UNIT 2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY AND ETHICAL … · THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY AND ETHICAL VALUES 1. ACTS, HABITS AND CHARACTER Aristotle said: "We are not liars because

Ethical values. 2nd ESO. Department of Philosophy. IES Nicolás Copérnico. Parla.

UNIT 2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITYAND ETHICAL VALUES

1. ACTS, HABITS AND CHARACTER

Aristotle said: "We are not liars because we tell lies, but we tell liesbecause we are liars." Surely we will agree that a person is not aliar, even if he has never said a lie. On the other hand, if they havebecome accustomed to saying them and they no longer care, norare they aware that it is wrong to do so. We would say that it is ahabit that is already part of his personality.

Every day we do many things: we get up, wash, eat breakfast, go toschool, etc. When we leave class, sometimes we go directly home,others go for a walk with friends, others we meet to play the PS, doa group work or ... Nor we always do the same on the days of party.In short, we already see that actions are habitual or routine,because we do them every day in the same way, and others areoccasional.In view of all the actions we do, we can establish the followingclassification of our actions:

A. Unconscious automatic actions: like the movement of thepupils when we read or the head of the spectators of a tennismatch.

B. Conscious automatic actions: the movement of the legs whenwe walk or run, we are aware of its movement, but we do itautomatically.Most of our actions, although we do them voluntarily, are not theresult of a very laborious decision-making. On the contrary, thereare others that really need a more complex deliberation about thepros and cons of doing one thing or another: tomorrow I have a testthat I have not prepared much, but this afternoon I was invited bymy best friend to the cinema ... If I go, I will surely suspend theexam, if not, besides that makes me very excited, she will take itwrong: what should I do?

There is a type of acts that are sometimes of the type a) andsometimes of the type b) for example, breathing: we usually do itautomatically, without realizing it, but when we have tired a lot, wenotice how our breathing is accelerated

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C. Usual actions: they are conscious and voluntary, but they workalmost automatically, like dressing us, eating with cutlery, drawingthe letters when writing.

D. Deliberate actions: they are the result of a decision thatrequires a prior deliberation: what clothes do I wear today? Will I goto the party? Of these we must distinguish two subclasses:

- Deliberate explicit: the case of the exam dilemma and theinvitation of my friend to go to the movies.

- Deliberate implicit: it is clear that if we go to the institute isbecause we have decided to go to class, but we do not deliberateevery day whether we go or not, we only do it when there is somespecial alternative. Thus, in implicit acts, it is not that a deliberatedecision has not been made, but that it has previously been takenfor all similar acts; For that reason, sometimes the border betweenthese acts and those that we have described as habitual is quitediffuse.

Often, in deliberation we do not take into account the consequencesof the decision we make and this conditions subsequent decisions.Why have we described as "habitual" those acts that, even thoughthey are conscious and voluntary, function almost as if they wereautomatic? Because they are the fruit of what we call habits orcustoms, ways of acting acquired by repeating certain actions. Andwe speak of the "force of habit" because, when we get accustomedor accustomed to acting in a certain way, it is already difficult to actotherwise. When one enters swear words or insults in hisvocabulary, at first he is very aware that he does, but after a shorttime of repeating it, he no longer realizes that he speaks in anunpleasant way for others. If we review all the actions that weperform during a day, we will realize that the great majority areproducts of the habits that we have been acquiring during our life,and the set of habits is an important component of our way of being,of our personality. That is why we say that there are people who arediligent or lazy. The diligent have little to carry out their daily tasks,such as hygiene, work, care of their things, etc. On the other hand,lazy people have a hard time doing their homework.

ACTIVITY 1

From the acts you do for a week, put two examples of each class justdescribed (Block 1. Standard 6.1.)

Unconsciousautomatic

Consciousautomatic

Usual Deliberateexplicit

Deliberateimplicit

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Many excused themselves by saying that "they are like that andthey can do little to change", but the truth is that they were not born"like that" but that, by acting repeatedly in a certain way, they havebecome "like that", they have Accustomed not to wash or to washbadly, not to start doing their homework until they have almost notime left, etc. And now it will cost them a lot. As Aristotle reminds us(which we will study in the next section), the set of habits forms our"second nature." Our "first nature" is the set of characteristics, bothphysical and psychological, that we have inherited. This set of"natural" or "innate" characteristics forms our temperament. Most ofthe physics, such as the colour of our eyes or facial features, arevery specific and we cannot change them, but practically all thepsychological ones (intelligence, emotional tone, vehemence, etc.)are very modelable based on the acquisition of habits. Ourpersonality, therefore, is formed by two components: thetemperament, received in inheritance, and the character, that isformed through our action.

TEMPERAMENT = QUALITIES RECEIVED IN INHERITANCE

CHARACTER = QUALITIES ACQUIRED BY HABITS

PERSONALITY = TEMPERAMENT MODIFIED AND EXTENDEDBY CHARACTER

ACTIVITY 2

There are habits acquired almost unconsciously and others based onconscious and voluntary effort, although some, such as drawing the lettersand when we learned to write, almost did not realize that we acquired them.List some of each class. (Block 1. Standard 6.1)

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Habits acquired unconsciously Habits acquired consciously

ACTIVITY 3: Identify some of your habits indicating what actions youdo (Block 1. Standard 6.1. Block 2. Standard 6.1)

Diligence: Do I get quickly to do my homework? Do some cost memore than the others? Which?

