Relevance: mains: G.S paper IV: Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
Abundant of ancient Greek moral theories are concerned with the good life for human beings, or, in a word, happiness. Ethical thinking is vital part of human history. It can be religious or theoretical or geared toward practical application. Ethical thinkers can be grouped into ancient thinker, moral thinkers from modern world and moral thinkers of India from ancient to present day (Santosh Ajmera, Nanda Kishore Reddy, 2015).
In developing moral standards in their moral theories, the ancient philosophers were depended on several important concepts. These include the virtues, happiness (eudaimonia), and the soul. Philosophers claimed that virtue is a good of the soul. In some ways, this claim is found in many traditions. Many thinkers debated that being moral does not necessarily provide physical beauty, health, or prosperity. Rather, as something good, virtue must be understood as belonging to the soul, it is a psychological good. However, in order to explain virtue as a good of the soul, one does not have to hold that the soul is immortal. On the contrary, ancient moral theory enlightens morality in terms that focus on the moral agent. These thinkers are interested in what constitutes, e.g., a just person. They emphasized factors such as the state of mind and character, the set of values, the attitudes to oneself and to others, and the conception of one’s own place in the common life of a community that belong to just persons simply insofar as they are just. A modern might object that this way of proceeding is backwards. Just actions are logically prior to just persons and must be specifiable in advance of any account of what it is to be a just person.
The development of a moral character is a scholarly matter that has been argued for many years. Many philosophers have argued the point of their existence with the puzzlement of this subject. This has allowed the philosophers to approach this topic in several ways. These philosophers are Aristotle (in the Nicomachean Ethics), Confucius (in Analects) and Plato (in Apology, Phaedo). To analyse these philosophers judgementally, it is important to appraise their moral arguments and principles. A moral character is elucidated as an idea in which one is unique and can be distinguished from others. Perhaps it can amass qualities and traits that are different from various individuals. It suggests to the way individuals act, or how they express themselves. It can be said that it is “human excellence,” or unique thoughts of a character. When the concept of virtue is spoken, this would emphasize the distinctiveness or specialty, but it all involves the combination of qualities that make an individual the way he or she is. Although these philosophers deviate with their arguments, they have some similar views on moral thinking.
Aristotle
Aristotle is one of influential philosophers whom stressed a virtuous character. He states, “Excellence [of character], then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it. Now it is a mean between two evils, which depends on excess and that which depend on defect.” A character is a state, whereas, the actions determine the way the person acts. A virtuous character is not a feeling or mere tendency to behave in a certain way. Aristotle argued about different virtues. Virtues relate to the feelings and actions from each individual. For example, the virtue of a relaxed person may be clarified with bad temper. Additionally, Aristotle argued that people get angry at certain things and redundantly stepping up to what he or she thinks is right. Conversely, as Aristotle affirmed that the deficient of this character is punitive and intolerable. Regardless of any situation, it is unsuitable to become angry when it is not worth it. If doing so, again indicates a deficient non-virtuous moral character. Aristotle also referred to any non-virtuous person by inner doubt and predicaments. Even though the person may be single-minded or inconsiderate, he or she must be able to look out for companions to pardon their actions. Aristotle argued that these spiteful people are not able to believe in themselves. On the other hand, virtuous individuals, gain pleasure in their actions (Santosh Ajmera, Nanda Kishore Reddy, 2015).
Aristotle’s principles about moral concept had contrasted with Plato’s attitude. Plato argued that incontinence occurs when a person’s desires move him to progress or act in the way that he or she wants to perform. Numerous studies have indicated that Aristotle differed from Plato in his technique of inquiry and his conception of the role of ethical principles in human affairs. While Plato was the fountainhead of religious and idealistic ethics, Aristotle created the naturalistic tradition. Aristotle’s ethical writings (i.e. Eudemian Ethics, the Nicomachean Ethics, and the Politics) constitute the first systematic investigation into the foundations of ethics. Aristotle’s account of the virtues could be seen as one of the first sustained inquiries in normative ethics. It can be well recognized that Aristotle was a towering philosopher of his time in the arena of ancient Greek philosophy that made contribution to Meta physics, mathematics, logic, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agricultural, medicine, dance and theatre. He was more empirical minded than Plato or Socrates and was famous for disapproving Plato’s moral theory. His ethnical thoughts are still relevant and has influence of virtue ethics. He expanded the notion of happiness through analysis of soul which structures and animates living human organism (Santosh Ajmera, Nanda Kishore Reddy, 2015).
The part of soul are divided as under:
| Calculative – Intellectual Virtue | |
| Rational | |
| Appetite – Moral Virtue | |
| Irrational | |
| Vegetative – Nutritional Virtue |
The human soul has an irrational element which is shared with the animals a rational coherent element which is distinctly human. The most primitive irrational element is the vegetative faculty who is responsible for nutrition and growth. The second tier of soul is the appetite faculty which is responsible for our emotion and desires. This faculty is most rational and irrational. It is irrational since even animals experience desires. However, it is also rational since humans have the distinct ability to control these desires with the help of reason. The human ability to properly control these desires is called moral virtues and is focus of morality. Aristotle observed that there is purely rational part of soul, the calculative, which is responsible for the human ability to contemplate reason logically and formulate scientific principles. These mastery of abilities is called intellectual virtues.
Major part of Aristotle’s moral virtue is the principle of mean. This principle states that moral virtues are desire regulating character traits which are at a mean between more extreme character traits.