Aristotle

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Aristotles Ethics
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Ancient Athens
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Aristotle
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Aristotle Goods

• Instrumental goods desired for the sake of
  something else
• Intrinsic goods desired for their own sake

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Happiness

• One thing is always desired for its own sake,
  never for the sake of something else happiness

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Happiness

• One thing is always desired for its own sake,
  never for the sake of something else happiness
• Happiness (eudaimonia) living well flourishing

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Happiness

• One thing is always desired for its own sake,
  never for the sake of something else happiness
• Happiness (eudaimonia) living well
  flourishing
• What does that require? Prosperity and luck,
  yes, but more

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Living well

• What is it to live well?

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Living well

• What is it to live well?
• Analogies
• A good knife cuts well
• A good eye sees well
• A good teacher teaches well

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Living well

• What is it to live well?
• Analogies
• A good knife cuts well
• A good eye sees well
• A good teacher teaches well
• A good person _____s well

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Function

• A things function stems from what is special
  about it what distinguishes it from other things
• Knives cut sharpness gt cutting
• Eyes see ability to see gt seeing
• Teachers teach ability to teach gt teaching

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Our Function

• What is the function of a human being?

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Our Function

• What is the function of a human being?
• What is special about people?

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Our Function

• What is the function of a human being?
• What is special about people?
• We act according to rational plans

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Virtue

• Our function is rational activity
• A good person succeeds at rational activity
• Virtue excellence
• A virtuous person excels at rational activity

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Two Kinds of Virtue

• Virtue rational activity
• Excellence in rationality intellectual virtue
• Excellence in activity moral virtue

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Becoming virtuous

• Intellectual virtue can be taught
• Moral virtue cant be
• It requires developing habits
• We become good by doing good things

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Right and wrong

• An act is right if it is something a virtuous
  person would tend to do

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Circular?

• Moderns A virtuous person is one who tends to do
  the right thing.

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Circular?

• Moderns A virtuous person is one who tends to do
  the right thing.
• Aristotle Thats not enough. A virtuous person
  tends to do the right thing as virtuous people do
  them.
• A good person consistently does the right thing
  at the right time, in the right way, and for the
  right reason.
• Virtuous people do the right thing for the right
  reason because its the right thing to do.

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Virtue as a Mean

• Virtues are means between extremes
• Virtues constrain desires
• But we may constrain too little or too much

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Virtues and Vices

• Drive Too little Just right Too much
• Fear cowardly courageous rash
• Pleasure self-indulgent self-controlled insensiti
  ve
• Material goods stingy generous extravagant
• Self-esteem vain high-minded small-minded
• Anger short-tempered gentle apathetic
• Sociability obsequious friendly grouchy
• Boasting boastful truthful self-deprecating
• Humor clownish witty boring
• Drive for honor ambitious ? unambitious
• Spending grudging magnificent vulgar

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Virtue as a Mean

• We must give in to desire in the right
  circumstances, in the right way, for the right
  reason, etc.
• Practical wisdomthe ability to draw the right
  distinctions and tell right from wrongallows us
  to find the mean
• Theres no rule for doing this
• You must learn to see what is right

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Can one be too moral?

• Its possible to be too generous (extravagant),
  too courageous (rash), too witty (clownish),
  etc.
• Is it possible to be too moral?

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Aristotles Theory

• Virtuous people would tend to do it
  

• Right

Too narrow? (False negatives)
Too broad? (False positives)