Examining Contrasting Views in the Field of Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics

In this paper, I will examine contrasting views in the field of normative ethics and applied ethics. I will first analyze Aristotle in his writings on virtue ethics and W.D. Ross’s arguments for deontological ethics. I will then proceed to the field of applied ethics, and analyze the positions of John Noonan and Mary Warren on the issue of abortion. Aristotle, in his selections from Nicomachean Ethics, argues that eudaimonia is the supreme goal of every human being in life. Eudaimonia, or well-being and happiness, is the end result of just actions. Happiness is an activity and not a state of emotion. In the selection explaining goodness as an end, Aristotle states, “Every craft and every investigation, and likewise every action and decision, seems to aim at some good; hence the good as been well described as that at which everything aims” (Pojman 249). He believes that goodness and happiness provide a sense of completeness because we choose it for ourselves, and not for anybody else. Every activity is performed to achieve some end that will provide happiness. The highest ends which we endeavor must be the supreme good. Aristotle posits that human beings strive to achieve happiness because the highest good is a sufficient end that produces happiness. To define actions that bring happiness, things that function well are deemed good. A sculptor, or a craftsman, can be good if they perform their functions with efficiency. Happiness is achieved if the supreme Good is acting in accordance with the proper functions and virtues. Aristotle writes, “… the human good turns out to be the soul’s activity that expresses virtue” (Pojman 252). A human being with the proper virtues can live a good life, and is more inclined to achieve euda...

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...n fetus is a member of humanity and should have moral rights. I believe Warren’s argument is flawed. She argues that traits should be the deciding factor in determining personhood but if the aliens were devoid of reason and consciousness but had the potential to reason, I still believe they should be considered humans. I agree with Noonan that a fetus should be given human rights. One would feel as much anger and grief toward the death of a fetus as one would toward the loss of an older man or woman. Even if a fetus is not visible, it is still a developing person able to feel pain and responsive to touch. While I agree that a woman’s right to life and ability to make decisions are important, killing an unborn fetus is absolutely immoral.

Works Cited

Pojman, Louis P. Ed. Moral Philosophy: A Reader. 3rd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2003.