VIRTUES AND VICES
INTRODUCTION
For many years the philosopher were not interested to deal with the subject the virtues and vices. But later comes the philosophers like Hume , Kant, Mill, G.E Moore, W.D. Ross from whom much contemporary moral philosophy has been derived. When we look to the past we have seen that number of books with title ‘The Varieties of Goodness’, ‘The Virtues’ are appeared. Some interesting aspects on the topic have come out in the journals.Most important aspects about virtues and vices can found in the Aristotelian and Christian philosophy in St. Thomas. St. Thomas had developed the doctrine of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. He also still use the Aristotelian frame work. He had given his work more detailed than Aristotle did. ‘Summa Theologica’ is best source we have for moral philosophy according to Philipa Foot.
VIRTUES AND ITS RELATION WITH VICES
When we talk about virtues we don’t consider that ethics, which have given by different authors Aristotle ‘arete’ and Aquinas virtues. These virtues are related to some theory. But when minor obstacle to be overcome we take only the practical side will not take theory side. For us there are four cardinal moral virtues courage, temperance, wisdom, justice.
First of all clear that virtues are in some way beneficial. We cannot live in the stage where the virtues are not so far as applicable. But depending up on certain virtues the benefits is goes to both the one who has the virtue and those who have to do with him. first statement shows that when the ethical situation was not at all clear we cannot live or survive. Consider the background of criminals, those who want to live there we cannot.
One question arises that the relation between justice and common good. Rights may stand in the way of pursuit of the common good. But Philipa Foot treat justice as virtue independand of charity. How the strength and health are excellences of the body? How concentration and memory are related to ones will? The answer is that when a person will be a virtuous these are essential things to attain perfect human being. The important factor in the virtue is intentionality of an action. If the intention is clear in the action it is virtuous one. If one man brings harms to another without realizing he is doing it,became of ignorance of that.Here ignorance plays an important role to do that particular act .It will not be virtuous act.
Disposition of heart is part of virtue. Because one man succeeds where another fails not because of their specific difference but his heart lies in a different place.The intention makes a virtuous man inthe society. If the intention of act is clear the action we do it is virtuous one.But we donot care about the results.So our intention is important in our action.when we do different actions our mind will be clear and our intentions also will be purifiable.Then we can say that the action is virtuous or not otherwise we became in trouble.The reactions of one who is in pleasure and displeasure make the sign of a man’s moral disposition.
None of these shows that the virtue is not belong to the will.Here will must be understood in its widest sense. But Aristotle says that practical wisdom or phronesis is important to do a action which is virtual .It is mainly related to our intellect not will. Knowledge cannot be the matter of desire or intention. But wisdom has special connection with the will.When we explain wisdom it has two parts. It has certain end means wisdom shows a particular end and it knows particular ends are worth.So both Aristotle and Aquinas insisted that wisdom is related with cleverness,because cleverness is the ability to take the right steps to any end, and wisdom is related to only good ends. There fore we can connect wisdom with the will in the following ways. According to Aquinas wisdom is the power under the direction of will.So we can say that a man who lacks wisdom has false values.
Aristotle has explained that how the virtues are different from arts of skills.In the case of arts and skills voluntary error is preferable to involuntary error, but we consider in the case virtues it is reverse.For instance someone who deliberatly makes a spelling mistake, we see that this does not any way count against his skill as a speller. But on the other hand when somebody do the things unjustly or uncharitably or in a cowardly we cannot say i did it deleberatly. So we may a virtue is not like a skill or an act. It must actually engage the will.Skills can be achieve through practice. It is attaining by the way of practice only. But it will not be virtuous, if one action is ethicaly related there should be a mind of purifiable then it should be a deleberate act.
