Principles Of Virtue Ethics

Healthcare providers must make decisions that would result in the best results for their patients given a particular situation. Currently, there are four ethical principles that rule over the healthcare realm. These four principles are respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice. These four ethical principles “tell us what action to take do not take into account the nature of the moral agent” (Gardiner, 297). These four principles disregard emotional responses from its solutions. However, a human being’s nature is closely tied to his/her emotions. Disregarding emotions while making important healthcare decisions may not always bring about the best solution to healthcare problems. Since the healthcare providers are trying to

Britannica Academic defines virtue ethics as “primarily concerned with traits of character that are essential to human flourishing, not with the enumeration of duties” (“Virtue Ethics”). Virtue ethics is an approach to normative ethics that emphasizes the moral character. A virtue is “a trait of character, manifested in habitual action, that it is good for a person to have” (Gardiner, 297). To be a virtuous person is to have character traits that is the mean of two vices. An example of a virtuous character is honesty. An honest person would be the mean of the two vices of being dishonest and being brutally honest. By having virtuous characteristics, a human being can achieve eudiamonia. Eudiamonia is what it means to flourish or to live well. Moreover, virtue ethics focuses on the moral agents rather than right action. Virtue ethicist believe that right action is one that acts on virtues. “If you want to do what is right, and doing what is right is what a virtuous agent would do in the circumstances” (Hursthouse, 648). Unlike other philosophical views, virtue ethics does not tell us what we should do. Based on the situation and the virtues, right action is not fixated to one action. Rather, right action is based on a variety of different