Reasoning about Wrong Reasons, No Reasons, and Reasons of Virtue 1

Aristotle holds that the moral virtues are enduring or stable integrated intellectual-emotional dispositions to deliberate, feel, and act rightly, that they are global or cross-situationally consistent, and that they are reciprocal or united. Guided by phronesis, or practical wisdom, the virtuous person always does the right thing for the right reason, in the right manner, at the right time, whatever the circumstances. The virtuous individual “will never do hateful and base actions,” ² because he acts “from a firm and unchanging state.” ³ Indeed, virtuous activities are “more enduring even than our knowledge of the sciences.” ⁴