Classical Virtue Ethics

Sources

1. Ethics - Theories and Applications by Francis Evangelista and Napoleon Mabaquiao Jr. (Chapter 5)

Introduction

Unlike consequentialism and deontology, virtue ethics is primarily concerned with the character of a person instead of their actions. It focuses more on “What type of person I should be?” Rather than “What is the right decision?” Hence, motives behind an action is instrumental in assessing the moral quality of an act. The combination of right action and right intention is what makes a person virtuous.

Aristotelian Ethics

Aristotelian ethics was taken from Nicomachean Ethics, which was written by Aristotle’s son, Nicomachus.¹ For Aristotle, the good actions are ones that lead to eudaimonia—a virtue that is wanted for its own sake.

Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia roughly translates to happiness, well-being, or flourishing. It is the end goal for all our actions. For us to attain it, we must fulfill our essence/nature by accomplishing our proper function.² Because humans distinctly have the capacity to reason and act based on it, Aristotle believed that living in accordance with reason was our proper function. Therefore, we should let our rational faculty prevail over lower faculties (i.e., desire and passion) because we need it to achieve eudaimonia. Moreover, we ought to nurture our reasoning skills for the same reason.

Concept of Virtue

Virtues enables us to fulfill our proper function, and, as such, Aristotle maintains that they are necessary for us to live a happy life. He categorized virtues into two types: intellectual virtues and moral virtues. The former allows us to reasonably think, while the latter enables us to rationally manage our emotions and desires.

Virtues are either learned through experience or acquired through habits. For instance, practical wisdom (an intellectual virtue) is learned through experience. On the other hand, justice, prudence, fortitude, and temperance are developed through habitual actions. This implies that moral virtues are not inherent in our nature, but it is formed through constant practice. For this reason, Aristotle referred to things which are intrinsic to our nature (e.g., our ability to see and hear) as endowments—to distinguish them from virtues.

Aristotle states that virtue comes from repeatedly doing the right thing; thus, it is internal process since it underscores the importance of building the right character. In contrast, moral action is an external exercise since it only focuses on the right decision. Although they are related, they are still different: one can do a good action while not necessarily being virtuous, and one can be virtuous and give in to performing an immoral act.

Quote Illustrating the Distinction Between Virtue and Moral Action

A man who steals is not necessarily a thief; he stole, to be sure, and committed a misdeed, but a thief steals because it is his nature to do so. If an honest man steals, it is usually out of dire necessity, such as the avoidance of starvation, because everything is in him rebels against stealing. The same holds true of a good man who kills; he is not a murderer unless he murders by nature, that is, becomes a killer, but the person who by nature is not a killer may commit an isolated act of homicide purely in self-defence.

A virtuous person is one who enjoys doing virtuous actions because it became natural to them after constant practice. As Aristotle says, “A man who abstains from bodily pleasures and enjoys doing so is self-controlled; if he finds it troublesome, he is self-indulgent; a man who endures danger with joy, or at least without pain, is courageous; if he endures it with pain, he is a coward.” Aristotle believed that, in order to become virtuous, one must engage in moral actions with pleasure and contentment.³

The Doctrine of the Mean

Although vice and virtue are similar (i.e., vice is also a product of habit and is enjoyable), Aristotle states that vice is either the extreme of excess or extreme of deficiency (with respect to character traits). On the other hand, virtue is the balance between either extremes. Aristotle sheds light on the positive effects of acting in accordance to the median, by comparing it to food—too much or too little will damage our health, while only consuming a proportionate amount will strengthen it. In the table below, Martin summarizes Aristotle’s discussed virtues with their corresponding excess, deficiencies, situation, and type of emotion.

