About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

16 Med., Health Care & Phil. 1 (2013)

handle is hein.journals/medhcph16 and id is 1 raw text is: Med Health Care and Philos (2013) 16:1-2
DOI 10.1007/s 11019-012-9457-x
I I)I I () WI \I
Quandaries of ethics education
Bert Gordijn - Henk ten Have
Published online: 18 December 2012
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

If we are to believe Plato, Socrates seems to have had a rather
cheerful outlook on ethics teaching. In the Protagoras he
argues that virtue consists entirely of knowledge. More spe-
cifically, Socrates develops a hedonistic view, in which
pleasure determines happiness. Virtue is the knowledge nee-
ded to attain pleasure and happiness. Thus, virtues and having
a virtuous character mean that we have knowledge of what
yields pleasure overall. However, Socrates not only thinks that
knowledge is a necessary condition for virtuous behavior; it is
also a sufficient condition (cf. Homiak 2011). This Socratic
view is not in accord with common sense. The latter suggests
that achieving a virtuous character and displaying good
behavior call for more than just the acquisition of knowledge.
If one rationally believes something to be right, this insight
alone cannot guarantee that one behaves virtuously. After all,
people do not always act rationally and are often encouraged
by temptations of all kinds to act against their better rational
judgment. If they are incontinent or weak-willed, they may
therefore easily sway from the right track. Unfortunately,
incontinence (acrasia) is widespread, at least according to
common sense (cf. Homiak 2011).
Contrary to the mainstream view Socrates holds that
people who leave the right track are not weak-willed but
ignorant. Acrasia is not possible, at least not with someone
who has true knowledge. If somebody really knows good-
what will bring long term pleasure at the end of the day-
and evil, nothing will overpower him so that he acts against
his insights. If one truly masters the art of measuring

B. Gordijn (®)
Dublin, The Netherlands
e-mail: bert.gordijn@dcu.ie
H. ten Have
Paris, France

pleasure, equally considering current and future pleasures
and pains, why would one choose a suboptimal course of
action (cf. Woodruff 2010). ...no man voluntarily pursues
evil, or that which he thinks to be evil. (Plato, Protago-
ras). Actions taken in ignorance are involuntary. Therefore,
they are not blameworthy. If Socrates is right in holding
that knowledge is sufficient to guarantee virtuous behavior,
moral improvement can be achieved through appropriate
education. In fact, Socrates regards this as his personal
mission as he constantly endeavors to educate his fellow
Athenians (Plato, Apology). However, Socrates is not
convinced that he has true knowledge of the virtues.
Therefore, teaching ethics cannot merely be a matter of
transferring knowledge. Instead it is essential to have
elaborate discussions about the virtues. Only through
thorough debate can we gain true understanding of the
virtues. That is why Socrates is one of the most influential
ethics teachers ever-without having left behind one single
written word.
Aristotle's outlook on ethics teaching is less upbeat, but
most likely more realistic. Knowledge alone does not guar-
antee good behaviour. Acrasia is a reality. Both people's
behaviour and character are in large part the product of
habituation. Aristotle clearly sees the limits of Socrates'
exclusively intellectual approach to moral improvement:
...argument and teaching... are not powerful with all men,
but the soul of the student must first have been cultivated by
means of habits... (Aristotle, X 9). In order to enhance the
changes of an appropriate upbringing legislation is needed:
...it is difficult to get from youth up a right training for
virtue if one has not been brought up under right laws; for to
live temperately and hardily is not pleasant to most people,
especially when they are young. For this reason their nurture
and occupations should be fixed by law... (Aristotle, X 9).
However, not only minors need legislation. Good laws are

I_ Springer

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most