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Principles of virtue ethics
Principles of virtue ethics
Principles of virtue ethics
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There are many criticisms towards virtue ethics – the most notable are self-centeredness, action-guiding and moral luck. To get a deeper understanding of these criticisms, I will explore two of these criticisms: self-centeredness and moral luck and then discuss a virtue ethicist’s reply to the objection of moral luck. 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. Second, we will address the argument that virtue ethics leaves our fate up to luck. In life, there are many things that are …show more content…
Their family has continuously instilled in them a virtuous lifestyle and helped them attain a good education. In all aspects of their life, they act virtuously due to their upbringing. Alternately, an unvirtuous person may have been born to a family that lived their life without concern for their character or the well-being of others. The unvirtuous person may not have been able to obtain a good education and may have been influenced by other unvirtuous people and been a subject of their environment. Referencing the argument above, is it fair to praise the first person for their virtuous nature while condemning the second, even though both had no control over their
An employee of ABC Company, Luke is in charge with a project of developing new purchased land. The company is planning to build an adult entertainment retail store which confidently lay near where his brother, Owen, lives. If the plans are announced to the public, the property of the surrounding neighborhood will drop significantly. What concerned Luke is that Owen just told him about the offer to sell his house at a decent price compared to the current real estate market. However, Owen is considering if he should wait for a couple year and sell his house later at a higher price as the estate value may increase.
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...
There are two basic types of ethical judgments: deontological judgements that focus on duty and obligation and eudaimonist judgements that focus on human excellence and the nature of the good life. I contend that we must carefully distinguish these two types of judgement and not try to understand one as a special case of the other. Ethical theories may be usefully divided into two main kinds, deontological or eudaimonist, on the basis of whether they take one of the other of these types of judgement as primary. A second important contention, which this paper supports but does not attempt to justify fully, is that neither type of theory trumps the other, nor should we subsume them under some more encompassing ethical synthesis.
On Virtue Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. http://www.oxfordscholarship.com. ———. "
When we discuss morality we know that it is a code of values that seem to guide our choices and actions. Choices and actions play a significant role in determining the purpose and course of a person’s life. In the case of “Jim and the Indians”, Jim faces a terrible dilemma to which any solution is morbid. On one hand, Jim can choose to ignore the captain’s suggestion and let the whole group of Indians be executed. Alternatively, he may decide upon sacrificing one Indian for the sake of saving the rest. Both options involve taking of person’s life. Regarding what should Jim do in this circumstance, there are two approaches according for Jim’s dilemma that should be examined. By looking into the Deontological moral theory and the moral theory of Consequentialism we can see what determines an action that is morally required.
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.
...importance of virtue here is that, virtues are needed for living well; But in order to obtain
Hursthouse, R. (2003, July 18). Virtue Ethics. Stanford University. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/ethics-virtue
The case of moral luck was introduced by Williams Bernard and developed by Thomas Nagel in their articles respectively. Both raised the question whether luck can influence the judgment of morality. In this essay, the definition of moral luck and four kinds of moral luck by Williams and Nagel will be discussed through several case examples, and then followed with some arguments from Judith Andre, Donna Dickenson and David Enoch and Andrei Marmor who disagree with the concept of moral luck.
Virtue theory is the best ethical theory because it emphasizes the morality of an individual in which their act is upon pure goodness and presents as a model to motivate others. Aristotle was a classical proponent of virtue theory who illustrates the development habitual acts out of moral goodness. Plato renders a brief list of cardinal virtues consisting of wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice. This ethical theory prominently contradicts and links to other theories that personifies the ideal being. However, virtue theorists differ from their own expression of these qualities yet it sets a tone that reflects on the desire to express kindness toward others.
Both Kantian and virtue ethicists have differing views about what it takes to be a good person. Kantian ethicists believe that being a good person is strictly a matter of them having a “good will.” On the other hand, virtue ethicists believe that being a good person is a matter of having a good character, or being naturally inclined to do the right thing. Both sides provide valid arguments as to what is the most important when it comes to determining what a person good. My purpose in writing this paper is to distinguish between Kantian ethics and virtue ethics, and to then, show which theory is most accurate.
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the moral principles and values that govern our behavior as human beings. It is important in the human experience that we are able to grasp the idea of our own ethical code in order to become the most sensible human beings. But in that process, can ethics be taught to us? Or later in a person’s life, can he or she teach ethics the way they learned it? It is a unique and challenging concept because it is difficult to attempt to answer that question objectively because everybody has his or her own sense of morality. And at the same time, another person could have a completely different set of morals. Depending on the state of the person’s life and how they have morally developed vary from one human
Thus, when virtues involves in some personal pain, the idea of purpose or need become very important as it deeply depends on self-control. Self-control becomes extremely important when virtues entails stepping out from person’s comfort zone, here you can distinct a virtuous person from others. A virtuous person can control himself and abide to rules and morals whatsoever, while people with no self-control but claiming being virtuous might forget their morals and values in some situations. In conclusion, I argue that there is a connection between virtues and happiness, however I have showed some situations that virtues may lead to unhappiness or confusion.
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