Concept of Virtue

Introduction

Virtue theory is a branch of moral philosophy which lays emphasis on character rather than rules and consequences as the key element of ethical thinking. Virtue theory goes back to the Ancient Greeks who introduced concepts such as arête (excellence or virtue), phronesis (practical or moral wisdom) and eudaimonia (flourishing). Plato states “The road to virtue is through pleasure: what is noble must be pleasant; but when these two do not coincide, a man cannot yet be perfectly good, for incontinence may arise; for incontinence is precisely the discrepancy between the good and the pleasant in the passions (Kenny, 25-96). He gave the first systemic expression of Virtue Theory in his Nicomachean Ethics. He speaks of eudaimonia, translated loosely from Greek to mean well-being or happiness. It is the highest goal of all human deliberate actions.

Plato Concept of Virtue

Plato emphasized four virtues which were later called Cardinal Virtues. These are wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. The other virtues are fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good temperance and sincerity.

The concept of virtue for Aristotle was anything that makes something good. The good is the result of what someone rationally aims for. If someone performs a job or a task that it is meant to do and does it well then it has good virtue. It is specifically the ability to use reason that sets humans apart from the other animals. According to Aristotle, human virtue means virtue of the soul and not the body, just like human happiness means happiness of the soul.

There is a point in Aristotle's argument that can be contradictory. Aristotle's search for "the good" is a search for the "highest good" (Kenny, 25-96). He assumes that the highest good, whatever it turns out to be, has three characteristics- it is desirable for itself, it is not desirable ...