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After reading about four different systems of ethics I have come to the following conclusion that virtue ethics is the most convincing and therefore best system of ethics to use is virtue ethics. In my opinion virtue ethics is the most convincing and promising system of ethics that we have covered thus far. There are several reasons why I think that this system of ethics is the most promising. Much like the material I have read in our textbook has convinced me to believe this I hope to use that same material to convince you of the same thing.
One main reason that Virtue Ethics is more convincing and better than the other system of ethics that we have covered is because it goes further than looking at the action as good or bad. Now before I
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All the other systems of ethics cover being a morally good person and upholding certain moral laws and that is it, but virtue ethics covers being a morally good person and achieving what they believe is the purpose of human life. In virtue ethics they even go as far as telling us what we need to do to achieve this good life or finding our eudaimonia, Aristotle stated “ to achieve eudaimonia, human beings must fulfill the function that is natural and distinctive to them; living fully in accordance with reason” (136). No other system of ethics offers us reason and basically a road map to achieving this happiness. Virtue ethics instead of looking at the universe problems it first enables a person to look at themselves then look at what is needed to be truly
Virtue ethics is an approach that “deemphasizes rules, consequences and particular acts and places the focus on the kind of person who is acting” (Garrett, 2005). A person’s character is the totality of his character traits. Our character traits can be goo...
Virtue ethics is a moral theory that was first developed by Aristotle. It suggests that humans are able to train their characters to acquire and exhibit particular virtues. As the individual has trained themselves to develop these virtues, in any given situation they are able to know the right thing to do. If everybody in society is able to do the same and develop these virtues, then a perfect community has been reached. In this essay, I shall argue that Aristotelian virtue ethics is an unsuccessful moral theory. Firstly, I shall analyse Aristotelian virtue ethics. I shall then consider various objections to Aristotle’s theory and evaluate his position by examining possible responses to these criticisms. I shall then conclude, showing why Aristotelian virtue ethics is an unpractical and thus an unsuccessful moral theory in reality.
Hursthouse, R. (2003, July 18). Virtue Ethics. Stanford University. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/ethics-virtue
To begin with, the fundamental difference between action based ethics and virtue ethics is the heart of virtue ethics focuses on virtues, moral exemplars, therefore relying on their personal virtues behaviors and attributes such as moral character, excellence, heart and personality, therefore contrasting the traditional view of ethics as moral obligations. Basically, the traditional approach is an ethics of universal duties, emphasizing the importance of moral laws and not relying as much on one’s character, while virtue ethics underlines the concept of the individual manifesting his purpose by taking ethical action (Pg. 314 The Moral Life).
“A virtue is a trait of character manifested in habitual action,” these words said by Aristotle on virtue ethics. The word habitual meaning that someone that does something all the time and not just occasionally. For example, the virtue of honesty, is not someone who only tells the truth here and there, and what will benefit that person. This term used in normative ethics, really emphasizes the virtue of mind and character. A theory of virtue has several components within the theory like a list of virtues, what each consist of and why each of the virtue are a perfect fit in this theory. To really understand this theory, it is important to discuss it in depth, the strengths and weaknesses, and whether it rest on a sound or cogent argument.
Virtue ethics is able to provide concrete ethical guidance to doctors because the theory is able to point doctors to either a single right solution or a set of right solutions. To show how virtue ethics is able to provide such guidance, I will elaborate upon particular aspects such as the theory’s focus on the individual and attention to human emotions and motivations that make the theory particularly conducive in guiding medical dilemmas.
Virtue ethics is a theory that focuses on character development and what virtues one should obtain to be who they are supposed to be, as oppose to actions. An example of virtue ethics would be someone who is patient, kind, loving, generous, temperance, courage and flourishing as oppose to a person who lies, cheats, and steals. There are ways to distinguish virtue ethics from divine command, egoism, and moral relativism. In the divine command theory morality is determined by the will or command of God meaning whatever Gods says must be right at all times while the virtue ethics theory is about great attributes and character formation, not a list of dos and don’ts. In egoism, one’s self, motivations, and goals is the only thing that matters. The only duty of someone who is an egoist is to do what is best for them and what is in their best interest. Egoistical people do not mind helping or doing things for other but they first consider how it will affect them then they look at how it will affect someone else. While this may seem unethical or immoral to others, they do this to stay out of trouble by not lying, harming others, and avoiding fines and tickets they are looking out fr these because it is not in their best interest. Virtue ethics focuses on how to be a good person all around. It is more concerned with who ...
