Aristotle (384-322 BCE): What is Virtue?

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Aristotle (384-322 BCE)What is Virtue?

• PHIL 1003
• Semester I 2008-09

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Tutorials

• Tutor Arthur Chin
• arthurchin2_at_yahoo.com.hk
• Week of
• 1st Sept 29th - Oct 3rd
• 2nd Oct 20th - 24th
• 3rd Nov 10th - 14th
• 4th Nov 24 - 28th

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Answer to questionWhat causes downfall of
Platos best regime?

• Inevitable degeneration of best regime (Rep.,
  546a-e)
• Fault of imperfect matings how can this happen?
• Platonic numerology and astrology
• Calculate the number for a human creature no
  one understands it!
• Matings out of sync with this number
• Result children fall short of ideal
• Classes become mixed, no more pure golds
• Passionate pursue their ambitions, creating
  oligarchy
• rule of the few in their own self-interest.

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Aristotles Contributions

• Major ethical theorist
• Major political thinker
• theorist of democracy qualified approval
• Cf. Platonic critique of democracy rule of the
  worst elements
• Biologist
• Used scientific method to analyze political
  institutions
• Logic the organon, or tool.

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Aristotles life

• 384 BCE born in Stagira (Macedonia)
• therefore could not become an Athenian citizen
• Son of a court physician, Nicomachus
• 367-347 studied in Platos Academy, Athens
• 347 Plato dies Aristotle in Assos, Mytilene and
  Macedonia
• In Asia Minor studies marine organisms
• 342 tutors the Macedonian prince, Alexander
• little discernible influence
• 335 returns to Athens, founds Lyceum
• 322 dies in Chalcis.

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Ancient Greece
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School of Athens by Raphael (16th cent.)
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What this picture illustrates

• Plato pointing at sky,
• Aristotle at earth.
• Why?

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Aristotles Method

• Empirical and concrete based in biology
• Make observations of phenomena
• Draw conclusions on that basis
• Social and ethical questions examine actual
  views on an issue or topic
• Find out what the telos, or goal of sth is
• That will tell you its nature, and
• What its good is.

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An acorns telos
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Aristotles idea of The Good

• No one good or Form of the Good (cf. Plato)
• Many goodsthe good of each thing, organism,
  person, e.g.
• The good of cats
• The good of trees
• The good of.
• The good is determined by examining its nature
• We understand the nature of a thing by looking at
  its goal or telos

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Hierarchy

• Central idea to ethics and politics of both Plato
  and Aristotle.

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What Plato and Aristotle share soul-society
analogy

• Plato
• Soul 3 pts
• reason,
• passion
• desires
• Society 3 pts
• rulers,
• guardians
• people

• Aristotle
• Soul 2 pts
• reason
• desires
• Society 2 pts
• rulers (rotation among citizens)
• ruled citizens and others

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Aristotles view of the soul
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Aristotles Hierarchy of Beings

• 3 kinds of soul
• Vegetative plants
• Sensitive (having senses) animals
• Rational and active man
• These ideas still used in the 17th century by
  Descartes.
• What is unique to man is reasoning ability and
  his highest good/goal/telos is to exercise that
  ability in action.
• Plants and animals have different goals than man
  because they have different natures/souls.

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Hierarchy of goods, sciences

• Critique of Platos Form of the Good (1096a15)
• Not one good, but many
• Good of city at top of hierarchy of goods
• Good of individual subordinate (NE, 1.2)
• Why?
• Not one science of good, but many (1096a30)
• Controlling science political science
• All other sciences subordinategeneralship,
  household mgmt, rhetoric
• Why?

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What is the Good for man?

• For sake of which we do things
• Many of our activities are instrumental, only
  means to the end
• Characteristics of the Good for man
• Complete
• Self-sufficient
• Choiceworthy (having merit)
• Active

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The Good happiness, but what is happiness?

• Is it doing well or living well?
• Is it the opposite of whatever state in which one
  finds oneself?
• Is it freedom from pain?
• Many believe it is gratification of desire, or
• Honor, being admired, respected
• Wealthnot the good we are seeking (1096a)
• Health
• Having fun
• Many of these, e.g. wealth, health, are
  instruments we use to pursue the good.

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the human good turns out to be

• the souls activity that expresses virtue (NE,
  1098a20)

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You are not born virtuous

• You must become virtuous.

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Virtue

• Everything has a virtue
• Virtue means acting well, in accordance with
  ones nature
• Slaves,
• plants,
• animals,
• humans all have virtues
• Mans particular virtue acting from reason, for
  his community (polis).

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Virtue

• The end of man is to act virtuously
• Virtue is an activity
• It makes us happy
• Virtue of character
• We can become habituated to it through repetition
  of fine actions
• Education in virtue is necessary.

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The Virtues

• Virtue entails action
• Even philosophy is action, and therefore virtuous
• Mean between extremes of behavior
• Examples
• Courage mean b/w foolish risk-taking and
  cowardice
• Generosity mean b/w avarice and profligacy
• Truthfulness b/w boastfulness and
  self-depreciation
• Even-temperedness b/w short temper and apathy

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The question is not

• What is virtue?
• BUT
• How to become good (Bk 2.2)

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What is ethics?

• Moral virtue (ethike) derived from habits (ethos)

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So what is really central

• How your habits are formed do you have a good
  upbringing or a bad one, do you live in a city w/
  good laws or bad ones? (Bk 2.1-2)

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Forming habitsMusic and Censorship

• Plato
• Music Phrygian harmonia
• Dorian for courage
• Censor poetry, b/c poetry attributes
  responsibility for evil to god (Rep., 378a,
  380b-c).

• Aristotle (Pol., Bk 7)
• Music Lydian harmonia
• Avoid performing music b/c it is shared with
  slaves or other subordinates
• Censor lewd dramas--bad for children.

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Preferred instrument (children only) the
Kithara lyre
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A base instrument the Auloi Pipes
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Any contemporary examples?

• How are childrens habits formed today?

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Can you be virtuous under a bad regime?

• What do you think?

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Question

• In Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle argues that a
  child can not be truly happy because "age
  prevents him from doing things acquired by
  virtue... and happiness requires both complete
  virtue and a complete life" (1100a).
• During my childhood I can recall times where I
  felt completely happy even though I was not
  virtuous or of the age of complete life.
• Do you agree or disagree with Aristotle's views
  on happiness for a child? Why/Why not?