Kind of Situation	Type of Emotion	Excess Vice	Virtue	Deficiency Vice
Responses to danger	Fear, confidence	Foolhardiness	Courage	Cowardice
Satisfaction of appetites	Physical pleasure	Overindulgence	Temperance	Inhibition
Giving gifts	Desire to help	Extravagance	Generosity	Miseliness
Pursuit of accomplishments	Desire to succeed	Vaulting ambition	Proper ambition	Unambitiousness
Appraisal of oneself	Self-confidence	Vanity	Proper pride	Sense of inferiority
Self-expression	Desire to be recognized	Boastfulness	Truthfulness	False modesty
Responses to insults	Anger	Irascibility	Patience	Apathy
Social conduct	Attitudes to others	Obsequiousness	Friendliness	Rudeness
Awareness of one’s flaws	Shame	Shyness	Modesty	Shamelessness
Conservation, humor	Amusement	Buffoonery	Wittiness	Boorishness

Nonetheless, Aristotle claims that the median is relative to the person, not the act. For example, it is courageous for a soldier to join the war; however, it is reckless for an ordinary citizen to do the same. Similarly, a weightlifter is sufficiently eating when consuming 10 pounds of food (since they require plenty of energy for their specialization), while eating the same amount for an ordinary person is considered too much.

Besides this, Aristotle also states that the model (found at the table shown previously) does not cover all types of cases. Cases involving actions and emotions that connote baseness do not have a mean. Adultery, in-nature, is wrong; there is no excess nor deficient adultery. Hence, a median does not exist for this action. This example illustrates how some things can never have a mean.

Evaluating Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics

The Good

This ethical theory stresses the importance of good character in living a moral life. It requires one to have good character to do good deeds, and, as such, promotes good motives behind kind actions. The consequence of cultivating good character leads to a happy virtuous life, where good moral agents are reliably or consistently good; in other words, they have a high propensity of acting good as a result of their nurtured character.

Another positive is that, not only does it cover good actions, but it also encourages us to fully develop our selves. Aristotelian ethics provides some guidelines that assist us in determining our ideal moral selves; thus, we are given a goal that we can strive for and are provided instructions on how we can transform ourselves into good people.

The Bad

A major criticism raised against Aristotelian ethics is the lack of clear instructions when dealing with specific moral issues. Although it greatly covers the character of an individual and its importance, it does not define which positions/actions are morally correct, such as in the case of abortion, death penalty, and etc.

In addition, this ethical theory does not provide concrete or clear guidelines for determining the median. Despite Aristotle including a myriad of variables to consider (e.g., time, object, person, etc.), it is still ambiguous, thereby making it too difficult to assess whether our actions are too much or too little.⁴

Before we can follow another virtuous person’s action, we first have to identify if a person is virtuous or not depending on the actions they take. Our logic falls under circular reasoning when we argue that a virtuous act is one which a virtuous person does, then afterward claim that a virtuous person is one which does virtuous acts.

Another criticism raised against Aristotelian ethics is the premise that humans have one purpose. Several philosophical theories such as existentialism or postmodernism conflict with this notion; our nature or purpose is not limited to reason only (e.g., some theories suggest that we create our own meaning). In addition, there are also some things we can do better than other species besides our reasoning abilities. Hence, we cannot conclude that our nature is defined solely by our reason.

We can also extrapolate David Hume’s criticism of natural law theory to Aristotelian ethics: we cannot conflate what is (descriptive) with what ought (normative) to be. Just because it is within our nature to act reasonably, does not entail that we should act reasonably. Hume holds that our values is distinct from non-moral natural facts; hence, morality should be discussed separately from our natural needs.

Confucian Ethics

Highlights of Confucius’ Life

Confucius was born in a family that was generally poor, even though his father was from a noble lineage. His work experiences revealed to him a myriad of social injustices. As a result, he took different influential roles in the government to institute social changes. Nevertheless, he lost his position and was forced to leave Lu after offending a powerful nobleman. He then went to teach in several states. In his final moments as a scholar, he edited works that were later referred to as Confucian classics.

