Virtue Ethics And Character Analysis

Most forms of ethics take virtues into consideration either directly or indirectly, but the big separating factor for virtue ethics is the centralization of a person’s character. Mitchell defines virtue ethics as, “an ethical theory that uses as a moral standard what a virtuous person would do, rather than consequences or obligations; the primary question is, What kind of person should I be?” People put into a specific situation are considered to act because of their virtues and habits of character, with no consideration to how it will ultimately benefit a society or serve a greater cause. This can be seen when people act to protect or save someone, before they even have time to consider anything about the situation, they simply follow an impulse due to the character they have previously developed. Confucius did not believe someone was born as the person that they would be, and instead favored an upbringing that continued into adulthood, that highly favors …show more content…
Without that freedom, no one could be held accountable for their actions, because it was not their moral choice, and you can only hold someone accountable for their actions under free will (Mitchell, 2014). Mitchell defines existentialism by stating, “existentialism emphasizes the uniqueness and freedom of the human person as an individual (what makes each life a unique, personal experience) as opposed to the essence of a human being (what makes all of us alike).” This theory states that we, as humans, surely do contain traits, but how we allow those traits to govern our lives is truly up to us. A person that is a fighter can choose to fight either for himself and ego, or for a greater cause. There is undoubtedly a driving force behind it, but how he uses it, or even if he uses it, is up to him. There are other factors that influence this thought process as well, starting with bad