 Aristotle and EconomicsRobert Allinson Chapter 9 in Handbook of Spirituality and Business, 2011, pp 69-79 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract It is commonly put forth that Aristotle’s ethics is a virtue ethics. This is contrasted with ethics that is orientated toward right actions. For Aristotle, this is a pseudo-distinction. One cannot build one’s virtues except through performing right actions. For Aristotle, one performs right actions for their own sake, not for the sake of building virtues or even building character. But the performance of noble deeds, which is the ultimate counsel to life that Aristotle gives, has as its natural consequence the building of virtue and the building of character. This, in turn, brings happiness. Since none of Aristotle’s writings is extant, it is not easy to ferret out Aristotle’s meaning. However, if one reads the lecture notes of Aristotle’s students with some care, it is clear that one should not act for the sake of building character or obtaining happiness. Indeed, the purpose of political society, for Aristotle, is to create a venue for the performance of noble actions. Noble acts, just acts, are the goal for mankind. Nothing else. That happiness flows from this is proof for Aristotle that this is the right path for humankind to take. Keywords: Business Ethic; Virtue Ethic; Moral Character; Retail Trade; Nicomachean Ethic (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-32145-8_9 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan |
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