Philosophy 77 (4):565-595 (2002)
Abstract |
Modern virtue ethics is commonly presented as an alternative to Kantian and utilitarian views—to ethics focused on action and obligations—and it invokes Aristotle as a predecessor. This paper argues that the Nichomachean Ethics does not represent virtue ethics thus conceived, because the discussion of the virtues of character there serves a quasi-Platonic psychology: it is an account of how to tame the unruly (non-rational) elements of the human soul so that they can be ruled by reason and the laws it imposes. This is explicitly stated in Book X, where it is also affirmed that the question of which laws reason should impose is addressed in The Politics. The Ethics and Politics can therefore be seen as a unity—as Aristotle's version of Plato's Republic—and it is the failure to recognize this that explains Aristotle's misappropriation by the modern virtue ethicists.
|
Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1017/s0031819102000463 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
What's Aristotelian About Neo‐Aristotelian Virtue Ethics?Sukaina Hirji - 2019 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 98 (3):671-696.
Virtue Ethics and Nursing: On What Grounds?Roger A. Newham - 2015 - Nursing Philosophy 16 (1):40-50.
On the “Virtue Turn” and the Problem of Categorizing Chinese Thought.Eric L. Hutton - 2015 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 14 (3):331-353.
Rethinking Virtue Ethics and Social Justice with Aristotle and Confucius.May Sim - 2010 - Asian Philosophy 20 (2):195-213.
View all 8 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Aristotle’s Divided Mind: Some Thoughts on Intellectual Virtue and Aristotle’s Occasional Dualism.Jonathan J. Sanford - 2006 - Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 80:77-90.
Toward an Ontology of Virtue Ethics.Mary Ella Savarino - 1993 - Journal of Philosophical Research 18:243-259.
Rethinking Virtue Ethics and Social Justice with Aristotle and Confucius.May Sim - 2010 - Asian Philosophy 20 (2):195-213.
Aristotle on the Vices and Virtue of Wealth.Peter Hadreas - 2002 - Journal of Business Ethics 39 (4):361 - 376.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-01-28
Total views
173 ( #66,701 of 2,498,137 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #428,301 of 2,498,137 )
2009-01-28
Total views
173 ( #66,701 of 2,498,137 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #428,301 of 2,498,137 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads