Aristotle

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Aristotle

• 1. Virtue Ethics

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ARISTOTLE

• Aristotle (384-322BC) was a student of Plato, and
  he attended Platos school (the Academy) in
  Athens.
• After the death of Plato he founded his own
  school (the Lyceum).
• He, his philosophy and his followers were known
  as peripatetic which means walking around
  because thats the way Aristotle taught.

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• Historical trivia about Aristotle
• He was the tutor of Alexander the Great.
• The extracts were reading come from The Ethics,
  or The Nicomachean Ethics. Nicomachus may have
  been either Aristotles son, or the editor of
  this book (originally lecture notes), or both.
  Nobody knows for sure

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• Philosophically
• points of similarity with Plato close
  connection between ethics and politics
  (especially in this book) division of soul into
  rational and irrational parts (and the assumed
  superiority of reason).

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• points of divergence Plato makes Justice the
  highest concept in ethics for Aristotle the
  Good is the highest (and the Good for man is
  happiness eudaimonia)
• Aristotles overall approach is less dualistic
  than Platos his metaphysics is more
  concrete. This is related, no doubt, to his
  interest in natural science, biology, medicine,
  etc.

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Aristotles Ethics

• Aristotles approach to ethics (moral philosophy)
  is today categorised as Virtue Ethics.
• This is in contrast to two other approaches which
  we will see later
• Deontology (ethics of duty) Kant
• Utilitarianism (ethics of consequences) Mill.

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• The Greek word which we translate as virtue is
  arete, which literally means excellence.
• So, Aristotles ethics focuses on what is that
  makes a person (and their life) excellent as an
  example of human activity.

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• The basic building blocks of Aristotles ethics
  are
• Every activity has an end an aim, a final goal.
  The final cause, or end is the highest level of
  cause. So, every purposive activity has a purpose
  for example
• There is a hierarchy of ends or aims but we
  call that at which all things aim the good.

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• The end at which we aim in our practical moral
  activity is the absolutely good. This is the
  subject matter of political science.
• But what is the good for man (individually and
  collectively)?
• Many opinions.and in this discussion, according
  to Aristotle, we can only hope for an appropriate
  level of precision

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• So, if all our actions aim at ends, and we can
  hierarchise these ends, then what is the final
  end for which we aim in our active lives?
• It is happiness (eudaimonia). We know this is the
  absolute good for human life because it is final
  and self-sufficient we do not seek it for any
  other reason, but for its own sake.

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• But what is happiness?
• Aristotles preliminary definition Happiness is
  an activity of the soul in accordance with
  virtue. (see, reading, Bk I, Ch 9, Sect 7)

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• To make this more precise we need to address the
  question of the proper function of man as such.
  For Aristotle function is a crucial explanatory
  device.
• For example, we can only know what a good
  scissors is, if we know the function of a
  scissors.
• Aristotle thought that humans beings, too, have a
  function in this sense. What is our function?

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• To know our function we must examine our nature
  what is it?
• Our defining feature, vis-à-vis other life forms
  is reason and action. That is, unique among
  animals we engage in purposive, rational
  activity.
• So, if we say that the purpose/function of a
  scissors is to cut, the purpose/function of a
  good scissors is to cut well/excellently.

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• And, therefore, the purpose/function of a human
  being is to engage well in purposive, rational
  activity.
• Hence the definition weve just seen
• Happiness is an activity of the soul in
  accordance with virtue.

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• BUT we must also know what Aristotle means by
  soul.
• Aristotles account of soul is very similar to
  that of Plato.
• The major division within the soul is between the
  rational part and the non-rational part. But the
  non-rational part has a sub-division which, like
  passion or spirit in Plato, is capable of
  following reasons orders (although it does not
  do so in the incontinent person).

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• For Aristotle, however, unlike for Plato, the way
  you bring a soul to act well is through practice,
  habit, or VIRTUE.
• We need to TRAIN our souls to act well.

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• Next time acquiring Virtues and the Mean.

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Tutorials

• NOTE Change of sign-up procedure
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