Virtue ethics essay. Aristotle and Virtue Ethics 2022-10-20
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Virtue ethics is a philosophical approach to ethics that emphasizes the character and habits of the moral actor, rather than rules or consequences, as the key element of ethical thinking. According to virtue ethics, the good life is one in which a person develops and practices good character traits, or virtues. These virtues are habits of thought and action that enable a person to live a fulfilling and flourishing life.
One of the most influential proponents of virtue ethics was the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argued that the key to living a good life is to cultivate and practice virtues such as courage, generosity, and self-control. These virtues, he argued, enable a person to act in accordance with reason and to achieve eudaimonia, or human flourishing.
Virtue ethics differs from other ethical approaches, such as deontological ethics (which focuses on rules and duties) and consequentialist ethics (which focuses on the consequences of actions), in that it emphasizes the character of the moral actor as the key element of ethical thinking. According to virtue ethicists, it is not enough to simply follow rules or to aim for good consequences; rather, one must also be a good person in order to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life.
One of the key features of virtue ethics is that it is a normative ethical theory, which means that it is concerned with how people ought to live and act. It is not concerned with describing how people actually behave, but rather with prescribing how they ought to behave in order to lead a good life.
One of the main criticisms of virtue ethics is that it can be difficult to determine what virtues are most important and how they should be cultivated. Different cultures and societies may have different ideas about which virtues are most important, and there is often disagreement about how these virtues should be practiced. Despite these challenges, virtue ethics remains a popular and influential approach to ethical thinking and continues to be an important area of philosophical investigation.
In conclusion, virtue ethics is a philosophical approach to ethics that emphasizes the character and habits of the moral actor as the key element of ethical thinking. It differs from other ethical theories in its focus on the cultivation of virtues as the key to living a good life. While there are challenges and criticisms of this approach, virtue ethics remains a popular and influential approach to ethical thinking.
Virtue Ethics Theory Free Essay Example
Then there are virtues of character e. He emphasizes that people should act in a way that promotes their happiness. The key element to being virtuous is being able to find the mean or right amount of our various emotions, dispositions, and actions. Discussion Virtue ethics is a perfect tool for analyzing a deeply polarizing issue like abortion. It is a moral characteristics that a person needs to live well. Phil is sterile because he has continually abused drugs, which has permanently made him unable to make his wife conceive.
For example, if a patient had a disease that was fatal and wanted to die to end the pain and suffering, a nurse could give the patient a substance that would eventually kill them. His theory was originally introduced in ancient Greek times. I went to the market alone, cooked the healthy food for the family and did every house work. Thus, after the abortion there is no inner-struggle that can trigger a wave of depression and anxiety. Through Global Ethics we have learned so far, that we can all relate to three important moral theories. Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity Press. Some examples of these virtues are honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence.
Murder must not be taken lightly especially when viewed from the perspective of a hapless human being trapped in the womb of a woman who can decide that this unborn child is an inconvenience that must be discarded. It has been made clear that abortion is a polarizing issue. Therefore, it seems that this theory could hardly be applied to reality. The difference between moral relativism and virtue ethics is that actions do not matter. It is for them to do something that benefits the country from ending a war to helping out a good cause or organization.
However, virtue ethics encourages ethical education for people to realize what is morally good and bad. Euthanasia is the killing of a person suffering from a disease or terminally ill and suffering from pain. Cookie Duration Description cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics 11 months This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Words: 1316 Length: 4 Pages Topic: Business - Ethics Paper : 66168295 Virtue Ethics: The Good and the Bad About Virtue Ethics The philosophy of virtue ethics holds that being a 'good person' or what one might call 'character' is the most important determinant of moral action. There is no direct argument that euthanasia is against Virtue Ethics. Therefore, this theory encourages people to have a sense of community.
Aristotle postulates that ethical virtues are very fundamental in helping an individual live a satisfying life of happiness Sandler, 2013. These Sociology essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies. An aspect of virtuous living is practical reasoning, which is the ability to decipher… Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics After careful examination of human intentions and actions, Aristotle makes a convincing argument regarding the pursuit of humans to reach eudemonia. What is the most 2- The debate about virtue ethics All three positions differ in the way that 3- Main issues There are many objections raised against virtue ethics perspective is that researchers belonging from utilitarian and deontologist perspective of ethics. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. If the principles of virtue ethics are applied to this situation then the woman has to determine if abortion leads to character or a state of well-being that she will not regret for the rest of her life. It does not rely on religion, society or culture; it only depends on the individuals themselves.
To gain a more in depth understanding of a particular topic or subject. Aristotle goes on to say that life requires us to make choices, and some of them bring us immediate pleasure while others require some sort of sacrifice to reach happiness. Plato wanted a good upbringing to make the right ideas permanent in them, so that the bleach of pleasure, grief, fear, or death, would not wash the true colors from their souls. The virtue of good engineer includes creativity, good understanding of culture, morality, and capability of communication. Although virtue ethics and care ethics share similar beliefs and rejections, virtue ethics is clearly separate from care ethics. What is an example of non-consequentialist? Non-consequentialism also judges the morality of an action but does so based on whether the action adheres to moral codes and duties.
Hence, Aristotle identifies the best activity to be that which allows us to cultivate, and maximize, our faculties as human beings. It is the type of person you are on the inside. For example, for the virtue 'modesty ', the vice of excess would be bashfulness and the vice of deficiency would be shamelessness. I would like to improve upon this area because I feel that it has the capability of barring me from achieving my dreams. The site offers no paid services and is funded entirely by advertising. Well this paper will discuss 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.
To be complete, happiness is an activity which involves both moral and intellectual reasoning. Immanuel Kant 1785 argued that an individual should "always act in such a way that you can also will that the maxim of your action become universal law" p. A fetus has no power over doctors and women who view them as inconveniences rather than human beings. For a non-consequential theory, I will use Virtue Ethics. Discovery of their secret affair put Justine in a dilemma, as she was already pregnant and did not know what to tell Phil. There are three main schools of thought that have presented Are the virtues the proper starting point for ethical theory? Hence, there is no answer on how to deal with moral dilemmas.
They debate over this matter for quite some time and Meno continues to throw definitions, of what he thinks virtue is, at Socrates. Some philosophers argued that happiness only came from following a set of rules, while Aristotle argued that the best way to have happiness is to cultivate a virtuous character. Therefore, this theory helps an individual to act according to what is deemed ethically right in cyberspace. Using the same ethical framework, there are women who will realize that another important thing to consider is not the inconvenience that an unwanted pregnancy brings but the long-term effects of abortion to their mind, body, and spirit. There is Something About Aristotle: The Pros and Cons of Aristotelianism in Contemporary Moral Education. This theory encourages people to develop good characters by acting in a way that enhances happiness. Synchronized actions focus on achieving one objective or more objectives as ends of excellence.
In contrast to deontology and consequentialism, virtue ethics emphasizes the moral character ideal traits of a person. Self-centeredness is also a weakness of the theory. A virtuous person in the society is likely to motivate others to change their behavior and adopt good habits Hughes, 2013. Driver 113 also mentioned that Robert Louden is the famous writer and A main issue with the virtue ethics theory is that more often than not the researchers have not well understood the 4- Critical analysis of virtue ethics criticism Hursthouse 645 argued there is a great deal of criticism on virtue ethics perspective for lacking the action oriented guidance. NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2008. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The goal must be the development of character and the appropriate inner state.
