Various philosophical approaches of virtue ethics present a distinct way of understanding what it entails to live as a good individual. The virtue ethicists strengthen the need for a person to exercise honesty, generosity, trustworthiness, and other morals that "lead to a good life, and place less importance on one's ethical duty or obligations." Among the approaches include Aristotle, Aquinas, Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist.
Western philosopher: Aristotle Perspective
Western philosophes believed that ethics is a skill that a person develops. Thus, they argued individuals to focus on cultivating good virtues and rationality to generate virtuous actions. Aristotle stated that ethical virtues are relative to certain situations since no single rule or decision suits all circumstances. Aristotle believed that people should have a purpose to pursue their good human end, eudemonia, also known as human flourishing. Eudemonia entails the feeling of contentment that leads to living a good life. Aristotle argues that a good life of happiness is achieved only when a person lives a life of virtue that integrates practical wisdom and excellence (Hank, 2016). He believed that when an individual develops a character of excellent ethical wisdom, he/she then produces good actions resulting in a good life. Besides, Aristotle observed that the human soul has three components: the nutritional and sensitive, and appetitive parts. The components are vital to being a human, and they exist in a hierarchical pattern, with the element of reason at the top level. Therefore, for an individual to have a good virtue, he/she should cultivate a stable soul governed by logic and not directed by desires or appetites.
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Eastern philosopher: Buddhism, Perspective
The eastern philosophers also generated their virtues of ethics, and Buddhism is one of them. Buddhism is a philosophical and spiritual thought that teaches people the art of practicing harmony through humility to become free from anguish and suffering. In Buddhism, people act appropriately by reasoning suitably because it is their thinking that leads to good or bad actions. The Buddhism philosophy describes a life of virtue explained by the eightfold path, including mindfulness, livelihood, speech, intention, effort, bodily conduct, concentration, and suitable view (Abumere et al., 2019). When a person makes his/her thoughts and actions suitable, the individual encourages positive outcomes and minimizes harmful consequences. The Buddhists also teach karma, which explains that action and ideas that plan to destroy other people will eventually bring destruction to ourselves and vice versa. Therefore, to avoid future anguish in life, one should develop inner virtue that makes him /her act and think suitably and generate positive outcomes.
The Comparison between Aristotle and Buddhism
The two philosophical concepts, western and eastern, have various common themes. First, they all stress the importance of developing ethical values that leads to human happiness. Secondly, they argue that the more a person practices moral virtues such as honesty, loyalty, love, and caring, the more one strengthens the ethical skills. For instance, in Buddhism, when a person is committed to observing the eightfold path as a way of life, he/she become disposed to follow the rules. Also, virtue ethicists promote good character and wisdom that enable people to apply internalized core ethical principles when determining the ethical course of action in a given circumstance (Abumere et al., 2019). Another trait that Aristotle and Buddhism share is the virtue of moral judgment and choice. Buddhism's moral virtue is midway between the extreme of generating self-mortification and seeking sensual happiness. Subsequently, Aristotle's moral virtues entail weighing virtues and characters between two vices, excess and deficiency. However, despite the similarities, the two approaches have differences. For instance, Buddhism emphasizes teaching the suitable and unsuitable virtues, while the Aristotle virtues focus on educating the sense of right and wrong, good and evil.
In conclusion, both the western and eastern philosophical concepts are essential in people's lives because they encourage the establishment of a moral society. Nonetheless, I believe that Aristotle's is more appealing as it provides a thorough understanding of both intellectual and ethical virtue. Moreover, practicing the ideas of Aristotle, such as eudemonia and moral reasoning, enables a person to live a life of fulfilling happiness.
References
Abumere, F. A., Giles, D., Kao, Y. Y. S., Klenk, M., Kranak, J., MacKay, K., & Rezkalla, P. (2019). Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics . Rebus Community . (https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-phil-ethics/
Hank. (2016). Aristotle & Virtue Ethics Crash Course Philosophy . PBS Digital Studios. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ
