Moral Dilemmas of Virtue Ethics Essay

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics he searches for what is good for man. How every single thing we do is aimed to be virtuous. The requirements for virtuosity are that the virtues must be active; they must be voluntary, meaning it’s by choice, and virtuosity cannot be prescribed. When virtue is an established characteristic, those virtues become enjoyable leading to The Good Life. We aim to be virtuous because our goal is to live The Good Life. The Good Life is to achieve happiness,…

action is a mean between extremes? (HINT: Read “Happiness and the Virtues” by Aristotle) Reason plays a part in right action through all of the human virtues. For example, a self-doubt person would use reason to gain confidence. Aristotle pointed out that reason directs us to moderation between. In other words, if excellence is your virtue then avoid mediocrity. 2. Aristotle’s view: What is happiness and how does it relate to virtue? According to Aristotle, happiness is, “...the function of…

his life, Jean Vanier, has displayed virtues that not only focused on his relationship with God but his relationship with others as well. A Virtue is a habit that one creates or it is things that an individual says or does that will eventually lead them towards the good. As a result, Jean Vanier focused his entire life on obtaining that good. Vanier’s life was turned around when he visited a small chaplain for the handicapped. This is where he developed the virtue of prudence. Prudence is the…

Are virtue ethics or ethics of character, superior to an ethics of conduct? If a person was on a boat with five other people, and that boat could only hold five people total or it would sink, what course of action should be taken, if any? In discussing normative ethics, three major approaches offer solutions to this question, consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. A consequentialist might determine that one person would have to be sacrificed for the better of all. A deontologist may…

Virtue ethics focuses on the moral character of an individual. It is said that by practicing virtuousness one can achieve arete, or human excellence, and eudaimonia, or true human flourishing. By bettering one 's humanity and living their life purposefully and meaningfully one can live the “good life”. Whereas consequentialism focuses on the consequences of acts being good or bad and deontology focuses on rules about the acts themselves, virtue theory brings the individual 's personal character…

Ethics can be described as an acceptable code of conduct or behaviour someone exhibits or is expected to display in a society. That behaviour is dictated by various scenarios or situations that are different in nature. For example in a company there are various ethical issues that dictate how the company runs. These ethical issues can be internal or external in nature. Internal ethical issues mainly involve the shareholders of a company, employees and the management. External issues focus more…

Ethics, in my opinion, are morals that guide my behavior and what constitutes my beliefs, virtues, and standards. I would like to discuss the following approaches to the study of morality and identify the approach that is closest to my perception. Approaches to the Study of Morality Scientific approach. “Moral science may refer to the consideration of what is best for, and how to maximize the flourishing of, either particular individuals or all conscious creatures” (Wikipedia references, 2016)…

you need to have the correct virtues that will lead to your happiness and flourishing. Aristotle had his own idea of which virtues would lead to this human flourishing, which is often debated by philosophers. Although Aristotle did not consider virtues, like compassion and truthfulness, to be of great importance, his theory of virtue ethics can be applied today to justify my reasoning why people should consider adopting a pet rather than buying one. By having the virtue of compassion (which many…

“What should I do?” is the first question any virtue theorists ask themselves in any predicament. However, before a virtue theorist can answer that question, a virtue theorist must know what kind of person they should be. Once a virtue theorist knows who they are as a person (their character) they can answer, “ What should I do?” in any predicament. For example: There is a machine that would allow a person to experience anything he or she desired. Rather it is them experiencing their first…

many tricky ethical situations in which the correct moral decision a physician should make in regards to a patient may not be clear. An example of this is a physician deciding to tell the family of a young boy who is dying and needs a kidney transplant that his father is a direct tissue match despite the father’s requests to not share this information with the family. Ethicists of the three branches of bioethics: Kantian, utilitarian, and virtue would all have distinct views on the morally…