Aristotle was the first philosopher to significantly contribute to the theory of virtue ethics. Virtue ethics is an approach that emphasises an individual’s character as the key element of ethical thinking rather than rules about the acts themselves or their consequences. According to Aristotle, everything in the world has a telos, which means an end or a purpose. He believes that goodness lies in achieving this telos. Aristotle claims that “… for all things that have a function or an activity, which is directed towards its telos, the ‘good’ and the ‘well’ is thought to reside in the function.” In other words, he claims that in achieving its function, goal or end, an object meets its own good. Every object has a true function, and hence, has a way of attaining goodness.
This teleological (function and purpose) based worldview is the necessary backdrop for understanding Aristotle’s ethical reasoning. For example, just as a chair has a true function or end, so does Aristotle believe human beings have a telos. Aristotle’s argument goes like this. All objects have a telos.An object is good when it properly secures its telos. At this point, Aristotle specifically directs his thinking towards human beings. The telos of a human being is to reason. The ‘good’ for a human being is, therefore, acting by reason. In exercising our true function, Aristotle looks to that feature that separates man from other living animals. He says that human being has a nutritive principle shared with plants, an instinctual principle shared with animals and on top of the nutritive and instinctual principles, there exists a rational principle, that is, the ability to carry out rationally formulated projects. This principle is the foundation of human beings’ virtuous life. It was Aristotle who first defined a human being as a rational animal. According to Aristotle, what separates humankind from the rest of the world is our ability to not only reason but also to act on reasons.
Thinking before we act is a sign of wisdom; acting before we think leads to regretful consequences. We must make use of our rational capacity to be aware of what we think, what we speak and what we do. This awareness will automatically direct us to a virtuous life. Therefore, think, speak and act wisely.
Fr Joseph Pallattil
