Explain the theory of virtue ethics.

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a) Explain the theory of virtue ethics (33)

        According to virtue ethics, the heart of morality is not found in actions, or in duties, but in the person performing the actions, the ‘agent’. In other words, morality should concentrate on the person, and not necessarily on the choices they make in their moral behaviour. Ethical questions, therefore, should not be about whether one or another choice is morally right, but whether the person himself or herself is a good person. The personal character of the agent is what matters; morality is involved with developing one’s own virtues in order to become the right kind of person. Virtue ethics then, does not ask: “What is the right thing to do?” but “ What sort of person should I aim to become?”.

        Aristotle’s main work about morality is called the Nicomachean Ethics. In this book, he started out from the assumption that what everyone wants most is a full and happy life this all-round well-being is known as Eudaimonia. This term basically means being happy and living well being fulfilled. He believed that there were three main forms of happiness: happiness as a life of enjoyment of pleasure, happiness as a free member of society, and happiness as a philosopher. Eudaimonia involves the combination of all three rather than just concentrating on just the first.

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        Aristotle believed that the best way for people to achieve Eudaimonia was for them to develop and exercise those qualities that are most productive for living in a society. He believed that extremes of behaviour and of character are unhelpful in a society; for example very timid people at one extreme, and very assertive people at the other, can both cause problems. For Aristotle, then, virtue could be found in what he called the ‘Golden Mean’ (striking the right balance between extremes). Aristotle used the example of courage as a virtue, lying in between foolhardiness and cowardice.

         Aristotle also said ...

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