Bread By Margaret Atwood Essay

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Recommended: Introduction to virtue ethics

Ethics, a word used to justify many illogical or irrational choices. Ethics can be considered as a guideline to living without regret or guilt. However there are no universal ethical standards, nor are there any good or bad ethical standards. In the article “A Framework for Thinking Ethically” five source ethical standards are depicted which can be used in a variety of situations, for example in Margaret atwood’s “Bread” the virtue approach can be applied to the situation with the two sisters starving. Though the virtue approach is a good method, it is not flawless and can cause you to face a dilemma over what choice to make which leads to anxiety for those making the choice. Now “Imagine a famine. [You and your sister are starving and you have only one loaf of bread between the two of you. Your sister is too weak to move so you get to decide who gets to eat. What will you do?]” (Margaret atwood, Bread, 1983, p. 390). If the virtue approach is used in this situation all of the bread will be given to the sister and therefore no guilt will be accumulated. This can be considered a good ethical code for the situation because even if both were to die there would be no regrets or dissatisfaction which is the purpose of ethics in the first place. The virtue approach …show more content…

Ethics is an entirely different entity than common sense and logic and will often lead to irrational choices made on what that ethical standard deems to be right or wrong. Possibly the best explanation is that ethics is formed from an individual's emotions and therefore everyone has their own unique variation on ethics such as the virtue approach or perhaps the utilitarian approach. Whatever the ethical code, it is developed in the mind through past experience to avoid guilt or other forms of mental anguish, so the best ethical code is a personalized

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