Captain Kirk's Use Of Virtue Ethics In Star Trek

Captain Kirk most exemplifies Aristotle’s concept about virtue ethics because of Kirk’s repetition of virtuous acts, including saving the alien planet, not killing khan, and sacrificing himself multiple times. In all of these acts, he had little to no vices, was able to distinguish what was right from wrong, had his appetites in line with reason, and did the right thing, making him the most virtuous character in Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Spock best exemplifies Kantian ethics because he obeyed the law for the sake of the law, and embraced the categorical imperative. Spock is seen obeying the law for the sake of the law when he reported everything that happened on the planet Nibiru because it was his duty, even though him doing so got Kirk in trouble. Spock again shows his ability to follow the moral law for the sake of the moral law when …show more content…
Kirk displays some deficiencies of virtue, like lying, which he does quite often, like when he failed to report about Nibiru, and being naïve, like when he tried to fly through the small crevice to escape the Klingons. He also has some excess of virtue, like too much ambition, self-indulgence concerning sex, and stubbornness. Despite his vices, his overall character is comprised of virtues, being courage, caring, charming, loyal, vigilant, protective, assertive, and confident. His overall personality throughout the movie is charming, assertive, and confident. Other virtues are seen through his action, for example, he shows loyalty and care to his crew when he tries to protect them by using courage to sacrifice himself for the good of his crew by going into the highly radioactive warp drive to fix the core. Kirk does not actively pursuit the golden mean, but because of his large amount of virtues, he has already obtained it. Kirk also doesn’t use the bent stick remedy because he has enough virtues so that he doesn’t need to