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Single Idea 4349
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / c. Motivation for virtue
]
Full Idea
Virtue must surely be compatible with a fair amount of inarticulacy about one's reasons for action.
Gist of Idea
Virtuous people may not be fully clear about their reasons for action
Source
Rosalind Hursthouse (On Virtue Ethics [1999], Ch.6)
Book Ref
Hursthouse,Rosalind: 'On Virtue Ethics' [OUP 2001], p.127
A Reaction
Virtuous people may be unclear, but we are entitled to hope for clarification from moral philosophers. The least we can hope for is some distinction between virtue and vice.
The
44 ideas
with the same theme
[why people might want to be virtuous]:
6324
|
To gain in goodness, treat as good those who are good, and those who are not
[Laozi (Lao Tzu)]
|
345
|
A good man cannot be harmed, either in life or in death
[Socrates]
|
120
|
Should we avoid evil because it will bring us bad consequences?
[Plato]
|
4332
|
Virtue is a concord of reason and emotion, with pleasure and pain trained to correct ends
[Plato]
|
248
|
A serious desire for moral excellence is very rare indeed
[Plato]
|
253
|
Every crime is the result of excessive self-love
[Plato]
|
263
|
The only worthwhile life is one devoted to physical and moral perfection
[Plato]
|
144
|
Reason impels us towards excellence, which teaches us self-control
[Plato]
|
5944
|
For Plato, virtue is its own reward
[Lawson-Tancred on Plato]
|
170
|
The only slavery which is not dishonourable is slavery to excellence
[Plato]
|
182
|
The first step on the right path is the contemplation of physical beauty when young
[Plato]
|
5225
|
The end of virtue is what is right and honourable or fine
[Aristotle]
|
56
|
A person is good if they act from choice, and for the sake of the actions in themselves
[Aristotle]
|
93
|
Existence is desirable if one is conscious of one's own goodness
[Aristotle]
|
22557
|
Virtuous people are like the citizens of the best city
[Aristotle]
|
2841
|
People become good because of nature, habit and reason
[Aristotle]
|
1841
|
We choose virtue because of pleasure, not for its own sake
[Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
|
497
|
Be virtuous from duty, not from fear
[Democritus (attr)]
|
503
|
Virtue doesn't just avoid evil, but also doesn't desire it
[Democritus (attr)]
|
518
|
A bad life is just a drawn-out death
[Democritus (attr)]
|
2672
|
Virtues must be very detached, to avoid being motivated by pleasure
[Cicero]
|
6290
|
Except ye become as little children, ye shall not enter heaven
[Jesus]
|
13559
|
I seek virtue, because it is its own reward
[Seneca]
|
23354
|
If someone harms themselves in harming me, then I harm myself by returning the harm
[Epictetus]
|
18444
|
Civil virtues make us behave benevolently, and thereby unite citizens
[Porphyry]
|
18445
|
Civil virtues control the passions, and make us conform to our nature
[Porphyry]
|
18446
|
Purificatory virtues detach the soul completely from the passions
[Porphyry]
|
20482
|
Virtue inspires Stoics, but I want a good temperament
[Montaigne]
|
2383
|
Virtues are a means to peaceful, sociable and comfortable living
[Hobbes]
|
7913
|
Virtue doesn't go far without the support of vanity
[Rochefoucauld]
|
4580
|
All virtues benefit either the public, or the individual who possesses them
[Hume]
|
21436
|
We are obliged to show the social virtues, but at least they make a virtuous disposition fashionable
[Kant]
|
1456
|
Moral law is holy, and the best we can do is achieve virtue through respect for the law
[Kant]
|
3771
|
Virtues only have value because they achieve some further end
[Mill]
|
14817
|
The 'good' man does the moral thing as if by nature, easily and gladly, after a long inheritance
[Nietzsche]
|
4511
|
We would avoid a person who always needed reasons for remaining decent
[Nietzsche]
|
4512
|
Virtue is pursued from self-interest and prudence, and reduces people to non-entities
[Nietzsche]
|
9251
|
One can be virtuous through a whim
[Camus]
|
22468
|
Virtues can have aims, but good states of affairs are not among them
[Foot]
|
4112
|
A crucial feature of moral thought is second-order desire - the desire to have certain desires
[Williams,B]
|
3541
|
Ancient ethics uses attractive notions, not imperatives
[Annas]
|
4349
|
Virtuous people may not be fully clear about their reasons for action
[Hursthouse]
|
4352
|
Performing an act simply because it is virtuous is sufficient to be 'morally motivated' or 'dutiful'
[Hursthouse]
|
4353
|
If moral motivation is an all-or-nothing sense of duty, how can children act morally?
[Hursthouse]
|