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    Rosalind Hursthouse's agent-centered eudaimonism demonstr... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→A theory counts as an agent-based form of virtue ethics only if the normative properties of motivations and dispositions cannot be explained in terms of something more fundamental (such as eudaimonia or states of affairs).

    Rosalind Hursthouse's agent-centered eudaimonism demonstrates that normative force can flow bidirectionally between character and flourishing, undermining the claim that derivability from eudaimonia disqualifies a theory from being genuinely agent-based.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Virtues constitutively define human flourishing, so deriving actions from virtue doesn't reduce agency—it expresses the agent's developed character.
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    • 2.Agent-centeredness requires that character be normatively foundational, not that conclusions avoid eudaimonia. Hursthouse makes character primary.
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    • 3.Bidirectional normativity (flourishing informs virtue; virtue informs action) preserves agent-centered focus better than unidirectional derivation.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.If eudaimonia ultimately justifies virtuous action, the agent's character remains instrumentally valuable rather than foundationally normative.
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    • 2.Bidirectional flow between character and flourishing can obscure whether character has independent normative weight or merely implements eudaimonic ends.
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    • 3.Agent-based theories historically distinguish themselves by making character primary; deriving norms from flourishing risks collapsing into teleological consequentialism.
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    Key Terms

    Agent-based theory(The main subject of the statement)
    An ethical approach that focuses on the character and choices of the person acting, rather than on rules or consequences.
    Agent-centered eudaimonism(as the main philosophical approach being discussed)
    An ethical theory that says the right way to live is by developing good character traits and achieving human flourishing, with the focus on what kind of person you become rather than following rules.
    Bidirectional(as used in logic and reasoning)
    Moving or working in both directions at the same time, rather than just one way.
    Derivability(as used in logic and mathematics)
    The ability to prove or work out a conclusion by following a step-by-step process of logical rules from your starting assumptions.
    Rosalind Hursthouse(as a philosopher arguing about virtue and morality)
    A contemporary British philosopher who specializes in virtue ethics and animal ethics; she's known for reviving and developing Aristotle's ideas about how being a good person means developing good character traits and habits.
    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
    normative force(Used to describe what Korsgaard's account aims to explain)
    The property in virtue of which an agent's reasons are binding on the agent.

    Connections

    1 topic

    Virtue Ethics1 linked

    Related

    A theory counts as an agent-based form of virtue ethics only if the normative pr...Agent-based theories historically distinguish themselves by making character pri...Agent-centeredness requires that character be normatively foundational, not that...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Bidirectional flow between character and flourishing can obscure whether charact...
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    Bidirectional normativity (flourishing informs virtue; virtue informs action) pr...If eudaimonia ultimately justifies virtuous action, the agent's character remain...Virtues constitutively define human flourishing, so deriving actions from virtue...