Virtue Ethics Essay

I will argue that my personal moral system derives important elements from the moral theories of Kant on the highest good, and Foot on virtue. I will illustrate my argument with the situation of giving money to a homeless man. First the situation must be explained. I am walking in Chicago, and there is a homeless man on the street. As I get close to him he asks me for some money. Now there are two possible options for how I could respond. I could stop and give him some money, or I could lie…

On the other hand, sin does not create a dark scar on the souls of powerful people like Indradeva. They lead the life sinless person, despite their sins. “The instance of Indradeva can be given as an example. His birth is still a mystery. Still, he became the king of the gods and the ruler of the three worlds. He is always respectful to women. He loves Aryans as his mom was one. However, he is not at all sympathetic towards non-Aryans, his father's tribe.” Anwikshika realized that I was upset…

According to Aristotle, “Man is by nature a social animal” (Aristotle 5). We all need people around us to overcome our problems with their help and support. Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger and Angela Chase, from TV series called My So-Called Life, both are teenagers in high school. Holden and Angela both have family relationship problems, how they try to overcome their problems is what differs Angela from Holden. Angela has problems with her parents about how…

‘Bravery’ a word that may portray a courageous behavior or a daring character. Yet, it does not necessarily mean being fearless. On the contrary, bravery is endured out of our desire to confronting our fears and conquering over them. In other times, it’s the courage of staying true to your self and holding on to your convictions and morals and integrity against this biased world. Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it. Both short stories “The Hollow of The Three Hills” and…

CONTRACTARIANISM INTRODUCTION “Any of the various theories that justify moral principles and political choices because they depend on a social contract involving certain ideal conditions. A general ethical theory, that individuals make the right choices under a hypothetical social contract.” (www.dictionary.com) “Contractarianism, which stems from the Hobbesian line of social contract thought, holds that persons are primarily self-interested, and that a rational assessment of the best…

The word “ethic” was originated from the Greek word “ethos” meaning character or custom. It concerns about how humans should live and about what is right or wrong. A person is said to be ethical if he acts morally to others and unethical if he acts wrongly to others. The famous ethics golden rule is “do unto others as you would have them do unto you." For me, it is such a wonderful quote because when we are expecting others to do good to us, we ourselves must be good to them first. In…

A consequentialist theory is a type of normative ethical theory wherein the key determinant of whether an action is the right one, is the result of the action itself. Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialist ethical theory in which the utilitarian argues that the right action, is the action which augments the pleasure that is experienced by the actors involved (Bentham, 1994). In this essay, I will first elaborate upon the technical terms and other semantic variances which are specific to…

Theory is the belief that an action is morally good if and only if that action is commanded by God. This means that actions not directly commanded by God are wrong, such as murder, stealing, adultery, etc. The way this is worded is very similar to virtue theory, which states that an action is morally good if and only if the action is good for the person doing the action. Rather than basing the morality of a situation on whether it is just or pleasure-making for other people, it focuses on the…

Ethical Egoism vs. Altruism After reviewing the readings on ethical egoism and altruism, I felt the two topics seemed contradictory, yet codependent on the other. To compare them, one must first understand what each term means. Ethical egoism is the theory that a person should act on self-interest alone. This comes from the idea that a person knows one’s self best, thus should seek out his or her own self-gratification first to achieve a happier life. This does not mean that the ethical egotist…

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…