The Ethics of Virtue

has more to do with character and the nature of what it is to be

Virtue ethics is a normative theory whose foundations were laid by Aristotle. This theory approaches normative ethics in substantially different ways than consequentialist and deontological theories. In this essay, I will contrast and compare virtue ethics to utilitarianism, ethical egoism, and Kantianism to demonstrate these differences. There is one fundamental aspect of virtue ethics that sets it apart from the other theories I will discuss. For the sake of brevity and to avoid redundancy, I will address it separately. This is the fundamental difference between acting ethically within utilitarianism, egoism, and Kantianism. And being ethical within virtue ethics. The other theories seek to define the ethics of actions while virtue ethics does not judge actions in any way. The other theories deal with how we should act, while virtue ethics determines how we should be.

Kant argues the it is never permissible to lie as it is immoral. He believes a lie harms humanity and our entire social life. He then states "it is never permissible to lie, even if by lying we could save a friend from being murdered. Although Kant believes it is immoral to lie, it may sometimes be immoral to speak the truth. When speaking the truth it may improve their life but that is not always the case. If we speak the truth to cause pointless embarrassment or harm to one another it is just as bad as lying to them. The truth is sometimes more damaging than useful and will make that person rethink of what they have been doing and a worse life experience. Sometimes the truth should be avoided if it is to cause pointless pain and

I. Provide answers for five (5) of the following (6 points each, total of 30 points):

Imagine this: you are failing two subjects in school and you can’t graduate if you keep it up. Your parents ask,”What would you like for your graduation party?” Should you lie and tell what you want...or tell them you are failing? Immanuel Kant defines lying as “an intentional untruthful declaration to another person”. Everyone lies in this society that we live in, from kids to the elderly. So why stress about it? Lying is always justified because it is up to each individual to choose what to believe to do except for when you are putting other in harm's way.

In the consideration of MAID from a virtue ethics standpoint, the concern is whether a nurse assisting in the end of life process of a patient is morally and thereby ethically right. As a result of the core values of nursing focusing on saving lives and returning individuals to a state of good health, assisted dying promotes a conflicting value. Through my research I have found three consistent themes, moral intent, autonomy, and healing. I propose these be used as guidelines to determine the ethical nature of assisted dying, on a case-by-case basis. If one of the proposed guidelines is not met, the act of assisted dying is to be considered unethical. Medically assisted dying with the help of a nurse is right as long

Ethics and virtue have been a very contentious issue facing society for centuries. Many argue over the merits of various theories, each with its own philosophies and assumptions. It is this argument that has given rise to many popular and followed theories of ethics and virtues. The theories discussed primarily in this document include the virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological theory. Each is very distinct to the others in regards to its principles and assumptions regarding human behavior. Each however, has merit in regards to question of ethics and virtue, and how it should subsequently be valued.

As various ethical theories continue to be debated, it can be difficult to determine which model provides the best criteria. However, two theories in particular—virtue ethics and care ethics, have continued to catch much attention since the mid-twentieth century. Although each of these theories are often associated with one another, they both contain their own distinct philosophies. As a result, it is important to clearly understand what each theory entails before concluding that one is derived from the other.

There was the life cycle, which in those cases consisted roughly of self-maintenance and reproduction.

Aristotle’s virtue ethics is engrossed in this story through and through. The “highest good”, while it may not be applicable to the people hurt by the hurricane, can be seen in the actions of J.J. as well as Mark Cuban. The fact that they were able to put this complex of a mission together on such short notice is not only an attribute to their virtues and rationality but can also be herald to their ability to complete such a task so well; functionality. To simply donate a few dollars would have been an example of completing one's function to support the relief but to use privately owned property, donate, and start a fundraiser that is now raking in aid and money to help the city rebuild is to go above and beyond normal functionality. The virtue

Here is Prue, she was daydreaming until…. a strange man came running straight towards her. Striving to turn it was too late . By this time, she was already smelling must and onion like breath. As she held her breath ,the man started to talk. ¨Take care of this box!”, then he just ran away. There was something in it,but what was it? It was starting to get late. She decided to jog all the way home, so she would not miss her curfew. Strict and firm, her parents never let her do a thing. Sometimes she just thought that because they were Catholic. She didn’t know who she was. Prue was adopted in 1999 from a single mother in Germany.

Kant describes the moral dilemma of telling a lie. Kant applies that the meaning behind the false claim is what determines its morality or whether it shall be accepted. The morality of the act relies upon whether it is “clever” and self-benefitting act or whether it is a matter of duty to make the false promise. (Kant, p. 431) He claims that one commits the act of lying in order to free themselves from a their current situations of disadvantageousness; however, it is important for he who plans to commit the lie to ask himself if much greater difficulties may arise in the future from committing this indecency. If one were to act in respect to the universal law, he would develop the habit of never making a promise when he has no intention of keeping it.

Virtue ethics is a theory that usually has a role of character and virtue in the world of moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. In some article they said that some people that give professional advice about moral are called virtue ethicist. When talking about virtue ethics theories, you need to understand that it came from Aristotle who declared that, “a virtuous person is someone who has ideal character traits.” He also said that these traits are originated from natural internal tendencies, but need to be cherished; however, once established, they will become stable.

Virtue, when I hear that word I think of value and morality and only good people can be virtuous. When I hear the word ethics I think of good versus evil, wrong and right. Now when the two are put together you get virtue ethics. You may wonder what can virtue ethics possibly mean. It’s just two words put together to form some type of fancy theory. Well this paper will discuss virtue ethics and the philosophy behind it.

you ask what the virtues are, it is likely you would be told that we