VIRTUE ETHICS

ARISTOTLE

(384-322 B.C.)

Virtue

• A State Of Character Or Habit

• Which Is The Result Of Dispositions And Deliberations

• Prompting Us To Actions

• Within The Context Of The Human Goods Which We Pursue In Our Lives

• Habitual Actions Based on Values

Virtue (Aristotle’s Definition)• A State Of Character• Concerned With Choice,• Lying In A Mean• (I.E., A Mean Relative To Us)• This Being Determined By Rational

Principles,• And By That Principle By Which The Man

Of Practical Wisdom Would Determine It

Rules And The “Mean”

• Avoidance Of Strict, Abstract Rules

• Emphasis On Individual, Concrete Circumstances

• Hitting The Mean Between Extremes (Excess And Deficiency)– “Midpoint” in a Spectrum

• Some Actions Do Not Admit of a Mean

Considerations

• The Right Person

• The Right Object

• The Right Amount

• The Right Time

• The Right End

• The Right Way

Virtue History

• Character Or Habits Played Out Over Time

• Tolerance– Respect For Individual Virtue History

Practical Advice

• Difficult To Hit The Mean– Avoid What Is More Contrary To The Mean

• One Of The Extremes Is More Erroneous• Choice Of The Lesser Of Two Evils

– Avoid That To Which We Are Most Drawn– Avoid The Most Pleasurable

Virtue EthicsAnd The Principles• One Can Move From “Quandry” Ethics Where

Questions Or Conflicts Are Resolved By Balancing Principles Against Each Other To The “Deeper Level” Of Promoting, Supporting, And Negotiating The Practice Of Virtues In The Various Roles In An Organization, Which Individuals Occupy.

• Virtue Ethics Moves, From The Use Of Abstract Principles And Their Applications To Particular Situations, Directly To An Examination Of The Particular Circumstances, Actions, And Agents.