Aristotle and Aquinas compared courage and temperance with justice .Justices was concerned with operations, courage and temperance with passions.Here the difference is that courage and temperance is something related to our action. But justice doesnot.Almost any desire can lead a man to act unjustly,even to help a friend or to save life.An act of pleasures lead us to act unjustly, if it is drinking,eating or sex.Because of fear and desire for pleasure we can take courage and temperance as a virtuous at all. Aquinas says about passions if somebody has to do against reason we need a objection of that particular action which we name temperance. The couragous person, who is able to debate for particular right ,not run away from what is right. Together with courage and temperance these are lot of virtues hope,humility e.t.c.
But when we take justice and charity it is little different. It is not mainly related to any particular desire or tendency.If somepeople is giving more care to others or much attached to the good of others this is because they have general virtue of self-love.If we love myself as important figure ,we can love same as others.In the similar way if people cared about the rights of the others as they care about their own rights
According to Aristotle to take pleasure in virtuous action is the mark of true virtue.Natural virtue cannot be the whole of virtue because some virtues are naturaly held to different individuls. We cannot consider it as virtue at all.Justice and wisdom will not consider as natural virtue because these virtues have to be learned. Some kind of difficulties can see in the way of moral action. For instance a person, who is more tempted to steal something but the other one is not .According to moral principals both are will not do steal. But there is a gradation in this action.The one who is tempted to steal is more virtuous than the other. Because of circumstances he is tempted in to steal. So there is different stages in the moral action.
CONCLUSION
Virtue can be produced only by good actions.when we treated others as object the actions will not be virtuous.Any difficulty in the thought that virtuous may sometimes displayed in bad actions . For example the virtuous of courage and temperance may aid a bad man, it will lead to evil work.The consequences also will be not well. It will lead to bad effects.In the same way we can talk about charity. The virtue of courage can equally connected with good actions and bad.When people use courage for purpose of bad effects it will not be virtuous. So one thing is that virtuous action should be provide good results
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Foot, Philipa. “Virtues and Vices”: in Virtue Ethics: ed. Roger Crisp. Newyork:
Oxford University, 1997.
Davis Varghese
(0924601)
For many years the philosopher were not interested to deal with the subject the virtues and vices. But later comes the philosophers like Hume , Kant, Mill, G.E Moore, W.D. Ross from whom much contemporary moral philosophy has been derived. When we look to the past we have seen that number of books with title ‘The Varieties of Goodness’, ‘The Virtues’ are appeared. Some interesting aspects on the topic have come out in the journals.Most important aspects about virtues and vices can found in the Aristotelian and Christian philosophy in St. Thomas. St. Thomas had developed the doctrine of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. He also still use the Aristotelian frame work. He had given his work more detailed than Aristotle did. ‘Summa Theologica’ is best source we have for moral philosophy according to Philipa Foot.
VIRTUES AND ITS RELATION WITH VICES
When we talk about virtues we don’t consider that ethics, which have given by different authors Aristotle ‘arete’ and Aquinas virtues. These virtues are related to some theory. But when minor obstacle to be overcome we take only the practical side will not take theory side. For us there are four cardinal moral virtues courage, temperance, wisdom, justice.
First of all clear that virtues are in some way beneficial. We cannot live in the stage where the virtues are not so far as applicable. But depending up on certain virtues the benefits is goes to both the one who has the virtue and those who have to do with him. first statement shows that when the ethical situation was not at all clear we cannot live or survive. Consider the background of criminals, those who want to live there we cannot.
One question arises that the relation between justice and common good. Rights may stand in the way of pursuit of the common good. But Philipa Foot treat justice as virtue independand of charity. How the strength and health are excellences of the body? How concentration and memory are related to ones will? The answer is that when a person will be a virtuous these are essential things to attain perfect human being. The important factor in the virtue is intentionality of an action. If the intention is clear in the action it is virtuous one. If one man brings harms to another without realizing he is doing it,became of ignorance of that.Here ignorance plays an important role to do that particular act .It will not be virtuous act.
