Philosophy & Meaning

Eudaimonia / Virtue Ethics

mainstream Classical c. 350 BCE

Aristotle’s view that the good life consists of flourishing (eudaimonia) achieved by cultivating virtuous character and exercising reason well, rather than through pleasure or duty alone.

Proponents

Aristotle

Evidence For

Offers an integrated account connecting ethics, meaning, and human psychology, and underwent a major 20th-century revival as a serious rival to consequentialism and deontology.

Evidence Against

Critics note it can be culturally relative in defining which traits count as "virtues," and offers less clear-cut guidance for resolving specific moral dilemmas than rule-based systems.

Transmissions

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