The Strengths and Weaknesses Of Virtue Ethics

The Strengths and Weaknesses Of Virtue Ethics

The virtue ethicist suggests that his theory avoids the complicated

tasks of using a formula to figure out what we ought to do, by instead

focusing on the kinds of persons we ought to be. The trouble lies in

determining just how we know what kinds of persons we ought to be. Or,

we might put it this way: how are we to determine just what the

virtues are? Obviously, if we do not know what the virtues are, then

telling people to "Live virtuously!" becomes an empty imperative. So,

if we ask the virtue ethicist what the virtues are, what will he tell

us?

Virtue theorists answer this question in at least five different ways.

Firstly, some virtue theorists suggest that we will know what the

virtues are, we will know what the good life is.

Secondly, some virtue theorists suggest instead that we can determine

what the virtues are by figuring out what the excellent human life is.

Once we know what it means to be the best human being possible, then

the virtues are whatever character traits enable us to live at the

heights of excellence. Aristotle suggests this theory too. However,

identifying the "flourishing life" is itself a major task. Also, if we

look very closely at the notion of a "flourishing life," we will find

that instead of helping us determine what the virtues are, it actually

begs the question, since the flourishing life already contains value

judgements.

The very idea of a flourishing life is a normative concept. That of

course was the original question: what are the standards by which we

ought to live our lives? The virtue ethicist told us that we could

avoid this quest...

... middle of paper ...

...lise moral principles simply

by doing the morally good deed and through the action itself come to

understand its value and begin to desire it.

However, virtue theory offers a great deal to moral psychology -it

tells us how we in fact learn moral principles. This means that virtue

ethics is less a normative theory of what we ought to do than a

descriptive account of the limits and capabilities of human beings. If

humans are creatures that tend toward habituation, then moral

educators would do well to heed this fact in developing a moral

curriculum. Then it also raises questions about whether calling virtue

theory "ethics" is even appropriate. Since virtue theories fail to

offer defensible moral norms that are distinguishable from their

normative rivals, virtue theories are not really ethical theories at

all.