Observations from the Life of Confucius that Reflect his Ethical Teachings

• One could be a noble person despite not being born in an aristocratic family.
• He deeply loved and respected his family.
• He was good at teaching and really enjoyed learning.
• He used his knowledge for the greater good—by dealing with social injustices.
• Even after losing his government positions, he still taught others so that he could initiate social changes.

Overview of Confucianism

Confucianism was derived from an ancient Chinese tradition known as the Ru tradition. More recently, Ru referred to individuals who studied a specific set of fields, and learned the six classics.⁵ Because Confucius epitomized the Ru, the sixteenth century Jesuits called the Ru tradition “Confucianism”.

There are two main readings for this tradition: the Five Classics (or the Confucian Classics) and the Four Books. The former is composed of the following books:

1. Book of History - a set of texts documenting the emperors’ deeds and dance pieces for the Zhou royal court (from 3000 BCE to 700 BCE).
2. Book of Poetry - a collection of poems made during the Zhou period.
3. Book of Changes - a book consisting of a divination system that explains the patterns in the universe.
4. Book of Rites - a book composed of rules used in court ceremonies and rites.
5. Spring and Autumn Annals - a set of historical records that discussed Confucius and the state of Lu.

On the other hand, the latter is made up of the following books:

1. Analects - sayings and speeches from Confucius, which have been recorded by his students.
2. Great Learning - a book explaining what constitutes a noble person; and the nature of education, morality, and politics.
3. Doctrine of the Mean - a text discussing the connection between human nature and the Way of Heaven.
4. Mencius - a set consisting of lessons by Mencius.⁶

Confucianism was divided into different forms known as “schools” after interacting with rival or non-Confucian schools.

Confucian Schools	Non-Confucian Schools
schools of Mencius	Mohist school
Xunzi (Hsun Tzu)	Legalist school
Neo-Confucians	Taoism

The question “Are humans inherently good or bad?” underlies the extent in which the government intervenes in human affairs: if humans are inherently good, less government intervention is needed since they are inclined to do good actions; however, if they are inherently bad, more is needed to achieve social harmony. Both Confucian and Non-Confucian Schools deal with the question in a myriad of ways.

For instance, Confucian schools believe that humans are born good, and, as such, Mencius argued that they are required to study the Confucius classics to protect their goodness from corruption. On the contrary, Xunzi thought that humans are born bad; thus, humans need to study the Confucius classics to change their bad nature.

Key Elements of Confucian Ethics

Confucian ethics refer to Confucian ethical traditions before Neo-Confucianism. It is also known as Classical Confucianism because it is attributed to the views of Confucius; as elaborated by his two disciples: Mencius and Xunzi. Most of it was taken from the Analects, Mencius, and Xunzi.

Confucian ethics centered around the cultivation of one’s character to become a junzi. Confucius developed a framework to determine the types of virtues needed to become one. Lastly, some virtues—which are later identified—are also necessary for a junzi to possess (Confucian virtues).

The Junzi

The term junzi can roughly be translated into a “noble person”. Initially, only a person born in an aristocratic family can become a junzi; however, Confucius changed it to hinge on the individual’s character/conduct instead of their lineage. Anyone, as a result, can become a junzi—a term used for a morally excellent person.

In contrast, xiaoren roughly translates to “small-spirited person”, and was used to signify people outside of the aristocratic class. The term, nevertheless, was changed alongside junzi, and now refers to a morally petty person. For this reason, even a person of noble birth can become a xiaoren.

Some scholars adds to the definition of junzi using the three stages of moral excellence: the apprentice, the junzi, and the sage. The apprentice refers to a person attempting to become a junzi, while a junzi is a person attempting to become a sage or a shengren.

Requirements to be a Sage

1. One must be a junzi.
2. One must know what a junzi is, and its importance.
3. One must guide others to the path of becoming a junzi.

The Mandate of Heaven

The Confucian moral framework consists of both naturalist and social elements. The mandate of heaven (tien-ming) represents the naturalist aspects of the framework, while the roles existing in a different relationships represents its social aspects. Consequently, a junzi pertains to a person who conforms to the mandate of heaven by accomplishing their roles in their various relationships.

