Bare Bones Ethics - Bare Bones Part 2 Ethical Theories The...

Bare Bones Part 2:
Ethical Theories

The Virtue
Ethics of
Aristotle
from The
Nicomachea
n Ethics

Aristotle is in search of The Supreme Good, that
for the sake of which all else is done . . .
. . . This is that
at which we
are to aim, like
archers at a
target.

Happiness is
finally discovered
to be the
Supreme Good,
but the Greek
idea indicated
something
considerably
broader than our
English word.
Happiness
as
EUDAIMONI
A

Another definition
of The Good is
that which
enables a being
to carry out its
proper function
well.
Aristotle is
exclusive rather
than inclusive,
looking for what
characteristics
make humans
unique, rather
than those they
share with other
forms of life.
So what is “the function of man”?

Aristotle decides that
“the function of man” is
activity of the soul in
accordance with reason ,
man’s highest faculty,
and so those without
reason are said to lack
happiness, as
Eudaimonia

The Nature of the Virtues and their
Origin
VIRTUE: That which enables Man to
Perform His Proper Function Well

Virtue is a mean state
between excess and deficiency
Not enough Too much

Philosophical
Reflection
Thought or Contemplation,
the Action of Reason, was
for Aristotle the Greatest
Happiness of All

MacIntyre’s understanding of
VIRTUE depends on his definition of
a PRACTICE:
Alasdair MacIntyre is a Contemporary Virtue
Ethicist

MacIntyre
distinguishe
s between
Goods that
are Internal
to a Practice
and Goods
that are
External to a
Practice
Cheating is Self-
Defeating in Seeking
Internal Goods

MacIntyre holds JUSTICE , HONESTY , and
COURAGE
to be the Virtues necessary to achieving excellence in
any Practice having Internal Goods
COURAGE is a virtue rooted in Care

Virtue Renders Humans Able to Perform Their Proper
Function Well
Group: “Politics” Individual: “Ethics” Species: Ecological
Niche
From
Alasdair
MacIntyre:

Thomas Hobbes is said to have been
born prematurely when his mother first
heard about the approaching Spanish
Armada, on the attack against
England. Hobbes often remarked that
he was born “a twin with fear,” and he
saw civil war and much social turmoil
over his lifetime. His philosophy
therefore emphasized the need for a
centralized power to provide protection
against threats to an individual’s life
and property.
The Ethical Theory of
Thomas Hobbes

Hobbes Embraced the
Metaphysics of
Mechanism
Hobbes rejected Cartesian
dualism by dispensing with
the nonmaterial “soul.” He
was much impressed by
Galileo’s physics, and
considered everything to be
ultimately reducible to
bodies or matter in motion.
He was once Francis
Bacon’s assistant.

Atomistic
Individualism
Hobbes patterned human
behavior on the behavior of
“atoms,” which in his day
were conceived as hard,
massy, solid particles that
only interacted with one
another through external
collisions.

As each social atom
pursues his or her self-
interest, they are bound to
come into conflict with one
another.

The “War of All Against
All”

Living in “the State of
Nature”:
People live by “the natural