Veracity: Do I always tell the truth? Do I make promises only what Ican keep and do? Do I often deceive others?

Order: Do I order my things? Do I wear clothes? Do I leave itanywhere? Do I distribute my time?

Vehemence: Do I get angry easily? Shout when I talk? Do I alwayswant to be right?

Respect: Do I usually treat people well? Do I seat the elderly? Do Itry to be kind to everyone, even to people who do not like me?

Solidarity: Do I care about the problems of others? Do I lend you myhelp? Do I share my belongings and my abilities?

Hygiene: Do I wash up myself frequently? How properly? Do I wearclean clothes?

Health: How healthy with fruit vegetables, etc., and, generally, withfew fats, few sugars? Do I exercise or spend many hours in front ofthe television or the computer?

Attention: Can I keep my attention for a long time without distractingmyself? Do I have trouble concentrating? Do I get tired easily of what I do?

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2. THE IMPORTANCE OF VIRTUE IN ARISTOTLE

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher of the 4th century BC and one ofthe most important ones in the history of Philosophy. For him Natureis like a living being, that moves because tends to an ending.Everything in nature looks for an aim. Human being, as a part of it,acts following different endings. But they are all subordinated toone: The supreme good of man is happiness. Of this no Greek hadthe least doubt. The word eudaimonia (the way Greeks calledhappiness) has, however, a different meaning from the actual wordhappiness: It is more akin to wellbeing or welfare. But how is thiswellbeing to be attained? What is it that constitutes happiness?

Aristotle assesses the different definitions of happiness usuallygiven, to check if they are actually right, if its object constitutes thesupreme and last ending of human actions:

- Happiness is usually defined as “pleasure”, but it is lasting, andonce we have enjoyed it we are looking for it again. It seems it isnot our last ending.

- Happiness is usually defined as “wealth”, but to have moneyimplies to use it for something else. Besides, when it becomes

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our ending in life we do not stop accumulating money. It doesnot seem to be a good definition either

- Happiness is usually defined as “honour”, what means to dependon others to attain happiness, as to have it means that our fellowmen have a good opinion on us. Consequently is not a gooddefinition, as good reputation does not depend on us and it is nota stable ending, it changes constantly.

Happiness is determined by what differentiates man from otheranimals: reason. It must be, therefore, the objective of theexistence of man to live according to reason, to live a life of virtue.Virtue means being excellent. And if it is about moral virtue, itmeans being excellent as a person. We will be excellent as people -that is, good people - if we maximize our rationality

Virtue is the indispensable means of attaining happiness. It is not amere feeling, but rather a fixed quality or habit of mind (hexis). Webecome virtuous through practice, practicing virtue. For instance,we become just through training in just actions. Through customand practice we acquire this habit.

From Aristotle’s point of view, moral virtue means to becomemoderated (mesotés in Greek) in all our actions. If we use reasonto become excellent in our actions, then we get this habit. It is ahabit, that is, a fixed quality. It consists in a mean between excessand defect, that are vices. Courage, for example, preserves themean between cowardice and reckless daring. There are many kindsof virtue, for virtue is a quality of the will, and the defects andexcesses to which the will may lead us are many, as will be seen bythe following schema with some examples:

Defect Virtue ExcessCowardice Courage RashnessIlliberality (stingy) Generosity ProdigalityInsensibility Temperance IntemperanceShamlessness Modesty Bashfulness

Justice (dikaiosunê) in its generic meaning signifies the observanceof the right order of all the faculties of man, and in this sense it issynonymous with virtue.

In a more restricted sense, justice is the virtue that regulates man'sdealings with his fellowmen. The introduction of distributive justiceis a milestone in the history of political ideas. He proposes aprinciple of distributive justice, saying that benefits and chargesshould be conferred upon different citizens differently, depending onthe contribution they make to the well-being of the state and taking

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into account the initial situation. For instance, the tax systemmodern countries are based on this principle.

ACTIVIDAD 4:

Choose a virtue from the previous box and make one following theexample that follows: (standard 1. 6.2)

Vice-defect VIRTUE Vice-excessCOWARDICE:I was a coward when I didnot dare to help a friendwho was being insulted

COURAGE: I was brave when I saidthat it was me who hadbroken the crystal

RASHNESS: I was reckless when Ijumped that high fence fullof spikes to go get the ball

ACTIVITY 4. (block 1. Standard 6.1)

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Surf on the internetMake a wording or a comic with the most important facts in the life of Aristotle.Why do you think Aristotle has become important in the history of philosophy?

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UNIT 2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY AND ETHICAL … · THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY AND ETHICAL VALUES 1. ACTS, HABITS AND CHARACTER Aristotle said: "We are not liars because