Virtue defines the human goodness of an individual M. Harbour, V. Kisfalvi (2013), while other ethical theories such as utilitarianism, and relativism may discuss actions that are considered to be good or bad, ethical virtue discusses the person himself and the goodness of that human being. Aristotle said that we should allow reason rather than emotion to rule our behavior M. Harbour, V. Kisfalvi (2013). If we allow our emotions to take over, we’re more likely to have fleeting happiness or make poor decisions M. Harbour, V. Kisfalvi (2013). To lead a virtuous life, we must seek happiness and on the path towards finding happiness we must remember to be honest, kind, and patient. We should seek to embody all the good qualities that would lead us to live virtuous lives. …show more content…
Utilitarianism is a philosophical theory that states something is considered to be right when it does the most good for most the most amount of people (Duignan 2015). Utilitarianism considers what’s good depending on how one person’s single action affects the majority (Duignan 2015). Ethical virtue considers the individual; it takes into account how a person acts everyday to be considered a good and virtuous person M. Harbour, V. Kisfalvi (2013). Relativism is a philosophical theory, which states what’s considered to be right, and wrong can vary depending on people and society J. Rachels (2015). While this philosophical theory considers what is right and wrong, it differs from virtue in that there are conditions that decide whether something is good or bad. For example, if society and government said it was ok to murder people who don’t contribute anything to society, according to the theory of relativism than this would be ok. However, according to virtue murder is wrong, and you cannot live a virtuous life if you bring harm upon
While these two theories deal with ethical behaviors they are very different in nature. According to The Encyclopedia Britannica (Rachels 2015) Relativism doesn’t consider the end result in situations, whereas Utilitarianism
has more to do with character and the nature of what it is to be
Morality is a complicated matter, one which requires rationality, but is often driven by emotions. A person’s behavior is almost completely driven by emotions and often times emotions are what tell us when something might be wrong or right. Motivation also comes from emotions, so without feelings of anger, depression, frustration and the like we would hardly ever do anything in order to change things in our lives (Shafer-Landau, 2015, p. 258). Virtue ethics then is concerned with what makes a person virtuous versus vicious when it comes to making moral decisions, with emotions playing an important role. In this paper, I support Aristotle’s emphasis on emotions as a key to being virtuous, especially since emotions tell us what is important and motivate us to act (Shafer-Landau, 2015, p. 257-258).
The difference between utilitarianism and relativism is: Utilitarianism suggests that “rightness” comes in different levels and one action can be “righter” than the other. For example, A person can win a large amount of money from the lottery and give family members that may need some help, or they can donate most of it to charities which could help allot of people in need. Giving the money to family may feel good but donating the money to people that really needs it would be the “better” thing to do because it would be good for those people. This would be the “righter” and least selfish thing to do which, would mentally make that person feel like they did the better or “righter thing”. Relativism suggests that one action can be righter than
Virtue ethics concerned with the character of the person, instead of their action. Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas were supporters of this theory. This theory focuses on individual 's disposition as the key factor of ethical reasoning instead of the principles
individuals themselves. In this essay on virtue ethics, I would argue Macintyre’s individual's character as the key element of ethical thinking. The two
Utilitarianism is one of the best known and most influential moral theories. Like other forms of consequentialism, its core idea is that whether actions are morally right or wrong depends on their effects. Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the amount of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness).(http://www.iep.utm.edu/util-a-r/). Ethical Relativism is the view that there are no ethical absolutes. It maintains that what is right or wrong depends on the circumstances, the person’s views, culture, etc.
