For these self-righteous, thin-skinned people, there are apparently limits to the liberal virtue of tolerance. One of the legal virtues is “judicial wisdom,” the legal form of phronesis. If the world is too complex for a complete code of moral rules, what about the law? Aristotle suggested that justice under the law would inevitably be insufficient, at least in some cases, because the legislature must speak in relatively general and abstract language, which sometimes has unintended consequences that run counter to the purposes of the law. Here is Aristotle`s discussion of chapter 10 of Book V of Nicomobeurian ethics: The following is an example of a state law with the phrase “by law”: Because we are readers, we are also writers, I believe now, but that was not always the case. Historically, virtue ethics has its roots in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly in the works of Plato and Aristotle, but the contemporary revival of virtue ethics dates back in some respects to G.E.M. Anscombe`s article Modern Moral Philosophy, published in the journal Philosophy in 1958. Anscombe`s famous article pointed out the well-known gaps and problems associated with utilitarianism and deontology, and suggested that a return to Aristotle`s moral philosophy could be a fruitful alternative. This marks the beginning of what might be called the Aretaic turn in moral philosophy – which inaugurates both a return to Aristotle`s theory of virtues and the development of new varieties of virtue theory. What is virtue ethics? Obviously, virtue ethics has something to do with virtue, which in this context is closely related in its meaning to the English word “excellence,” the Latin “virtu,” and the Greek “arete.” Sometimes “virtue ethics” is also called “aretaic moral theory,” using the adjective form of arete. Contemporary virtue ethics is distinguished in part because it denies something that deontology and utilitarianism seem to confirm – that there is a decision-making process for ethics. Utilitarianism claims that there is a very simple rule (which, if applied correctly) results in morally correct action for any situation: act to achieve the best consequences. Ethics has a similar claim: to do the right thing, it is enough to consult the moral rules and perform the required action, or if no action is required, to choose among those that are allowed. The ethics of virtue characteristically denies that there is a mechanical rule that produces morally correct action.
Why not? One answer to this question lies in the idea of Aristotle of Phronimos, the person who possesses the virtue of practical wisdom. The phronimus has the ability to react to the complexity of certain situations, to see what is morally alien, and to choose an action that works in the given circumstances. Intellectual virtues are practical and theoretical wisdom. Practical wisdom or phronesis is excellence in reasoning: the person of practical reason is able to choose good ends and the means to achieve these goals. Practical wisdom works in the field of practice: acting in certain situations. Theoretical wisdom or Sophia, on the other hand, operates in the field of theoria; Abstract thinking, science and theory. Intellectual virtues are first developed through teaching and mature through experience. Why expect extraordinary virtues to be united in a person when a virtue makes a person exceptional? Topics covered by virtue jurisprudence include: Moral virtues are states of character that deal with choice; Examples are courage, moderation and justice.
Aristotle believed that virtues such as courage are particularly related to human emotions. In the case of courage, there is a morally neutral human emotion – fear. The tendency to excessive anxiety (fear disproportionate to the situation) is the vice of shyness. The tendency to insufficient fear is the vice of recklessness. Courage is the willingness to feel fear that is appropriate to the actual threat or danger. Therefore, the virtue of mediocrity is a means between two opposing vices, timidity and cruelty. Moral virtues, says Aristotle, are acquired by habit; You must act courageously to become courageous. It may be as chaste as bare snow, it is certainly so cold: but for a warm and inspiring virtue! A fully virtuous agent would therefore be one who possesses the complete complement of moral and intellectual virtues.
This can be rare, as most people do not have some of the virtues and possess others in an imperfect form. Middle English virtue, virtu, from Anglo-French, from Latin virtut-, virtus force, virility, virtue, de vir man â more at viril Proponents claimed that it helped preserve virtue and affirm the application of Sharia law. If thinking about the reasonable person in tort law is a good start, virtue ethics can be applied to a variety of legal problems. Here`s a suggestion. Sometimes you will find that strict application of the rules leads to a manifestly unfair and unintended result. Ask yourself, “Is this a case where a virtuous judge could deviate from the rule on grounds of fairness?” And here`s another suggestion: Whenever you`re not satisfied with consequentialist or deontological approaches to moral issues addressed by the law, ask yourself, “What would virtue ethics say here?” What character traits or virtues are relevant to this problem? When you begin to list the relevant virtues, you are on the path to a virtue-theoretical analysis of the legal problem! Interestingly, due to this very discreet nature, the Pilos helmet was also used by lighter troops such as the archers employed by Athens. The Legal Theory Lexicon already contains articles on deontology and utilitarianism – representing two important families of ethical theory. This week, the encyclopedia offers an introduction to the ethics of virtue. As always, the encyclopedia provides a quick and dirty summary for law students (especially first-year law students) interested in legal theory.
Together, these three contributions provide a rough and ready-made introduction to the three most important approaches to normative ethics. It can be instructive to compare virtue ethics with deontology and utilitarianism via the following simplified formulas: The term “virtue jurisprudence” is generally used in the context of contemporary Western philosophical thought on law. However, there are important ideas about the relationship between right and virtue in other intellectual traditions. One example is the Confucian ideas about virtue. In Analects, Confucius argues that a society in which people are virtuous would not need judges, rules, or jurisprudence because people would be able to resolve social conflicts on their own. Thus, it is argued that the idea of virtue is opposed to the idea of law. The definition of By Virtue Of in U.S. law, as defined by lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary, is as follows: What are the implications of virtue ethics for the questions that legal theorists ask? A starting point for an answer could be the development of a “politics of virtue,” that is, a political theory based on the foundations of virtue ethics.
A politics of virtue could begin with the idea that the purpose of the state should be to create the conditions for the development of human excellence. Thus, the legislator`s objective could be described as the creation of a policy and legal framework within which individual citizens can develop their full potential for human excellence. A virtue policy could also consider the implications of virtue theory for the design of political institutions. For example, institutions could both try to counter the fact that citizens and civil servants are often not fully virtuous, and also create conditions under which legislators, executives, and judges are chosen, at least in part, on the basis of their possession of virtues. Aristotle argued that the promotion of virtue was the correct purpose of the law. Thomas Aquinas argued that true laws (which are rational) can teach virtue by being internalized by those who already possess enough virtue to grasp the purpose of the law. Even those who have not yet reached this level of virtue may be forced to obey the law, which may allow them to become more virtuous. One. State and district officials or former officials, their personal representatives or assignees who claim the right to salary as an official or former official due under the laws of that State shall bring an action on that behalf within ninety days of the date on which the salary is due, and not afterwards. Mulan is the story of 1,500 years of evolution of notions of gender and virtue. The formulas are tricky, and I didn`t try to get these formulations exactly right. Instead, my goal was to paint broadly to give an idea of the basic structure of these three approaches to moral theory.
While utilitarianism draws consequences (or states) and the central idea of moral theory and deontology focuses on moral rules, virtue ethics focuses on character and human excellence.