Can Virtue Really be Achieved Without the Help of God?

By Roy M Mattson

We are by nature moral beings who desire virtue.1 This fact is borne out by innumerable

studies.2 Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics remain among the most

influential works on ethics and human moral psychology. Aristotle claims that human beings can

develop good character traits and achieve virtue with the appropriate upbringing (what Aristotle

called habituation). Much of what Aristotle says about character traits, virtue, and habituation is

accepted today and inspires character education.3 Yet recent results in experimental psychology

challenge the notion of character traits and virtue as understood by Aristotle. 4 The challenge is

the abundance of evidence showing that almost all human beings lie, cheat, steal, and harm

others; we lack virtue. Christian Miller captures the problem when he says, "the burden is on the

Aristotelian to show how realizing such a normative ideal is psychologically realistic for beings

like us."5 This dissertation argues that virtue is not a realistic ideal for us absent God's help. I

contend that Aristotle was mistaken about human nature and the power of a good upbringing to

create good character traits and achieve virtue.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 183571031X
• ISBN13: 9781835710319
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: Areeb Irshad
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"