Modern virtue ethics Macintyre

May 1, 2023 philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk



Elizabeth Anscombe 1958• Anscombe publishes an article in

Philosophy magazine and says “It is not profitable for us at

present to do moral philosophy”.• Emotivism (see Meta-ethics),

Utilitarianism and Kantian ethics (action-based theories, see previous slide) have all failed us.

• Virtue ethicists make four criticisms of action-based ethics.


Criticism 1 (Anscombe 1958): Action-based ethics is based on an obsolete, law-based worldview• “Our concepts of moral obligation and

moral duty are derived from a theological-legal tradition that is no longer dominant”.

• This works for Natural Law or Divine Command theories, but not where God is rejected as sovereign law-giver (eg Kant).

• In the Enlightenment the Divine Law gets replaced by the moral law, and the result is “incoherent” without God.


Criticism 2: Action-based theories lack a theory of motivation

• Rules are propelled to action by character.

• Rules are mainly negative “thou shalt not”.

• “Deontological systems focus on an egoistic, minimal morality whose basic principles seem more preventative than positive”, Pojman (2007:157).


Criticism 3: Action-based ethics ignores the spiritual dimension• Morality is reduced to judging actions.• Spiritual qualities and goals are ignored,

such as sympathy, gratitude, self-respect.

• Acting out of duty is actually inferior to acting out of virtue.

• Moral feelings are vital for motivation. Feelings come from training in the virtues.


Criticism 4: (MacIntyre 1981) Action-based theories neglect the communal context

• MacIntyre argues that the Enlightenment elevated autonomy (self-rule) which ends in individualism.

• Morality is rooted in practices, traditions and forms of life: a moral tradition which provides a narrative structure.

• Out of primary loyalty to family, friends and community proper virtues flow.

• Moral psychology is important: a theory of how we learn and how we are motivated to be good. Only Virtue Ethics provides this, as it provides the “narrative structure” through “tellers of stories that inspire truth” (1981:216).


MacIntyre…to think about• “The virtues are to be understood as

those dispositions which will not only sustain practices and the goods internal to practices, but will also sustain us in the relevant kind of quest for the good, by enabling us to overcome the harms, dangers, temptations and distractions which we encounter” .

(After Virtue p219)


Three possibilities

Virtue Ethics (VE)

Radical VE Subordinate VE Complementary VE

•Abandon rule based ethics and language•Good actions come from a good heart

•Rules come first•Virtues are just dispositions to obey certain rules

•Rules and virtues need each other•Virtues define the good life and provide the motive


Some writers• Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue, 1981)

and Philippa Foot (Virtues and Vices, 1978) are radical virtue ethicists.

• Geoffrey Warnock (The Object of Morality, 1981) is a subordinate virtue ethicist.

• Robert Louden (Morality and Moral Theory, 1992) is a complementary virtue ethicist.


MacIntyre MacIntyre Radical VERadical VE is counter- is counter-cultural / an antidote to Western cultural / an antidote to Western Capitalist MeritocracyCapitalist Meritocracy

Individuals pressured by: (1) Materialism

(2) Technology (3) Egoism

May result in the loss of

self-understanding and refuge in the therapeutic

culture.

“Where is the wisdom? Lost in knowledge.

Where is the knowledge? Lost in information."

(Where is the information? Lost in

data.) T.S. Eliot, The Rock

What does it benefit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose their soul (Jesus, Mark 8:36)


Professor Philippa FootProfessor Philippa FootRadical Virtue EthicsRadical Virtue Ethics: Agent : Agent centredcentred

Virtues are a skill, they develop with practice. Reason selects appropriate emotions for the particular situation.

Virtues, such as courage, used in an unworthy

cause cease to be virtues..

Virtue ethics can help to correct

deviant behaviour as

it it is agent, notact, centred.

ProfessorFoot


Subordinate VE: Geoffrey Warnock• Virtues are dispositions to obey rules eg

do not commit adultery = faithfulness.• Moral virtues motivate right action and

make it more likely.• Special forces are required to

counteract selfishness, these are a. rewards and punishments and b. the “deeper force” of the virtues.


Warnock’s four virtues reinforcing rules Virtue ------------ Rule• Nonmaleficence do not harm others• Benevolence -> help others• Fairness -> give what

deserve• Honesty -> do not lie

Rules come first, virtues second


Complementary VE: Robert Louden

• Virtue comes first, because it provides a “bigger conception” of life: every part of life is relevant, with a “long-term aspiration”: the goal of flourishing with ideals to aim for.

• But actions are also of (secondary) importance.

• Critics like Anscombe have exaggerated the difference between different theories.


Aristotle does, in fact use the moral “ought”• Aristotle employs an idea of moral

obligation, eg “the courageous man faces fearful things as he ought and as reason directs…for this is the end of virtue”.


Bentham, Mill and Kant employ the idea of virtue, though in a reductionist way• Bentham sees “prudence and benevolence as

virtues to which all others are reducible” and sees “virtue as a disposition that maximises utility” (Louden 1992:39)

• Kant has the “good will” as a central character trait or virtue, so “the moral worth of agents is prior to the moral worth of acts” (Louden 1992:41)

• Though Kant does seem to reduce virtue to “strength or power of will, or mastery over one’s inclinations and constancy of purpose”.

• Both Mill (to consider others’ interests) and Kant (to universalise actions) acknowledge sympathy as a key moral emotion.


Robert Louden’s conclusion

• “At least for Aristotle and Kant, evaluation of character rather than consequences is what comes first in ethics”

Robert Louden Morality and Moral Theory p44


James Rachels’ conclusion

• “It seems best to regard the theory of virtue as part of an overall theory of ethics rather than a complete theory in itself…..by taking human welfare as the surpassingly important value…then what sorts of actions and policies would contribute to this goal…each could illuminate the other…adjusting a bit here and there…so much the better for truth.”

Problems of Moral Philosophy, page 179

Date post:	12-Feb-2017
Category:	Education
Upload:	peped
View:	1,245 times
Download:	8 times

Modern virtue ethics Macintyre

Education