Aristotelský argument z ergon a současné teorie ctností

Abstract

Contemporary neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics engage in great detail with the concept of human nature. This is also the case with Philippa Foot and Rosalind Hursthouse, who, in their argumentation, use the so-called ergon argument that can be unambiguously found already in Aristotle, who is a direct inspiration for the proponents of this branch of the contemporary theories of virtue. This article focuses on the comparison of the concept of the “ergon argument” and its related theses in Aristotle, Foot and Hursthouse. The goal is to ascertain the extent to which the current neo-Aristotelian concept is truly and originally Aristotelian. The comparison shows that, for Foot and Hursthouse, Aristotle serves more in the mode of a free inspiration, as some of their key elements are substantially different than the original Aristotelian concept, or are even completely absent. It is shown at the same time that Aristotle’s original concept is the philosophically richer and more sophisticated theory. This is, in part, the result of the efforts by Foot and Hursthouse to plausibly adapt their concepts to contemporary ethical discussions.

Keywords

• aristotle
• philippa foot
• rosalind hursthouse
• ergon argument
• virtue theory