WEBLINKS – Virtue Ethics

These hyperlinks allow you to research around the world at the touch of a button, and many of these sites give hyperlinks to other sites. Gilbert Harman and Rosalind Hursthouse are among the foremost philosophers of today, and Lawrence Hinman, Philip Duffy and Harry Gensler are American academics deeply committed to extending the understanding of ethics.  They generously release all their material to the wider world – for the common good.  For a brilliant introductory lecture on this area, contrasting practical wisdom or”moral will with moral skill” with rule-based theories by Professor Schwartz of  The University of Colorado go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA-zdh_bQBo

I like this website as a teacher as it structures virtue ethics into three phases virtue 1, virtue 2, virtue 3, and suggests some key books to follow up the analysis.  The starter activity could easily be adapted for the classroom, and instead of the business virtues you could consider two or three spheres of life eg which virtues would you like to develop for a. the family, b. the school, c. in a sport you play.  Have these virtues altered over time?  Who are our moral heroes in each sphere?  Do have a look at this site – really useful ideas!

http://cnx.org/content/m13755/1.11/

Harry Gensler’s one page summary of Aristotle

http://www.harryhiker.com/ms/arist-00.htm

Self-test and games:

Six different games to play on virtue ethics: beat the examiner, engarde, beat the teacher, penalty shootout, loop the hoop, walk the plank – all from Content Generator.  Useful for recapping at the end of the lesson or for revision.

http://www.rsrevision.com/games/alevel/virtueethics.htm

Ten true or false questions on Virtue Ethics and Aristotle, largely based on definitions of key terms like eudaimonia, go to:

http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/aristotle_quiz.html

Ten true or false questions on Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean, go to:

http://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/mean_quiz.html

Twenty-five multiple-choice questions based on Louis Pojman’s chapter 9 on Virtue Ethics (notes of the chapter are available by clicking here), go to:

http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=9780495502357&discipline_number=10

Excellent reflective questions for class discussion/further thought, again based on Pojman’s chapter 9, (click on menu – questions for reflection, but please note, the virtue ethics questions appear in the previous chapter menu ie you need to go into Kant for them) go to:

http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=9780495502357&discipline_number=10

A powerpoint linking virtue ethics to Jim Covey’s Seven Habits, detailed and interesting, go to:

http://www.auditforum.org/speaker%20presentations/mid%20atlantic/maiaf%2006%202007/mitkus.pdf

Introductory:

A good summary sheet of virtue ethics can be found on:

http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/virtue_ethics/

A superb one-page summary of Aristotle’s views on eudaimonia and the doctrine of the mean, with very useful table and diagrams, go to:

http://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/aristotle.html

Aristotle’s idea of happiness (eudaimonia) is discussed here:

http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/aristotle2.html

A slightly longer, very clear introduction is to be found here:

http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2s.htm#eth

An excellent and very full treatment of Aristotle’s theory within the Greek worldview:

http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/aristotle/

Applying Virtue Ethics at A2

Print out this table and use for any applied issue (sexual issues appears in the heading – which is part of A2).

http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/sex_and_relationships/virtue_theory_and_sex.pdf

Another excellent introduction (highly recommended), with film references, from the University of Lancaster, go to:

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/philosophy/courses/100/100aristotle.htm

Here is a good introductory summary of MacIntyre’s After Virtue:

http://everything2.com/title/Alasdair+MacIntyre%2527s+Reconstructive+Project%253A+Practice%252C+Narrative+and+Tradition

For an excellent summary of the position of many philosophers on virtue ethics, old and new, including Bernard Williams and Alasadair MacIntyre, go to:

http://www.iep.utm.edu/virtue/

For an explanation of Aristotle’s worldview (his epistemology or theory of knowledge) and its link to his ethics, by an American academic, go to:

http://www.drury.edu/ess/reason/aristotle.html

This weblink categories virtue ethics into three phases, virtue 1 (Aristotle), 2 (MacIntyre et al) and 3 (the most recent synthesis) and then encourages us to find our own application and moral heroes. Produced by the centre for ethics in engineering and science, there are also case studies and examples of company ethics statements.

http://cnx.org/content/m13755/1.11/

For a good one page summary of Aristotelean virtue ethics and subsequent discussions go to:

http://members.fortunecity.com/rsrevision/virtueethics.htm

A more advanced article by Gilbert Harman discusses recent amendments to traditional virtue ethics made by Judith Jarvis Thomson.

http://www.princeton.edu/~harman/Papers/Thomson.html

Rosalind Hursthouse, whose influential book on Virtue Ethics is a classic in this area, writes a summary for Stanford University:

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/

Philip Cafaro considers the differences between deontological and eudaimonist ethics and asks whether a synthesis is possible:

http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/TEth/TEthCafa.htm

For a library of Lawrence Hinman’s work on virtue ethics and lecture notes (I particularly enjoyed reading through Stephen Darwall’s lecture notes – not too long, and very clear) from colleagues go to:

http://ethics.sandiego.edu/theories/Aristotle/index.asp

For a more advanced article on the relationship between business ethcis and practical wisdom go to:

http://www.imagilab.org/pdf/wp03/WP25.pdf

And can’t be bothered to read Aristotle for yourself, then click on this link and spend an hour engaging with it.  You will understand then!

http://www.uri.edu/personal/szunjic/philos/nicom.htm

Click here for an ebook version of Aristotle’s Ethics