Summary Of Virtue Ethics And The Fundamental Attribution Error

In Gilbert Harman’s article Moral Philosophy Meets Social Psychology: Virtue Ethics and the Fundamental Attribution Error, he focuses said topic, the fundamental attribution error. The fundamental attribution error is defined as the inclination of us as humans to assume the actions of an individual are explained by the individual’s disposition, and failing to consider possible situational causes. Throughout his essay, Harman discusses virtue ethics, character traits, and social psychology, and how they contribute to the phenomenon that is the fundamental attribution error.
Firstly, Harman goes into detail on the subject of virtue ethics. Virtue is described as a trait that betters a person or society. This view that in a given situation, to act morally, a person must do what a characteristically ‘good’ person would do in that situation. In other words, virtue ethics suppose that people behave in certain ways in certain situations because of their certain characteristics. The problem with virtue ethics is that it emphasises character traits and the idea that people possess different character traits, and these character traits explain human behavior. Virtue ethics fail to recognize the possibility of situational …show more content…
It is important to note, however, that refutation of character traits necessarily mean the refutation of personality or disposition. Harman states that behavior is the result of environment, not character. In addition, human logic causes people to have a tendency to think of others as much more consistent than they actually are, and reason away anything counter to that. This, added with things like social roles, makes people tend to feel like they have to act consistently. All of this contributes to people’s inclination to put themselves in certain situations, and put others in certain situations based on their perceived