What Are Virtues?
- Virtue: Finding a balanced “mean” between two extremes or vices.
- Example Virtues:
- Friendliness
- Deficiency: Quarrelsomeness (unfriendly)
- Excess: Flattery (overly friendly)
- Courage
- Deficiency: Cowardice
- Excess: Recklessness
- Friendliness
Why Be Virtuous (Đức hạnh)?
- Virtue leads to eudaimonia (meaning happiness or flourishing).
Evaluating Actions with Virtue Ethics
When evaluating moral situations using virtue ethics, consider:
- What would a person with virtuous character traits do?
Criticisms of Virtue Ethics
- Cultural Relativism: Virtues vary across cultures and time.
- Changing Values: Societal views on virtues can shift.
- Ambiguity of Virtues: Hard to universally define virtues.
- Different cultures, people, and societies may have unique interpretations.
- Example: In some cultures, women’s virtue may be defined as being quiet and submissive.