As opposed to the prior understanding of the term “mandate of heaven”, Confucius only described heaven (or tien) as a place that preserves the universe’s moral order, and guides humans to moral excellence. This concept presupposes that heaven represents the natural moral order; hence, it entails that moral order is a natural part of the world—not social-constructs.

Confucius—despite not describing the nature of heaven—contends that we can learn the ways of heaven, especially by studying history (e.g., how and why empires rose and fell). For this reason, junzis’ were required to study the Confucian classics.

The Five Basic Relations

Confucius believed that humans are inherently social in nature—they will always be in a relationship with other humans. It was in this regard that junzi’s only achieve moral excellence with respect to their social relations. Confucius enumerated five basic types of relationships that can exist in human relationships.

Five Basic Types of Human Relationships

1. Parent-Child
2. Husband-Wife
3. Ruler-Subject
4. Elder Sibling-Younger Sibling
5. Friend-Friend

Each party in the relationship have equal responsibilities—which, when achieved, result in a harmonious relationship. More advanced relationships emerging from the basic types (e.g., student-teacher, doctor-patient) will also possess their own reciprocal duties. Furthermore, a society will only achieve harmony when all relationships within it are harmonious.

The principle of rectification of names describes the duty to know and perform one’s responsibilities in a relationship—with names pertaining to one’s role in a particular relationship (such as, father, ruler, and etc.). Chaos arises when one fails to perform their duties, or performs duties inappropriate for their role (e.g., a leader acting like a businessman). It is important that names are clarified and match accordingly to what they signify. Negative social consequences arise when names are inaccurate or when usage of language is flawed: affairs would be problematic, inappropriate punishments would be carried out, and so on.

Confucius identified key virtues needed in the five basic relations (so that they can perform their respective duties based on their names):

Type of Relationship	Principal Virtue
Parent-Child	Intimacy
Husband-Wife	Reciprocity of Duties
Ruler-Subject	Righteousness
Elder Sibling-Younger Sibling	Respect based on Propriety
Friend-Friend	Fidelity

The Confucian Virtues

Confucius discussed fundamental virtues which other virtues emerge from. Only ren and li are widely recognized as part of the five cardinal virtues of Confucianism, while the remaining three remains debated by different scholars. One version is shown in the table below

Confucian Virtue	English Equivalent Term(s)
Ren	humanity, benevolence
Li	propriety
Shu	reciprocity
Xiao	filial piety
Wen	culture

There are two ways to interpret the term ren. The first way views ren as a master virtue—achieving it entails that all other virtues are also achieved, and one is already a junzi. On the other hand, the second way interprets the term as pertaining to actions that promote the well-being of others.

In the context of Confucianism, li refers to virtue of acting appropriately given a situation; thus, one must properly speak, behave, and dress depending on the scenario faced. Li is the expression of Ren; benevolence need to be expressed, and right actions must have the right intentions. Both Li and Ren depend on each other; absence of one of the virtues results in them just becoming meaningless and empty concepts.

Shu refers to reciprocity, which the Golden Rule concisely explains: “Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.”

Xiao (or filial piety) is the virtue of showing love, respect, and devotion to one’s family members, especially to their parents. Furthermore, it also applies to the dead, thereby one ought to celebrate ancestral rites.

Wen deals with culture, specifically, the cultivation of one’s sense and appreciation of it. This is demonstrated in actions such as acquiring artistic skills and attending art exhibits.

