Oct 02, 2008 virtue ethics is person rather than action based. In this book they take the fruits of their own experiences as theologians, writers, teachers, mentors, and friends to propose virtue ethics as a bridge between the fields of new testament studies and moral theology. Virtue ethics regained prominence in the latter half of the twentieth century, largely in response to anscombes 1958 modern moral philosophy anscombe, 1958. For virtue ethics, this is the most important book of the past few decades, and it is the most systematically worked out account of neoaristotelian virtue ethics since its emergence in the early 20th century.
For books my impression is that hursthouses book on virtue ethics is a popular and wellwritten defense of the view. Mar 12, 2020 virtue ethics collects, for the first time, the main classical sources and the central contemporary expressions of this increasingly important tradition. Virtue ethics are normative ethical theories which emphasize virtues of mind, character and. Introduction to aristotle, virtue ethics, and this book chapter 1. It plays a prominent role in defining aristotelian ethics. Character strengths and virtues csv is a book by christopher peterson and martin seligman 2004 listing. Again, whether this is a strength or weakness is for you to decide and defend. The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns matters of value, and thus comprises the branch of philosophy called axiology.
It is fitting, therefore, that his moral philosophy is based around assessing the broad characters of human beings rather than assessing singular acts in isolation. Virtue ethics i virtue ethics is an ethical view originating in ancient greece which says that ethics is fundamentally about learning to live well. It is the quest to understand and live a life of moral character. Virtue ethics and its potential as the leading moral theory. In this book, some effort has been made to distinguish the words ethics and morals based on their lit. The nicomachean ethics advances an understanding of ethics known as virtue ethics because of its heavy reliance on the concept of virtue. In a business context, control bears directly on managerial ethics, which is a way of relating to self, employees, and the organization that balances individual and collective responsibility, and in which management also includes planning, organizing, and leading to achieve organizational goals. Aristotelian virtue ethics does not treat motives or even character traits as the grounding basis for the rest of ethics, but the present agent.
It consists of ten books based on notes said to be from his lectures at the lyceum. The final variety of virtue ethics that will be looked at is agent based virtue ethics as proposed by michael slote 1997. Hursthouses, on virtue ethics, is somewhat of a classic in our time. Nicomachean ethics is the name of a series of books that aristotle wrote about ethics. Virtue ethics collects, for the first time, the main classical sources and the central contemporary expressions of this increasingly important tradition. Louden notes in passing that macintyre, a supporter of virtuebased ethics, has grappled with this in after virtue but. Virtue ethics, technology, and human flourishing oxford.
Deontology was an invention of german philosopher immanuel kant, also from waybackwhen though, virtue ethics can be traced to confucius and others who are much older than either utilitarianism or deontology. The seven best books on virtue ethics the daily idea. Although these three books presently form the core of contemporary virtue ethics, there are other approaches that might reasonably be described as versions of virtue ethics, such as those presented by julia driver, linda zagzebski, and robert adams. Just to be clear, there is no single best book on virtue ethics. The last philosopher of culture, was published in 2009. A study in moral theory by alasdair macintyre, the nicomachean ethics by aristotle, dialogues and essays by. For ethics in general kagans normative ethics is popular for upper division undergraduate and introductory graduate courses, although there might be more recent and popular books that im not aware of. Abstract agent based virtue ethics is a unitary normative theory according to which the moral status of actions is entirely dependent upon the moral status of an agents motives and character traits. Something has arete if it performs its function well. The best books on virtue five books expert recommendations.
The importance of virtue ethics in the irb marilyn c morris. Aristotelian virtue ethics introduction aristotle 384322 bc was a scholar in disciplines such as ethics, metaphysics, biology and botany, amongst others. In addition to aristotle, the classical source of nonmoral virtue theory, it includes the esteem based virtue ethics of francis hutcheson and david hume. Teleological ethics such as the utilitarianism of john s. For virtue ethics, this is the most important book of the past few decades, and it is the most systematically worked out account of neoaristotelian virtue ethics. Virtue theory accepts the importance of intentions and. Given that virtue is the undeniable centerpiece of descartes ethics, it is natural to read descartes as a virtue ethicist. These character traits will, in turn, allow a person to make the correct decisions later on in life. The best book for you will depend on your preferred learning style and the amount of time that you want to spend reading about virtue ethics. Starting with an overview of virtue ethics in the philosophical tradition of the west, beginning with aristotle, i discuss the contemporary revival of virtue ethics in the west and its critics. Aristotles work, the nicomachean ethics, consists of numerous books pertaining to aristotles ethicsthe ethics of the good life. Aristotelian virtue is defined in book ii of the nicomachean ethics as a. Its important i think that you either read her book in full before moving on to other books, or somehow get the main content of the book from good secondary sources.
