Aristotles Ethics

Virtue Ethics:
For Aristotle, the highest good in all matters of action is happiness.
But man is most happy when he is man in the best way
So happiness is achieved when man is functioning well as man.
But mans function is:
Activity of soul in conformity with reason, or at least not without reason. (NE 1.7)
But human life is not limited to purely intellectual pursuits. Thus, mans function is:
Activity of soul in conformity with excellence; and if there is more than one excellence, it will be
the best and most complete of these. (NE 1.7)
Thus, happiness comes in acting virtuously.
Virtues
Happiness comes in acting virtuously:
Virtue:
A virtue is a kind of excellence of character.
Virtue and Function: A virtue is the state of character which makes a man good and which
makes him do his own work well.
A virtue is a state in which a man functions properly
every virtue or excellence both brings into good condition the thing of which it is the excellence
and makes the work of that thing be done wellthe excellence of the horse makes a horse both
good in itself and good at running and at carrying its rider (NE )

More on virtue:
It is for our virtues and vices that we are praised and blamed.
Not capacities we have by nature. We develop virtues and vices through experience.
We become just be doing just acts (NE 2.1)
We can learn the virtues so there should be some direction from a very early age, as Plato says,
with a view of taking pleasure in, and being pained by, the right things. (NE 2.3)

To have a virtue is to have developed a habit of choosing and behaving in ways appropriate

Examples of Virtues
Some of the virtues include:
Courage. When one is fearful or confident
Temperance (regarding indulgence in pain and pleasure)
Liberality (regarding giving and taking $)
Pride (regarding ones honor and dishonor)
Good tempered (with regard to anger).
The Doctrine
of the mean
Excess and Defect: It is in the nature of things to be destroyed by excess or defect.
Both excessive and defective exercise destroys the strength, and similarly drink or food which is above
or below a certain amount destroys the health, while that which is proportionate both produces and
increases and preserves it. So too is it, then, in the case of temperance and courage and the other
virtues. The man who runs away from everything in fear, and faces up to nothing, becomes a coward;
the man who is absolutely fearless, and will walk into anything, becomes rash. It is the same with the
man who gets enjoyment from all the pleasures, abstaining from none: he is immoderate; whereas he
who avoids all pleasures, like a boor, is a man of no sensitivity (NE 2.2)

Intermediate: Every virtue is an intermediate between some excess and defect.
So acting virtuously is acting according to the mean. Never too much excess, nor too much defect with
regard to a state of character.
an intermediate between excess and defectthat which is equidistant from each of the
extremesneither too much nor too little.
For instance, if ten is many and two is few, six is the intermediate ()
The mean is relative

Relative: But the mean isnt always the same for everyone. The mean is always relative to the individual
and her circumstances.
For if ten pounds are too much for a particular person to eat and two too little, it does not follow that
the trainer will order six pounds; for this is also perhaps too much for the person who is to take it, or too
little ()
In feeling fear, confidence, desire, anger, pity, and in general pleasure and pain, one can feel too much
or too little; and both extremes are wrong. The mean and good is feeling at the right time, about the
right things, in relation to the right people, and for the right reason (NE 2.6)

The mean is relative to the circumstances
The mean is relative
So the mean is relative to the individual and her circumstances.
For example, bravery lies on a mean between extremes of fear and confidence.
Too much fear and not enough confidence cowards.
Too much confidence and too little fear reckless.
But the brave act doesnt lie precisely in the middle of extremes. This depends on the circumstances.
For example:
I walk upon someone getting mugged
I have no training in self defense
A navy seal walks upon someone getting mugged

The Doctrine of the Mean:

