Virtue ethics is a philosophy developed by Aristotle and other ancient Greeks. It is the quest to understand and live a life of moral character.
Aristotelian virtue ethics is centered around the concept of eudaimonia,
which is commonly translated as happiness or flourishing. Happiness as it
is understood today, however, does not sufficiently capture the ancient
meaning of the term. Unlike our everyday concept of happiness, eudaimonia
is not a state of mind, nor is it simply the experience of joys and
pleasures. Moreover, happiness is a subjective concept. In other words, it
is up to each of us to determine what it means, for us, to be happy.
Eudaimonia, in contrast, is meant as an objective standard of happiness,
based on what it means to live a human life well. For Aristotle,
flourishing, or living well, involves living a life in accordance with
virtue.
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Virtues are good character traits or dispostions which one possesses.
Aristotle distinguishes between two tpes of virtues:
An example of Eudaimonia:
The function of a bottle opener is to open bottles. There are different
types of bottle opener, but a good bottle opener is one which opens a
bottle well. In order to know what a good human being is, we must know
what the function of a human being is - a good human being is one who
fulfils the function. Aristotle suggests that the function of a human
being is to be virtuous.
"Happiness then, is found to be something perfect and self-sufficient,
being the end to which our actions are directed."
Aristotle
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