What Ontological Foundations Does Aristotelian Ethics Reveal?

Abstract

The paper supports the conclusion that the energetic interpretation of the metaphysical foundations of Aristotelian ethics is more fruitful than essentialist one. For Aristotle, ἐνέργεια as activity, having an end in itself, is opposed to ἔργον as activity aimed at external objectives. Virtuous activity is between contemplation and creativity, but in fact, in its ontological status, it is much closer to creativity. The essentialist trend of Aristotelian ethics is based on the idea that immobility is better than movement. That trend allows to identify Aristotle as an ethical realist. The shift towards ἐνέργεια makes it possible to interpret him as a precursor of ethical constructivism. Virtuous activity creates the reality of a special kind: the high quality of the city-state life, virtuous disposition of soul and of human relations. The fruitfulness of the energetic interpretation of the peripatetic ethics is also found in solving the problem of the ontological status of moral facts, their relation to natural and social facts. Borrowed from Aristotle, the term “ἐπιγινόμενόν”, translated in Anglophone analytical philosophy as “supervenient”, was extended to the relationship between moral and natural properties. Morality supervene on the human practice, giving it a special focus and flavor, making it self-valuable, encouraging to do good only because it is good. Being supervenient, morality, however, cannot make a person a self-sufficient creature. On the contrary, it shapes humanity as interdependence and readiness for cooperation.