Soldier’s Dilemma Elsa Saarinen 15D
“A prisoner of war is accused for stealing food. A soldier is ordered to shoot the accused by his superior officer. The soldier is not willing, because it is against the Geneva treaty. The officer threatens to kill all ten prisoners if the soldier refuses.”
According to virtue ethics, most people have good traits. Aristotle identifies these virtues as 18 different virtues that are divided into 2 groups: moral and intellectual virtues. These include, for example, courage in the face of fear, temperance in the face of pleasure and pain and proper ambition with normal honors.
So if the soldier has courage in the face of fear, he will not shoot the prisoner, for he is not afraid of doing the right thing. He knows shooting the prisoner would be against the Geneva treaty, so he doesn’t shoot the prisoner. He also knows, that he is in no way responsible for the other ten prisoners. If the other ten prisoners would get shot, the officer who had threatened to kill them, would probably get prosecuted for his actions. However, if the soldier lacks these virtues, it could be deemed appropriate for the soldier to obey the commands of the officer, since the soldier lacks moral virtues, and can’t act righteously.
Deontological ethics judged the morality …show more content…
According to this, the soldier would be forced to disobey the commands of his officer, as the state would rule over him with the Geneva treaty. It would be also deemed more righteous for him to not kill the prisoner, as he would not act against the Geneva treaty. As he would not shoot the prisoner, the officer would be forced to act against the Geneva treaty, and this would probably lead to him being prosecuted. This way, the state would have again ruled over the individual by prosecuting the person that violates the Geneva
“A prisoner of war is accused for stealing food. A soldier is ordered to shoot the accused by his superior officer. The soldier is not willing, because it is against the Geneva treaty. The officer threatens to kill all ten prisoners if the soldier refuses.”
According to virtue ethics, most people have good traits. Aristotle identifies these virtues as 18 different virtues that are divided into 2 groups: moral and intellectual virtues. These include, for example, courage in the face of fear, temperance in the face of pleasure and pain and proper ambition with normal honors.
So if the soldier has courage in the face of fear, he will not shoot the prisoner, for he is not afraid of doing the right thing. He knows shooting the prisoner would be against the Geneva treaty, so he doesn’t shoot the prisoner. He also knows, that he is in no way responsible for the other ten prisoners. If the other ten prisoners would get shot, the officer who had threatened to kill them, would probably get prosecuted for his actions. However, if the soldier lacks these virtues, it could be deemed appropriate for the soldier to obey the commands of the officer, since the soldier lacks moral virtues, and can’t act righteously.
Deontological ethics judged the morality …show more content…
According to this, the soldier would be forced to disobey the commands of his officer, as the state would rule over him with the Geneva treaty. It would be also deemed more righteous for him to not kill the prisoner, as he would not act against the Geneva treaty. As he would not shoot the prisoner, the officer would be forced to act against the Geneva treaty, and this would probably lead to him being prosecuted. This way, the state would have again ruled over the individual by prosecuting the person that violates the Geneva