Examples
So every virtue is the mean between some excess and some defect. For example:
Anger:
You can have too much anger (wrathfulness) or too little (subservience).
Virtuous action lies between the extremes, depends on circumstances
Temperance the mean between self indulgence and insensibleness (with respect to divulging in pains
and pleasures).
Liberality the mean between prodigal-ness and mean-ness (with respect to giving and taking $).
Truthfulness: the mean between boastfulness and mock-modesty (with respect to truth)
Virtue Ethics: a principle for action
We can think of Virtue Ethics as offering us a principle for action:
A Principle for Action: some action X is the right thing to do if and only if X is what a virtuous person
would do in those circumstances.
A virtuous person lives by or according to the virtues.
But what would a virtuous person do?
You must try to think like Jesus would
So you might just ask a virtuous person
A second possible principle for action: the doctrine of the mean
The virtuous agent
The Virtuous agent: For Aristotle, being a virtuous agent isnt just doing the virtuous thing.
To be just it isnt sufficient to just act justly.
Acting for the sake of virtue: one must get pleasure in acting justly for it to count as a just act at all.
the man who does not rejoice in noble actions is not even good; since no one would call a man just
who did not enjoy acting justly, nor any man liberal who did not enjoy liberal actionsIf this is so,
virtuous actions must be in themselves pleasant ()
The second requirement
Another requirement: And being a virtuous agent is more than merely doing the virtuous thing and
gaining pleasure in her doing the virtuous thing.
Resisting the appetitive soul: to be virtuous, ones appetitive soul, that part of the soul which brings
about desires and impulses that pull one away from acting rationally, mustn't lead one away from doing
the virtuous thing.
For we praise the rational principle of the continent man and of the incontinent, and the part of their
soul that has such a principle, since it urges them aright and towards the best objects; but there is found
in them also another element naturally opposed to the rational principle, which fights against and resists
that principle. ()
The virtuous agent is neither continent nor incontinent.
The continent man: does the virtuous thing, although he had some impulse or desire to do otherwise.
The incontinent man: doesnt do the virtuous thing just because he follows the appetitive soul
Desiring virtue: the virtuous agent desires only to perform the virtuous act