Other Versions of the Basic Virtues

Confucian Virtue	English Equivalent Term(s)
Ren	humaneness
Yi	righteousness
Li	propriety
Zhi	wisdom
Xin	faithfulness

Confucian Virtue	English Equivalent Term(s)
Ren	humaneness
Yi	righteousness
Li	propriety
Zhi	wisdom
Xin	faithfulness
Haoxue	self-cultivation

Rank	Confucian Virtue	English Equivalent Term(s)
Primary	Ren	humaness
Primary	Yi	righteousness
Primary	Li	propriety
Primary	Zhi	wisdom
Secondary	Xiao	filial piety
Secondary	Yong	courage
Secondary	Xin	trustworthiness
Secondary	Gong	respectfulness
Secondary	Jing	reverence
Secondary	Xue	love of learning
Secondary	Wen	refinement

Buddhist Ethics

Highlights of Buddha’s Life

Buddha is the title Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, acquired after reaching enlightenment. Therefore, “Buddha” is not exclusive to Gautama; other people can also be Gautama after achieving enlightenment. What separates him from the rest, however, is that he introduced the Dharma—the teachings of Buddhism.

When Gautama was born, a hermit named Asita prophesied that he would be a great leader someday. Although it initially pleased the King, he would later worry that Gautama might become a spiritual leader instead of a political one. In order to prevent that from happening, he provided Gautama with everything he had ever wanted, and also removed him from situations that might trigger spiritual reflections (e.g., human suffering).

When Gautama was 29 years old, he went to meet his subjects. Despite his father’s plans, Gautama still got exposed to human suffering through something popularly known as the Four Passing Sights: an old man, a sick person, a corpse, and an ascetic/monk. This made him realize that spiritual development—by abstaining from sensual pleasures—might be the solution to the reality of suffering.

Guatama then left his comfortable life to become an experienced ascetic. After years of restraint from worldly pleasures (in hopes of overcoming suffering), Gautama almost dies from collapsing, but was saved by a girl named Sujata. This made him realize that the right path is the one between the two extremes, that is, the path between self-indulgence and self-denial (referred to as the middle path).

Gautama then went on to meditate on the middle path for 49 days, under the Bodhi tree. After weeks of intense focus, Gautama became enlightened, a Buddha, and was liberated from suffering. He finally understood why people suffer, and what they need to do to overcome it. With this knowledge, he went to teach others on how to also achieve enlightenment.

Overview of Buddhism

Main Components of Buddhism

Buddhism has three essential parts, known as the Three Jewels of Buddhism:

1. Buddha - the representation of enlightenment; hence, Buddhists strive to emulate his life.
2. Dharma - all of Buddha’s teachings.
3. Sangha - the community of Buddhist monks and nuns who teach the Dharma to the lay persons.

There are two major traditions in Buddhism: Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. The former is dominant in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar; the latter is dominant in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia.

Although the two traditions share the same basic teachings, they differ in some aspects. Firstly, when it comes to the authoritative texts, Theravadins only accept the Tripitaka, while Mahayanists recognize some other writings which are collectively referred to as the Mahayana Sutras. Secondly, Theravadins believe that Buddhas are only human beings who have lived then died; on the other hand, Mahayanists also believe in spiritual or heavenly Buddhas. Lastly, Therevadins believe that the arhat is the ideal Buddhist, while Mahayanists believe that it is the bodhisattva. Both arhat and bodhisattva have achieved enlightenment, but they differ in their response to entering the state of nirvana (absence of suffering): the arhat immediately proceeds to nirvana, while the bodhisattva delay it to help others also attain enlightenment.

Generally, the main teachings of Theravada Buddhism is the same for countries which include people that practice them. Furthermore, it is practiced alongside other religions (e.g., some people practice Theravada Buddhism while also practicing Hinduism). On the contrary, Mahayana Buddhism has a diversity of teachings due to it being divided into numerous sub-schools.

Key Elements of Buddhist Ethics

Characteristics of the World in General

Two aspects of the things that constitute the world:

1. Substantiality - the materials that make up these things. With respect to this aspect, Buddhists believe that they are impermanent and devoid of any intrinsic qualities.
2. Functionality - how things are designed to function or behave. In regards to this aspect, Buddhists believe that things are designed to be causally related.

