Thinking about Virtue

The views on ethics vary among different philosophers but St. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle believes that human beings targets moral good and avoid things that are morally wrong. Both philosophers agree on the role of nature in defining a man but disagree on the point of man’s desire and good. The argument of Aquinas emphasizes on God that designs foundations for humans and encourage them towards moral good. The philosophy of Aristotle focuses more on good habits and identifies habits as the main factor that encourages human towards moral good. Moral habits help people to perform actions that are morally right.

Aristotle agrees with Thomas to the extent that nature has an effective role in defining virtues. Virtues motivate people towards good actions and help them to avoid wrong conduct. The Higher power of God acts in the form of virtues and minimizes the chances of actions that are morally wrong. However, one main point of disagreement is Aristotle’s avoidance of using natural law. Aristotle does not rely his thoughts on the existence of God, and he emphasizes more on principles of rationality. Rationality defined by Aristotle reflects economic and social welfare. The other disagreement appears in the form of rational thinking. Thomas believes that moral habits and God’s concept prevent people from wrong conducts while Aristotle believes the concept of rational choice prevents them from moral wrong.

Phillipa presents modern views about the morality and just actions. Phillipa focuses on the concept of human will and identify the role of will in the choice between rights and wrong actions. Foot compares the efforts and virtuous thinking. Views of Foot agree on the concept of virtue explained by Aristotle. Both Foot and Aristotle agrees that pleasure distracts human beings from right actions. The desire to attain wealth and happiness encourages people to choose wrong actions.