Thursday, July 18, 2019
Ethical Theories Essay
A virtue is a trait of a certain person that is valued as being good from a particular point of view and answers the question of what actions are moral and what are not. Also, morality is the basis of being ethically correct and good. There had been several different ethical theories that exist in the society and each having different standards or basis for morality. One of the well known theories in the contemporary time in the field is virtue ethics which is one of the 3 major normative ethics approaches.            Virtue ethics originated in the ancient Greek times that takes inspiration from the works of the Greek philosopher, Aristotle while other theories in virtue ethics also incorporate elements from the works of Hume, Plato, Aquinas and as well as Nietzsche. Basically, virtue ethics gives importance on the character of a person. Thus, it is the character of a person that is the key element and the basis of being good or morally correct rather than laws/rules or even the consequences or outcome brought about by a particular action.            According to virtue ethics, we should look at the character of a person rather than his or her duties and actions. It is how one can be better person that is given emphasis rather than the right thing to do. It is easy to live a virtuous life according to Aristotle and that the main reason for those who do so is to be happy. Thus, a virtuous life gives happiness which is the main or ultimate goal of every human being according to virtue ethics.            In order to become a better person, virtue ethics suggest that one must practice virtuous acts on a regular basis. These acts will eventually become habitual and thus, making the habit of doing such acts as a natural day to day activity which in the long run, will make the person a better being. Thus, the ultimate aim of the particular person is to make people happy. Virtue ethics suggests that a person living a virtuous life will eventually do virtuous things not only to be happy but as well as to make people happy which in turn will be their main objective and goal in life of a virtues person.            Virtue ethics also assumes that all humans have capacities that are inherited and that, as stated earlier, actions that could improve these capacities are considered as ethical and those that hinder the improvement of these capacities are not, that is, if an action is able to develop the potential of the particular person, it is the morally right thing to do and otherwise, morally wrong. These, inherited potentials, according to ethical theories are wisdom and intelligence and so, in order to live a virtues life, we must be able to develop our wisdom and intelligence. Thus, rather than trying to define goodness or righteousness, improving one’s character is given the importance and is the basis of ethically good actions and is virtue ethics’ central theme.             By giving emphasis on the person’s being rather than actions, virtue ethics aims to achieve something that is genuinely wanted by the person rather than focusing on the incoherent ideas about the after-life which are found to be arguable. It is said that virtue ethics is applicable to all, can easily be understood and fits into both dos and don’ts of philosophies and as well as religion. Therefore, it is like a combination of both religion and philosophy.            Every ethical theory suggests standards of morality and according to virtue ethics, right actions are the results of being a moral person. It is by becoming a moral person that we will eventually know what actions are righteous from what are wrong and thus, we flourished as human beings. Virtue ethics also suggests that virtue is an important and admirable human characteristic just as courage and kindness. Virtue ethics also suggests that a good society is a result and accomplishments of virtuous people in that particular community. Thus, it can be said the virtue ethics is far more different than other ethical theories present such as Consequentialism that focuses on the results of a certain actions or Deontology that focuses on certain rules and duties of every individual as set by the society. Consequentialism would ask what actions will bring the most benefit and the least harm to the persons that are involved and will be affected by the action. On the other hand, Deontology will ask what actions are approved by the society and that are accordance to the moral rules or laws as dictated by the society or culture. Still, as mentioned earlier, virtue ethics does not focus on the action itself or on the result of that action or even in the set of rules that are present in the society but rather, on the character of the person involved in making the decision. By evaluating the points of these ethical theories, it can be said that all have their own strength and as well as weak points when it comes to decision making and one cannot be considered as superior to the other. Still, taking either side will also be dependent on the points of view of the person making the decision.            One problem with virtue ethics is that it is mostly not applicable or of little help to persons who are facing dilemma. The same thing also goes for Consequentialism and Deontology.  If for example, you can save a friend by lying to a certain person or group, would lying be the action by a virtuous man or is it considered as a simple lie that a virtuous man should avoid? In this case, it can be said that virtue ethics cannot be applied and does not help the person in making a decision.            Another problem faced by virtue ethics is that it cannot justify a certain problem for doing so would require a basis of what is moral. In this case, the decision on which virtues are considered morally correct and which are not are has to be made which is definitely a hard thing to do. Thus justifying certain actions based on what virtues are moral and what are not are still a big question.            On the other hand, it can also be said that the one of the distinct strength of virtue ethics is that it gives emphasis on the connection between our characters and our acts. It also views our character as whole and unified rather than treating each as isolated when it comes to making ethical decisions. Thus, a person’s virtue is considered as a totality and not as fragment of different aspects and that one character/trait is not isolated from the other. Thus, virtue ethics looks at the individual, something that most ethical theories fail to do.            There is no absolute theory that exists in which all will agree that it is definitely the right standard of living a virtuous life. Thus, every theory has its own critique and opponents. This is because of the difference in the experiences, knowledge and points of view of every individual, being unique in different ways. Thus, an ultimate theory can never really exist. The actions that must be taken by every individual defends on both his or her experiences and values together with the situation at hand and no theory will be able to solely suggest what ought to be and not be done. Therefore, decision making is not just a matter of theories and principles but of experiences, knowledge of the situation and of the people involved and the complete being of a person making the decision. Reference Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2000). Virtue Ethics. Retrieved April 28, 2008            from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/#3
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