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Module 6: Virtue Ethics I

Aristotelian, Confucian, and Buddhist Ethics

Lesson 1: Aristotelian Ethics

For Aristotle (384-322 BCE), the good life for humans is a happy (or flourishing) life,
which is achieved when they conduct their lives in accordance with reason. The
distinctive function or activity of human beings is to conduct their lives according to
reason.

Lesson 1.1: Happiness and Virtues

Happiness (or flourishing—from the Greek word “eudaimonia”) is the ultimate end or
goal of humans because of all their goals in life it is the only one that has all the
following features:

(a) self-sufficient (i.e., once achieved makes life complete, lacking in nothing);
(b) final (i.e., always desired for its own sake, never for the sake of something else); and
(c) attainable.

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 Happiness is achieved through virtue, which is the excellence of a thing in terms of
the exercise of its proper functions. For instance, the excellence of a guitar is its
good sound when played; the excellence of a knife is achieved when it cuts well.

With regard to humans, what differentiate them from the rest of nature are their
capacities of reason and will, which constitute their proper functions.

The excellence of reason requires intellectual virtues, while that of the will
requires practical or moral virtues. Intellectual virtues are acquired through study
or instruction and shown by knowledge; while moral virtues are acquired through
practice and formation of habits and are shown by practical actions.

Lesson 1.2: The Golden Mean

Moral virtues are character traits which lie in between the two extreme forms of
these traits: the excessive and deficient forms.

Examples: with regard to the feeling of confidence, the mean is courage, the excess
is rash, and the deficiency is cowardice; with regard to giving and taking of money,
the mean is liberality, the excess is prodigality, and the deficiency is meanness; and
with regard to honor and dishonor, the mean is proper pride, the excess is empty
vanity, and the deficiency is undue humility. (See table in the next slide for more
examples.)

Note: (1) There is no mean for an excess or a deficiency, for instance, there is no
mean for greed or for cowardice. (2) The mean is not absolute; it is relative to an
individual and circumstance. For instance, what is courageous may vary from one
person to another, from one circumstance to another.

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 Lesson 2: Confucian Ethics

Lesson 2.1: The Noble Person

The noble person (or the superior person) (“junzi,” “chun-tzu”) originally referred to a
person born in an aristocratic family. A person becomes a noble person solely by
virtue of his/her birth or parentage.

A person not born as a noble person could never aspire to become one; and nobility
cannot be taken away from a person.

Confucius (551-479 BCE) changed the concept of a noble person into a purely
moral one.

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 A person becomes a noble person solely by virtue of his/her noble character or good
conduct. Everyone can be a noble person, regardless of the circumstances of his/her
birth, if he/she (a) acts in harmony with the mandate of heaven, (b) knows his/her duties
in the various relationships he/she is in and acts accordingly, and (c) practices the
cardinal/Confucian virtues.

The Mandate of Heaven

Confucians and Taoists believe in the Tao, which means Way or Path, as the
ultimate principle governing the universe and which must be realized by every
human being in his/her actions.

For the Taoists, the Tao is beyond concepts and words and thus no amount of
education will enable us to know or talk about the Tao. What we can do is simply go
with its flow, as manifested in the way nature moves. But for the Confucians, the
Tao is contained in the Mandate of Heaven, which can be known through proper
education.

The ideal of Confucians is to know the Way of Heaven through education and to
conduct their lives accordingly. Confucians do not speak of a God or gods to ground
or justify their beliefs and practices. They instead speak of the Way or the Mandate
of Heaven.

The Basic Relationships

There are 5 basic relationships from which other forms of relationships develop:

(1) parent-child;

(2) elder sibling-younger sibling;

(3) husband-wife;

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 (4) elder friend-younger friend; and

(5) ruler-subject.

Each party in the relationship has duties or responsibilities towards the other party.
It is only when the reciprocal responsibilities of a relationship are done that there will
be harmony in that relationship. And if we think of society as consisting of various
human relationships, then society will only achieve harmony if each of the
relationships that constitute it is in harmony.

Rectification of Names

Everyone should know and do the appropriate duties or responsibilities of every role
that he/she assumes in society. The roles that we play are defined by certain names
or designations like the names “father,” “son,” “elder,” and “ruler.”Rectification of
these names means clarification of the duties or responsibilities required of each
person who is assigned or who assumes these names/designations and ensuring
that they are properly done.

Thus, if you are called a “father” then know and do what a father must do; if you are
called a “ruler” then know and do what a ruler must do, and so on. Social
disharmony arises if we do not know and do the responsibilities implied by our
designations or names.

Lesson 2.2: The Confucian Virtues / “The Cardinal Virtues”

1.) Ren (jen) or benevolence or humaneness: generally doing things that benefit
other people. A person practicing ren has compassion for others.

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 2.) Li or propriety: generally doing things that are appropriate in a given situation. It
originally refers to proper ways of performing religious rites and to proper behavior in
court ceremonies. In its general meaning, however, it includes proper ways of speaking,
behaving, dressing, and others, in given social situations. When the virtue of li is
internalized, the result is the virtue of yi (“Yi is internalized li”).

