PHI 180 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Virtue Ethics, Civic Virtue, Eudaimonia
26 Apr 2019
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What are the necessary elements or conditions for happiness. Student of plato (who was the student of socrates) Was said to have known everything there was to know in his time. Teacher of the boy who would become alexander the great. Holds a teleological view of the world. Everything simply has a function or a purpose. If you understand what a thing is for-- little else you need to know. If the thing performs its function well, it is said to be virtuous. An admirable character trait to habitually act in a manner that benefits oneself or others. The goal is to acquire a collection of virtues. Based on excellence in reasoning skills; cultivated through growth and experience. Based on control of the appetites; cultivated through habit. Which habits do we need to form> Rationality allows us to find the balance, the middle path. Happiness is not the same as justice. Depends on the version: kant vs. libertarians.
