Richard Kraut and David Wiggins have argued that phronesis and virtue jointly constitute the capacity to identify eudaimonia as the correct end, making the end-setting function non-derivative.

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Reasons For

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Reason for

1.Virtue enables perception of genuine goods; without virtue, agents mistake apparent for real ends, making virtue constitutive of end-identification.
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2.Phronesis requires understanding why eudaimonia is choiceworthy for its own sake, not derived from prior instrumental reasoning about means.
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3.If end-setting were derivative from non-virtue sources, virtue would merely execute predetermined goals, reducing its role to technical skill, not wisdom.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

1.Natural human flourishing can be identified through biological and psychological observation independent of whether virtuous agents recognize it.
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2.Virtuous people may *articulate* eudaimonia well, but this explanatory capacity doesn't prove virtue *constitutes* rather than *expresses* the end itself.
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3.If phronesis jointly constitutes the end, non-virtuous observers cannot even recognize that virtuous people possess the correct end—an implausible epistemic closure.
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Key Terms

David Wiggins(as a modern philosopher cited for his work on virtue ethics): A British philosopher known for his work on metaphysics, logic, and ethics, including interpretations of Aristotelian philosophy.
End (or end goal)(as philosophy's term for ultimate objectives): The ultimate purpose or goal that something aims toward; in ethics, the final outcome or state of living that a person should pursue.
Non-derivative(as a philosophical term describing the nature of eudaimonia as a goal): Something that is fundamental and doesn't depend on or come from something else; it's a basic starting point rather than a conclusion drawn from other principles.
Richard Kraut(as a modern philosopher cited for his work on virtue ethics): A contemporary philosopher who specializes in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Aristotle's ethics and the concept of human flourishing.
eudaimonia(Aristotle's ethical theory; the broadest sense of the good life): Often translated as 'happiness'; for Aristotle, consists in being a virtuous person over a complete life, requiring both virtuous qualities/dispositions and acting on them
phronesis(Aristotelian notion as employed by Arendt): Practical wisdom exercised by a few experienced individuals (the phronimoi) who have demonstrated judiciousness in practical matters over time; validity rests on their experience and past record of judicious actions.
virtue(Valla's voluntarist account of virtue): A quality that resides in the will, governing actions to which moral qualifications are assigned.

Connections

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Virtue Ethics1 linked

If end-setting were derivative from non-virtue sources, virtue would merely exec...If phronesis jointly constitutes the end, non-virtuous observers cannot even rec...Natural human flourishing can be identified through biological and psychological...Phronesis requires understanding why eudaimonia is choiceworthy for its own sake...

Details

Type: claim
Perspectives: 2 (1 for, 1 against)
Edits: 1 edit