Is the good life a matter of developing virtuous character and practical wisdom, as Aristotle argues, or does virtue theory fail to tell us what to do?
Component 3 virtue theory: Aristotle's account of eudaimonia, the doctrine of the mean, moral and intellectual virtues, and the role of practical wisdom, with strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to Aristotle's virtue theory. Covers eudaimonia as the final end, the function argument, the doctrine of the mean, moral and intellectual virtues, practical wisdom (phronesis) and habituation, and the strengths and weaknesses the exam asks you to evaluate.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas Component 3 (Theme 1, Ethical Thought) studies virtue theory, the agent-centred ethics of Aristotle. You learn his account of eudaimonia (flourishing) as the final end, the function argument, the doctrine of the mean, the distinction between moral and intellectual virtues, and the role of practical wisdom (phronesis) and habituation. The exam rewards explaining the theory precisely (AO1) and evaluating whether virtue theory succeeds as an ethic, especially the charge that it does not tell us what to do (AO2).
The answer
Eudaimonia and the function argument
The doctrine of the mean
Moral and intellectual virtues, and phronesis
Habituation, strengths and weaknesses
We become virtuous by habituation: by doing courageous acts we become courageous, until virtue is second nature. Strengths: virtue theory captures character, motivation and judgement that act-centred theories ignore; it is realistic about moral development and education; and it has been revived (and Christianised by Aquinas, adding the theological virtues of faith, hope and love). Weaknesses: it is not directly action-guiding (no clear decision procedure for dilemmas); the mean is vague; virtues can conflict (honesty against kindness); and it may be culturally relative (which traits count as virtues?).
Examples in context
Try this
Q1. Explain the role of practical wisdom (phronesis) in Aristotle's ethics. [part (a), AO1, 20 marks]
- What the marker wants. Accurate account of phronesis as an intellectual virtue that judges how to act in particular cases and guides the moral virtues to the mean, organised and using specialist terms. AO1 band.
Q2. "Virtue theory is a better guide to the moral life than rule-based ethics." Evaluate this view. [part (b), AO2, 30 marks]
- Cue. Weigh virtue theory's strengths (character, motivation, judgement, realism) against its lack of a decision procedure and the action-guiding clarity of rule-based theories, and judge. AO2 band, the larger 30-mark tariff.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas A120 2018 (style)20 marksExplain Aristotle's virtue theory, including eudaimonia and the doctrine of the mean. [part (a), AO1, 20 marks]Show worked answer →
A part (a) AO1 question on the five-band scheme. Explain the theory accurately.
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics) holds that all activity aims at some good, and the final end, sought for its own sake, is eudaimonia (flourishing, "living well"). The function argument: a thing is good when it performs its function well, and the human function is reasoning, so the good human life is a life of activity in accordance with reason and virtue. Virtues are dispositions of character. Moral virtues (courage, temperance, generosity) are acquired by habit and lie at the mean between two vices of excess and deficiency (courage is the mean between recklessness and cowardice); the mean is relative to the person and found by practical wisdom. Intellectual virtues (including phronesis, practical wisdom) are acquired by teaching. Phronesis guides the application of the virtues. A top band answer explains eudaimonia, the function argument, the mean and phronesis.
Eduqas A120 2021 (style)20 marks"Virtue theory fails because it does not tell us what to do." Evaluate this view. [part (b), AO2, the full Eduqas tariff is 30 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.]Show worked answer →
A part (b) AO2 question; the top band rewards balanced argument and a justified conclusion.
For the view: virtue theory is agent-centred (what kind of person to be), not act-centred (what to do), so it gives no clear decision procedure; the doctrine of the mean is vague; in a dilemma "be courageous" does not say whether to act; virtues can conflict (honesty vs kindness). Against: this is a strength, not a failure, since it captures the role of character and judgement that rule-based theories miss; phronesis (practical wisdom) does guide action, and asking "what would the virtuous person do?" is action-guiding. Weigh whether the lack of a decision procedure is a fatal flaw or a realistic feature, and conclude.
Related dot points
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An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to divine command theory. Covers the claim that morality is grounded in God's commands, the Euthyphro dilemma (is an act good because God commands it, or commanded because it is good), modified divine command theory, and the strengths and weaknesses the exam asks you to evaluate.
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- Component 3 Aquinas's natural law: the four tiers of law, the primary and secondary precepts, real and apparent goods, the doctrine of double effect, and its application to issues of life and death, with strengths and weaknesses.
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- Component 3 the relationship between religion and morality: the autonomy, heteronomy and theonomy of ethics, whether morality needs God, and the views of Kant, Aquinas and secular critics, with strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to the relationship between religion and morality. Covers the autonomy, heteronomy and theonomy of ethics, whether morality depends on God, the Euthyphro problem, Kant's postulate of God, and secular accounts of morality, with the strengths and weaknesses the exam asks you to evaluate.
- Component 3 utilitarianism: Bentham's act utilitarianism (principle of utility, hedonic calculus) and Mill's rule utilitarianism (higher and lower pleasures, the harm principle), with their application to life and death and their strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to utilitarianism. Covers Bentham's act utilitarianism (the principle of utility and the hedonic calculus), Mill's rule utilitarianism (higher and lower pleasures, the harm principle), the application to issues of life and death, and the strengths and weaknesses (calculation, justice, demandingness) the exam asks you to evaluate.
Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas A Level Religious Studies specification (A120QS) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics — Project Gutenberg