Virtue ethics describes a certain philosophical approach to questions about morality. Sep 19, 2018 virtue ethics, in contrast, take a very different perspective. I as we saw with mill, aristotle argues that there is only one. These include how virtues are acquired, how they are applied in various real. It looks at the moral character of the person carrying out an action. Rethinking virtue ethics offers a model of aristotelian virtue ethics based on a deductive paradigm. I personally recommend the former approach, though thats more time consuming.
Virtuebased ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity. Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. In particular, the critics maintain that agentbased theories. Virtue ethics is a philosophical theory that focuses on what sort of person one should be, instead of on actions.
Based on a wideranging survey of environmental literature, louke van wensveen offers an overview of current green virtue language and proposes the basic elements of a matching ecological virtue theory, dubbed dirty virtues by ecological philosophers. The first book discloses aristotles belief on moral philosophy and the correlation between virtue and happiness. Brady, against agentbased virtue ethics philpapers. Emrys westacott is a professor of philosophy at alfred university. He writes regularly on philosophy and religion for prospect, the new statesman and the telegraph. Both teleological and deontological ethical theories are called deontic or action based theories of morality. One of the problems any such approach faces is to capture the commonsense distinction between an agents doing the right thing, and her doing it. For aristotle and other greek thinkers, virtue meant the excellence of a thing. Concerning excellence of character or moral virtueedit.
A good horseman, for example, has the arete of being. Virtue ethics by branch doctrine the basics of philosophy. Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. This page contains a list of the best books on virtue ethics. Morality too is based on reason, according to kant. This characterbased approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice. He is currently working on a collection of essays on ethics. Virtue ethicists have no interest in the creation of a codified moral rule book covering all situations and instead put the onus on the skill of the virtuous person when deciding how to act. Today we call his approach to ethics virtue ethics. However, if nurses are to enter into the global dialogue about ethics, they must do more than practice ethics based simply on their personal opinions, their intuition, or the unexamined beliefs that are proposed by other people. It is fitting, therefore, that his moral philosophy is based around assessing the broad characters of human beings rather than assessing singular acts in. Having answered those objections, the chapter discusses three major forms of agent. A new form of agentbased virtue ethics springerlink. By practicing being honest, brave, just, generous, and so on, a person develops an honorable and moral character.
I the basis of virtue ethics is the idea of eudaimonia, which means \the good life or \life lived well or \ ourishing or \happiness. Critics have claimed that slotes view and agentbased views more generally cannot account for several basic tenets of commonsense morality. People often use the word ethics when referring to a collection of actual beliefs and behaviors, thereby using the terms ethics and morals interchangeably. Virtue ethics not only deals with the rightness or wrongness of individual actions, it provides guidance as to the sort of characteristics and behaviours a good person will seek to achieve. This character based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice. Aristotle focuses greatly on virtue ethics in his writing, and is a strong believer in a moral person being one of virtue. Virtue ethics is based in aristotelian philosophy and was a dominant influence in the classical period, though it was later eclipsed by principlebased ethical philosophies.
Virtue ethics or virtue theory is an approach to ethics that emphasizes an individuals character as the key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves deontology or their consequences consequentialism. His philosophy of right and wrong is a bit like virtue ethics. Mill, understands ethics as based on the consequences in terms of happiness caused by actions 79. Eudaimonism is the classical formulation of virtue ethics. Virtue ethics is a philosophy developed by aristotle and other ancient greeks. To seek virtue for the sake of reward is to dig for iron with a spade of gold. He explained that virtue ethical theories are typically agentfocused. This book argues that, contrary to what many contemporary. The first of these is the requireme nt that an ethical. Virtue ethicists discuss the nature and definition of virtues and other related problems that focus on the consequences of action. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginnerfriendly introduction, for. The word we translate as virtue is arete, and it could equally be translated as excellence.
This is because they focus entirely on the actions. Nicomachean ethics is the name given to the wellknown work by aristotle on virtue and moral character. Virtues are character traits or habits of action which, according to virtue theory, define the moral person. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including thinking through philosophy. Kant and many other enlightenment philosophers take rationality to be the savior of humankind, with respect to. Jesuits daniel harrington and james keenan have successfully teamtaught the content of this landmark study to the delight of students for years. Jul 23, 2010 in morals from motives, michael slote defends an agentbased theory of right action according to which right acts are those that express virtuous motives like benevolence or care. Virtue based ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity. This is the first extensive study of ecological virtue ethics and the new rhetoric of environmentalists.
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