3.) Shu or reciprocity: generally doing things in accordance to the Golden Rule: “Do
not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.”

4.) Xiao or filial piety: generally doing things that show love, respect, and devotion to
the members of one’s family. Special emphasis, however, is put on the duty of children
to respect and take care of their parents. The living and those who passed away
constitute the Chinese concept of family; thus the virtue of xiao includes the celebration
of ancestral rites that prescribe specific actions, offerings and prayers.

5.) Wen or culture: generally doing things that cultivate one’s sense and appreciation
of culture, which includes acquiring artistic skills (in the areas of music, painting, dance,
and others) and art appreciation (like watching concerts, visiting art museums, attending
art exhibits, and others).

Some scholars have the following list: (1) humaneness (ren), (2)
righteousness (yi), (3)ritual/propriety (li), (4) wisdom (zhi) and (5)
faithfulness (xin).

Some Comparisons between Aristotelian and Confucian Ethics

Aristotle: the virtuous person is one who achieves excellence in performing his/her
natural functions or functions as designated by nature. The goal is happiness and being

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 virtuous is the means. Moral virtues are character traits which lie in the middle of the
vices of excess and deficiency.

Confucius: the virtuous person is a noble person who performs his/her social roles
according the mandate of heaven and in consideration of traditions and customs.

Aristotle’s virtue ethics is more of a natural kind of ethics, while Confucius’s is a

combination of social and natural kinds of ethics.

Lesson 3: Buddhist Ethics

Lesson 3.1: The Human Condition

General Features of the World

Humans live in a world characterized by:

Impermanence: everything changes.

Emptiness: nothing has intrinsic nature; there is no permanent basis for everything.

Dharma: events in the world follow causal laws; the world has an inherent causal
order.

Dependent Origination: all thing are causally interconnected; nothing happens in a

void or in isolation; anything that happens affects everything else.

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 Basic Features of Human Existence
Humans live a life characterized by:

No-self: a person is always changing and his/her self (i.e., his/her sense of who
he/she is) has no unchanging base (usually thought of as corresponding to the
soul); the notion of a self is just a combination of various physical and mental
elements.

Samsara: rebirth; the continuous cycle of dying and being reborn.

Karma: the moral order in the universe—good actions will bear good consequences
and bad actions will bear bad consequences; there is no escape from the
consequences of one’s actions—if not in one’s current life, they will be experienced
in one’s future lives.

Suffering: the natural result of the basic features of the world and the above
features of human existence; suffering is a fundamental fact of human existence.

Liberation from Suffering (Nirvana)

Humans can be liberated from a life of suffering by following the moral teachings of the
Buddha (the totality of the teachings of the Buddha is also called “Dharma”).

Prince Siddhartha Gautama (5th – 4th Century BCE) sought to achieve

enlightenment to put an end to suffering. After experiencing both extreme forms of
living, a life of self-indulgence (as a prince) and self-denial (as an ascetic in the
forest), and meditating under a bodhi tree for several days, he achieved
enlightenment and became “TheBuddha”-which means ”The Enlightened One.”

The Buddha (or Gautama Buddha) teaches that the way to achieve enlightenment
and thus end a life of suffering is living the Middle Path—the path in between the

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 two extremes of self-indulgence and self-denial. The key to the living the Middle
Path is knowing the Four Noble Truths, practicing the Eight-fold Path, and
cultivating certain virtues by following certain moral precepts.

Lesson 3.2: The Moral Teachings

The good life is an enlightened life, achieved by following the moral teachings of the
Buddha.

The Four Noble Truths

1.) Suffering exists.

Sufferings (physical and mental) are an undeniable fact of life.

2.) Suffering arises from craving.

Craving / clinging desires--those that get attached to their objects.

Non-craving / non-clinging desires--those that do not get attached to their

objects.

3.) Eliminating craving eliminates suffering.

Cultivate non-clinging desires and eliminate clinging desires/cravings.

4.) The way to eliminate craving is by following the Eight-fold Path.

The Eight-fold Path

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 The Five Precepts
Practicing the precepts cultivate the Buddhist virtues.

1.) I should refrain from killing and harming living beings.

Cultivates the virtues of ahimsa (non-violence), compassion, and kindness.

2.) I should refrain from stealing.

Cultivates the virtues of generosity and renunciation.

3.) I should refrain from engaging in sexual misconduct.

Cultivates the virtues of contentment and respect for faithfulness.

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 4.) I should refrain from lying.

Cultivates the virtues of honesty and trustworthiness.

5.) I should refrain from drinking alcohol.

Cultivates the virtues of mindfulness and responsibility.

Special Precepts
During holy days, 3 precepts are added:

6.) I should refrain from eating at the wrong time.

7.) I should refrain from singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment
performances, wearing perfume, and using cosmetics and garlands (decorative
accessories).

8.) I should refrain from sitting or sleeping in luxurious places, and oversleeping.
(The totality is called the “Eight Precepts.”)

Novice Monks and Nuns practice an additional precept:

I should refrain from accepting money.

(With the 7th precept divided into two, the totality is called the “Ten Precepts.”)

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