Aristotle's Virtue Ethics

Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, first introduced virtue ethics as a method to describe how a good person should act. As such, virtues play a major role in every profession including engineering. Virtuous engineers make better decisions throughout the design and analysis of any component, item, or system. This paper begins with a description of Aristotelian virtue ethics followed by a discussion on the virtues I have gained while at Texas A&M University, virtues needed as a mechanical engineer, and methods of expanding these virtues.

Aristotle outlined his theory of Virtue Ethics in his book Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle focused his idea of ethics on agents rather than acts. His main idea is focused on the idea of human character- how can you be a better person? In fact, Aristotle once said: “For we are enquiring not in order to know what virtue is, but in order to become good, since otherwise our enquiry would be of no use.” Aristotle is given the credit for developing the idea of virtue ethics, but many of Plato's cardinal values influenced his ideas. Virtue Ethics is focused on the person's actions, not the consequences of that action. Aristotle believed if you had good moral values, then your actions would be "good" in theory. Rather than defining good actions,

In The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle claims that there are three types of friendships. The three friendships being that of utility, pleasure, and virtue. First, in Sections 1-3, I will explain Aristotle’s claims of the three types of friendship. After that, in Section 4, I will examine Aristotle’s argument that there are two friendships that are not as lasting as the other friendship. Then, in Section 5, I will analyze whether or not the friendship of virtue can occur between only virtuous people. Next, in Section 6, I will evaluate whether or not true friendship is the friendship of virtue like Aristotle claims. Lastly, in Section 7, I will object to Aristotle’s claims.

A married couple, both addicted to drugs, is unable to care for their infant daughter. She is taken from them by court order and placed in a foster home. The years passed. She comes to regard her foster parents as her real parents. They love her as they would their own daughter. When the child is 9 years old, the natural parents, rehabilitated from drugs, begin court action to regain custody. The case is decided in their favor. The child is returned to them, against her will. Do ethics support the law in this case? Discuss.

“Can virtue be taught?”, was a question I struggled with when Meno ask Socrates. In Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle answers the question in a way I better understand. He believes that virtue can be taught and if you are taught good behavior you are excellent. He especially believes that the virtue of a human being is “being characteristic”, which helps me understand “What is virtue? “Virtue, according to Aristotle, are the characteristics that makes us either good or bad. Everything we do is not natural we learn what is moral and immoral by what we were taught. Somethings we believe are right might not be right to others, but just because we may think it is immoral does not make it necessarily wrong. Aristotle mentions that passion is presented in the soul virtue.

Aristotle’s thoughts on ethics conclude that all humans must have a purpose in life in order to be happy. I believe that some of the basics of his ideas still hold true today. This essay points out some of those ideas.

Mankind has been searching for existential reasoning since our earliest beginnings. One of the biggest questions, the one that keeps me up at night, “How ought we to live?” will be explained from the viewpoints of Epictetus in his Enchiridion and Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics. In this paper, I will discuss both philosophies in principle and practice, while giving insight to how to they may function in a modern world situation. Although both theories have useful guidance for navigating the human condition, Aristotle’s theory of virtue encompasses more of a real world schematic of how to interpret oneself in relation to our surroundings through compassion rather than apathy.

Aristotle believes that there are two kinds of virtue, one being intellectual and the other being moral virtue. He states that Intellectual virtue comes from being taught meaning we’re not born with it. Moral virtue on the other hand we develop as we grow and gain an understanding of life. “The stone which by nature moves downwards cannot be habituated to move upwards, not even if one tries to train it by throwing it up ten thousand times” (N.E. II.1) Right there he is talking about how if you are designed to do one thing, it is impossible to do the opposite no matter how hard you force it. He talks about how we gain our virtues by practicing them and using them on a regular basis. That is how we learn

The philosophy of virtue ethics, which primarily deals with the ways in which a person should live, has puzzled philosophers from the beginning of time. There are many contrasting interpretations regarding how one should live his or her life in the best way possible. It is in my opinion that the Greeks, especially Aristotle, have exhibited the most logical explanation of how to live the "good life". The following paper will attempt to offer a detailed understanding of Aristotle's reasoning relating to his theory of virtue ethics.

