Appiah Case Against Character Analysis

There are those who wake up each morning energized and in a good mood and others whom are never in a good mood unless something good happens in order to trigger the good mood. Not every person is alike in the way they think or in the way they do things. When trying to figure out why people do what they do it is very difficult to come to a complete conclusion because everyone is different and do things in different ways. Throughout the years there have been numerous ways that people have tried to figure out why people do certain things and although it may seem like they have found the answer there is always a question that follows. In Appiah’s “Case Against Character” the question of being in a good mood is raised. He continues with answer why …show more content…
The argument is proven that people do good things because of their situation and surroundings. After committing these good deeds, the people who are conducting these studies ask the people what lead them to do something good, they respond with what is already assumed as they did something good because they had previously received something and or smelled something good, i.e. at the bakery shop. They do not answer the question as to why they did it, but the reason for doing it. Often times, when it comes to someone’s mood to change after smelling something savory people do not think that is the reason they did something good for others. “ The researchers, may hypothesize that when you’re cheerful, you’re more inclined to do what you think is helpful; that is, the fact that offering change is helpful will strike you as a particularly strong reason for doing it when you’re feeling particularly cheerful.” (Jacobus 407) Although, this sort of thinking may not come to mind and the person may not even realize they did something good because in fact they were in a good and cheerful mood. Sometimes people are unaware of the purpose of what they are doing or have done, they give explanations that they think makes sense. Scientific studies are done to prove …show more content…
A sense of virtue may alter with one’s mood, according to Appiah’s studies, “psychological theory suggests that praise, which is a form of reward, is likely to reinforce the behavior.” (Jacobus 408) When a person knows that they will be getting something out of doing something good, one is more likely to do it because they are aiming for that end result of getting something out of it. According to Hursthouse’s claims: “The right thing to do is what a virtuous agent would do in the circumstances. A virtuous person is one who had and exercises the virtues. A virtue is a character trait that a person needs in order to have eudaimonia, in order to live a good life.” (Jacobus 409) In Hursthouse’s book, “On Virtue Ethics”, he discusses the three point of views of a utilitarian, deontologist and a virtue ethicist would say about doing the obvious right thing to do. “ A utilitarian will emphasize... the consequences of doing so will maximize well-being, a deontologist will emphasize..in doing so, I will be acting in accordance with a moral rule such as ‘Do unto others as you would be done by’ and a virtue ethicist will emphasize...that helping the person would be charitable or benevolent.” (Hursthouse 1) A sense of virtue can either make someone be in a good or bad mood depending on what the situation is. If there is something that the person would like to do and it is against their