Platos Work
Our chief source of information on Plato comes from Plato himself. We still have all the works
attributed to him by ancient scholars, the most important of which are the philosophical
dialogues.
These include the Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Theaetetus, Timaeus, Gorgias, Protagoras, Meno, and
the Republic.
We probably have more biographical information about Plato than on any other ancient
philosopher much of it from Diogenes Laertiuss Life of Plato.
And its likely that no single work of Western philosophy has been read by as many people as
Platos Republic.
Platos Disillusionment
Plato became discouraged by the mob represented by the jury at Socrates trial whom he
thought were irrational and dangerous.
He also became discouraged by the elite represented by the nobles who formed the Thirty
whom he thought were cruel, greedy, and self-centered.
As a result, he felt that justice, and the avenging of Socrates death, would have to come
through philosophy rather than political action.
To this end, he sought to develop an ideal form of government which avoided both extremes.
The Academy
After the revolt of the Thirty and execution of Socrates, Plato left Athens and wandered for
nearly twelve years. He studied with Euclid.
He traveled to Egypt where he studied mathematics and mysticism, both of which influenced his
later philosophy.
At about age forty, after finishing most of his writings, he founded his Academy (c.388 B.C.E.),
named after the Greek hero, Academos. It was a philosophical retreat, isolated from the turmoil
of Athenian politics.
His chief function was probably as teacher and administrator. Here Plato spent the next forty
years, lecturing without notes until he died.
Platos Epistemology
Plato was determined to show that skepticism and relativism of the Sophists was mistaken.
He also aimed to reconcile the claims of Heraclitus (change alone is unchanging) and
Parmenides (change is an illusion).
He did both by dividing knowledge from belief. Beliefs are gotten through the senses and are
about physical change (becoming).
Knowledge is gotten through reason and is about what is always the same (being). Beliefs are
about appearances, while Knowledge is about reality, about how things really are.
The Theory of Forms
In Platos metaphysics, the level of being consists of timeless essences or entities called Forms.
Such a metaphysics is sometimes called transcendental, because it asserts that there is a plane
of existence that transcends, or goes beyond, our ordinary perception of things.
The Greek root for form (eidos) is sometimes translated as idea or concept. A form, then. is a
purely mental entity, but one that is independent of all minds (in other words, its reality does
not depend on the minds that think it). And although the forms actually exist, they are not
physical objects. Their reality is purely ideal or conceptual.
Why Plato Needed the Forms
Plato wanted the theory of Forms to provide a rational explanation of how knowledge is
possible. Since we do have knowledge (e.g., mathematics and geometry), how does it happen,
and what is its object?
He also wanted a way of identifying those who are wise and those who are not in other words,
a means of determining when something was actual knowledge versus when something was
simply a matter of opinion.
As he says in the Timaeus, That which is apprehended by reason is always in the same state,
but that which is conceived by opinion is always in a process of becoming and never really is.
The Divided Line
Plato used the concept of the divided line to illustrate the relationship of knowledge to opinion,
of appearance to reality.
He claimed there are levels of awareness from imagination to perception to reasoning to
understanding and that one can move from the lowest to the highest by thinking in terms of a
hierarchy of Forms.
Platos Divided Line
The Form of the Good
At the top of this divided line is the Form of Forms, the Form of the Good. This Form cannot
be observed with the senses, but known only by pure thought.
Comprehension of the Good is unlike other forms of knowing, in that it is holistic, rather than
partial.
Plato compares the Good to the Sun in order to give an idea to those at a lower level of
awareness: just as the Sun enables vision, so the Good enables understanding and intelligibility.
This Simile of the Sun occurs in a passage from the Republic in which Plato (as Socrates)
contemplates their likeness as sources of seeing and seeing.
The Allegory of the Cave
In Book VII of the Republic, Plato tells a tale to illustrate the idea of the divided line.
At the beginning, prisoners are shackled to images and mythical accounts, and then one breaks
free to find that the images are being produced by perceptible objects.
The shift from perception to reason is then illustrated by someone leaving the cave entirely
(Plato, thanks to Socrates).
That person then realizes that they have been in a cave all along, and that what they had
taken to be most real is simply the limitations of their senses. If they use their minds, they are
able to see that there is much more to the world than meets the eye.
The Rule of the Wise
The person who makes the ascent out of the cave, from illusion to enlightenment, is wise. They
can return to the cave to inform the others of their predicament but they should not expect
to be understood when they return.
Plato believes that these people who have escaped the cave of opinion, who think in terms of
the Forms should be the rulers of the state, for they better than anyone are able to rule for
the sake of the whole community.
Hence, Platos fundamental vision is deliberately hierarchical and aristocratic rather than
egalitarian and democratic.
The Search for Justice
This rule of the wise is the idea behind Platos ideal state, the Republic.
Plato argued that a reciprocal relationship exists between the individual and the kind of society
he or she lives in.
He claimed there was a dynamic relation, so that a good society makes it easier to produce good
people, and good people make it easier to produce a good society.
And if the wise are in charge of ordering things, that reciprocal relationship is more likely to
occur.
Function and Happiness
The Republic contrasts two views of morality: the instrumental and the functionalist.
In the instrumental theory of morality, right and wrong are treated as means to, or instruments
for, getting something else (in other words, being good for some ulterior motive).
In the functionalist theory of morality, happiness is the result of living a fully functional life (in
other words, being good is part of functioning well).
The Parts of the Soul
Plato felt that there were three parts of the human soul: appetite, spirit, and reason.
Our appetites cause us to move in order to get things we want, such as food and mates.
Our spirit drives us to achieve things, to do better (than others) in school, at work, etc.
Our reason guides our appetites and spirit, like a charioteer does the horses that pull the
chariot, so that things dont get out of control. Reason is the only part of the soul capable of
fulfilling this function, because it is the only part that is capable of knowing.
The Cardinal Virtues
Plato identifies four cardinal virtues that are necessary for a happy individual. They are:
Temperance self-control or moderation.
Courage necessary for ones protection.
Wisdom necessary for training and guiding.
Justice balanced functioning of the whole.
All of these virtues are also necessary for a good society, so Plato decides that the ideal state
should be comprised of people who exhibit such virtues.
The Republic
Just as there are three parts to the human soul, so there should be three parts to the ideal state.
There should be workers who provide for our basic needs for food and shelter.
There should be warriors who protect us as the military does from foreigners and the police
do from neighbors.
And there should be guardians who watch over us and order things for our collective welfare.
This job would go to the wise and able leaders, to those Plato called philosopher-kings.
Societies and Individuals
In Platos ideal state, justice results from individuals acting well in relation to each other, just as
a happy individual results from the parts of its soul functioning well together.
Plato believes that it is in each individuals own best interest to act well even when it might
seem better to do whatever they can get away with.
Here Plato is thinking of long-term happiness, of the state we have to live in after we have done
whatever we could get away with (think back to his dialogue between Socrates and
Thrasymachus).
The Tyranny of Excess
Just as individuals can let their appetites and spirit get the best of them, tyrannizing their lives,
so states can be controlled by individuals who rule for their own sake tyrants.
For this reason, Plato thought tyranny the worst form of government.
Overindulging wouldnt be beneficial for an individuals overall well-being. Likewise, Plato
thought that letting the unwise, the masses, run things was hardly any better for society as a
whole.
Utopia
The utopia that Plato envisioned would avoid such problems (by ensuring that people
performed duties dictated by their natural abilities, just as the parts of the soul were controlled
to perform their proper functions).
The Republic, then, is the form of government best suited to human happiness.