Aristotelian Virtue Theory Essay

A Glimpse into Aristotelian moral theory

When it comes to philosophy and philosophers there are many great thinkers that seem to originate in one’s mind. One philosopher that many had heard in some form is the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle is one the most recognized philosopher, dating all the way back to over 350 B.C. Aristotle has thought up great theories that have affected almost every aspect of human knowledge. His wide range of wisdom has shaped history forever. Aristotle’s ethics has been described teleological, meaning that all things are for the interests of humans. With that said one of his many theories that deserves more attention than the rest is Aristotle’s virtue theory. The virtue theory encompasses the meaning

Moral relativism is “the view that moral judgments are true or false only relative to some particular standpoint (for instance, that of a culture or a historical period) and that no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others” (Moseley). In simpler terms, right and wrong does not have a universal meaning. No one viewpoint on a subject is better than others, everyone interprets morals differently. Although people do assume that their ways of life are right, while others are wrong. Some examples of this are religion, culture and imperialism. That’s not the case, moral relativism argues that there is no way to prove that one moral code, culture, and opinions is better than another without being biased. Therefore in order to fully believe in moral relativism one must look thought the eyes of others and accept that every view is equal. In Aristotle’s theory, viewpoints of others are not taken in to the fullest degree and is interpreted in another way. Aristotle reasons that one’s actions can be justified without regard to others morals, even though the interests of the community are greater than the individual. Concluding that moral relativism and virtue theory are not the same