Aristotle

In our February session of the Tech Leaders Salon, we explored Martin Heidegger’s seminal work, The Question Concerning Technology. Heidegger, as with any good philosopher, is doing three things: Asking questions to open up a path and figure out what the essence of technology could be; Stating the obvious, albeit in a new way; and Leaving a lot of space for the reader to figure things out on their own. The key observations that he makes may not be all that new. I will be offering a caricature in what follows, but it is for illustrative purposes. ...

A brief introduction to Aristotle’s virtue ethics Virtue theory proclaims that people ought to incorporate certain virtues, defined as excellent traits, as part of their characters by habituating themselves to the practice of such traits as honesty and courage, etc. The opposite of virtue is vice. Proponents of the theory, including the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC), suggest that, ideally, we need to do what is virtuous, and refrain from acting viciously. The assumption is that cultivating a good character is conducive to a society that functions in an orderly, harmonious, and cohesive manner. This is made possible insofar as a community acts virtuously with a view towards achieving the greater ‘common’ good. ...