1. What is the difference between: Can you give an example of each?
Recap – Types of Action
What is the difference between:
Voluntary Actions
Involuntary Actions
Non-Voluntary Actions
Mixed Actions
Can you give an example of each?

2. Voluntary actions – in line with our intentions.
Involuntary actions – contrary to our intentions (through compulsion or ignorance).
Mixed actions – Both intended and unintended. The origin of the action is within you but it is contrary to your long term intentions.
Non-voluntary act – Something you did in ignorance of all the facts but do not regret.

3. Filling in the gaps…
We’re coming to the end of our explanation of Aristotelean Virtue Ethics. Next we need to move on to the strengths and weaknesses of the theory.
Before we do however, we need to expand on a few points we’ve mentioned briefly before:
Pleasure
Intellectual Virtues (Primarily practical wisdom)

4. Looking closer at pleasure / feelings…
We’ve already said that Aristotle considers pleasure to be a bad thing to solely aim for in life (a life of pleasure being a ‘bovine’ existence in his words). Why then does he care if we take pleasure in our virtuous actions or not?

5. Looking closer at pleasure…
Well, just because he doesn’t think it should be the only aim in life does not mean he doesn’t think pleasure is worth considering. For Aristotle, the point of pleasure falls somewhere between these two extremes (only important thing / not at all important).

6. Positive Feedback Loop
Do we get pleasure from practicing new skills / skills we are developing?

7. Positive Feedback Loop
Do we get pleasure from being kind? Do we get pleasure from being generous? Do we get pleasure from being courageous? Do we get a kind of pleasure from wittiness? What purpose might pleasure serve in these cases?

8. Positive Feedback Loop
As we start out trying to develop excellent dispositions, it is difficult and we have to force ourselves to be kind, just, courageous, generous, etc.
Overtime however, we find that we begin to enjoy these actions and get pleasure from acting kindly, generously etc.
This pleasure makes us more inclined to do those types of actions in the future, and helps us therefore become more disposed to kindness, justice, courage and the like.
It is part of a positive feedback loop – we get pleasure from virtuous actions and through pleasure we are more likely to be virtuous.

9. Positive Feedback Loop
Virtuous Actions
Pleasure

10. Remember the mean!
It’s important to remember to be rational about your pleasures though. Do not overindulge (vice of excess), but in the same way, don’t entirely avoid any kind of pleasure at all (vice of deficiency). Once again you’re looking for the right amount!
So for Aristotle then, the good life cannot ignore pleasure but nor is the good life a life of pure pleasure.

11. Final Point: What is pleasure?
When discussing other ethical theories, we’ve often found it hard to define exactly what we mean by pleasure.
But is pleasure just one thing?
Is there more than one type of pleasure?
Can you give a concrete definition of what pleasure is?

12. Final Point: What is pleasure?
When discussing other ethical theories, we’ve often found it hard to define exactly what we mean by pleasure.
For Aristotle, this is because pleasure is not one thing. It’s not a single qualia (think philosophy of mind!). Instead it’s different for different activities.
Pleasure is something that arises from activity itself. I aim to do the activity, and if it goes well I feel pleasure. Meaning there are as many possible pleasures as there are activities.

13. Final Point: What is pleasure?
This means when the hedonist (or indeed Utilitarian) says they are aiming for ‘pleasure’ they are not actually saying anything concrete – it is too vague and dependent on the activity being done.
Aristotle, like Mill also believed that some of these activities were superior to others, and therefore so were the associated pleasures. Rather unsurprisingly, virtuous activities are always superior.
In short this means we can say a pleasure is good when the activity that produces it is good (usually the activities in line with our virtues) and bad when the activity that produces it is bad (goes against our virtues).

14. Summary Task…
What purpose does pleasure serve according to Aristotle? Why is it difficult to define what pleasure is?

15. Exam Style Question
Compare and contrast the idea of pleasure in Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics (12 marks)

16. Practical Reason
According to Aristotle the soul is divided into two parts: the rational and the non- rational. In order to flourish we must excel in both parts of the soul. We have already looked at the most significant part of the non- rational part of the soul, our character, and how we can develop excellence of character through developing good habits and moral virtues. But what about the rational part?

17. Theoretical reason which is about abstract contemplation of the world.
The Rational Soul
Well this in turn is divided into two types of reasoning:
Theoretical reason which is about abstract contemplation of the world.
Practical reason which is about our lives, our goals and how we can achieve them.
Whilst theoretical reasoning is important, it doesn’t really play a part in developing ones character (and thus developing ethically) so we can ignore it for this topic.
Practical reasoning however, is important.

18. Practical Reason
It is practical reason that lies behind making correct choices, so it involves deliberation and the skills of decision making.
But the right choice is not just about working out what to do, it also means having the right desires / feelings (i.e. goals or aims) and those (as we said last lesson) are very much part of our character or dispositions – the non-rational part of the soul.
This ultimately means if we want to make the right choice, then we need to excel both in practical reasoning (which Aristotle sometimes calls practical wisdom) and in our character (ethica arête).

19. Summary

20. Practical Reason
Aristotle outlines a few different intellectual traits through which practical wisdom can manifest itself. We require all four to be truly considered “wise”.
Read through the traits on page 331 (add them to your notes if you wish) and then have a go at the “Experimenting with ideas” section at the bottom.
Once completed read through the first paragraph on 332.

21. Summary
Practical wisdom and moral virtues (ethica arête) are bound up with one another:
We cannot develop the right dispositions/virtues if we do not have the practical wisdom that tells us how it is appropriate to act in different circumstances. In other words, the desire to be excellent is useless without the ability to achieve it.
But in the same token having the ability to reason and determine lines of action without being disposed towards particular goals or aims is equally useless.
According to Aristotle the two excellences (of character and practical reasoning) are therefore inseparable.

22. Putting It Altogether
Figure 2.24 on page 330 effectively depicts the full process of virtue ethics. Follow it carefully as I go through the key points we’ve covered over the last few lessons. Does it make sense?

23. Summary Task…
What is practical reasoning? Why are practical reasoning and moral virtue equally important according to Aristotle?