China Social Science Review

No.1, 2023

The Source of Moral Values and the Status of Emotions: Some Similarities in the Ethical Thought of Aristotle and Kant

(Abstract)

Tao Tao

Ethics is supposed to affect human life and moral practice, but modern moral philosophy is increasingly lacking in this kind of capacity. The contemporary revival of virtue ethics is aimed at reflecting on the modern dilemma and recreating the power of ethics to address people’s hearts. To this end, Li Yitian tries to systematically construct a moral psychological foundation for Aristotelian ethics based on the difference between virtue ethics and ethics based on rules. However, this interpretive path may have overlooked the consistency and coherence of ancient and modern ethical thought. A comparison of Aristotle’s texts with Kant’s shows a striking similarity between Kant’s idea of self-discipline and Aristotle’s idea of choice, that is, that people can give moral value to their actions only by making rational and active choices. Therefore, there is no essential conflict or contradiction between the two theories. If Aristotle’s position is suitably revised, it can be combined with Kant’s main ideas.