaches self-control ofone’s pleasures and desires. Withoutsuch an ability, it would be difficultto be fair to others. Greed, and desiresfor pleasures for oneself can bea significant inhibitor of fairness.

Courage encourages nobility, that is,denial of self-interest for the sake ofsomething larger than one’s owninterest or self.

Courage lends itself to fairness,since fairness requires looking at what is in the common good,and not just what is one’s owngood.

TTEEMMPPEERRAANNCCEE

Self-control

CCOOUURRAAGGEE

Self-sacrifice

Regardfor

Others

FAIRMINDEDNESSFAIRMINDEDNESS

The cardinal/ keyvirtues are

interdependent.

Since fair-mindedness or justiceis a paramount social virtue, itis the virtue that holds societiestogether and allows them to flourish. It is clear how importantthe virtues of temperance andcourage are for fairness.

Virtues can be viewed as amean between two extremes.

This is called Aristotle’s golden mean.

A virtue such as temperance is a meanbetween two extremes in regard to thesensation of pleasure.

Those who enjoy too muchpleasures, or the wrong sortsof pleasures, are calledself-indulgent.

Those who don’t enjoy properpleasures, or lead too austereof a life are called insensitive.

All the virtues and vices canbe organized as means andextremes in regard to a certainpleasure, feeling or emotion.

The cardinal virtue of self-control. The ability to modulate thedesire for pleasure; to foregoimmediate pleasures for long-term ones.

TEMPERANCE

COURAGE

The cardinal virtue of self-efficacy.Behavior which involves, risk, harm or suffering for the sake of something greater than oneself.

FAIRMINDEDNESS

The cardinal virtue of cooperation.Behaviors which take into considerationthe interest of others; regard for others.

Virtuous ActAn action that has a virtuous character; may be occasional.

Virtuous Disposition or ModuleA tendency to act with regard to a certain virtue in the context of some practice..

Virtuous behavior that is part of one’spersonality.

If someone had an honesty trait,he or she would act honestly inall her dealings.

If honesty is a disposition, on theother hand, there might be kindsof situations in which a person didnot act honestly.

TEMPERANCE

TEMPERANCE

Self-control in regard to pleasure.

The ability to forestall lesser pleasures for

greater ones.

Temperance is often defined as:

OR

The inability to control desire for pleasureis the vice of self-indulgence.

The inability to enjoy even proper pleasuresis the vice of insensitivity.

Temperance is associated with two vices:

Many psychologists claim that there aretwo sorts of Pleasures:

Consummatory: pleasure derived from satisfaction of a desire; satiation.

Appetitive: pleasure derived from thepursuit of a pleasure; anticipation.

Characteristics of Pleasure:

Enjoyment is sometimes distinguishedfrom pleasure.

The satisfaction of pleasure is oftenrestorative and replenishing—itmaintains us where we should be.

Enjoyments add to our pleasure, andoften engage us more intensely in theactivities that generate it.

In any case, pleasure and enjoymentis a powerful motivator and attraction in our lives.

It is hard to imagine living without some modicum of pleasure.

In the history of ethics, we finda great deal of discussion aboutthe proper role of pleasure inour lives.

There are several views concerning the proper relation between pleasure

and the good life.

Hedonism

Sybaritism

Epicureanism

Eudaimonism

Stoicism

Asceticism

SYBARITISM Unbridled pursuit of pleasure. “Eat,

drink, and be merry.” “If it feels good, do it.”

HEDONISM claims thatPleasure is the goal of life.

EPICUREANISMThe pursuit of only highly qualitative pleasures. The search is for the kind

of life of high quality and enduring pleasures.

There are two versions of hedonism:

EUDAIMONISMGood practices rather than pleasure

ought to be the goal in life; proper pleasures are the result of good practices.

ASCETICISMASCETICISMA radical denial of pleasure, in favorA radical denial of pleasure, in favor

of the spiritual or ethical.of the spiritual or ethical.

STOICISM is that neither pleasure norpain ought to be a factor in thedetermination of the best life---onlywhat is good and right.

sybaritism is a difficult philosophy tosupport.

A life in the indiscriminate pursuit of pleasure is difficult to maintain,and to support financially.

The insistent pursuit of pleasure,as the Hollywood lifestyle, illustrates,often leads to addiction, disease, andthe destruction of talent and opportunity.

Epicureanism

1. pleasure is the end of life.

One should choose only those pleasures that lead to greater pleasures; and avoid those that eventually incur pain.