One objection a relativist could make to Aristotle’s virtue ethics is regarding what it counts as good or bad virtues since we have only have an idea about what they are. For instance, even if we know what fear is, there is not such a thing as the right or wrong thing to do. Courage looks different for everyone; other cultures have a different definition or set of rules on what counts as courageous. In ancient Greece, Sparta was a society known for their bravery and tactics of war, they lived a life with no fears of dying. Newborns were physically examined, if they were not in good conditions to survive, then they will drown in the river. This was culturally acceptable because it was how their civilization was form, but in our culture this

Ethics is the philosophical study of moral judgements (Solomon: 2010). Moral philosophy has long been dominated by two basic theories; deontology, inspired by Immanuel Kant, the eighteenth century philosopher and; utilitarianism or consequentialism, which derives its modern day instructions from eighteenth and nineteenth century philosophers Jeremey Bentham and J. S. Mills, respectively (Hursthouse:1999). Increasing dissatisfaction with these theories and their variants has led in recent years to the emergence of a different theory, the theory of virtue ethics (Statman: 1997). It can be argued that, of the ethical stances considered over the course of this subject, Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics as defined in his Nicomachean Ethics, is the most comprehensive. Unlike the other theories presented, which focus on principles or rules of action as the basis for morality, Aristotle presents us with a classic formulation, an alternative basis for ethical reasoning (Baker: 2013). In virtue ethics, the emphasis is on cultivating a virtuous character rather than following rules of action; that is, with philosophical consideration, it is decided which virtues would, in combination, comprise a fully developed excellent character, and how those virtues contribute to each other and to our overall character (Athanassoulis:2012). It is also known as the ethics of self-realisation (Solomon:2010).

Pleasure plays an essential part in Aristotle’s philosophy of living the virtuous life. Throughout his book “Nicomachean Ethics”, Aristotle outlines how one must live to achieve the moral, virtuous life. Not only does he explain the many virtues, and how they should be applied to life but also delves into how pleasure plays a part in this as well. Aristotle makes the argument that pleasure and pain are linked to living the virtuous life, the reactions humans have to these two, must be examined through practical wisdom to determine how it applies to if a person is living the virtuous life.

In our society today, we are mostly challenged by two questions: ‘is it right to do this or that? And ‘how should I be living in society?’(Bessant, 2009). Similar questions were greatly discussed in the history by our ancestors in their philosophical discussions. The most ancient and long-lasting literature on moral principles and ethics were described by Greek philosopher Aristotle. He had an excellent command on various subjects ranging from sciences to mathematics and philosophy. He was also a student of a famous philosopher. His most important study on ethics, personal morality and virtues is ‘The Nicomachean Ethics’, which has been greatly influencing works of literature in ethics and heavily read for centuries, is believed to be

In Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the idea of moral virtue. Aristotle emphasized the importance of developing moral virtue as the way to achieve what is finally more important, human flourishing (eudaimonia). Aristotle makes the argument in Book II that moral virtue arises from habit—equating ethical character to a skill that is acquired through practice, such as learning a musical instrument. However in Book III, Aristotle argues that a person 's moral virtue is voluntary, as it results from many individual actions which are under his own control. Thus, Aristotle confronts us with an inherently problematic account of moral virtue.

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics he accounts that humans should make sacrifices and should ultimately aim first and foremost for their own happiness . In the paper I will argue that it is really in a person’s best interest to be virtuous . I will do this by first describing Aristotle’s notion on both eudaimonia and virtue , as well as highlighting the intimate relationship between the two . Secondly I will talk about the human role in society. Thirdly I will describe the intrinsic tie between human actions . Finally I will share the importance of performing activities virtuously .