A. Impermanence and Emptiness

Buddhists believe that everything is impermanent; everything is always changing and its future end is inevitable. This concept is related to their idea of emptiness—nothing has an independent identity. All things have their identity (i.e. labels we use to refer to them) due to the other things related to it; for instance, the materials that compose it, their function to the people who use them, or the things around it. A change in any of these aspects would also alter their identity, thereby it is derived from other things and is not intrinsically theirs. In relation to impermanence, because everything is always changing, there is no “intrinsic” quality that exists in any object (it is empty).

B. Dharma and Dependent Origination

Buddhists claim that there is a natural order existing in the universe (the Dharma), which is characterized by strict causal relations (the law of dependent origination). The law of dependent origination asserts that all effects are caused by a cause, which is also caused by another cause, and so on. There are two levels of applications for this law: a general and a particular application. The first one pertains to the causal processes in relation to the universe as a whole, while the second one only concerns causal processes specific to humans and their condition.

The Human Condition

A. Non-Self

Buddhism rejects the popular belief that humans have a fixed self. They have two arguments that support this rejection.

The first argument points out that an unchanging self implies that our self has an intrinsic nature; however, this is impossible because—as discussed in the concept of impermanence and emptiness—no object has intrinsic qualities, everything is relational. For humans, aspects of their identity depend on the various roles they play in different relationships.

The second argument redefines the concept of the self. It states that the self is a result of combining five specific elements (the five skandhas):

1. matter;
2. feeling;
3. memory;
4. mental formations; and
5. consciousness.

These aggregates combined forms a whole, which is the self. The continuity of the self is caused by the overlapping of the changing aggregates with respect to time. In addition, this aggregates are further composed of other aggregates.

B. Karma and Rebirth

Moral actions can be classified into either moral or non-moral depending on whether or not they posses moral features. We say that an action is a moral one when a moral agent intentionally does them with the knowledge of what is good and bad; otherwise, the action is a non-moral one.

Karma is a form of Dharma that is utilized in the moral world, which involves moral persons and their moral actions. The law of karma states that if you do an action of a certain moral quality (good or bad), you will receive an action with the same moral quality as the one you have committed. The amount of karmic effect will depend on the degree of accountability a person has for a particular action.

If one has not experienced the full karmic effect within their lifetime, they will go through with it in their next lifetime(s). The concept of karma is connected to the Buddhist belief in rebirth or samsara—the continuous cycle of birth, life, and death. A person’s current actions can influence the kind of life they will have in their next birth (or rebirth), depending on the karmic effect. This can vary from earthly beings (i.e., humans and animals) to otherworldly beings (e.g., gods from another world, or ghosts from a different world).

C. Suffering

The most fundamental feature of the human condition is suffering or dukkha, which primarily characterizes the nature of living and conscious beings. The dukkha is part of the three marks of existence (the other two being non-self and impermanence). It is considered the most fundamental feature because the importance of anything in the world hinges on their direct relation to the urgency of ending suffering.

Buddhist Moral Values and Virtues

Living beings have the capacity to liberate themselves from suffering through nirvana—the complete absence of suffering. In order to achieve it, they must first cultivate the right values and virtues to reach enlightenment; enlightenment will be their path to nirvana. Once one achieves nirvana, they will no longer be reborn.

A. The Four Noble Truths

The four noble truths arm us with information to eliminate suffering. The truths are arranged in a logical order: the first noble truth introduces the problem; the second introduces its cause; the third introduces the strategy to deal with the cause; and the fourth deals with the steps to carry out the strategy.

