for today, 10 Jan 2011

• Theory: Aristotle’s ethics of character

What is arete? mesotes? phronesis? the virtuous cycle?

• Application discussion points:

• “Why jerks are bad decision-makers” (Harvard Business Online)

recall: ethics and principles

Ethics offers ways of being and behaving (character and decision-making principles) that promote flourishing.

but what kind of being? of behaving?Aristotle offers an ethics of character.

what does virtue mean? answer: excellence of character

‣ personality versus character

‣ for Aristotle, “virtue” means excellence-in-action, arete

‣ arete does not refer to an intrinsic capacity or a hidden competence

‣ Instead: it is in the performance of the action that the excellence of character becomes real

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what is the aim/object of virtue (arete)?

Answer: the mean (mesotes)

• meaning 1: the mesotes is what is between two extremes, excess and deficiency

excess mean deficiency

impulsiveness self-control indecisiveness

recklessness courage cowardice

workaholic conscientious lazy

Remember: there is no precise, quantitative test to determine virtuous action, no universal test—

requires not mathematical but prudential judgment

Hence it is hard work to be virtuous, since in each case it is hard work to find what is the mean [mesotes], e.g., not everyone, but only one who knows, finds the midpoint in a circle. So also getting angry, or giving and spending money, is easy and anyone can do it; but doing it to the right person, in the right amount, at the right time, for the right end, and in the right way is no longer easy, nor can everyone do it. Hence, [doing these things] well is rare, praiseworthy, and fine (Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics, 1109a24).

Answer: the mean (mesotes)

• meaning 2: the mesotes is the best decision or action that considers the particular situation based on excellent judgment

‣ the mesotes is a moving target

‣ it considers the particulars, the opportunities and constraints in the situation

‣when consistently attained, the result is flourishing

what is the aim/object of virtue?

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• incontinent: has excessive, base appetites and lacks control or mastery over oneself; actually, the appetites are in control

•continent: controls oneself, despite excessive, base appetites

•virtuous person: does not even have to control oneself because one’s resolution has been so habituated to always rightly act

who finds the mesotes?

• Answer: the virtuous person (phronimos)

• virtue = excellent character, arete

• virtue is not just a disposition to do the right thing, virtue is a settled state of character (hexis)

• this character is achieved through habituation

• note: excessive, base appetites, when they play a role in decision-making, cause bad decisions

who finds the mesotes?

[...] every account of the actions we must do has to be stated in outline, not exactly [...] the type of accounts we demand should reflect the subject-matter; and questions about actions and expediency, like questions about health, have no fixed [and invariable answers]. And when our general account is so inexact, the account of particular cases is all the more inexact. For these fall under no craft or profession, and the agents themselves must consider in each case what the opportune action is, as doctors and navigators do (1104a2).

the mesotes cannot be prescribed exactly, only in outline

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what does it take to find the mesotes?

• Answer: prudential judgment (phronesis)

• Because ethics is not an exact science, it requires excellent judgment; how do we describe it?

‣ wisdom, acumen, intelligence, perspective, discernment, decisiveness, cleverness, insight, perceptiveness, foresight, astuteness, et cetera

• it is impossible to find the mesotes when base appetites/impulses are at play

a key characteristic of the phronimos

• a virtuous person can not become miserable, “For the man who is truly good and wise, we think, bears all the chances of life becomingly and always makes the best of circumstances [...]” (1100b18, Italics mine).

• point of reflection: “fluidity of the will”, or on being captive to everyday hindrances (i.e., stress) and the wisdom to know when to be and not to be affected in the pursuit of goals

by Julia Annas: […] the fully virtuous person not only judges and does the right thing, but has no motivation not to do it. He is not, of course, so habituated as to have tunnel vision when he considers the situation: he is aware of the factors that can and do tempt people to wrong action. But he is not himself tempted by them—otherwise he would be merely continent. And this is not asceticism—he enjoys what he does, feels positive about it (from “Aristotle on Virtue and Happiness,” in Aristotle’s Ethics: Critical Essays, p. 38).

what motivates the phronimos?

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what is the virtuous cycle?

to find the mesotes once → hones phronesis

a honed phronesis → helps to find the mesotes again

to find the mesotes more frequently → sharpens phronesis even more

a well-honed phronesis → consistent attainment of the mesotes

and so on...

the result? flourishing

what is this process called? habituation

what is attained? a settled state of character

practically...

The point to reflect on is this:Aristotle offers us this transformation in our approach —no longer: what is right/wrong (not rules!)but what is excellent?often: what do I need to transform in myself to respond appropriately to the situation? note: perspective against character disorderedness and neurosis

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