Aristotle's View Of Virtue In Teaching Philosophy

This essay will provide an account that shows it is better for a teacher to demonstrate virtue, such as courage rather than to act according to a moral principle, such as duty. It is in a classroom where a seed is planted and the growth and development of an individual begins, whereby they are taught virtues and ethics in order to deal with a dilemma in a morally correct manner in the future. By reflecting on my own experience in the classroom during my Teaching Experience this year, the argument will be substantiated and a critical discussion will develop. Particular attention will be drawn towards Aristotle’s view of virtues and Kant’s view of moral principles. Thereafter, a consolidation will be necessary to determine whether or not these

This is the kernel factor in understanding Aristotle’s argument. But in order to become virtuous, one has to be educated so that they can adopt a habit. Aristotle’s view is guided by the notion that all individuals seek to flourish and seek to be happy; therefore they will do so by becoming virtuous (Gilkey, 2008). A learner will become virtuous by the influence of the environment they find themselves in. When they are much younger, they are taught to share with people, to be involved in playing sports, to be brave, to have courage and to be friendly which ultimately contributes to forming a habit, making these habits/virtues innate (Gilkey, 2008). It is only when they are much older do they understand the value and the importance of these habits and that by having them they have moulded their character and the person they are today. In order for learners to acquire these virtues and habits, the best way would be for them to be exhibited – if you are in a situation that you need guidance in what you should do, you will look to someone who is virtuous and this would be evident as the individual would be flourishing (Gilkey, 2008). Learners will of course acquire virtues from their parents, but a teacher has the crucial role of demonstrating virtues such as courage so that the learners can learn from the teacher and develop their character. Therefore it is evident that Aristotle’s argument of

Virtue ethics is more about ‘being’ whereas moral ethics is more about ‘doing’ (Rondall, 2014). In order to act and behave in a morally correct way, one has to have a character and virtues that will support it. Being a virtuous person will enable you to act according to moral principle; however you cannot act according to moral principle and do your duty if you do not have the virtues that allow for this. Kant suggests that good will is achieved through intent, contributing to the argument that one cannot act morally if their intentions have ulterior motives (Rondall, 2014). The motivation behind duty is having the respect for moral law, thus inferring that one has to have respect which is gained through practice, learnt by habituation and taught from example (Johnson & Cureton, 2016). As a teacher, it is without doubt crucial to act according to moral principle, which stems from reasoning and not from experience, so that learners will be able to distinguish right from wrong (Johnson & Cureton, 2016). One should not consider it to be less important but it is better for virtues to be demonstrated so that a foundation is formed to act according to moral principle. However a cycle is formed where teachers’ exhibit virtues so that they are ‘caught’ then ‘taught’ before/while acting according to moral principle (Jubilee