Virtue Ethics is a widely discussed theory among some of the most famous philosophers throughout history. In the East these philosophers included Mencius and Confucius, and in the West this was discussed mainly by Plato and Aristotle in the 2nd century B.C.. Although their theories mostly fizzled out during the time of the Enlightenment, it again gained steam in the 1950’s and is now widely debated by philosophers throughout the world. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Elizabeth Anscombe was one of the pioneers in the 1950’s who
Consequentialists believe that the more good of an act conducted means the consequences will be more beneficial than not (Slowther et al, 2004., Beauchamp and Childress, 2009). Virtue ethics is the last ethical approach and mainly focuses on the morals and virtues of the individual and is the key difference between Consequentialism and deontology (Slowther et al, 2004., Beauchamp and Childress, 2009). This theory states that when the individual is faced in a moral dilemma they will chose the correct moral action based on their virtuous characters as a person. The ethical principles are classed as virtues (Slowther et al,
Every day we are confronted with questions of right and wrong. These questions can appear to be very simple (Is it always wrong to lie?), as well as very complicated (Is it ever right to go to war?). Ethics is the study of those questions and suggests various ways we might solve them. Here we will look at three traditional theories that have a long history and that provide a great deal of guidance in struggling with moral problems; we will also see that each theory has its own difficulties. Ethics can offer a great deal of insight into the issues of right and wrong; however, we will also discover that ethics generally won’t provide a simple solution on which everyone can agree (Mosser, 2013).
Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics is a theory used to make moral decisions. It does not rely on religion, society or culture; it only depends on the individuals themselves. The main philosopher of Virtue Ethics is Aristotle. The. His theory was originally introduced in ancient Greek.
This theory involves evaluating the individual making the decision rather than the actions or consequences themselves. Aristotle defined “virtue as a character trait that manifests itself in habitual actions.” (Boatright, 2012) This means that you are not considered virtuous because you did the right thing one time, you must be consistent. Virtue character traits include: compassion, courage, courtesy, etc. these traits not only allow for ethical decision making but they also provide happiness to the individual possessing the traits. When a person has virtue as a part of their character their actions will be moral and ethical without having to choose between what they want to do and what they should do – the decision would be the same. Their actions and feelings would coincide with the moral rationale of the virtue theory. Advantages of the virtue theory are instilling good moral character traits into individuals allowing for more ethical decision making based on personal character. Also, the virtue theory promotes happiness through good moral character which encourages people to make ethical business decisions but also ethical personal decisions – leading to a more fulfilling life. A disadvantage is virtue ethics is trying to determine a list of virtues that people should possess, each trait needs to be carefully
Virtues are defined as positive character traits. Ethics are moral principles that govern a person 's or group 's behavior. Within normative ethics, these two ideas converge forming virtue ethics. Virtue ethics stresses the importance of an individual’s moral principles and character traits. Instead of having cultural customs or popular opinion guide and individual’s choices and actions, in virtue ethics, positive character traits govern a person 's or group 's behavior. In other words, virtue ethics focuses on an individual’s moral character as basis for his or her choices and actions, instead of good consequences.
First, we will discuss self-centeredness in relation to virtue ethics. Virtue ethics outlines how to live the best life possible and focuses solely on an individual’s character. The argument that virtue ethics is a self-centered moral concept is due to the fact that morality should be about other people. Virtue ethics is more focused on having good character because it makes the individual feel better about themselves rather than doing good things and having good character to benefit others (Athanassoulis, 2014). For example, per virtue ethics, someone may give money or resources to the homeless in order to make them feel better about themselves rather than donating to help increase the quality of life for the homeless people.
However, there can be some factors that do not always work out for this theory. Virtue ethics could sometimes be looked down upon because it does not have much structure. Characteristics for this theory can be unclear, where Kantianism has a more straightforward approach. However, virtue is more personalized and is controlled within ourselves and not by society. For example, Kantianism would be helping a woman get her purse back from a robber because you feel sorry for the lady and that is the right thing to do. You do not want to live with regret or live with the idea that something bad may happen to you. Virtue ethics does not include this feeling of sorrow and guilt because someone else is in trouble, it involves a situation where a lady waiting in front of you at a grocery store does not have enough money so the clerk just covers the rest of her bill. This shows who the person really is, what type of individual they display rather than what they did to be seen as a good person. These type of actions show the natural root of ones character, displaying their true intent rather than personal gain of the matter. These types of views can be labeled as virtuous, making decisions based off their beliefs and what they are responsible