Aristotelian themes in critical ethical naturalism

Abstract

Key features of critical ethical naturalism (CEN) can be more fully appreciated by considering them in relation to themes in Aristotle’s ethics and politics. Drawing on Aristotle’s writings, four central features of CEN are explored. The first aspect of CEN considered concerns its recognition that we are community beings that are mutually constituted and subject to co-development, Aristotle’s discussion of character friendship and our essentially political nature supports a fuller appreciation of what this involves and implies. A second aspect of CEN examined relates to the use of the term ‘eudaimonia’ to refer to a life of a human fulfilled (a life of flourishing)—Aristotle’s own use of the term is considered and shown to be valuable in clarifying its deployment in CEN. The third feature of CEN discussed concerns the extent to which all humans are critical ethical naturalists due to their inherent dispositions to care. Aristotle is seen as supporting the view that we have an inbuilt tendency to care but is shown to also maintain that humans, when rational, choose to endorse their caring (rather than other) tendencies not simply because they are natural but because they are good. These insights enable a better appreciation of CEN’s claims by clarifying the connections between our rational faculties and our innate tendencies to care for others. Finally, the recognition in CEN of the vulnerabilities of humans stemming from their communal nature and the analysis of ways in which certain configurations of social relations weaken our tendencies to care and form obstacles in the path to a good society are shown to echo important reservations Aristotle had about certain forms of association. Aristotle’s notion of organicity in the development of social arrangements is shown to provide useful clarifications regarding the notion of authenticity (and its connections with human flourishing) as the latter is deployed in CEN.