Virtue ethics
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the development of virtue ethics and reflect on its usefulness.
Key learning points
- Aristotle's virtue ethics focuses on achieving eudaimonia through the development of moral character.
- A virtue is the golden mean, which means a balance between two extremes of deficiency and excess known as vices.
- Philippa Foot is a modern thinker who emphasises that virtues are gained through practical experience.
- One criticism of virtue ethics is that it does not provide clear guidance in specific situations.
Keywords
Eudaimonia - the state of living well and flourishing
Golden mean - the virtue that lies between two vices, which are the extremes of deficiency and excess
Philippa Foot - a British philosopher who developed virtue ethics in the 20th century
Vice - a bad quality that becomes a habit
Virtue - a good quality that becomes a habit
Common misconception
Virtue ethics is just about being nice or kind, so it doesn't require much thought or effort.
Virtue ethics is about developing a well-rounded character through reflection and experience, not just being kind, and requires practising virtues like courage and honesty to achieve flourishing (eudaimonia).
Teacher tip
Students could compare virtue ethics with other ethical theories, focusing on how easy or challenging they are to apply to ethical decisions.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is deontology primarily concerned with?
Q2.Kant believed that moral actions should be guided by the imperative, which acts as a universal moral law.
Q3.Put the ethical theories below into chronological order according to when they were first developed.
Q4.What does teleology focus on in ethical theory?
Q5.Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism is known for the principle of the greatest for the greatest number.
Q6.Which of the following best describes the guiding principle of situation ethics?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does virtue ethics focus on?
Q2. developed virtue ethics as a structured approach after the work of Socrates and Plato.
Q3.Match these terms in virtue ethics to the correct definitions.
the state of living well and flourishing
a good quality that becomes a habit
a bad quality that becomes a habit
the virtue that lies between two vices: deficiency & excess extremes
Q4.A virtue is the golden mean, which represents a balance between deficiency and .
Q5.Which of the following is an example of a virtue according to Aristotle?
Q6.Through what are virtues gained, according to Philippa Foot?
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Virtue ethics, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Virtue ethics, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Ethics: how do we know what is 'good'? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.