Virtue

questionable for many people worried about “playing God” or causing problems at a broader, societal level. Based on the principles of parental virtue ethics and procreative beneficence, however, it is morally desirable for parents to select children with the best possible genetic endowment. Rosalind McDougall offers a wonderful outline of the parental virtue ethics approach…

The ancient Greeks, were a society based on honor and virtue. Great philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle still have a huge significance today in society. They argued that the best life for humans beings is a life devoted to “virtue”, but just how much of that is true and how is that reflected today in our society? Plato, student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle thought that what is morally good is whatever promotes “virtue” which is a certain health, beauty and good condition in the soul…

Athens. Justice and the virtues envisioned within it, appear as one of the central themes in the book discussed by Socrates, who Plato describes to be, "the most just man of his time" and his friends, (Glaucon, Cephalus, Thrasymachus, Polemarchus, and Adeimantus). Plato divides his interpretation of justice into two separate parts; during the first half of the text, he explains the importance of justice in a society, which is where he elaborates on Kallipolis and its virtues. Moreover, Plato…

In this particular case, I do not feel that Scott Thompson’s behavior was consistent with recognized virtues. By lying about the level of education he had actually received he was being unvirtuous. Although he may have eventually worked enough years in the industry to have slowly developed the skills needed for the position, he still remains unethical. Just like we would not want to hire someone who is not fit to complete the job we don’t expect anyone to lie, to be able to obtain the position.…

dialogs by philosophers. The paradox is a Socratic dialogue authored by Plato. The paradox attempts to find out the actual definition of virtue. The main speakers or characters in this dialogue are Meno, and Socrates and the paradox arise as they try to discuss human virtues. In this dialogue, Meno puts forward numerous hypothetical definitions of human virtues, that is, arete. Socrates goes on and refutes this hypothetical definition. Socrates seeks to examine and seek the true definition of…

Antigone’s Character as describe by Aristotle’s Possession of Virtues In Sophocles’ tragedy, “Antigone,” the title character could be seen as fulfilling Aristotle’s three criteria for a virtuous action as he lays them out in Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics. Antigone does, apparently, know how to perform the correct burial rituals (thereby fulfilling the first criterion), she clearly chooses the action and chooses it for the sake of her brother (which seems to cover the second criterion), and,…

When one hears the word “virtue” they think of righteousness and excellence. A person’s character is the entirety of his character trait. Our traits can go from being morally good, bad or somewhere in between. They can be laudable or not. The laudable character traits, the marks of greatness in character, are called virtues. “Virtue Theory maintains that our primary moral responsibility is to develop a virtuous personal character, a character full of virtues” (Burnor 219). Everyone is born with…

Virtue Ethics is neither deontological nor teleological, it is not concentrated upon the action itself or the consequence. It is agent centred and involves the pursuit of arete, the pursuit of excellence. This is because it is an aretaic ethic, it emphasises virtues (strengths) and vices (weaknesses) of character. The question is not what should I do but what kind of person should I be? “We are not concerned to know what goodness is but how to become good people” told Aristotle who played a part…

Virtue Ethics Every day, each one of us is faced with making an ethical decision and the way that we handle this emphasises our personal ethical values. Philosophical ethics is understood as how an individual lives their life guided by their moral principles. The normative ethical theory, virtue ethics focuses on the idea that an individual should not obsess about the outcomes of their actions but should instead try to understand what it is to be a good person (Hales, 2012). The theory places…

Virtue ethics is a theory that enables and help us make moral decision that can lead to happiness. Aristotle was greatly known to be the founding father of this concept, he was a firm believer in the idea that developing virtues was the gateway to fulfill the emotion of happiness. Throughout most of his work related to this topic one can infer that he presents this idea in a way that allows the reader to have a moment of self reflection and ask the question of who do we want to be. Aristotle…