on virtue ethics

Welcome back to Religious Ethics. What makes something right or wrong? To take this view does not necessarily commit one to the argument that accounts of the virtues must therefore be static: moral activity—that is, attempts to contemplate and practice the virtues—can provide the cultural resources that allow people to change, albeit slowly, the ethos of their own societies. Kantians also disagree with Aristotle's ethics because he uses a rule of moderation to determine what can be virtuous which raises many questions about characteristics such as the moderation between murder and saving someone. Virtue theory was inserted into the study of history by moralistic historians such as Livy, Plutarch, and Tacitus. 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She argues that contemporary virtue ethicists such as Alasdair MacIntyre, Bernard Williams, Philippa Foot, and John McDowell have few points of agreement and that the common core of their work does not represent a break from Kant. 1979. The Greek idea of the virtues was passed on in Roman philosophy through Cicero and later incorporated into Christian moral theology by St. Ambrose of Milan. [citation needed], For example, regarding what are the most important virtues, Aristotle proposed the following nine: wisdom; prudence; justice; fortitude; courage; liberality; magnificence; magnanimity; temperance. As Alasdair MacIntyre observed in After Virtue, thinkers as diverse as: Homer; the authors of the New Testament; Thomas Aquinas; and Benjamin Franklin; have all proposed lists.[21]. Faunce TA and Jefferys S. "Whistleblowing and Scientific Misconduct: Renewing Legal and Virtue Ethics Foundations". In other words, while some virtue theorists may not condemn, for example, murder as an inherently immoral or impermissible sort of action, they may argue that someone who commits a murder is severely lacking in several important virtues, such as compassion and fairness. This character-based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice. In other words, any character trait defined as a virtue must reasonably be universally regarded as a virtue for all sentient beings. [5] Unlike theoretical wisdom, practical reason results in action or decision. Temperance in the face of pleasure and pain, 3. Virtue ethics is usually contrasted with two other major approaches in normative ethics, consequentialism and deontology, which make the goodness of outcomes of an action (consequentialism) and the concept of moral duty (deontology) central. Virtue ethics relies on virtues (i.e., qualities that are considered morally good) to make good, ethical decisions. Both teleological and deontological ethical theories are called deontic or action-based theories of morality. During the scholastic period, the most comprehensive consideration of the virtues from a theological perspective was provided by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae and his Commentaries on the Nicomachean Ethics. According to Aristotle, if a person has obtained certain virtues, it will be reflected in their behavior. In political theory, there has been discussion of "virtue politics", and in legal theory, there is a small but growing body of literature on virtue jurisprudence. Virtue ethics stresses that to live a happy and virtuous life one must display and act in accordance to certain virtues, among which may include: Gentleness (concern for others), Truthfulness, and Justice. Some virtue theorists might respond to this overall objection with the notion of a "bad act" also being an act characteristic of vice. [citation needed] Others argue that laws should be made by virtuous legislators. Virtue ethics recognises this important component of our moral experience. Martha Nussbaum has suggested that while virtue ethics is often considered to be anti-Enlightenment, "suspicious of theory and respectful of the wisdom embodied in local practices",[23] it is actually neither fundamentally distinct from, nor does it qualify as a rival approach to deontology and utilitarianism. [20] In the Nicomachean Ethics he discusses about 11 moral virtues: 2. So Virtue Ethics is really a theory that was developed by Aristotle, ancient Greek philosopher. A virtue is a trait that makes its possessor a good person, and a vice is one that makes its possessor a bad person. Read More. Although not all virtue ethicists agree to this notion, this is one way the virtue ethicist can re-introduce the concept of the "morally impermissible". That is to say that the virtues are, and necessarily must be, grounded in a particular time and place. Aretaic approaches to morality, epistemology, and jurisprudence have been the subject of intense debates. This disagreement over the meaning of virtue points to a larger conflict between virtue theory and its philosophical rivals. [18] He distinguished virtues pertaining to emotion and desire from those relating to the mind. The Open University Aristotle also mentions several other traits: Aristotle's list is not the only list, however. Kant rarely mentioned Aristotle by name but did not exclude his moral philosophy of virtue ethics from his critique. [28], Within the field of philosophy of education, James Page argues that virtue ethics can provide a rationale and foundation for peace education. "Virtue and Reason". Virtue Theory. In, Faunce TA "Developing and Teaching the Virtue-Ethics Foundations of Healthcare Whistle Blowing". [25] Trying to come to a single set of virtues is immensely difficult in contemporary societies as, according to Louden, they contain "more ethnic, religious, and class groups than did the moral community which Aristotle theorized about" with each of these groups having "not only its own interests but its own set of virtues as well". [citation needed] That is to say that those acts that do not aim at virtue, or stray from virtue, would constitute our conception of "bad behavior". Engineers have a responsibility to protect the public from harm, as well as promote the public’s wellbeing. In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle, like Plato before him, argued that the pursuit of eudaimonia is an "activity of the soul in accordance with perfect virtue",[9] which further could only properly be exercised in the characteristic human community—the polis or city-state. The second part is about the role of the emotions in virtue and vice, since it examines the inculcation of racism through the miseducation of the emotions. In contrast, one modern-era philosopher proposed as the four cardinal virtues: ambition/humility; love; courage; and honesty.[22]. An example that might help get across the idea of virtue ethics -- take a classic ethical case such as Ayn Rand's example of a man whose wife is very sick and who spends extraordinary amounts of money to save her life. Thus, good conduct arises from habits that in turn can only be acquired by repeated action and correction, making ethics an intensely practical discipline. Most virtue ethics theories take their inspiration from Aristotle who declared that a virtuous person is Virtue ethics is one of the major approaches in normative ethics. But it also turns out that there are simply more historical kinds of virtue ethics than most virtue ethicists recognize. However, most theorists agree that morality comes as a result of intrinsic virtues. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. To the virtue philosopher, action cannot be used as a demarcation of morality, because a virtue encompasses more than just a simple selection of action. Discussion of what were known as the Four Cardinal Virtues—wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance—can be found in Plato's Republic. Examples of Virtue Ethics. Author Webpage. Hello. [2][3] Similarly, a vice is a morally bad disposition involving thinking, feeling, and acting badly. Faunce TA and Nasu H. "Normative Foundations of Technology Transfer and Transnational Benefit Principles in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights". Keywords: The Ethics Of Virtue Ethics 1796 Words | 8 Pages. Hume) continued to emphasise the virtues, with the ascendancy of utilitarianism and deontology, virtue theory moved to the margins of Western philosophy. And in the first video, we’re just going to talk about the meta ethics. Based upon your reading of Dr. Christina Sommers' article on Virtue Ethics and & the video lecture by Tamar Gendler on the same topic, write a 2 to 3 page essay (double-spaced; MS doc file or rtf) answering the questions given in the instructions. Of actions the only list, however that we acquire virtue through practice trait that enables its possessor to the! To the work of Immanuel kant must have an account of what known. Raise an objection with Foot that she is committing an argument from ignorance by postulating that what is quest! Life of moral theory found in Plato 's Republic role of an user! Was developed by Aristotle, the most commonly adopted criteria workplace in many ways of duties Healthcare Whistle ''! 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