The Ethical Theory Of Virtue Ethics

Philosophies of the ethical theory are numerous but to begin the study of one particular ethical theory, we must understand what the concept of ethics means. The ethical theory focuses on standards of right and wrong that help determine what why one should do not based on laws, feelings, religion, culture or science, but upon what is the right thing in a given situation (Velasquez et al., 2015). To further this investigation looking at ethics from a Christian worldview Rae (2013) defines ethics as “primarily the task of discerning, or discovering, right and wrong both from God’s word in God’s world” (P. 55). Therefore, discussion and investigation of Aristotle’s ethical theory Virtue Ethics will commence.

Virtue ethics theoretically is based

Two months ago we unexpectedly experienced the traumatic loss of my sister-in-law, Angie. While she was not perfect, Angie exemplified the characteristics and lived her life as a model of the essence of a character of excellence. She was shot in her home (investigation pending still) in a small New Mexico town who has also been devastated by the loss. At the memorial, in an overflowing 250 capacity church, the plethora of comments and messages from the community demonstrated her true nature, the inner “soul” of her being. They shared how much she was loved and honored as being a person who did the right thing, not for recognition but simply because it was the right thing to do in any given situation. She was a postal clerk, while her role had certain parameters and expectations she had to follow, it came through from the community sharing that there were times she broke them because she lived to do the right thing when the situation called for it. The rules were not broken simply to be broken, but because it was the right thing to do at the right time (personal communication, memorial service July 16, 2017). For example, she was one who would not hesitate to help someone in need, regardless of it being something as simple as a hug, carrying packages, offering to say a prayer, take a package to a patron she knew needed help, and much more. Constantly, stories and memories shared from those she was closest to and many community members contained words such as honesty, integrity, courageous, generous, giving, loving, kind, intentional, and uplifting, which illustrate the characteristics described by Aristotle and other proponents of virtual ethics. She was a living role model of following principles of virtue ethics as she lived her life demonstrating the character of a