How does Aristotle describe virtue?
Aristotle defines moral virtue as a disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess, which are vices.
What is Aristotle’s most important virtue?
Prudence, also known as practical wisdom, is the most important virtue for Aristotle. In war, soldiers must fight with prudence by making judgments through practical wisdom. This virtue is a must to obtain because courage requires judgments to be made.
Is Aristotle egoist or altruist?
One acts both to benefit oneself and to benefit someone else. This leaves open the possibility that the egoistic reason is stronger; but it means that Aristotle is not a pure egoist, since the altruistic reason is independent of the egoistic one.
What are three of Aristotle’s virtues?
(1119b, 15-17) But since there are three primary moral virtues, courage, temperance, and justice, it is surprising that in the whole of Book V, which discusses justice, Aristotle never mentions the beautiful.
Does Aristotle believe virtue is innate?
Aristotle claims that the virtues are innate. According to Aristotle, to be virtuous is for the rational part of one’s soul to govern over the non-rational part. According to Aristotle, happiness is an activity, not a state. Aristotle holds that an inquiry into ethics cannot be perfectly precise.
What is the role of virtue in Aristotle’s ethics?
Aristotle replies: “Virtue makes the goal right, practical wisdom the things leading to it” (1144a7–8). By this he cannot mean that there is no room for reasoning about our ultimate end. For as we have seen, he gives a reasoned defense of his conception of happiness as virtuous activity.
What are the 11 virtues discussed by Aristotle?
For example, regarding what are the most important virtues, Aristotle proposed the following nine: wisdom; prudence; justice; fortitude; courage; liberality; magnificence; magnanimity; temperance.
How many virtues did Aristotle have?
Aristotle’s 12 virtues are a great checklist to understand the different morals, values, and virtues that you could cultivate or restrain in your life. It’s like an ancient Greek personality test.
Does Aristotle believe in altruism?
Generally speaking, Aristotle believes that true personal friendship is by definition altruistic because it involves concern for the interests of others for their own sake.
Did Aristotle believe in altruism?
He is (to use the term introduced earlier) never altruistic in the strong sense. Aristotle, it might be said, would have been on firmer ground if he had said that ultimately one should act for one’s own good and that of others.
How many virtues does Aristotle have?
What are the two kinds of virtue according to Aristotle?
There are two kinds of virtue: intellectual and moral. We learn intellectual virtues by instruction, and we learn moral virtues by habit and constant practice.
What is Aristotle’s theory of virtue?
Aristotelian Virtue Ethics is an agent-centered theory in virtue of a primary focus on people and their characters rather than singular actions. For Aristotle, morality has more to do with the question “how should I be?” rather than “what should I do?”
How do you evaluate Aristotelian virtue ethics?
When explaining and evaluating Aristotelian Virtue Ethics you must keep in mind this focus on character rather than specific comments on the morality of actions. Aristotle refers to virtues as character traits or psychological dispositions.
What is an objection to Aristotelian virtue ethics?
Objection: Circularity. An entirely different objection to Aristotelian Virtue Ethics is based on a concern regarding logical circularity. According to Aristotle, the following statements seem to be correct: An act is virtuous if it is an act that a virtuous person would commit in that circumstance.
What are the arguments in Aristotle’s logic?
In Aristotle’s logic, arguments do not take the form: “this state of affairs is true/false,” “this state of affairs is true/false,” therefore this state of affairs is true/false.” We do not argue “All S is M is true” but merely, “All S is M.”