Disposition of heart is part of virtue. Because one man succeeds where another fails not because of their specific difference but his heart lies in a different place.The intention makes a virtuous man inthe society. If the intention of act is clear the action we do it is virtuous one.But we donot care about the results.So our intention is important in our action.when we do different actions our mind will be clear and our intentions also will be purifiable.Then we can say that the action is virtuous or not otherwise we became in trouble.The reactions of one who is in pleasure and displeasure make the sign of a man’s moral disposition.
None of these shows that the virtue is not belong to the will.Here will must be understood in its widest sense. But Aristotle says that practical wisdom or phronesis is important to do a action which is virtual .It is mainly related to our intellect not will. Knowledge cannot be the matter of desire or intention. But wisdom has special connection with the will.When we explain wisdom it has two parts. It has certain end means wisdom shows a particular end and it knows particular ends are worth.So both Aristotle and Aquinas insisted that wisdom is related with cleverness,because cleverness is the ability to take the right steps to any end, and wisdom is related to only good ends. There fore we can connect wisdom with the will in the following ways. According to Aquinas wisdom is the power under the direction of will.So we can say that a man who lacks wisdom has false values.
Aristotle has explained that how the virtues are different from arts of skills.In the case of arts and skills voluntary error is preferable to involuntary error, but we consider in the case virtues it is reverse.For instance someone who deliberatly makes a spelling mistake, we see that this does not any way count against his skill as a speller. But on the other hand when somebody do the things unjustly or uncharitably or in a cowardly we cannot say i did it deleberatly. So we may a virtue is not like a skill or an act. It must actually engage the will.Skills can be achieve through practice. It is attaining by the way of practice only. But it will not be virtuous, if one action is ethicaly related there should be a mind of purifiable then it should be a deleberate act.
Aristotle and Aquinas compared courage and temperance with justice .Justices was concerned with operations, courage and temperance with passions.Here the difference is that courage and temperance is something related to our action. But justice doesnot.Almost any desire can lead a man to act unjustly,even to help a friend or to save life.An act of pleasures lead us to act unjustly, if it is drinking,eating or sex.Because of fear and desire for pleasure we can take courage and temperance as a virtuous at all. Aquinas says about passions if somebody has to do against reason we need a objection of that particular action which we name temperance. The couragous person, who is able to debate for particular right ,not run away from what is right. Together with courage and temperance these are lot of virtues hope,humility e.t.c.
But when we take justice and charity it is little different. It is not mainly related to any particular desire or tendency.If somepeople is giving more care to others or much attached to the good of others this is because they have general virtue of self-love.If we love myself as important figure ,we can love same as others.In the similar way if people cared about the rights of the others as they care about their own rights
According to Aristotle to take pleasure in virtuous action is the mark of true virtue.Natural virtue cannot be the whole of virtue because some virtues are naturaly held to different individuls. We cannot consider it as virtue at all.Justice and wisdom will not consider as natural virtue because these virtues have to be learned. Some kind of difficulties can see in the way of moral action. For instance a person, who is more tempted to steal something but the other one is not .According to moral principals both are will not do steal. But there is a gradation in this action.The one who is tempted to steal is more virtuous than the other. Because of circumstances he is tempted in to steal. So there is different stages in the moral action.
CONCLUSION
Virtue can be produced only by good actions.when we treated others as object the actions will not be virtuous.Any difficulty in the thought that virtuous may sometimes displayed in bad actions . For example the virtuous of courage and temperance may aid a bad man, it will lead to evil work.The consequences also will be not well. It will lead to bad effects.In the same way we can talk about charity. The virtue of courage can equally connected with good actions and bad.When people use courage for purpose of bad effects it will not be virtuous. So one thing is that virtuous action should be provide good results
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Foot, Philipa. “Virtues and Vices”: in Virtue Ethics: ed. Roger Crisp. Newyork:
Oxford University, 1997.
Davis Varghese
(0924601)
No comments:
Post a Comment