THE GENERAL THEME AND THE MAIN ARGUMENT OF THE BOOK

The main theme of the book is virtue of character, or, in Aristotelian terms, ethical virtue. My main argument is that Aristotle's puzzling claims about ethical virtue, especially the elusive doctrine of the mean, together form a distinctive ethic of virtue that is well worth pursuing. Hence the title “The Virtue of Aristotle's Ethics”.

In treating Aristotle first and foremost as a virtue ethicist, I approach Aristotle from a different angle from other commentators. For example, I pay close attention to those parts of Aristotle's theory that are often denigrated or neglected, such as Aristotle's doctrine of the mean and the nameless virtues, showing how closely they are related to other important parts of his theory. Again, while others take Aristotle's “function argument” and his views on happiness as their point of departure, I discuss these matters instead as they emerge in the context of Aristotle's controversial views about virtue.

The book is divided into two parts. In Part I, I examine various controversial claims that Aristotle makes about ethical virtue, especially his view that ethical virtues are in a mean, a doctrine that permeates his ethical theory. I argue that the nameless virtues, long-neglected but comprising half of Aristotle's ethical virtues, are important, both from a philosophical and from a practical point of view. I also argue that the virtues are not essentially remedial, for example, they do not remedy defects in human nature. I argue that both the doctrine of the mean and the non-remedial view of the virtues are required to show that Aristotle's list of ethical virtues is of substantive theoretical interest, especially when compared with some modern candidates for virtue.