Over the past week and a half, I have not personally experienced any ethical encounter as I shadowed different pharmacists. However, I talked to one of the pharmacists in the central pharmacy about any ethical situations he had encountered. One of the ethical situations he encounters is with neonate prescriptions. With neonates, it is difficult to decide when to give medications. Usually most neonates start getting medications at week 22-24. However some neonates are in critical condition or have certain conditions that require treatment before week 22. At this time, the body has not fully developed and therefore the neonate may be at higher risk of worsening conditions or even death. The pharmacist and the other providers have to take different
-Today, was an interesting day I thought I was going to be a sitter all day, which felt disappointing because I want to learn as much as I can during, clinical. However, I did not refuse to care for P.A and it turn out to be that I was glad to be assigned to this case. I did not have any ethical dilemmas while caring for the patient, and I was grateful to care for him because he was in such difficult state. There were moments that I felt afraid of him because he was agitated and during the start of the shift he was not restrained. Overall, I feel blessed and honor that I was able to care for him, although I felt extremely sad that he coded and I hope that he is able to return to a healthy state.
In order to come to a clear decision on whether Marina should purchase the artwork from her client, she would go to others for assistance and their expertise. The few questions I may ask are, if they believe purchasing the artwork could hinder the client in any way if purchasing the artwork could be beneficial to the client, and if Marina purchases the artwork was it for selfish reasoning’s, and if so is this unethical? All of the questions I wish to ask other professionals are ethically based questions. I believe Marina should consult a former colleague, supervisor, a counselor, and possibly even the ethics board. Marina should consult another colleague or supervisor to see what they would do in this situation. They too are educated art therapists and may have also fawned over a client’s artwork. By talking to a fellow art therapist Marina could get clarification as to whether it is the right or wrong thing to do. Marina could also contact a licensed counselor. The counselor may be able to clarify whether they believe purchasing the artwork could hinder the client mentally, or help their self-esteem. Although as an art therapist you also have a counseling background you may be able to find a specialist in
Moral character is what dictates an individual 's decision making and affects their experiences throughout their life. A person 's morals can be based off one 's upbringing and environmental factors. Virtue ethics is a philosophical view that greatly supports this claim that the choices a person makes and their actions follow those choices, and display their moral character. This is more likely to be true than Kantianism because this type of ethical view is based off Immanuel Kant, a philosophical thinker whose emphasizes that his writings and beliefs influence the choices people make. However, people do what is morally acceptable in
Virtue Ethics is a theory of morality. It only takes into account the individuals themselves when distinguishing morality. As defined in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Virtue Ethics is the theory that “emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach which emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that which emphasizes the consequences of actions (consequentialism).” It is because of it’s seemingly “rule less” structure that the theory has shown appeal. Virtue ethics places the emphasis on the type of person performing the action as oppose to action itself. This leaves room for the importance of character and a greater emphasis on the intentions of the person rather than the consequences or rules as above stated. This also means that people can learn to improve their moral life by becoming more virtuous. Those in oppose to Virtue Ethics argue that the rules of deontology and consequentialism provide the rigid action guidance lacking in v-ethics and because of this, what is “right” or “good” is’ obliviously’ more clearly defined. Without clarity in what is right/good, how can we know what is more virtuous of a decision? In this paper is will refute the objections to virtue ethics stating that virtue ethics, (1.) Does not specify what the “right action” is and (2.) Does not provide action guidance.
1. I should wait two years to get the training and grade promotion. According to the Categorical Imperative theory, I should do things that I fully expect everyone else to do. In this case, thinking from the perspective of my existing company, I would have expected my employees to either stay in the company and take the training or leave the company and take the training elsewhere because of the limited resources that the company could provide.
Moral integrity is a fundamental of morality that represents ability of nurses to manage with moral situation and provide direction for nursing practice. Moral integrity assessment is necessary for nurses to understand and describe the source of professional nurse’s action in moral situation the purpose of this study was to develop moral integrity scale (MIS) for professional nurses. This study was guided by the scale development procedures, which consist of two phases: 1) scale construction and 2) psychometric properties testing. The items generated from comprehensives literature review and Carter’ concept. The content validity of the first draft was established by seven experts. Face validity reviewed by ten professional nurses for assessing
There are many ethical theories that we have discussed so far. Utilitarianism and relativism are two of these theories. These two theories hold completely different beliefs.