Aristotle Moral Virtues

Decent Essays
Virtue is distinguished between intellectual virtues and moral virtues. Intellectual virtue requires experience and time, it is identified as a kind of wisdom acquired by teaching. Moral virtue is a result of habit, it involves choosing, feeling, and acting well. Aristotle holds the view that moral virtues are states of character lying between deficiency and extremes of excess. To Aristotle, moral virtues and distinguished from intellectual virtues. Virtue is a state of character concerned with choice, lying in between two vices, that which depends on excess and that which depends on defect. Aristotle insisted that virtues find their place not just in the life of an individual, but in the life of the city. Aristotle also argued that one

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The book defines virtues as “good character traits that persons can have” (24.) In my opinion, just because a person does not sponsor a child in another country does NOT mean that the person lacks virtues. There are many virtues, not only the giving one. There is honesty, loyalty, kindness, compassion, etc. My family doesn’t donate money or sponsor a child in a foreign country, but we value honesty, love, and kindness which are all examples of virtues.…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In conclusion, virtue is something you must chose and actively practice as shown in the book, Out of The Silent Planet, by the main character, Ransom. Ransom proves this by retrieving Harry for his mother, by hunting the hnarka with the hrossa, and by visiting Oyarsa. Virtue is the same on every…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Virtue of thought is related to human reasoning, especially those regarding science and rationality. Virtue of character is a state, which is one’s perspective in relation to one’s own feelings, as in whether one is better or worse off due to them. A virtue is defined as such because Aristotle deduces that one ought not to be praised or blamed for having a certain feeling, or for being capable of having it; however, one can be praised or blamed for one’s reaction towards such feeling. Reacting poorly should incur in blame, while reacting nicely should incur in praise. Furthermore, a good state would need to be proportionate to the situation.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Virtue can be defined as the “fulfillment of humanity’s distinctive function and as the mean between extremes. Each virtue is a product of the rational control of the passions.” The mean could be considered as being the right amount. (the righteous thing).…

    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most would argue that there is such a thing as having or doing too little or too much of one thing. Unbeknownst to the majority of these people, they have adopted Aristotle’s philosophy, specifically that of the principle of the mean. The mean is the average between two extreme vices (Soccio 178-182). Aristotle sees a morally virtuous life as one of moderation and habit. This philosophical idea can apply to people from all walks of life and it would benefit many today to put this idea into practice.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A virtuous person reads as one who shows high moral standards. The nature of virtue dates back to aristotle. Aristotle, one of the most known and respected philosophers stated that virtue is an essential element to the good life. Aristotle praises virtue as being the way one should choose to be in life. The novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini uses moral development and virtuous actions frequently.…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to virtue ethics, most people have good traits. Aristotle identifies these virtues as 18 different virtues that are divided into 2 groups: moral and intellectual virtues. These include, for example, courage in the face of fear, temperance in the face of pleasure and pain and proper ambition with normal honors. So if the soldier has courage in the face of fear, he will not shoot the prisoner, for he is not afraid of doing the right thing.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    31). According to the philosopher, virtue is a ‘characteristic’ rather than as opposed to a ‘passion’ or ‘capacity’. This characteristic is determined by an individual’s choice. These choices must be determined in mean of wisdom and rationale, which is the implication in which it is labeled a virtue. In justification, an individual is permitted to act in accordance to a particular virtue that is most appropriate for the circumstances.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Virtue ethics starts with the question, “What makes for a good, or excellent, person?” They answer the question by arguing that being a good person is about having a good character. A character is a set of dispositions and those who have a good character are naturally disposed to do good things. It is believed that those with good characters are “virtuous” and that good character traits are virtues, while bad character traits are vices. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a virtue is a good and moral quality (2013).…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Nothing destroys a great society as quick as an expanding group of vicious people. Virtue is a state or condition of the soul. A person either has virtue, or lacking it. The virtue of something is whatever makes the thing perform its essential action and function well. Hence, virtue defines who we are.…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aristotle firstly argues that virtue consists of intellectual and moral virtue. Intellectual virtue is teachable and can be obtained through time and experience; while moral virtue forms through habituation and constant practice. Aristotle states that moral virtue cannot form in man by nature since everything made by nature fails to change to another side by habituation. He concludes that rather than born to be moral or immoral, people have the capacity to be potentially virtue through habituation, which means that they are already able to exploit aptitude beforehand and they only have to practice to have moral virtue. Aristotle also believes that by exercising the same thing, virtue distinguishes people moral and immoral.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Aristotle asked (Rachels 159). According to Rachels, a moral virtue is a trait of character, manifested in habitual action, that it is good to have (161). Rachels points out each virtue has its own distinctive features and raise its own problems. According to Aristotle, “A virtue is the mean by reference to two vices: one of excess and the other of deficiency” (Rachels 162). Another key point, virtues differ as per person.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aristotle Virtue Essay

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Aristotle defined virtue as achieving excellence through fulfillment of a certain function. He stated that people are born with the opportunity to have virtues but they must act accordingly throughout their function. Any function that is good and well must possess some sort of end objective which is what a person is in search of, and it’s through the activity of the soul that a function may achieve what it is searching for. Aristotle believes that anything that can move has a soul, which consists of perception, nutrition, and rationality. Only the human soul can reason and rationalize leading to human excellence and ultimately happiness.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Virtue ethics, a theory created by Aristotle used to make moral decisions. His theory solely relied on individualism, not society, culture or religion. His theory was introduced in ancient Greek times. For Aristotle one should be able to do good without mere pleasure or political since it would be superficial. Virtue ethics is more concerned with how one should live.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To live a life of politics, Aristotle argues that happiness can be earned by moral values. There are two types of virtue--intellectual and moral. Intellectual virtues are learned by instruction and moral virtues are learned by habit and constant practice. A virtue is a Golden mean-- a mean that lies between the two extremes. For example, courage is a virtue between cowardice and rashness.…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays