Aristotle's moral theory is based not on trying to find the right thing to do, but on the formation of good habits, or virtue.

 

In Aristotle's view humans have a capacity for virtue that can and should be developed as part of an individual's progress to fulfilment. Aristotle lists about a dozen virtues that require such development, and describes them in terms of a mean between deficiency and excess, the mean being good and the extremes bad. For example, the virtue courage is a mean lying between cowardice (not enough courage) and recklessness (too much courage).

 

Virtues for Aristotle are more like skills than knowledge, in the sense that they are acquired through practice, not just acquaintance.

 

He points out that humanity is a social species in which individuals achieve much more through cooperation with others than they could ever do by themselves alone. The acquisition of virtue is important for each individual because it helps him and others realise their full potential as contributing and receiving members of a successful society.

 

Material:

2 videos mainly about Aristotle's Virtue Ethics:

Video 1  (9.21 minutes). Video 2 (13.28 minutes)

3rd video has some alternative lists of virtues and gives a wider context: 

Video 3  (3.43 minutes)

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