virtue ethics reflection paper

Aristotle and Virtue Ethics

Explore the importance, advantages, application, and other aspects of virtue ethics theory with the help of our reflective essay sample! Get some ideas for your virtue ethics essay!

Virtue Ethics: Essay Introduction

The good girl movie, aristotle virtue ethics theory, application of the theory, personal reflection, virtue ethics: essay conclusion, works cited.

Aristotle holds that virtues originate from actions that human beings perform because one can either be a good or bad person based on actions. In his ethics, Aristotle asserts that whatever activities human beings do ultimately lead to a good or a bad end. Desire and passion compel human beings to pursue certain activities so that they can achieve certain ends, which determine virtue. If there were no desired ends, human beings would pursue activities in vain.

Human beings seek to achieve legitimate ends so that they can obtain happiness in life. Aristotle argues that human actions determine virtues that one achieves and subsequently influence happiness1. For example, a marriage partner who has experienced an unhappy marriage will struggle extremely hard to achieve a happy life out there with friends. Therefore, how does Aristotle’s virtue theory apply to The Good Girl movie?

The movie shows the story of a young woman, Justine, who is so troubled in her marriage because she has no children. Justine is 30 years old and has been unable to conceive because her husband, Phil, is impotent, according to the diagnosis of a doctor. Phil is sterile because he has continually abused drugs, which has permanently made him unable to make his wife conceive. Troubled by dying marriage, Justine planned to seek a man who would make her happy in life by giving her a baby.

Luckily, Justine found a young man aged 22, Holden, who was particularly attractive and mysterious2. From then, Justine and Holden continued with their secret love affair until when her workmates and friends discovered it. Discovery of their secret affair put Justine in a dilemma, as she was already pregnant and did not know what to tell Phil. Justine wanted to save her marriage and, at the same time, keep the baby by marrying Holden. However, Justine and Phil reconciled and lived happily after that with their daughter.

According to Aristotle’s ethical theory, virtues result from human actions, for the perception of the moral character of a person emanates from various activities. Human actions and activities aim at attaining excellence, which is a virtue in every aspect of life. According to Aristotle, every art and pursuit aims at attaining the good, which is a virtue that all human beings cherish3. Synchronized actions focus on achieving one objective or more objectives as ends of excellence.

The difference between plants or animals and human being is a rational principle. The rational principle gives human beings the ability to think and act. Through thoughts, a human being can coordinate actions that determine ethics because actions describe ethics. For instance, ’a good player’ and ’a bad player,’ in this case, good and bad, are descriptions of the action of playing, and they portray the virtues of players.

Actions are imperative in achieving virtues since no one can have virtues by a mere theoretical understanding of what ethics are. Thus, due to diversity and degree of actions, it is extraordinarily complicated to attribute certain actions to specified virtues, making ethics subjective.

The ethics theory further asserts that there are two types of virtues, moral and intellectual virtues; moral virtues emanate from habits, while intellectual virtue is an innate characteristic that undergoes a transformation in the course of life due to teaching and experience. Nature gives primary moral virtues, and through perfection by habitual activities, one attains given moral virtues. Since habituation is a process of achieving ethics for one to be excellent in a certain field, one should continually learn and exercise.

For example, one becomes a runner by running; likewise, people become good when they do good and bad by doing bad things. The emphasis here is that actions have a direct relation with virtues, for virtues cannot occur without actions.

Then, what actions are responsible for certain virtues? Confusingly, the same action produces both a virtue and vice. For instance, in playing as an action, we have both good and bad players. Aristotle argues that virtues exist in a continuum of excess and deficiency of actions, and thus, virtue occurs as an intermediate4. It, therefore, shows that deficiency or excess of action results in vices while intermediate actions give virtues.

Given that Aristotle’s ethics theory postulates that human actions determine their virtues, The Good Girl movie portrays a scenario where Justine’s actions led her to achieve happiness. For many years, Justine had been in a troubled marriage that was gradually dying since Phil was unable to make her conceive. In pursuit of happiness, Justine thought of the best way of achieving happiness amidst the daunting challenges of her marriage that seemed not to end unless she did something about them.

According to Aristotle, actions form the basis of virtue, for they determine goodness or badness as unique ends of actions, but since human beings aim at achieving a good end, happiness is then an end of actions5. Thus, Justine was struggling to achieve happiness in her marriage and life, as well.

The movie has termed her a ‘good’ girl because she thought of the best way of conceiving a baby so that she could achieve happiness in marriage and life. In her troubles, Justine had three options: to tolerate the hard life of marriage, to divorce her husband, or to conceive through a love affair. Relating to Aristotle’s ethical theory, deficiency and excess of action cause a vice that leads to an unhappy life.

Thus, the option of tolerating fruitless marriage life would have been a deficient action, while the option of divorce would have been an excessive action. Hence, the option of conceiving through a love affair, because her husband was sterile, enabled her to have a girl child who made their marriage happy again after reconciliation. Aristotle argues that intermediate passions and actions are the recipes to virtues that lead to happiness6. Therefore, Justine obtained happiness through intermediate passions and actions.

