Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Virtue Ethics (20 marks)

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Created on: 23-02-24 15:42


	Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Virtue Ethics (20 marks)
	Advantages It is strong with regard to human nature: it has a high view of human beings and their rational ability, believing that human beings and communities have the potential to be virtuous; it has a holistic view of human beings, considering not just our actions but also our motivations, emotions, reason and habits; and, if Virtue Ethics is correct, it is beneficial for human beings as it helps us to flourish, as acting virtuously is eudaemonia It is good for humanity, even if it does not provide a clear moral framework: it is generally better for society that people are virtuous and seek to be so; society is likely to become more harmonious due to the emphasis on friendship and community within the Aristotelian virtues Virtue Ethics can be applied alongside and supporting other ethical theories: Kantians may find an understanding of virtue useful as it can help with education and habituation; Utilitarians may find that a virtuous person is better equipped to maximise pleasure according to the Principle of Utility; Thomas Aquinas agreed with the addition of the theological virtues as part of Natural Moral Law and adds God as a foundation, making Virtue Ethics more coherent If Virtue Ethics had more prevalence in our society, it would produce a better education system, due to focus on character development, rather than just attaining high grades and seeing learning as a means to an end	Disadvantages Virtue Ethics is arguably self-centred: it is ultimately about using the virtues to achieve eudaemonia, so even friendship is used instrumentally for one's own flourishing. While Aristotle did not see eudaemonia as individualistic and saw perfect friendship as mutually altruistic, he also believed that friendships of utility (which included using other people to get ahead) were justified and he based his theory on a rich, aristocratic society, believing that only honourable politicians and philosopher kings can exercise the virtues It provides no moral guidance as to how one should behave: it faces the same criticism as Situation Ethics in that it has an overly-optimistic view of human capacity to make moral choices; there is also no way of arbitrating between people who disagree about an action, as we have no way of knowing who is right or wrong. While it could be assumed that the most virtuous person is the one who is right, it could be that this person was displaying a lapse in character Some people are more capable of developing the virtues than others so it could be argued that being a virtuous person is dependent on luck and is therefore not moral. While it could be noted that some individuals manage to develop virtues, despite having to overcome many more challenges than others to do so, this then raises the question as to whether the person who has had to use more effort to achieve the golden mean is more virtuous than someone who has had virtuous behaviour instilled in them since childhood In modern society, there is no clear foundation for the virtues: the world of athenian teleology and the christendom are gone now, so we have nothing to ground the virtues in
	Evaluation Virtue Ethics is a strong ethical theory, due to its recognition of all of the elements of human beings which impact moral decision making. Despite the lack of solid moral framework, Virtue Ethics will help society to develop and get to the point where moral behaviours become second nature, through habituation forming a virtuous circle. If we simply try to adhere to an act-based ethical theory such as Natural Moral Law, without recognising the importance of character development, it will be difficult to adhere to the primary precepts as we will be acting contrary to our fallen nature. The only way that the synderesis rule will become a reality is if, as individuals and as a society, we are developing character and seeking to be virtuous. However, prior to becoming virtuous, Virtue Ethics is essentially superfluous in helping one make moral decisions, and therefore is only effective if it exists alongside another ethical theory, specifically a deontological ethical theory, which can tell us what the right thing to do is, allowing us to form a habit of doing that which is moral.

Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Virtue Ethics (20 marks)

Advantages

It is strong with regard to human nature: it has a high view of human beings and their rational ability, believing that human beings and communities have the potential to be virtuous; it has a holistic view of human beings, considering not just our actions but also our motivations, emotions, reason and habits; and, if Virtue Ethics is correct, it is beneficial for human beings as it helps us to flourish, as acting virtuously is eudaemonia
It is good for humanity, even if it does not provide a clear moral framework: it is generally better for society that people are virtuous and seek to be so; society is likely to become more harmonious due to the emphasis on friendship and community within the Aristotelian virtues
Virtue Ethics can be applied alongside and supporting other ethical theories: Kantians may find an understanding of virtue useful as it can help with education and habituation; Utilitarians may find that a virtuous person is better equipped to maximise pleasure according to the Principle of Utility; Thomas Aquinas agreed with the addition of the theological virtues as part of Natural Moral Law and adds God as a foundation, making Virtue Ethics more coherent
If Virtue Ethics had more prevalence in our society, it would produce a better education system, due to focus on character development, rather than just attaining high grades and seeing learning as a means to an end

Disadvantages

Virtue Ethics is arguably self-centred: it is ultimately about using the virtues to achieve eudaemonia, so even friendship is used instrumentally for one's own flourishing. While Aristotle did not see eudaemonia as individualistic and saw perfect friendship as mutually altruistic, he also believed that friendships of utility (which included using other people to get ahead) were justified and he based his theory on a rich, aristocratic society, believing that only honourable politicians and philosopher kings can exercise the virtues
It provides no moral guidance as to how one should behave: it faces the same criticism as Situation Ethics in that it has an overly-optimistic view of human capacity to make moral choices; there is also no way of arbitrating between people who disagree about an action, as we have no way of knowing who is right or wrong. While it could be assumed that the most virtuous person is the one who is right, it could be that this person was displaying a lapse in character
Some people are more capable of developing the virtues than others so it could be argued that being a virtuous person is dependent on luck and is therefore not moral. While it could be noted that some individuals manage to develop virtues, despite having to overcome many more challenges than others to do so, this then raises the question as to whether the person who has had to use more effort to achieve the golden mean is more virtuous than someone who has had virtuous behaviour instilled in them since childhood
In modern society, there is no clear foundation for the virtues: the world of athenian teleology and the christendom are gone now, so we have nothing to ground the virtues in

Evaluation

Virtue Ethics is a strong ethical theory, due to its recognition of all of the elements of human beings which impact moral decision making. Despite the lack of solid moral framework, Virtue Ethics will help society to develop and get to the point where moral behaviours become second nature, through habituation forming a virtuous circle. If we simply try to adhere to an act-based ethical theory such as Natural Moral Law, without recognising the importance of character development, it will be difficult to adhere to the primary precepts as we will be acting contrary to our fallen nature. The only way that the synderesis rule will become a reality is if, as individuals and as a society, we are developing character and seeking to be virtuous. However, prior to becoming virtuous, Virtue Ethics is essentially superfluous in helping one make moral decisions, and therefore is only effective if it exists alongside another ethical theory, specifically a deontological ethical theory, which can tell us what the right thing to do is, allowing us to form a habit of doing that which is moral.

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Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Virtue Ethics (20 marks)