Epicurus (341-270 B.C.E.) is considered to be the classicphilosopher of hedonism.

the ultimate goal of the hedonist, accordingto Epicurus, is a peace ofmind.

To attain a peace of mind, the body must aim for a state of repose

A person should also avoid heavy responsibilities, ambitions and

serious involvementsThe mind must also be put in a state of repose

Criticisms of epicureanism:

1. promotes an egocentric ethic; both familialand civic connections are discouraged.

2. subordinates virtue to pleasure; the onlyreason to act virtuously is if it brings pleasure.

Eudaimonism is best expressed in thework of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)

Eudaimonism argues that pleasureought not to be the ultimate goalof our activities and pursuits, althougha pleasurable life is certainly desirable.

Instead pleasure ought to seen in itsproper place as the result of activitiesand practices done excellently andvirtuously.

To do something for the sake of pleasureis to chance corrupting the good ofthe activity.

Eudaimonism

1. flourishing is the goal in life.

2. flourishing is the result of the virtuousexercise of good practices, which results ina certain sort of pleasure.

3. this pleasure completes the good life, but isnot its goal.

Criticism of Eudaimonism

Even though, it does not make pleasurethe paramount in pursuit in life, stillpleasure is a vital component ofEudaimonism.

The same criticism of hedonism, then,may be made of Eudaimonism. It wouldseem that since the expectation of the good life is a pleasurable one, if thatdoes not happen, then the life of virtueand excellence might be questioned.

Stoicism is a philosophy classicallyassociated with Epictetus (55-135 C.E.).

Stoicism argues that pleasure or painought not to be a factor in living thegood life and doing the right thing.

The motivation for doing the rightthing ought to be that it is the rightthing to do, not because of somepleasure or peace of mind it mightbring.

Consequently, for the Stoics, onehas to grow indifferent to pleasure and pain, and find apurer motive for the right thing.

Duty becomes a paradigm of propermoral behavior for the Stoics. Onedoes your duty simply becauseduty commands you do it, not because of the consequences itmight bring.

However, despite the emphasis onduty, and the stress on indifferenceto pleasure and pain, the Stoicsdo seem to argue that there is a certain enjoyable quality to lifethat results from the exercise ofduty, and the indifference to pleasure.

Epictetus argues that the life ofduty and virtue leads to a sortof tranquility, which he callsEuthymia.

Criticisms of Stoicism

1. Indifference to pleasure and pain underminesthat which engages us in life. The passions, joyand suffering is what ties us to this life.

3. still suggests that pleasure (in the form oftranquility (euthymia) is the goal in life.

2. Indifference to pain, may also lead tothe indifference to the suffering of others.

GOOD-TEMPER

Good temper is a speciesof temperance.

Temperance is generally theability to control or temperpleasure and enjoyment.

The release or expression ofanger is often felt as pleasurable,even though it may be considereda negative emotion when it leadsto violence or hatred.

For this reason, good-temperis the control of somethingthat is pleasurable for theperson, but may be harmfulto others.

The expression of anger isnot always a vice. Sometimesit is completely appropriateto be angry.

Anger can express a legitimatecomplaint against anotherwho has done you harm.

It is a way of warning othersthat you are aware of theharm they have done you.

GOOD-TEMPER

Self-control in regard to anger.

The inability to control one’s anger is thevice of bad-temper.

The inability to become angry at the propertime is the vice of apathy.

Hot-temperedGets angry easily and with the wrongpersons and at the wrong things.

CholericQuick-tempered and seem to be angryat everything.

SulkyHard to appease and retain their anger long.

Bad-temperedCombine the worst of the other types;often vengeful.

The varieties of bad-temper

The “work ethic,” sometimes called the“Protestant work ethic” is thought tobe composed a systematic combinationof certain virtues:

INDUSTRYCONTENTMENT

FRUGALITY

THE WORK ETHIC

INDUSTRY: the ability to work despite fatigueor lack of desire; placing priority of work over leisure or entertainment.

FRUGALITY: theability to save money,to forestall immediategoods for long rangematerial goals

CONTENTMENT: the ability to curbdesire for more goods; being satisfiedwith a certain level of material and socialgoods.

Industry promotes good work habits; frugality allows one to save money;while contentment curbs desire for goods.

It is claimed that, when these work inunison, they can allow a person toproduce and accumulate wealth, andavoid the pitfalls of rabid consumerism.