1. Suffering Exists
   • All living beings experience suffering—something which is undesirable and needs to be dealt with.
   • Living beings cannot avoid or ignore suffering.
   • Overcoming suffering starts with acknowledging its existence first.
2. Suffering Arises from Craving
   • Buddha believes that craving is the primary source of suffering.
   • Cravings are desires characterized by wanting to acquire something permanently.
   • Because everything is impermanent, we will constantly fail to satisfy our cravings; thus, suffering as a result.
   • Another cause for suffering is ignorance. Ignorance of the impermanent nature of things engenders cravings.
3. Eliminating Craving Eliminates Suffering
   • To eliminate suffering, one must eliminate all cravings, but not all their desires.
   • Eliminating all desires will lead to total self-denial, which goes against the concept of the Middle Path.
   • The Middle Path suggests cultivating the right desires, while eliminating the wrong ones (cravings).
   • We can classify desires into two categories: non-clinging (right desires) and clinging (wrong desires or cravings).
4. The Way to Eliminate Craving is by Following the Eight-Fold Path
   • The eight-fold path provides concrete and efficient steps to cultivate the right virtues and values for eliminating suffering.

B. The Eight-fold Path

The eight-fold path, also known as the Middle Way, summarizes the Buddhist teachings and provides us the procedure for eliminating suffering. It consists of three general paths and eight particular paths, which are illustrated in the table below

The Eight-Fold Path

General Paths	Particular Paths
I. Wisdom	1. Right Beliefs
	2. Right Intention
II. Ethical Conduct	3. Right Speech
	4. Right Action
	5. Right Livelihood
III. Mental Development	6. Right Effort
	7. Right Mindfulness
	8. Right Concentration

The path of right beliefs pertains to the understanding of the world’s nature and human conditions, the four noble truths, and the three marks of existence. Cultivating this virtue leads to the elimination of ignorance, then to the path of right intention. Secondly, the paths of right speech, action, and livelihood include the basic moral duties found in the five precepts. Lastly, the paths of right effort, mindfulness, and concentration refer to the exercises which can enable us to overcome the inclination of craving: right effort means doing our best to avoid extremes; right mindfulness means focusing on the right and positive things; and right concentration means nurturing thoughts which promote inner peace.⁷

C. The Five Precepts

The five precepts are five fundamental moral duties imposed on Buddhist lay persons. These precepts are

1. I should refrain from killing and harming living beings.
   • Promotes non-violence (or ahimsa), compassion, and kindness.
2. I should refrain from stealing.
   • Promotes renunciation and generosity.
3. I should refrain from engaging in sexual misconduct.
   • Promotes satisfaction and faithfulness.
4. I should refrain from lying.
   • Promotes honesty and trustworthiness.
5. I should refrain from drinking alcohol.
   • Promotes mindfulness and responsibility.

During holy days, there are three additional precepts:

1. I should refrain from eating at the wrong time.
2. I should refrain from singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment performances, wearing perfume, and using cosmetic and decorative garlands.
3. I should refrain from sitting or sleeping in luxurious places and oversleeping.

Furthermore, four additional precepts are imposed to novice monks and nuns:⁸⁹

1. I should refrain from singing, dancing, playing music, and attending entertainment performances.
2. I should refrain from wearing perfume, and using cosmetics and garlands.
3. I should refrain from sitting or sleeping in luxurious places, and oversleeping.
4. I should refrain from accepting money.

Footnotes

1. This was because he, presumably, edited his father’s work. ↩

2. For instance, a good car is one that can successfully and easily travel to a desired distance—which is their proper function. ↩

3. I suppose that this might also be because doing the proper action should lead to fulfillment/eudaimonia. ↩

4. We can, nevertheless, distinguish what is right from what is wrong through practical wisdom. Aristotle recommends taking advantage of our ability to perceive good and bad by identifying morally salient features and applying situational appreciation. ↩

5. The six classics consists of the Book of Poetry, the Book of History, the Book of Rites, the Book of Music, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals). ↩

6. Mencius was a confucian thinker. ↩

7. Two ways of cultivating these type of thoughts: meditation and chanting. ↩

8. The 7th precept are divided into two for novice nuns and monks. ↩

9. The overall precepts for Buddhist monks and nuns is known as the ten precepts. ↩