Mackinnon Virtues

Society has not changed much in the thousands of years since Aristotle first addressed ethics in Athens, Greece. Everyday situations and problems he discusses all relate to everyone in the present day. The rules of demeanor and clarifications on virtue that he suggests can all help people today attain a complete and satisfying realization of their duties as an equal member in society and ultimately discover the purpose of life.

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,

Virtue Theory is one of many different moral theories that exist today. It is based off of Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics which focuses on having an ideal character. The main focus of Virtue Theory is the role of one’s character, which is closely related to its roots in Aristotle. A Virtue Theorist would do things because it is who they themselves are, not because it is good to do them or because they will get something good from doing them.

Virtue ethics is a theory of ethics in moral philosophy in which it emphasizes that the notion of virtue is key to a

The most influential person in the pre-modern age in World History is Aristotle. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many different subjects, including physics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and even zoology. Aristotle was one of the most important philosophers in Western thought, and was one of the first to systematize philosophy and science. Aristotle questioned the nature of the world and of human belief, knowledge, and thought. He invented a method for arguing according to rules of logic, but later applied his method to problems in the fields of psychology, biology, and physics. His thinking on physics and science had a

achieve the maximum point of virtue, self – knowledge has a central role, as it is a prerequisite

According to Aristotle, intellectual virtues belong in the ‘rational’ fragment of the soul and moral virtues lie in the ‘irrational’ measure of the soul However, they are both dependant on reason. Although Aristotle recognised many virtues, he was an advocate for the notion of the existence of only four cardinal virtues. His proposal proved to be popular in the society that he lived in, being acknowledged by Plato and other bodies. The four cardinal virtues are: courage, a virtue which ensures control in the interest of goodness, temperance, a virtue which diminishes wants and desires by limiting them to reason, justice, the only virtue that consists of expressing care for other beings. A human that possesses the virtue of justice has the ability to practise this virtue on other human beings and not solely on themselves. The final and one of the most important virtues is prudence, a logical virtue of practical reason by which we separate the good and the methods of achieving it. Aristotle accentuates that virtues are pragmatic skills and hence experience guides us towards becoming more dexterous in avoiding deficiency. Although familiarity with the vices as extremes supports us in our aspiration for the mean, the wider connotations of the doctrine is that only through experience will we as humans come to know the right pretences and

In 384 BC, in the town of Stagira on the north coast of the Aegean Sea, one of the most prestigious teachers in history was born. Much like the people of his time, Aristotle raised questions about everyday life that all individuals should consider, however his answers to these questions proved as a far greater accomplishment than those before him. Aristotle was among the first individuals to think philosophically and conduct research to advance knowledge about nature and natural processes. With his abundance of scientific ideas and concepts, it is evident that Aristotle was a great thinker of his time. As a result of this, Aristotle is arguably one of the most prominent philosophers in history that paved the way for modern thinking.

Aristotle is a Greek teacher and is credited for establishing the cornerstone of modern philosophy via his book Para Psyche (Biography.com Editors). His work assumes the existence of divine power and tells that the reason the human body exists is to house our

Aristotle one of the best philosopher in our history developed a moral system in which brings virtue, and it tells us what the best type of act we can do. According to Aristotle, “The virtuous act is the mean between two extremes, which are vices; for example courage is the mean between rashness and cowardice” (Cahn 135). This means that we should have control of our emotions, and think how we are going to act, then we will be making a virtuous act. When a person acts with courage he will become virtuous because he practiced being courageous. He will become what he practices. However Aristotle’s system does not

Aristotle was one of the greatest minds to have lived in Ancient Greece and consequently the world. He has influenced most areas of study of the present world. These include ethics, biology, psychology, chemistry and philosophy. Aristotle’s writing has also, helped historians discover beliefs and rhetoric used in Ancient Greece. Aristotle was born in 384 B.C in Stagira a small town in northern Greece.

First off, who is Immanuel Kant? Kant is a philosopher who “synthesized early modern rationalism and empiricism, set the terms for much of nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy, and continues to exercise a significant influence today in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics and other fields” (Rohlf, 2010). Kant had different thinking than Aristotle when it came to virtues. “The appeal of Kantian morality is that it directly links morality to a dignified conception of man as a rationally free agent” (Lear, 1988, p 153). Kant believes that you are ultimately your own person and that you should make decisions on your own without having to do what others do. Kant believes that the highest good is possible when you believe in immortality of the soul and the existence of God. To Kant, he believes it is better if you help people in need not those that are poor for the pure basis that it is the right thing to do and not just because it is how people believe that you should act and do. The highest good, according to Kant, is a duty and it is something that people need to do in order to achieve the good. On the other hand, Aristotle believes that if you want to achieve the highest good, you can achieve that on your own; it is not something that you need to

Virtue ethics suggests that morality is primarily a matter of individual character. It focuses on what type of a person you are and whether or not you are a good person. One should display an excellence of character and be virtuous in all that they do. Ethical egoism focuses on oneself.

Confucius and Aristotle are some of the greatest thinkers in the history of mankind. While Confucius was born in China and spearheaded a new way of perceiving morality, Aristotle was born in Macedon/Greece and also immersed his philosophical work to addressing moral thinking.Both philosophers have addressed similar subjects with major points of divergence and convergence. On virtue, these two authors have almost similar opinions. However, it is their points of convergence or agreement that have had a huge impact on the modern world’s thinking and understanding of virtue and moral behavior.

of the east. The works of Aristotle have left many after him to contemplate his