Essay About Main Philosopher Of Virtue Ethics And Sort Of Person

Virtue Ethics
Virtue Ethics
Introduction
Virtue ethics is a theory used to make moral decisions. It does not
rely on religion, society or culture; it only depends on the
individuals themselves. The main philosopher of Virtue Ethics is
Aristotle. His theory was originally introduced in ancient Greek
times. Aristotle was a great believer in virtues and the meaning of
virtue to him meant being able to fulfil ones functions. Virtue
ethics is not so much interested in the question What should I do?
but rather in the question what sort of person should I become? It
has more to do with character and the nature of what it is to be
human, than with the rights and wrongs of actions. Instead of
concentrating on what is the right thing to do, virtue ethics asks how
you can be a better person. Aristotle says that those who do lead a
virtuous life are very happy and have sense of well-being. Happiness
is the ultimate goal for everyone in life. Aristotles definition of
happiness is, happiness is the activity of the soul in accord with
perfect virtue.
To become a better person, we must practice virtuous acts regularly.
After a while, these acts will become a habit and so the virtuous acts
part of our every day life and the person will be leading a virtuous
life. For example, if a singer practices singing everyday, they will
become better at it and used to doing it. People who practice their
virtues improve their skills and therefore becoming happier. According
to Aristotle the person who struggles to acquire virtues is in the
long run a better person and is much happier as they feel that they
deserve that happiness as they have worked very hard for it. By
continuously practicing their virtues people will soon be acting in
the right way. Aristotle says that virtues are something that we
acquire and are not just born with; people are not intrinsically good
or bad, but become good or bad according to their habits they develop
throughout their lives. When a person learns how to use the virtues,
they become the characteristic of the person. For example, a person
who has learnt the virtue of generosity is often called a generous
person because he or she is generous in all situations. Aristotle says
we are most likely to acquire virtues by observing others in our
society. If we experience other people being kind to us and see the
happiness it creates we are more likely to practice this virtue then
if we were just told to practice it. Aristotle said that the best way
of becoming virtuous was to follow in the footsteps of a virtuous
person, e.g. Mother Theresa.
Aristotle said that a virtue was a Golden Mean in between two vices.
These Vices are two extremes of the scale; one vice of excess and one
vice of deficiency. For example, for the virtue modesty, the vice of
excess would be bashfulness and the vice of deficiency would be
shamelessness. Aristotle mentions 12 virtues that all fall between two
vices. Some examples of these virtues are honesty, courage,
compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control,
and prudence. Such virtues must be refined; we must learn when to use
certain