A Study On The Cultivation Of Aristotle's Virtue

Facing the incompatible moral contradictions and irreconcilable moral crisis,modern society have been paying excessive attention especially to the emotionalism,deontology and utilitarianism,which results in none unified coordination standard to moderate the moral conflicts.Thus,it is necessary for us to seek ways to solve the moral problems in modern society.As McIntyre published the book After Virtue,the problems of virtue have aroused the public concern.McIntyre believed that the real cause of contemporary moral arguments was the rampancy of emotionalism,whereas historically the reason was that moral theory had abandoned the Ancient Virtue tradition since the Enlightenment.Therefore,we must return to the virtue tradition of Aristotelianism,which could solve the modern moral problems and overcome the moral disorder caused by emotionalism at the same time.Aristotle's virtue theory responded to the prevailing ethical theory in the ancient Greek,inherited the Socrates and Plato's virtue theory that based on criticizing Sophists,and thought about the necessity of virtue to the city life.In this paper,we have focused on Aristotle's ethical texts while proceeding from the perspective of the modern virtue,and have used other scholar's academic materials about Aristotle's virtue theory for reference.All the work have helped to analyze the Aristotle's virtue cultivation theory.The problem of virtue cultivation is one of the essential questions of Aristotle's virtue,which not only relates to the realistic transformation of virtue theory,but also involves the formation of individual moral quality.Moreover,it is concerned with the possibility of moral life practice in city-state.Aristotle's virtue is divided into two parts:the intellectual virtue and the ethical virtue.The intellectual virtue aims at meditation and the ethical virtue lies in cultivation,it is a practical virtue,because intellect is the rational part of the soul while practice is the irrational part of the soul.The source of the practical virtue determines that it can only be cultivated but can never be obtained through education since it is not intellectual but a kind of character.Virtue should be cultivated in the practice of the family,society and city life.Through subtle enlightenment and practice,virtue may become habitual and the instinct of moral life.Therefore,Aristotle's virtue theory specially pay attention to the cultivation of traditional virtue in the city-state,the society and the family,and it attaches importance to cultivate personal virtue and obtain virtuous city life in virtue tradition.Based on Aristotle's virtue cultivation theory,this thesis has systematically illustrated the inner logic relationship between Aristotle's virtue theory and cultivation theory,which has also analyzed Aristotle's way of virtue and expounded its reference to modern virtue cultivation.