Aristotle & Virtue Theory: Crash Course Philosophy #38
This week we explore final ethical theory in this unit: Aristotle's virtue theory. Hank explains the Golden Mean, and how it exists as the midpoint between vices of excess and deficiency....
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Imagine a person who always knows what to say.Who can diffuse a tense situation, deliver tough news gracefully, is confident without being arrogant, brave but not reckless, generous but never extravagant.This is the type of person that everybody wants to be around, and to be like.Someone who seems to have mastered the art of being a person.This may sound like an impossible feat, but Aristotle believed that, while rare, these people do exist.And they are what we all should aspire to be: virtuous.And there's a whole moral theory based on this idea of virtue.But unlike most of the moral theories we’ve discussed, virtue theory doesn’t spend a lot of time telling you what to do.There’s no categorical imperative or principle of utility.Instead, virtue theory is al...
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Imagine a person who always knows what to say.Who can diffuse a tense situation, deliver tough news gracefully, is confident without being arrogant, brave but not reckless, generous but never extravagant.This is the type of person that everybody wants to be around, and to be like.Someone who seems to have mastered the art of being a person.This may sound like an impossible feat, but Aristotle believed that, while rare, these people do exist.And they are what we all should aspire to be: virtuous.And there's a whole moral theory based on this idea of virtue.But unlike most of the moral theories we’ve discussed, virtue theory doesn’t spend a lot of time telling you what to do.There’s no categorical imperative or principle of utility.Instead, virtue theory is al...