Aristotle’s ethical theory effectively describes how virtues occur in society. The assertion that human actions and passions aim at achieving good is a complex concept that needs elaboration since some actions ultimately lead to vice, no matter their moderation. For instance, an action such as killing has no moderation and hence lacks virtue. Moreover, since human actions are diverse, it is difficult to classify virtues according to diverse actions because it would lead to ambiguity.

Therefore, if actions only determine moral virtues according to Aristotle’s ethics theory, there could be indefinite virtues in society, proving that ethics are not only complex but also subjective. Assertions like human actions determine virtues pose a serious threat to ethical theories because it demands continued teaching of morality. If human moral values constantly change due to the influence of actions, then it is a daunting task to control moral virtues.

Regarding Aristotle concept of moderation, it is quite evident that intermediate actions yield virtues while extreme actions cause vices. The concept is particularly valuable as it shows that the moderation of human actions plays a significant role in shaping one’s morality through habituation.

In the case study of The Good Girl movie, Justine was able to moderate her actions so that she could achieve happiness in life, and she eventually became a ‘good’ girl. Thus, deficiency and excess of action cause vice, while an intermediate of an action results in virtue and happiness.

Since humans do not have stable character traits, ethical theories provide the basis for the understanding of moral virtues, but achieving the virtues demands actions. Knowing what actions give certain moral virtues enables one to pursue morality by habitually exercising them. As in the case of Justine in The Good Girl movie, one needs to know that excesses or deficiencies of actions will result in vices, and moderation of actions is vital in achieving desired virtues.

Pleasures and pains accompany the pursuit of actions because excessive pleasures result in overindulgence, which is a vice, while too much pain results in serious fear, which is also a vice. Hence, moderation of actions enables one to achieve moral virtues, though it is hard to determine what the actions are and the extent of exercising them.

Ross, William. Nicomachean Ethics: Aristotle . Kitchener: Batoche Books, 1999.

Weschler, Raymond. “The Good Girl.” Drama and Comedy , 2002: 1-23.

1 William Ross. Nicomachean Ethics: Aristotle . Kitchener: Batoche Books, 1999, 14

2, Raymond Weschler. “The Good Girl.” Drama and Comedy , 2002: 1.

3 William Ross. Nicomachean Ethics: Aristotle . Kitchener: Batoche Books, 1999.

4 William Ross. (1999): 28

5 William Ross. (1999): 10

6 William Ross. (1999): 31

Cite this paper

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2023, August 23). Aristotle and Virtue Ethics. Retrieved from https://studycorgi.com/aristotle-and-virtue-ethics/

StudyCorgi. (2023, August 23). Aristotle and Virtue Ethics. https://studycorgi.com/aristotle-and-virtue-ethics/

"Aristotle and Virtue Ethics." StudyCorgi , 23 Aug. 2023, studycorgi.com/aristotle-and-virtue-ethics/.

1. StudyCorgi . "Aristotle and Virtue Ethics." August 23, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/aristotle-and-virtue-ethics/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "Aristotle and Virtue Ethics." August 23, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/aristotle-and-virtue-ethics/.

StudyCorgi . 2023. "Aristotle and Virtue Ethics." August 23, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/aristotle-and-virtue-ethics/.

StudyCorgi . (2023) 'Aristotle and Virtue Ethics'. 23 August.

This paper “Aristotle and Virtue Ethics” was written and submitted to our database by a student to assist your with your own studies. You are free to use it to write your own assignment, however you must reference it properly.

If you are the original creator of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal .

e-Publications@Marquette

Home > Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects > DISSERTATIONS > AAI3093147

Reflection on the "good" as a source of freedom in virtue theory

John DiBenedetto Morse , Marquette University

In communitarian forms of virtue theory, there exists a tension between the influence of the community on moral development and individual responsibility. Virtue theory emphasizes the role of character in influencing action. Because of the relationship between character and action, writers in virtue theory have argued that individual responsibility depends on the ability of the individual to control the formation of his character, or his ability to change his existing character. But, virtue theory is at the same time committed to the thesis that the community is involved in the formation of character, insofar as the institutions of one's community both reinforce behavior and provide a conception of the good life for which an individual should strive. To this point, arguments in contemporary virtue theory and theories of responsibility ground freedom in the ability of the individual to assess his character through reflection in light of a concept of the good life. But, existing arguments do not address two problems inherent in grounding freedom and responsibility in reflection about character. One, reflection is an activity that requires a set of skills and character dispositions that are not innate. The individual must develop character traits like tolerance and humility in order to reflect in a meaningful manner. Two, reflection about one's character supposes a standard, a theory of the good life, against which an individual is judging the adequacy of his existing character. Since communitarian forms of virtue theory argue that the community inculcates in the individual a conception of the good life, it is necessary to acknowledge the impact of the community in process of reflection. In this dissertation, I propose that individual responsibility is possible within communitarian forms of virtue theory. Communities must develop systems of moral education that promote reflective individuals. Further, an individual must not only evaluate his character in light of a concept of the good in order to be completely free; rather, he must also evaluate the source of his view of the good on which his reflection is based in order to be fully free and responsible for his character.

This paper has been withdrawn.

Advanced Search

• Notify me via email or RSS
• Collections
• Disciplines

Information about e-Pubs@MU

• General FAQ
• Submit Research

Home | About | FAQ | My Account | Accessibility Statement